THE FUTURE OF PLASTICS RECYCLINGTONY LANGFORD

THE FUTURE OF PLASTIC RECYCLING

Topics:

The position today

Government, Industry & Others Plans

The Problem Areas and Possible Solutions

New Processes for Mixed Waste Plastics

THE POSITION TODAY

Estimated that 5 million tonnes of plastic are used each year in the UK – this is a maximum with

other estimates well below this figure

Some is not single use – think toothbrushes to car bumpers and gutters

Nearly half is packaging and this is one of the main problem areas

We recycle 45% of all plastics waste including that exported legally

The rest is sent to landfill or burned or exported illegally

THE POSITION TODAY

Why has the percentage of plastic recycling remained in the low 40s?

Exports have declined even as UK based recycling has increased but that is now tailing off

Limited investment by local and national authorities

Fragmented (through necessity) recycling operations

No national recycling standards

Consumer indifference often due to confusion/poor advice

Lots of difficult to recycle products still in the waste stream

THE POSITION TODAY

Two Initiatives to partly address some of these problems:

Development of an industrywide programme for Tracer and Watermark technology.

The former using fluorescent pigments and the latter are codes integrated into the product design.

Both these will simplify, speed up and reduce hand sorting at recycling plants. However, all

producers need to get on board and more investment at recycling centres needed

If/when this progresses, it is envisaged that smartphone apps would allow consumers to know

the item should go into the recycling bin as well marketing information about the product

GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY & RETAILERS PLANS

Target 1 – Eliminating Problem Plastics by end 2020

Plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, cups, straws, stirrers, polystyrene packaging, black trays & PVC packaging

GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY & RETAILERS PLANS

TARGET 2 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Currently 65% by weight of plastic Packaging is recyclable

What are the remaining non-recyclable or non-compostable materials?

• 8% - PE film (currently recyclable through collection points at large supermarkets but not in sufficient enough

quantities to be deemed recyclable at scale)

• 7% - PP film (same as above)

• 5% - Multilayer incompatible materials (to be solved through improved design and film recycling infrastructure)

• 3% - Non-NIR detectable black (either removing it entirely or moving to clear or NIR detectable black plastic)

• 2% - PVC + PVC components (removal by the end of 2020)

• 2% - Polystyrene (removal by the end of 2020) & PET film

• 8% - unknown

• <0.1% - Compostable plastic

GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY & RETAILERS PLANS

TARGET 3 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted by end 2020

44% was the national recycling rate for plastic packaging in the UK in 2018

TARGET 4 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging

Polymer/item April 2019 By end 2022 By end 2025

PET bottles 14-18% 22-28% 50%

Milk bottles 25% 30-35% 50%

PE bottles 10-15% 20% 40-45%

PET trays* 70% 50% 35-40%

PP pots/tubs/trays 20% 30% 50%

PE & PP film 5% 7% 10%

* Easier to put into higher volume bottles following investment

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND MORE NATURAL METHODS TO FURTHER ADDRESS THE ‘DIFFICULT TO RECYCLE’ PROBLEM

Plastics from Electronics rarely recovered

++ New solvent based process under development as are other systems.

Black plastics, particularly the readily recyclable PET cannot be detected by current Near Infra Red (NIR) scanners used in recycling plants. Work is underway to develop:

++ New detectable black colourants and more sensitive NIR

Plastics laminated to other materials and mixed plastics remain a major hurdle and not all can or should be eliminated so what is being developed to tackle them:

++ Reducing the waste to a petrochemical mix that can be refined and then reused to make plastics.

++ Using enzymes and bacteria to break down the plastic to water and CO2.

So, let us look at these issues in more detail:

PLASTIC RECOVERY FROM ELECTRONICS WASTE

Plastic accounts for about 20% of the 50 million tonnes of e-waste produced each year in the world, which is

expected to more than double to 110m tonnes by 2050.

There are various initiatives around the world all aimed at improving the collection and recycling of plastics waste

and increasing the use or recycled plastics in electronic products. The European one is called POLYCE.

Polycarbonate, Polyamides, Polymethyl Methacrylate and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) are most common

plastics used in smartphones and laptops sometimes surrounding a reinforcement such as carbon fibre.

Currently hand sorting and solvent recovery or Pyrolysis** of some plastic is carried out but very low volumes often

in micro-factories.

Solvents used are dichloromethane and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone

**Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert

atmosphere – more later

PLASTIC RECOVERY FROM ELECTRONICS WASTE

THE BLACK PLASTIC PROBLEM

Examples of new black colourants to replace carbon black and aid recycling with high IR transmission

Graphtol Black CLN is a pigment based black colourant exhibiting excellent fastness properties and is suitable for

various polymers, especially HDPE and PP.

Polysynthren Black H is a deep black polymer soluble dye with high colour strength and good heat resistance.

Recommended for carbon black replacement in Expanded Polystyrene trays.

Both are food use approved

There are other options also currently available

Why not used in volumes today --------------- early days and COST!

THE LAMINATED AND MIXED PLASTIC PROBLEMS

WASTE PLASTIC RECYCLING USING HEAT AND/OR HIGH PRESSURES AND/OR CATALYSTS

PLAXX FROM RECYCLING TECHNOLOGIES, SWINDON

A modular, easy-to-assemble and readily deployable machine has been developed. It converts hard-to-recycle plastic

waste into a valuable hydrocarbon product branded Plaxx® which can be further refined into plastics feedstock.

Each machine will process the annual plastic output of a typical waste facility in Europe (7,000tpa of dry plastic)

and convert it into 5,250tpa of Plaxx®. The machines are designed in modules, each built into a standard ISO

container frame manufactured on an assembly line, like a car. They are easy to integrate into current waste

infrastructure, for rapid global rollout.

THE LAMINATED AND MIXED PLASTIC PROBLEMS

WASTE PLASTIC RECYCLING USING HEAT AND/OR HIGH PRESSURES AND/OR CATALYSTS

There are several other new ventures similar in concept to the Recycling Technologies operation.

These include Licella using a Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (steam at incredibly high pressures and

temperatures to reduce the mixed waste to oil) and Ineos, the large petrochemical company that has teamed

up with Plastic Energy to produce naptha and diesel using a patented process.

ENZYMES AND BACTERIA TO BREAK DOWN PLASTICS

A waxworm, the larvae of the greater wax moth

THERE IS STILL A LOT TO DO!

Thank You for Listening