Weekly bulletin on Circular Waste Management with a special focus on Africa #24-2023

South Africa

Africa's Conscious Brands & Circular Economy Summit Set to Foster Sustainable Growth planned 14&15/11/2023. With a growing awareness of the urgent need to address?environmental ?challenges, the Conscious Brands & Circular Economy Summit stands as a ground-breaking initiative that will reshape?Africa 's approach to?sustainable ?development. Organized by renowned experts in?sustainable ?business ?practices, this two-day event will serve as a catalyst for change, encouraging participants to embrace circular economy principles that benefit both the?environment ?and the economy. More to read: https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/africas-conscious-brands-circular-economy-summit-set-to-foster-sustainable-growth-2023-06-12

Packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA is building a state-of-the-art recycling plant in the South African coastal town of Ballito, north of Durban. The plant, with an output of 35,000 tons of recycled PET material, marks the company’s entry into the African recycling market. Construction will start in summer 2023 and completion is planned for autumn 2024. In total, ALPLA is investing around 60 million euros in strengthening the regional circular economy. More to read: https://blog.alpla.com/en/press-release/newsroom/alpla-invests-60-million-euros-pet-recycling-plant-south-africa/06-23

France

In terms of recycling, not all single-use sanitary textiles are created equal. Some of them today have no prospect of valorization because they represent waste that is too diffuse to be collected in a separate sector and they face a technical and / or regulatory limit: multi-material composition (pre-soaked wipes), the presence of blood (hygienic protection, compresses, dressings) or medication (incontinence protection). However, healthcare facilities are actively seeking solutions on economically viable recycling channels. For baby diapers, a separate recovery with biowaste is being tested. This project, coordinated by the Alchemists since 2019, includes research on the entire life cycle: upstream with industrial players on the development of layers (conventional and compostable), and downstream on layer accounting. The project is due to move into the demonstrator phase in 2024.More to read: https://alchimistes.co/les-couches-fertiles-compostables/. France is developing its new EPR scheme for the sector planned for 1 January 2024. Current and future work includes: An assessment study by ADEME which establish an inventory and provide guidance on the implementation of EPR; An implementing decree that will make it possible to define the perimeter of the sector; A decree on the specifications of (future) eco-organizations, which sets certain objectives and the modalities of implementation. The deployment of a EPR sector for sanitary textiles is synonymous with the development of eco-design and recycling solutions for these textiles. We can therefore expect a sharp increase in recycling solutions for these textiles in the coming years,?but recycling should not remain the only solution to combat this waste, especially for healthcare facilities. More to read: https://takeawaste.fr/les-textiles-sanitaires-a-usage-unique-sont-ils-recyclables/

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Biomethane: Publication of several regulatory texts amending the regulations governing the production and marketing of biomethane. To encourage the production of biomethane, the Government has published in the Official Journal several texts amending the legal framework applicable to the production and marketing of biomethane. These are: Decree No. 2023-456 on the modification of the estimated annual production (Relaxation of the?conditions for changing the projected annual production or maximum production capacity of biomethane production facilities) or the maximum production capacity of biomethane production facilities; decree setting the purchase price for biomethane injected into a natural gas network delivered to the contracting party in excess of the estimated annual production and decree setting the conditions for the purchase of biomethane injected into natural gas networks. More to read: https://blog.gossement-avocats.com/blog/environnement/biomethane-publication-de-plusieurs-textes-reglementaires-modifiant-la-reglementation-encadrant-la-production-et-la-commercialisation-de-biomethane

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Evaluation of different local bio-waste treatment systems by ADEM, the French environment agency. Local treatment processes facilitate the management of biowaste with very little nuisance.?Treatments such as composting, rotary composting and vermicomposting allow the production of products with mature organic matter that can be used as compost.?Heat treatment processes produce organic matter that is immature but stabilized by dehydration.?Only composting?in bins (and electro-composting with maturation) currently meets the rules of local composting. More to read: https://librairie.ademe.fr/dechets-economie-circulaire/6317-evaluation-des-differents-systemes-de-traitement-de-proximite-des-biodechets.html

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European EPR sector review for tires. This study highlights the different mechanisms chosen by different Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) sectors for tyres in Europe. After a simplified study of existing EPR schemes in Europe, 5 countries were selected for an in-depth analysis: Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal. Country-specific context factors were highlighted. All relevant aspects concerning these sectors were analysed: history and context of implementation, scope of regulation concerning EPR and the management of used tyres, categories of tyres covered by the EPR, key figures, governance and management of the eco-organisation, relationship of the eco-organisation with stakeholders and selection of operators, stakeholder relations between them, Role of public authorities, controls and sanctions, scale of eco-contributions, other actions of the eco-organization. This study aims to inform and inspire the public authorities and stakeholders in the French used tyre sector in the context of the modification of the pneumatic EPR in France. More to read: https://librairie.ademe.fr/dechets-economie-circulaire/6227-bilan-europeen-des-filieres-rep-pour-les-pneumatiques.html

REEECYC’LAB, a simulator to improve the recyclability of your products. It is an educational simulator developed specifically for EPR ecosystem members in order to understand, assess and improve the recyclability of new products. REEECYC’LAB makes a specific diagnosis and provides the keys to adopting an ecodesign approach in preparation for recycling and to informing production teams about the challenges and areas for improvement. More to read: https://en.ecosystem.eco/en/article/reeecyclab-1

In the world

For Ocean Conservancy, the items deemed acceptable for plastic packaging EPR should only be those we know we can recycle mechanically. This article discusses how to elaborate accepted materials lists for EPR schemes. Not everyone agree upon the criteria. However, most criteria are collectability, sortability, end-market demand and material yield. For others, the lists need to be thought of not as the material markets and recycling markets as they exist today, but how they’re going to exist in the future; Indeed, constant brand innovation is “a fact of life,” and artificial intelligence and other sortation tech can keep up, if given the chance.? More to read: https://resource--recycling-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/resource-recycling.com/recycling/2023/06/01/what-materials-will-make-the-cut-under-epr-its-complicated/amp/

Peak plastics is an Economist Impact report for Back to Blue and The Nippon Foundation. This report examines the potential impact of three key policies that cover the entire lifecycle of plastic, from production to disposal. These approaches are being considered by negotiators working on a legally binding UN treaty to reduce plastic pollution. The study modeled the impact of (i) a phased ban on problematic, unnecessary single-use plastic products (ii) a mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) regime imposed on brands and retailers that introduce packaging to the market and (iii) ?a tax on the production of virgin resin designed to redistribute the cost of negative environmental externalities. The model tests whether any of these, alone or together, can achieve peak plastic consumption before 2050. The analysis is focused on the 19 countries of the?G20. Combined, the policies slow plastic consumption growth, but will not be enough to bring about a peak in plastic consumption by 2050, illustrating the scale of the challenge that lies?ahead. More to read: https://backtoblueinitiative.com/#signup-success

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Electrodes in the lithium batteries that will power tomorrow’s electric vehicles could be made from recycled mattress textiles.?In a three-year study at the National Institute for Materials Advancement at Pittsburg State University (PSU) in Kansas, researchers led by Dr. Ram Gupta developed a process that transformed mattress textiles into conductive carbon materials used to make the anodes and cathodes in lithium-sulfur rechargeable batteries. These next-generation, lithium-sulfur batteries have 2-3 times more energy storage capacity than conventional lithium-ion batteries. More to read: https://wasteadvantagemag.com/mattress-textiles-could-be-used-to-make-tomorrows-ev-batteries/

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For decades, three arrows pointing in a triangular loop have been the iconic symbol for recycling, but that could change. The Environmental Protection Agency — along with thousands of environmentalists and individuals — are urging the Federal Trade Commission to drop the symbol from plastics that aren’t actually recyclable. More to read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/18/recycling-labels-epa-consumers/

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But Circ’s system successfully separates polyester and cotton without damaging the materials, recovering about?90%?from the waste textile. It uses hot water, pressure, and chemical solvents to recover both materials – called the hydrothermal process. This startup’s unique hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) processing technology offers a technical solution. It can separate blended textiles to recover the majority of the raw materials from waste to produce as-good-as-virgin materials that manufacturers can reuse to make new clothes. This groundbreaking technology attracted?€38 million?in two funding rounds from large investors such as Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Zara’s Indite, and Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures.?Right now, there’s no recycling method available that can recycle poly-cotton blended fabrics at commercial scale. While there’s an established process to break down pure polyester or PET for recycling purposes, working with poly-cotton blends is very difficult.??More to read: https://carboncredits.com/revolutionizing-textile-recycling-and-curbing-fashion-emissions-with-htc/

The purpose of this report is to provide baseline information as a precursor to a robust multi-stakeholder dialogue that PSI intends to facilitate with governments, NGOs, and companies running or planning chemical recycling facilities. From a policy point of view, : In trying to determine how to regulate these emerging technologies, policymakers and other stakeholders — including consumer brands, plastics production companies, recyclers, environmental advocacy organizations, government officials, and others — need a better understanding of them, especially as industry advocates seek investments into their development. Meanwhile, debates continue among policymakers and advocates who are crafting EPR legislation about whether resources should be invested into chemical recycling facilities under EPR programs. Some advocate for banning these technologies outright or prohibiting their use from being classified as recycling. In Europe, where EPR has been active for decades, there is still widespread skepticism about whether and how chemical recycling might be used to achieve program targets, but there are examples of producer responsibility organizations (PROs) investing in research and development of various chemical recycling technologies. More to read: https://productstewardship.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2022-11-Report-Packaging-PSI-Chemical-Recycling-Paper.pdf

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This How-to Guide provides guidance and strategies for safely collecting and managing unwanted lighting products. More to read: https://productstewardship.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Safe-Lights-Recycling-Guide.pdf

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With the increase, imports represented nearly 30% of the total demand for PET in Europe in 2022, compared to only 23% in 2020. Given the strong divergences in energy, labour and environmental costs in the EU compared to the rest of the world, this important market shift puts the European industry under a lot of pressure. It needs to be ensured that recycled PET imported to the EU at significantly lower prices is compliant with the stringent EU food contact regulation, and therefore does not put at disadvantage the efforts made for creating a robust rPET industry in Europe. This will additionally require full verification of the traceability of imported polymers by end users to avoid using self-declarations as the means of reporting recycled materials participating to the EU targets. More to read: ?https://www.recycling-magazine.com/2023/06/06/pet-imports-to-impact-eu-recycled-content-targets/?utm_source=RMNL%5F230616%5FEN

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EU approves two dozen food-contact RPET applications . A European food safety panel has given the green light to a couple dozen companies seeking to use Bandera, Erema, Polymetrix and Starlinger recycling technologies to produce food-grade RPET.? Over the past eight months, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) gave the OK to two dozen applications. In every case, the CEP decided the technologies in the applications are able to produce food-grade flakes, pellets and sheets for use in 100% RPET food and drink packaging.?In the European Union, recycled plastics can only be used in food and beverage packaging if they’re first reviewed by the EFSA for safety. In that way, the EFSA serves the same role the FDA does in North America.?More to read: https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2023/06/13/eu-approves-two-dozen-food-contact-rpet-applications/

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