Foreign objects
‘During quality checks in recent years we’ve seen a sharp increase in materials and objects that don’t belong in PMD at all,’ says Philippe Alen. ‘The reason for this is pretty clear. Since the introduction of the expanded PMD collection, there have been far fewer checks on the bags. In the past, you would receive a clear signal as a citizen if you sorted incorrectly: the collectors would attach a rejection sticker with a red hand and the bag would be left on the pavement. Those checks have disappeared, and we’re now clearly noticing the consequences.’
‘Above all, the quantity of non-packaging materials has increased: inflatable swimming pools, garden furniture, shoes, textiles, coat racks, toys – you name it, we’ve come across it. The objects are also getting bigger: pipes, buckets, even car tyres, storage boxes, laundry baskets and sheeting from the agricultural and construction sectors.’
This inevitably causes problems on the sorting lines. ‘The machines are set up to sort the typical packaging from the blue bag – bottles, jars, cans, small pieces of film, and so on. When these “foreign” and outsized objects end up on the sorting belts, they disrupt the automated processes.’
Below is a small collection of different types of residue we have recently encountered in transfer stations and sorting centres:
