Plastic Recycling Services
High density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) represent 86% of all plastic packaging (APME, 2001).Due to their important volumes in MSW and recyclability, PE/PP and PET are the main focus of specific collection and recycling programmes.When placed in landfill, plastics have a degradation timescale of 100s of years. This affects the results of some life cycle assessments of alternative ‘end-of-life’ routes for plastics, as LCAs typically take a 100 year life span as their benchmark. In this time, plastics will not degrade to any significant extent; hence it can appear that landfill is a preferable option from a GHG emissions point of view compared to incineration.This, of course, is erroneous over the longer term. In Western Europe around 4-6% of oil and gas are used to make plastics. 80% is used as an energy sourcePlastics recycling
There are 2 main types of plastics recycling:Mechanical and Feedstock. Mechanical is when the recyclate is mechanically ground down and sorted into its different types for re-making into new plastic products. This option is most suited to clean plastics, ideally of a single type. Feedstock recycling, where the plastic recyclate is broken down into its chemical components using heat or chemical reactions. Then new plastics or other chemical feedstock can be made from the resulting product (mostly oils and gases)
WRAP’s 2010 update on the environmental benefits of plastics recycling confirms that mechanical recycling is the best waste management option in respect of the climate change potential, depletion of natural resources and energy demand impacts
Closed loop recycling, i.e. plastic recyclate is remade into new plastic materials, has a much larger carbon saving over open loop recycling, where the resulting product is used for other purposes.
The analysis highlighted again that these benefits of recycling are mainly achieved by avoiding production of virgin plastics (overwhelmingly made from fossil fuel raw materials in the form of oil). The environmental benefits are maximised by collection of good quality material (to limit the rejected fraction) and by replacement of virgin plastics on a high ratio (1 to 1). Landfill is confirmed as having the worst environmental impacts in the majority of studies.
Quantifying the benefits
Recycling of one tonne of mixed plastic saves between 0.282 and 1.171 tonnes of CO2e depending on whether the recyclate product goes through open loop or closed loop processing.
So Shanks, by recycling 15,262 tonnes of plastic in 2011, saved between 4,300 and 17,870 tonnes of CO2. This is the equivalent to:The equivalent emissions from driving between: 12.9 and 53 million miles
Enough CO2 to fill between:6.6 and 28 billion cans of coke
9 and 38 million wheelie bins
359,000 and 1.5 million builders skips
1 and 6 millennium stadiums