The Plastics Recycling and Upcycling GRC (Gordon Research Conferences) is a leading international scientific conference dedicated to promoting cutting-edge research in plastics recycling and upcycling. The five-day event took place in July in Manchester, New Hampshire (USA) (https://www.grc.org/plastics-recycling-and-upcycling-conference/2025/), focusing on intensive discussions and networking across all career levels to foster collaboration and build lasting scientific communities.

Our team from the WSS research center catalaix (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Klankermayer, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lars M. Blank, Dr. Ole Osterthun, Maximilian Lorberg, Walter Sebastian Schier, Tim Sander) presented their work and actively contributed to the important scientific exchange. Plastics, primarily produced from fossil fuels, are widespread, but due to their persistence in the environment and the limitations of current recycling systems, they represent a growing global pollution crisis. Addressing this challenge requires innovations in production, design, use, recovery, and reprocessing, all based on a solid scientific and technical foundation. Even though true recycling remains complex and fully circular systems still pose a challenge, the cooperative, innovative spirit of this conference shows that we are making significant progress step by step – and thus moving closer to the overarching goal of accelerating scientific progress and enabling sustainable, circular solutions that reduce the environmental impact of plastics and allow for a more sustainable future!