RECYCLING OF PLASTICS HOW DO WE PROGRESS? Per Haakonsen, PolymerTrade AS The Waste Management Days

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- recovered Great ambitions!

THERMOSETS AND THERMOPLASTICS Thermosets do not melt. They are, at present, a material for energy recovering/cement production TYPICAL: «GLASSFIBRE BOAT» (glass-fibre reinforced polyester = GRP) Thermoplastics melt. The material Can 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 into Colour 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 PETVarious PP

SORTING REPORT Sorting one truckload from GLØR Compared to the Report Performed: Lithuania from DELA Raw Material:17520%RetroDelaDiff. Waste / Energy778044,41 LDPE Color320918,3235,7934,681,11 LDPE Clear306117,47 MIX Hard Plastic10936,24 PS5092,91 4,39-1,48 HDPE Buckets4872,784,784,650,13 HDPE Cans3502,00 PP BIG-Bags3361,92 PP Buckets3001,713,1612,33-9,17 Auto Plastic1540,88 PP boxes1000,57 PET510,29 3,04-2,75 Paper500,29 2,49-2,2 Metal400,23 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 => reduced purchasing price

Plastics from Fishery and Fish Farming NYLON-NETS, PP- ROPES, PE-THRAWLERS AND PE- PIPES (perhaps 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) t/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 t/year plant in Norway

What can plastic waste be used for? POLYSTERYNE CRATES/BOXES AND OTHER EPS CAN GET A NEW LIFE AS EPS 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 car manufacturing industry Various tubing/pipes are made of high quality plastic waste PVC-profiles for pig pens - made from window profiles production 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!