Plastic Recycling and its scope in future

Plastic is one of the most popular and useful materials of modern times: we now use about 20 times more plastic than we did 50 years ago. Its popularity and widespread use is why handling it responsibly and correctly once it becomes waste is so vitally important. We can optimise the lifespan of plastics by reusing and recycling items as many times as possible.

Did you know? 

• 99% of all UK local authorities now offer collection facilities for plastic bottles either through your household recycling collection or at recycling centres. 
• In April 2019, MOL Group announced the acquisition of Aurora by signing a sales- purchase agreement. With the acquisition of Aurora, MOL Group will enter into the recycle plastic compounding which expected to develop their petrochemical portfolio.
• According to Credence Research, the plastic recycling market is expanding at a CAGR of 6.6% in terms of revenue and 8.8% in terms of volume globally for the projected period from 2019 to 2027.

How is it recycled?

Plastics are:

• Sorted by polymer type
• Shredded
• Washed
• Melted
• Pelletised
• Made into new products.

It is a two-stage process:

• Sorting is mainly done automatically with a manual sort to ensure all contaminants have been removed
• Once sorted and cleaned, plastic can either be shredded into flakes or melt processed to form pellets before finally being moulded into new products.

Environmental impact

Plastic is a popular and highly versitile material, and we use a lot of it. Optimising the lifespan of plastics by re-using and recycling items as many times as possible, for example, by recycling used plastic bottles into new ones, we can therefore reduce our need to create new plastic.

This means we can:

• conserve non-renewable fossil fuels (oil)
• reduce the consumption of energy used in the production of new plastic
• reduce the amount of solid waste going to landfill
• reduce emission of gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Rising environment concerns among people worldwide will enhance the demand for Plastic Recycling Market

Advantages of Recycling Plastics

Plastics should be recycled because of a number of reasons as can be seen below:

Provision of a Sustainable Source of Raw Materials

Recycling plastics provides a sustainable source of raw materials to the manufacturing industry. Once the plastics are recycled, they are sent to manufacturing industries to be redesigned and converted into new shapes and used in different appliances.

Reduces Environmental Problems

Since plastics are non-biodegradable, they pose a high risk to the people and the environment as a whole. They can block sewer lines, drainages and other waterways leading to blockages and unwanted pileups. When plastics are eliminated through recycling, the environment looks clean and inhabitable.

Reduces Landfill Problems

Recycling plastics minimizes the amount of plastic being taken to the ever diminishing landfill sites. Most countries have designated areas specifically meant for burying plastics. When they are recycled, these sites will receive little plastic garbage. The remaining areas can be used for other purposes instead of dumping plastics that do not rot. These areas can be used for agriculture or for human settlement. It should be understood that human population is growing each day and land is becoming a problem. Instead of misusing the land for garbage disposal it can be used for settlement and other important economic activities.

Consumes Less Energy

Recycling of materials including plastics requires less energy as compared to making the plastic from scratch. This saves energy and that energy can be diverted to other important things in the economy. It is therefore important to encourage plastic recycling in the manufacturing industry as it will save the economy billions of money. The process of manufacturing plastic using natural raw materials is expensive and time consuming compared to the recycling process.

Encourages a Sustainable Lifestyle among People

Individuals who have ventured into plastic collection and recycling business will experience improved lifestyles as they will get their daily income from the business. This will in the long run improve the economy and boost the living standards of the people. So do not just sit there doing nothing, embrace plastic recycling activities and improve your economic standards.

In summary, any sort of effort aimed at saving the environment is very important and matters a lot. Since its inception during the environmental revolution in the late 1960s, plastic recycling is one of the most encouraged solid waste management programs in the world. Prior to the push to use of plastic containers by manufacturers, products were packaged in glass, metal and paper. Therefore, in order to keep our environment clean, reduce landfills, provide a sustainable supply of plastics to manufacturers, it is important to recycle plastics.

Rising adoption of plastic recycling will spur the market in Europe”

Europe is anticipated to grow with the highest CAGR in terms of volume owing to the enhancement of domestic recycling facilities, increased use of recycled plastic across the packaging industry and growing environmental stability targets. For instance, in 2017, the European Union (EU) tightened recycling targets to 55% of plastic packaging waste by 2030 compared with 41% in 2016 for its member states.

How much plastic is recycled? (source)

In short, not enough. The amount of post-consumer plastics recycled has increased every year since 1990. However, the recycle rate still lags far behind that of other products such as newspaper (80% recycled) and corrugated fiberboard (70% recycled). In 2012, 32 million tons of plastic waste were generated, only 9% of which was recovered for recycling.

Current State of Plastic Recycling

The USA currently has a greater capacity for recycling than it is currently using. The infrastructure already exists to sustain a growth in plastic recycling, which is a great thing! One of the greatest challenges in plastic recycling is actually getting companies to invest in recycled plastic. If there’s no economic value in using recycled plastics then there won’t be any demand. For more than a decade, a large percentage of recyclable plastic products were actually recycled in China. When recyclable products arrived in China, some were recycled but some were too contaminated for processing, meaning they were covered in food or mixed in with other materials. 

These “contaminated” plastic products ended up in Chinese landfills. In 2012, China put its food down on this practice by passing a new policy called the “Green Fence.” Now, contaminated shipments were being turned away from Chinese harbors, resulting in lost revenue and shipping fees for American exporters. Despite this initial setback, many industry professionals are optimistic about the long term consequences of China’s new policy. The policy is forcing the recycling industry to make greater efforts to clean and sort recyclables, creating a higher quality product. Also, since no one will accept contaminated recyclables anymore, American recycling companies have a chance to step up and be competitive with China.