Nicholas Lelli explores the potential for mechanical recycling to become more efficient and produce more high-quality material. He we share examples of how technologies and initiatives that the Alliance to End Plastic Waste has gained experience with (e.g. ValueFlex for high quality recycling processes, digital watermarking and AI for advanced sorting, Quality of Recyclates standards for value chain alignment and demand creation, Waste decontamination for sensitive applications) can support this goal. Finally, he highlights the critical challenges the Alliance identifies in the context of upcoming legislation and existing infrastructure.