Chloe Zhang
Plastic recycling is the process of turning plastic waste into other products. Recycling can reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. However, despite the common use of recycling symbols, plastic recycling is rare. Even when it does occur, the term recycling is a misnomer, as the recycled plastic is almost always of lower quality than primary plastic. This means that it is usually downcycled into products with less stringent technical or aesthetic qualities. For example, a food-grade plastic bottle may be downcycled into a fleece garment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Recycling process | Collection, cleaning, sorting, shredding, melting, forming pellets, moulding into new products |
| Sorting methods | Sink-float separator, optical sorting machines, magnets |
| Sorting by hand | Required to ensure all contaminants are removed |
| Plastic types | Polyolefins, thermosoftening polymers |
| Recycling rates | 9% of plastic waste since production began has been recycled, 1% more than once |
| Plastic waste in Europe | 26% |
| Plastic waste in Switzerland | 20% |
| Plastic waste in the UK | Ongoing large investments in technology to expand the scope of plastic materials |
| Plastic waste in the US | The U.S. Society of the Plastics Industry created the Council for Solid Waste Solutions to promote plastic recycling |
| Plastic waste in Japan | PET bottles are collected separately for recycling |
| Plastic waste in Ghana | Collected by waste pickers and sent to recycling plants in larger countries |
| Plastic waste issues | Expensive, time-consuming, requires huge amounts of infrastructure, equipment, water, and energy |
| Plastic waste solutions | Chemical recycling, turning problem plastics into oil or gas through industrial processes |
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What You'll Learn
Sorting and collection
Sorting and collecting plastic for recycling is a complex process that varies depending on location and available resources. The process typically begins with the collection of plastic waste from households, businesses, schools, and recycling centres. In some countries, citizens are required to separate their plastic waste according to polymer type before collection, while in others, the sorting is done at dedicated facilities.
The plastic waste is then transported to Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) or Plastic Recovery Facilities (PRFs) for sorting and processing. Some facilities use automated sorting machines, while others rely on manual labour to separate the different types of plastic. It is important to remove contaminants and remaining food waste from the plastic before sorting, as this can impact the recycling process.
The sorting process can include optical sorting machines, sink-float separators, and magnets to separate plastic by thickness, colour, size, and type. For example, a wet process known as a sink-float separator uses a tank of water to separate high-density and low-density plastics, with the high-density plastic sinking and the low-density plastic floating. Further sorting may be conducted by reprocessors to ensure any remaining contamination is removed.
Once the plastic has been sorted and cleaned, it can be processed into new products. This typically involves shredding the plastic into flakes or melting it down to form pellets, which can then be moulded into new products. However, the recycling process for plastic is challenging due to the wide variety of plastic types and the presence of different additives, which can affect the quality of the recycled material.
The collection and sorting of plastic for recycling is a crucial step in reducing plastic pollution and conserving resources. However, it is important to note that not all plastic is recycled, and some may still end up in landfills or be incinerated, especially in countries with limited recycling infrastructure.
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Plastic downcycling
During the recycling process, plastics undergo physical and chemical changes that degrade their quality. With each recycling cycle, the length of the polymer decreases, making the material structurally weaker. This degradation eventually leads to a point where the plastic can no longer be recycled into a product of similar value. Instead of discarding these degraded plastics, downcycling provides a way to continue using them by converting them into something of lesser value.
Downcycling is particularly common for single-use plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, which are often downcycled into fiber or wood replacements instead of being recycled into new bottles. For example, a plastic water bottle may be downcycled into a plastic park bench, carpet fiber, turf for a playground, or even clothing. While this process gives the plastic a new purpose, the resulting product cannot be recycled again, leading to a linear path towards eventual disposal.
Although downcycling has its benefits in extending the lifespan of materials, it falls short of achieving a truly circular economy. The downcycled products have a finite lifespan and contribute to environmental pollution when they reach the end of their usefulness, often ending up in landfills or being incinerated. Additionally, the downcycling process can be energy-intensive and costly, potentially offsetting the environmental and economic benefits.
To address the plastic waste crisis effectively, businesses should prioritize reducing the use of single-use plastics, redesigning products with sustainable and biodegradable materials, investing in advanced recycling technologies, and embracing circular business models that keep materials in use for longer. While downcycling can play a role in delaying the disposal of plastic waste, it should be used as a complementary process to a robust closed-loop recycling system.
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Plastic waste trade
The plastic waste trade refers to the international trade of plastic waste between countries for further treatment, disposal, or recycling. It is a significant issue that has severe environmental, social, and economic impacts on a global scale.
In 2019, 187 nations signed the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which aims to restrict the trade of plastic scraps and address the gaps in plastic waste disposal. Despite this, the plastic waste trade continues to fuel organised crime, human rights violations, and environmental destruction, with high-income countries exporting waste to developing nations that are ill-equipped to manage it properly. This practice, often referred to as "waste colonialism", highlights the power imbalance between economically developed countries, typically the exporters of waste, and less affluent nations that become recipients.
Europe is the largest exporter and importer of plastic waste, with Germany being the top exporter, trading with the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, and Turkey. Asia is also a significant contributor, with Japan as the largest exporter within the region, trading primarily with other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea. The United States is the third-largest exporter, trading with Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia, among others.
While the plastic waste trade can provide economic benefits, particularly through the use of recycled plastics in manufacturing industries, it often comes at the cost of the environment and human health. The burning or incineration of plastic waste, for example, contributes to air pollution, while the dumping of plastic waste in landfills leads to land and ocean pollution. The plastic waste trade also perpetuates the status quo, allowing high-income countries to avoid addressing their plastic consumption and production issues directly.
To address these issues, organisations such as the EIA are advocating for tighter controls and revisions to waste shipment regulations, such as banning plastic waste exports to non-EU countries and introducing stringent measures for intra-EU trade. Additionally, binding plastic reduction targets and a ban on plastic waste exports from high-income countries are necessary to create real solutions and protect developing nations from the negative consequences of the plastic waste trade.
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Plastic recycling technologies
Plastic recycling is an important process that helps reduce our need to create new plastic. However, it is a challenging and expensive process that requires significant infrastructure, equipment, water, and energy. The quality of plastic also diminishes with each recycling attempt, and it becomes more toxic. Despite these challenges, advancements in plastic recycling technologies are being made to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the process.
One such technology is pyrolysis, a thermal process that decomposes plastic's chemical chains into various lengths of hydrocarbons, which can be refined into plastic or fuel. Pyrolysis is energy-inefficient, but it is currently the only solution for recycling plastic, and it is expected to dominate advanced recycling for the next decade. Oil and gas companies are investing in increasing pyrolysis capacity, intending to use pyrolysis oil as a fuel replacement.
Another technology is depolymerization, which breaks down the polymers in plastic. Jeplan, a PET depolymerization company, uses glycolysis to recycle PET from plastic bottles and textiles. They dominate the Asian market and have licensed their technology to European and American recyclers. Consumer packaging companies like Coca-Cola and Nestle invest in depolymerization for its direct fit in packaging recycling.
Solvent dissolution is another technology that uses chemical solvents to extract targeted polymers and remove contaminants like adhesives. It is particularly useful for recycling packaging plastic, which makes up approximately 44% of all annual plastic production. While solvent dissolution is the least commercialized of the three primary advanced recycling technologies, it is expected to follow the path of depolymerization towards commercial maturity.
These advanced recycling technologies are helping to transform used plastic into new plastic, reducing the need to create new plastic from virgin materials. They are also enabling the recycling of plastics that were previously difficult or impossible to recycle, contributing to sustainability goals and a more circular economy.
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Recycling symbols and labelling
Recycling symbols are important as they help consumers identify how different types of packaging can be recycled. However, they can often be misleading or confusing, with labels that are unclear or simply greenwashing. While attempts have been made to standardise the use of recycling symbols, each country or continent follows its own standards, with some legislating the use of standardised symbols, and others following a voluntary program.
One of the most well-known recycling symbols is the universal recycling symbol, used to indicate that a material is recyclable. This symbol, featuring three chasing arrows in a loop, represents the concept of "reduce, reuse, recycle", with the loop representing circularity and the idea of keeping materials in use to reduce waste. This symbol is often used alongside numbers and arrows, which indicate the type of plastic resin used to make the product, and are known as Resin Identification Codes. These codes range from 1 to 7 and help with the sorting of plastics, which should generally be recycled separately to preserve their value. For example, the number 1 resin is PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), a widely recycled plastic used in clear single-use bottles, while number 2 is HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene), found in thicker coloured bottles and tubs.
Another commonly recognised symbol is the Green Dot, which signifies that a financial contribution has been paid to a national packaging recovery organisation. This symbol is widely recognised in Europe but does not indicate that the packaging is recyclable. The crossed-out wheelie bin symbol, on the other hand, indicates that electrical and electronic products and batteries must be recycled through a specialist centre or retailer, and the seedling symbol shows that an item is suitable for industrial or home composting.
It is important to note that not all packaging will have a recycling label, but this does not mean it cannot be recycled. Rinsing plastic items before recycling can also help ensure they are not disposed of due to contamination, although a quick rinse is preferred to save water. Symbols may also provide instructions on how to prepare an item for recycling, such as removing a cap or sleeve.
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Frequently asked questions
Recycled plastic is collected, cleaned, sorted, shredded, and then melted down and formed into pellets to be sold to producers of recycled plastic products. However, it is rare for plastic to be recycled, and the process of recycling is expensive and requires a lot of infrastructure, equipment, water, and energy.
Products made from recycled plastic are usually of lower quality than those made from primary plastic. Examples of products made from recycled plastic include fleece jackets, carpeting, and components for park benches.
To recycle plastic, it is important to correctly sort your plastic and rinse any plastic waste before it is collected. You can then take your plastic to a local recycling site or wait for it to be collected by a local authority.
