Sustainable Plastics - October 2021 - 31

recycling
Pollution
is a global
environmental
problem.
Can recycling
stop the waste?
The image of plastics recycling has undergone what amounts to an extreme makeover
in the past fi ve years. It is not hard to fi nd the reason. As consumer awareness of the
plastic waste problem mushroomed into public outrage at plastics production and
use in general, the EU also swung into action. Recycling has been identifi ed as one of
pillars of its Circular Economy Action Plan. Recycling, in short, is hot. By Karen Laird
R
ecycling, and recycled
plastics have
been the focus of
increasing attention,
both in the plastics industry
and out. Major raw materials
producers have moved into the
recycling space, entering into
partnerships with recyclers,
acquiring recycling companies
and launching their own recycling
operations in order to
meet customers' rising demand.
As the circular economy ambitions
in the EU and beyond continue
to advance, more and better
recycling is seen to hold the
key to a greener, more sustainable
solution to the widespread
problem of plastic waste.
The EU's action plan views
plastic recycling as an essential
part of a circular economy,
although at present, less than
25 percent of collected plastic
waste is estimated to be recycled,
with about 50 percent still
going to landfill. As the plan
states: " Smarter separate collection
and certification schemes
for collectors and sorters are
critical to divert recyclable plastics
away from landfills and incineration
into recycling. "
Simply recycling more used
plastic, however, is less straightforward
than it sounds. Currently,
much recycled plastic still ends
up in the lower-value parts of
the plastic economy, with the
high-end segments of the plastic
converting industry still relying
almost completely on virgin materials.
The reliability of supply
and quality issues are both factors
that have long inhibited the
use of recycled plastics in higher-end
applications. Recycled
plastics, apart from recycled PET,
may not be used for food contact
applications at all, except when
shielded behind a barrier.
Yet, of the total demand for
plastic in Europe, more than 20
billion kilos are used for packaging.
An estimated 8.2 billion kilos
of this are used for food products.
The EU is nonetheless determined
to boost the uptake of
recycled plastics by the plastic
converting industry, both in
packaging and other products.
Already, for example, legislation
is in place requiring PET bottles
with a capacity of up to 3 litres
to consist of at least 25 percent
recycled content from January 1,
2025. Recycling targets and industry
pledges have also provided
some momentum but these
are expected to be lent additional
force in the shorter term with additional
measures. In the 'Green
Deal' report compiled by Tom
Hesselink and Emiel van Duuren
of KPMG in 2021, the authors
Write that by 2022 at the
latest, it is expected that the
European Commission will
introduce 'minimum quotas
for usage of recycled content
in new plastic products, with
which plastic converters and
brand owners will have to comply'.
And although these quotas
are currently being developed,
many industry experts expect
them to range between 15%
and 30%. " With a current recycling
rate of less than 35%
for plastic packaging waste,
a penetration rate of recycled
plastics in new products of less
than 10%, and a supply-demand
mismatch in terms of
quality, the industry will have to
take major steps order to comply
with regulations and move
to a circular economy. "
Plastics recycling: what
are the options?
Recycling has been described
in numerous ways, but perhaps
the most comprehensive
one is that which is based on
the quality of the final product.
According to this classification,
primary recycling, refers
to mechanical recycling operations
in which the recovered
material has the same function
as the virgin one, and it is used
for the same purposes. This is
seen in closed-loop processes
and often, but not always
concerns post-industrial waste
recycling. In secondary recycling,
the recovered material
from mechanical processing is
used to produce other products
with less demanding specifications.
Post-consumer waste
is often the input in secondary
recycling. In tertiary plastics
recycling, waste plastics are
used as feedstock in various
processes which make it possible
to regenerate chemicals or
even take these plastics back
to the molecular level, producing
feedstock for new virgin-like
materials. Finally, there
is quaternary recycling, which
is also called waste-to-energy
recycling. Note that currently,
tertiary and quaternary processes
are not off icially considcontinued
on page 32
October 2021
31
Sustainable Plastics - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - October 2021
