Plastic waste is too valuable to simply dump on a landfill. On this point there is general agreement in Europe, not only in industry but also in private households. But which of the possible alternatives makes the most ecological sense and, above all, is economically viable? Because of its high calorific value, polymeric post-consumer waste is predestined for the recovery of energy – at least that is the belief of many people, bearing in mind that primary energy can be conserved into the bargain. Other groups advocate – equally vehemently – material recycling processes despite the high costs for sorting mixed plastics.

Occasionally, new ideas pop up in the keenly contested recycling business that might initially appear rather exotic. Quite recently, for example, people were talking about a technology for the production of heating oil and diesel fuel from organic waste products such as spent oil, plastic and agricultural residues. With this process, depolymerisation is used as an intermediate stage for producing energy. There is also vague talk of hydrogenation, pyrolysis and gasification.

Whichever way the European waste plastics market should develop in the next few years, one thing is certain: Recycling rates have risen significantly over the last ten years. According to a report in PlasticsEurope (Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticseurope.org), the volume of plastics waste in western Europe in 2004 was 22.5m t, with around 53.5% of this being recycled. In 1997, the recycling rate was only 25% with a waste volume of some 17.5m t. The statistics would seem to indicate that efforts to increase the recycling of plastics have been extremely successful, but they conceal, among other things, major regional differences within Europe.

As the market research institute Applied Market Information (AMI, Bristol / UK; www.amiplastics.com) reports in detail in its latest study entitled "The Plastics Recycling Industry in Europe", Germany, Austria, Benelux and Denmark, for example, achieve recycling rates of more than 60%, whereas Finland, Greece, UK and Ireland recycle less than 40% of their post-consumer plastic waste. The EU has a massive influence on the waste disposal streams of the various products. Many market players are convinced that the new EU regulations in particular have led to a significant increase in the recycling quota of plastic waste.

Ever stricter EU regulations put a strain on recycling companies
According to AMI, 90% of all recycling firms process industrial waste, but only 10% agricultural waste. 30% also handle commercial and domestic waste. 40% of the recycling enterprises, says AMI, are able to process contaminated mixtures. Most companies, however, understandably prefer clean and sorted waste.

Pressure on the recycling industry has grown consistently in recent years. In addition to the increasingly strict and tighter legislation affecting nearly all areas of application, the increasing export of plastic waste to China and other Asian countries is causing major problems. The constantly growing amount of plastic waste has not necessarily led to higher throughputs in materials recycling. AMI estimates that China imported more than 3m t of plastic waste in 2004, 200,000 t of it apparently from the UK alone. In addition, the trend towards raw material recycling is also affecting European recycling firms.

The AMI guide, which gives detailed data on around 1,000 companies involved in materials recycling, also contains a wealth of information on the structure of the industry. In addition, it gives some interesting figures on the use of recycled material. While converters have a clear economic interest in using recyclate instead of virgin product, it is very difficult for customers, especially in times of increasing price volatility on the raw materials market, to obtain a realistic picture of costs and benefits.

Based on the examples of polyethylene film and blow-moulded bottles, AMI describes the opportunities and limitations of using recycled material. Most PE recyclate is used in packaging, both rigid (27%) and flexible (21%) types. In third place comes the construction industry, where around 17% of all recycled PE grades in Europe are used. Well behind these three are electrical and electronic applications and the automotive industry, each with just under 5%. For the future, despite all reservations regarding hygiene and technical possibilities, the demand for PE recyclate is expected to rise – in all European countries. AMI predicts, however, that garbage sacks and sheeting/film for the building sector will continue to dominate.

PET: Largest recycling market across Europe
In 2005, 106,000 t of recycled material was reprocessed in western Europe for the production of bottles with a capacity of up to 5 l, says the AMI report. In the next five years, the demand for recyclate in this segment is expected to increase by nearly 20% a year, driven above all by PET. Last year, HDPE accounted for around 31%, but annual growth for this material up to 2010 is predicted to be only 4%, rising from 33,000 t in 2005 to 42,000 t.

In comparison, some 729,000 t PET bottles were recycled in Europe in 2005 (see Plasteurope.com Web of 17.08.2006). 10% of this went into bottle-to-bottle production. This figure is expected to rise to 20% by 2010. One of the reasons is that the demand of the European fibre industry for recycled products is declining fast. The increasing use of recycled material would, said AMI, be driven by industrial demand and not by legislation from Brussels.

Book Service:
"AMI´s Guide to the Plastics Recycling Industry in Europe", 2nd edition, 2006, 395 pages, EUR 285.00 + VAT: PIE-No. 47133 – CD-ROM: EUR 725.00 + VAT, PIE-No. 47134.