Professor Plastic Circularity
University of Maastricht
Kim Ragaert is full professor and Chair of Circular Plastics at Maastricht University. Her group’s research topics include concepts of quality for recycling, the macromolecular interactions in complex mixes, the effects of contaminations and degradation, design for & from recycling and the balance between different recycling pathways. Interdisciplinary topics include systems thinking for plastics, cost calculation in recycling and how to connect technical quality to LCA. Kim's 2017 review paper on plastics recycling has been cited over a 1000 times, she was the 2020 European Plastics Recycling Ambassador and chaired the steering committee on the well-known 2022 ReShaping Plastics report. She consults for organizations like Plastics Europe, Plastics Recyclers Europe, CEFLEX and ECOS, and works closely with several industrial partners.