Plastic packaging recycling issues at the heart of the circular economy

 

Report on the plastic packaging webinar held on 20 September 2021


On Monday, 20 September, Fost Plus organised an online webinar for its members to talk about the situation as regards plastic packaging recycling. Plastic recycling is a worldwide challenge and Fost Plus aims to track down all household packaging, - including that made of plastic - to include it in the sorting and recycling chain.


Fost Plus COO Mik Van Gaever introduced the webinar by setting out the very ambitious European recycling goals for 2025 and 2030. As a reminder, Europe is imposing a recycling rate of 50% of plastic packaging by 2025. Belgium set even stricter standards, already calling for a recycling rate of 50% for plastic packaging back in 2020, a level that the country has already exceeded thanks to the introduction of the New Blue Bag and the new recycling channels that have been set up.


Fost Plus aims to achieve these ambitious goals thanks to a clear strategy: providing a recycling solution for all household packaging and increasing the recycling tonnage and rate by means of efficient, high-performance systems, which means digitalisation.


Expanded, uniform sorting

Philippe Alen, Quality Manager at Fost Plus, looked at the collection targets and the broadening of the sorting message for plastic packaging. Thanks to the New Blue Bag, an additional 8 kg are collected per person and per year, which means a leap from 160 kt to 250 kt of PMD annually. This PMD collection concerns both households and organisations.


However, some packaging can still not be put in the New Blue Bag, such as the packaging of hazardous products or styrofoam, as well as plastic wrappings with a layer of aluminium. After collection, household packaging is taken to the sorting centres where the technology has recently been adapted, or which have been constructed, as well as optimised to increase the sorting capacity. These centres have been made more flexible because packaging will continue to evolve in the future. There are to be 5 high-performance sorting centres in Belgium, 3 of which are already operational. Packaging is now sorted into 14 fractions here, instead of 8 previously, allowing a stable, good-quality flow of mono-material waste for recycling.


Some materials still pose problems at the heart of the recycling sector and more advanced thinking is needed to develop options such as:

  • full-body sleeve packaging, which is covered with a complete thermoformed label, used for example for certain household sprays, where the technology finds it difficult to distinguish between the container and the label
  • packaging that contains, for example, a layer of plastic and a layer of aluminium
  • black packaging
  • etc.


New recycling channels

Fost Plus Account Manager Arn Malef pointed out that recycling depends on prior sorting and is linked to our motivation with regard to the circular economy. The circular economy aims to keep materials in the chain. This process involves several stages. There is a tendency to think that the best thing is to transform waste into similar applications, such as bottle-to-bottle, but it is important not to be too restrictive. We need to think in broader terms.


There is a dedicated process more or less for each material, with numerous applications. Here are a few examples:

  • most PET bottles are transformed into other bottles (bottle-to-bottle) and into food trays
  • HDPE is recycled to produce drainpipes and cable ducts, or crates and trays
  • LDPE films are transformed into other plastic films. For example, the blue bags can be recycled to make new blue bags.

Public and private partners have invested considerable amounts in these new sorting and recycling centres in Belgium, creating at least 500 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs. This represents an investment in the local circular economy with a contractual value of around one billion euros.
At the moment, most recycling is done mechanically. Sorting (or purification) is the main stage. The purification degree depends on the origin and quality of the material upon entry and is determined by the required output quality and the application of the final product. The new Belgian sorting centres achieve a purity degree of > 95%.

Le tri du verre, des papiers-cartons et des PMC

 

The major disadvantages of mechanical recycling are the accumulation of contaminants and thermal degradation, which can sometimes, but not always, be resolved by means of additives. In some cases, chemical recycling can offer a solution.
Chemical recycling is beginning to emerge and mainly takes three different forms:

  • purification or dissolution
  • depolymerisation
  • thermochemical conversion (gasification or pyrolysis).

 
The advantage of chemical recycling, compared with mechanical recycling, is that it is possible to decolourise the material and counter thermal degradation and contamination.
However, chemical recycling calls for major investments, requires large volumes and uses more energy. It could be considered as a supplementary technical solution, in addition to mechanical recycling. This system has not yet been fully developed, but pilot projects are underway. Fost Plus is following these developments very closely. Recycling challenges remain for plastic from the point of view of certain technological barriers, such as labels, colour, fastenings, etc. To deal with such cases, we are working closely with industry to seek a balance between the recyclability and the functionality of the packaging.


 
Challenges and opportunities involve eco-modulation

Fost Plus Innovation Cluster Manager Lieven Capon then looked at the subject of packaging that presents recycling challenges, stating that a solution for all packaging needs to be found by 2025. Currently, around 2% of the packaging put on the market is not compatible with the current sorting and recycling system.


By introducing a Design4Recycling approach, Fost Plus responds to these challenges:

  • from an operational point of view: how can the sorting and recycling process be optimised in order to integrate certain packaging into the recycling chain, bearing in mind innovations and technological progress;
  • from the point of view of packaging design: how can this packaging be transformed into recyclable packaging, searching for solutions with the collaboration of members.

To that end, Fost Plus has issued Design4Recycling guidelines specifying the requirements that packaging needs to meet so that it can be collected, sorted and recycled in the Belgian recycling chain. The Green Dot rates, which is the amount a company pays for the collection, sorting and recycling of the packaging it puts on the market, offer companies a financial incentive to use packaging that is compatible with the existing system. This is the principle of eco-modulation inherent in the Green Dot.

 

Find out more

[Together with Valipac, Fost Plus has set up Pack It Better:

the Belgian platform dedicated to the ecodesign of packaging]
 


Mik Van Gaever concluded this webinar by stressing that sound foundations have been established for a circular economy. Nevertheless, we will have to work together to take the next steps to make Belgium a recycling hub. This was an exciting session and we hope to see you next time!