RECYCLING OF PLASTICS

HOW DO WE PROGRESS?Per Haakonsen, PolymerTrade AS

The Waste Management Days 05.06.2013

CHANGES ARE COMING• Today minimum half of the collected plastic

waste is exported to Asia• The EU wants to become independent of Asia-

export of waste before 2020! => less export in containers to Asia, cheaper

transportation of plastics within Europe• At the same time the EU wants more plastics to

be material-recovered instead of energy-recoveredGreat ambitions!

THERMOSETS AND THERMOPLASTICSThermosets do not melt. They are, at present, a material for energy

recovering/cement productionTYPICAL: «GLASSFIBRE BOAT»(glass-fibre reinforced polyester =

GRP)

Thermoplastics melt. The materialCan be recovered, even if it is glass-fibre reinforced

The rest of the presentation is about the recovery of thermoplastics.

The material can be recovered

A PRACTICAL DIVISION• Packaging Scheme supported by GRØNT PUNKT NORGE (GPN-

remunerated Packaging Waste Management Solutions)– Plastic Film, EPS, Big-bags, Agricultural plastic, Plastic from Recycling Centres– It is functioning well, but the volumes can and ought to be increased,

particularly of plastic film, hard plastics(cans, bins,etc) and EPS

• Other Thermoplastics– Packaging outside GPN’s Packaging Scheme– Production Waste– Discarded Plastic Waste– Waste from Mechanical Sorting/Metal Recycling– A lot disappears into combustion, landfill or «gets lost» Far from the moment of being pleased!

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management

Industrial and Commercial Plastic Film

-Delivered to recycling sorted or separated intoColour Mix or Clear (must be collected in Transparent plastic bags/sacks)

– Before baling almost all plastic recyclers sort the plastic waste by type and partly by colour with the help of sorting machines.

– Otherwise, they just remove polutants and bale the film as Mix-Colour Plastics.

Industrial and Commercial Plastic Foil/Film

Here it is just to start sorting and/or baling…………….

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management

• Industrial and Commercial Foil/Film NB! The discarded foil, where the packaging fee has been paid, must be regarded as such.

Discarded PE-bags packed in carton boxes PP-foil on roll, discarded

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management

• Industrial/Commercial Hard Plastics- Various bottles, cans, barrels- Various commercial trays/boards- As a rule, delivered to recycling together with

other waste, very much of which ends up as residual waste.

- NB! Bottles, caps, boxes and trays from the brewery industry fall under the recycable deposit schemes. No GPN-support for this.

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management

• Industrial/Commercial EPS (Polystyrene)- Recovered mainly from Fish Processing- Comes also from Commerce (packaging of

technical products) – great potential!- EPS from building materials has GPN’s financial support!- Requires special equipment to compact the material.

Industrial/Commercial EPS (Polysyrene)

Almost all ESP from fish boxes is recovered

…but there remains a lot in the collected technical consumer products packaging

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management

• Agricultural Film LLDPE from straw ensilage.Packed both in

round and square bales (regular practice).

LDPE from mulching film

Other:LDPE from greenhouses ++ (clear)PP non-woven and PP-net

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management

• Agricultural Hard Plastics- PS Plant Trays (horticulturist’s and florist’s) Can be stacked on pallets

- PP, PS, PET Punnets (horticulturist’s ++)

- PP and HDPE Plastic Crates (horticulturist’s and commodity trade)- PVC-Pipes from the core of plastic stretch films on roll (agriculture)

PP-POTS BALED

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management• PP BIG-BAGS (PP-SACK)- The largest volumes come from fish-farming (will be

reduced because of the transition to bulk)- Other major sources are agriculture and various

industries

Usually delivered with PE-innerbag together with the woven PP- bag/sack

PLASTICS FROM RECYCLING CENTRES: GREAT POTENTIAL

• It is a mixure of plastic packaging and other plastics delivered on waste collection

Clear Foil/Film

Coloured Foil/Film

PET Various PP

SORTING REPORT Sorting one truckload from GLØR Compared to the Report

Performed: Lithuania 13 - 16.11.2012 from DELA

Raw Material: 17520 % Retro Dela Diff.

Waste / Energy 7780 44,41

LDPE Color 3209 18,32 35,79 34,68 1,11

LDPE Clear 3061 17,47

MIX Hard Plastic 1093 6,24

PS 509 2,91 2,91 4,39 -1,48

HDPE Buckets 487 2,78 4,78 4,65 0,13

HDPE Cans 350 2,00

PP BIG-Bags 336 1,92

PP Buckets 300 1,71 3,16 12,33 -9,17

Auto Plastic 154 0,88

PP boxes 100 0,57

PET 51 0,29 0,29 3,04 -2,75

Paper 50 0,29 0,29 2,49 -2,2

Metal 40 0,23 0,23 1,64 -1,41

Total sorted: 17520

GPN’s Plastic Packaging Waste Management => God system, THE VOLUMES CAN BE INCREASED

The Rest of Thermoplastics => ENTRUSTED TO THE

COMMERCIAL MARKET

Floats from off-shore : Were hopeless, but now…

Acrylic from advertising production =>

• Production Waste from Plastic Products Moulding

- It is both technically and commercially recoverable.- Technical Data Sheet is needed (Health-Environment-and-Safety Data Sheet is not sufficient => HMS-DB)- It is important to separate: no wrong plastic should be mixed in

The biggest challenge is that often producers prefer to throw the waste in a 10 – 35 m3 waste disposal under the open sky. It makes the transportation more expensive, requires reloading, the material must dry, etc. => Increased costs => reducedpurchasing price

Plastics from Fishery and Fish Farming

• NYLON-NETS, PP- ROPES, PE-THRAWLERS AND PE- PIPES (perhaps 15-20.000 tons per year)

Loading of nylon nets PP-rope loaded in a container

is both technically and commercially recoverable

This is under 5 tons PE- fish feeding pipes in a 90 m3 Chip Trailer

COPPER IMPREGNATION OF FISH-FARMING NETS REQUIRES SPECIAL CAUTIOUSNESS

NYLON NETS, PP-ROPES AND PE-PIPES FROM FISHERY AND FISH FARMING

Manually Separated Plastics from Discarded Products

is both technically and commercially recoverable.- PP-bumpers from car repair shops and breakers’

yards- Other plastic fractions from metal recyclers and

other recyclers

PMMA (Polymethyl methacrylate) og PC (Polycarbonate) from greenhouse demolition (4000 m2 = one 40 feet container)

PRODUCTION WASTE FROM MECHANICAL SORTING (metal recovery is the driving force)

• Is both technically and commercially recoverable.

HIPS (high Impact PolyStyrene) from lining in refrigerators and freezers (WHITE GOODS) 5000 tonn/år?

ABS and PS from various electronic products (BROWN GOODS: TV-sets, computers, etc.) 5000 tons/year? Bromated flame retardents are a problem!

PRODUCTION WASTE FROM VARIOUS MECHANICAL SORTING

- Now we are approaching the challenges! - Insulation mantle from plastic-insulated cable (plastic and

metal are sorted after grinding, or insulation mantle is stripped off)

- 10.000t/year?- NB! LEAD!

- Various magnetic sorting of metal from plastics fragmentation (eg.vehicle scrap)

Products made of cable insulation mantle

VARIOUS OFF SHORE DISCARDED PRODUCTS

First truckload of off shore buoys ready for material recovery

Steel – Reinforced Protectors

METAL RECYCLERS REPORT ON THE INCREASING QUANTITY OF THERMOPLASTICS COMBINED WITH METAL SCRAP – ESPECIALLY FROM THE OFF SHOR SECTOR

OTHER SOLUTIONS?

• FROM PLASTICS TO OIL:• Thermoplastic waste containing minimum

75% PE/PP, max 20% PS, max 5% other thermoplastics

”PYROLYSIS”•Sorting, shredding and, eventually, drying

•Force-feeding of the heated reactor

•Molecular chains crack (depolymerization)

•Moist, salts and slag are ventilated/drained

•Fuel oil or more refined products are extracted after additional refining stages

•Various pilot plants are operating in Europe

•Project for 5-10.000 t/year plant in Norway

What can plastic waste be used for?

POLYSTERYNE CRATES/BOXES AND OTHER EPS CAN GET A NEW LIFE ASEPS PICTURE FRAMES!

OLD BEER CRATES ARE TURNED INTO NEW CRATES, TRASH CANS, etc.(Most of bottle crates and trash cans are made from recycled plastics, and they can be recycled again and again…

What can plastic waste be used for?

Hub Caps are moulded from discarded plastic refrigirators (High Impact Polystyrene – HIPS)

Plastic foil/film is used in the production of garbage bags, shopping bags, cable cover band, plastic sheets/panels, and solid moulded products

What can plastic waste be used for?

Wireline well, moulded from glassfibre reinforced PC, is a waste product in carmanufacturing industry

Various tubing/pipes are made of high qualityplasticwaste

PVC-profiles for pig pens -made from window profilesproduction waste

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

I HOPE YOU ARE MORE INFORMED NOW. I HOPE YOU CAN SEE MORE

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MATERIAL RECOVERY OF PLASTICS!