KaiLong Plastic Recycling

25 November 2011 from WASTE MANAGEMENT WORLD.

Full scale commercial recycling of waste plastic film wastes could be realised within four years, following the successful outcome of recent feasibility trials.

According to Manchester based recycling consultant, Axion Consulting, its research demonstrates that it is technically possible to manufacture commercially useful products from mixed post-consumer film packaging.

In conducting the research, which was funded by the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP), the consultants worked with three manufacturers on a series of demonstration trials of post-consumer films.

Feedstock for the trials was sourced from Biffa's new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Trafford Park, Greater Manchester. The facility accepts mixed dry recyclables from household kerbside collections, as well as some commercial and industrial waste, and separates the recyclables into different product streams.

As part of the trial, three different grades of commingled film were used. Two of the film grades were collected from the Biffa MRF and the third grade was collected from Sainsbury's stores across the country and supplied by Jayplas.

In addition, a small amount of mixed rigid plastics were also used in the Protomax manufacturing trial, which was sourced from Viridor Polymer Recycling in Skelmersdale.

A series of pre-processing trials were undertaken in order to prepare the collected film for the manufacturing trials:

• Biffa Waste Services: a post-consumer film separation trial was conducted at Biffa's Trafford Park MRF to provide feedstock material for the CeDo refuse sack manufacturing trial
• Ecoplast: delivered a pre-processing trial in Austria for the CeDo manufacturing trial in order to produce a LDPE pellet suitable for refuse sack production
• Hanbury Recycling: undertook a pre-processing trial to produce a LDPE agglomerate for the Centriforce panel manufacturing trial.

Following pre-processing the collected waste plastic films were sent to three manufacturing partners for trials:

• CeDo Limited: undertook refuse sack manufacturing trials from its manufacturing plant in Telford
• Centriforce Products Limited: trialled the manufacture of a panel product by sheet extrusion at its Liverpool facility
• Protomax Plastics Limited: undertook panel manufacturing trials using compression moulding at its pilot scale facility in Swansea.

Results

According to the researchers, the trial at CeDo's Telford facility produced refuse sacks that met existing product specifications using 100% UK sourced recycled content from household waste.

Previously European recyclate had to be used due to waste quality issues with UK recyclate. CeDo is now working with retailers to launch new products.

Centriforce and Protomax, a manufacturer of a plywood substitute from waste plastics, focussed on boards made from commingled film waste that could be used for a variety of applications, such as hoardings, security panels and shelving.

Both trials are claimed to have been a success, and the firms are continuing to work on product specifications and with retailers to open up market opportunities.

Axion director Roger Morton explained that the 'great potential' shown by the studies should give manufacturers confidence to invest in production capability, which in turn would stimulate local authorities to accept waste plastic films in their recycling collections.

Morton predicts this could happen within two to four years.

"This is a tremendous step in the right direction to really grow film recycling capacity in the UK over the next few years," he said.

"Consumers want to see their plastic waste given a new second life as they're now far more conscious of what they're throwing away. Ultimately, consumer demand will drive this whole closed-loop recycling process," Morton added.