Research on Recycling: A Summary and Discussion - JSTOR Collection of used plastics from households is more economical in suburbs where the population density is sufficiently high to achieve economies of scale. As an example, in the UK, since 2005 most PET sheet for thermoforming contains 5070% recycled PET (rPET) through use of A/B/A layer sheet where the outer layers (A) are food-contact-approved virgin resin, and the inner layer (B) is rPET. These systems generally use Fourier-transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for polymer type analysis and also use optical colour recognition camera systems to sort the streams into clear and coloured fractions. As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. Collection of plastic wastes can be done by bring-schemes or through kerbside collection. The advantage is the ability to recycle a larger proportion of the plastic waste stream by expanding post-consumer collection of plastic packaging to cover a wider variety of materials and pack types. Designing products to enable reusing, repairing or re-manufacturing will result in fewer products entering the waste stream. J. Fava et al., A Technical framework for life - cycle assessments, Workshop Report, (August 18-23, 1990 ), Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Smugglers Notch, Vermont. (1) Waste removal from the building, using trash chutes and a trash room or by using trash carts with appropriate custodial staff to remove refuse from buildings and assess the volume and type of trash. Around 4 per cent of annual petroleum production is converted directly into plastics from petrochemical feedstock (British Plastics Federation 2008). Ecoprofile is a form of life cycle assessment but with the application of weighing factors which allow for comparison and rating of impacts. Recycling packaging, (5) A recycling committee (e,g., ad hoc task force, standing recycling committee) can provide feedback, oversight, and continuity. Innovative technologies for the removal of organics and surface contaminants from flakes include dry-cleaning, which cleans surfaces through friction without using water. As a consequence primarily of this perceived pollution risk, incineration of plastic is less prevalent than landfill and mechanical recycling as a waste-management strategy. How Two Vermont Brothers Built, Trashed, Then Revived Their $1.8 Hence, the general trend is for collection of recyclable materials through kerbside collection alongside MSW. As the quality of recovered plastic is typically lower than that of virgin plastics, the price of virgin plastic sets the ceiling for prices of recovered plastic. Institutions complete the loop by buying recycled products and identifying recycled- content products that are equivalent in price and quality to virgin products whenever possible, evaluating for price, quality, and user comfort. One of the key benefits of recycling plastics is to reduce the requirement for plastics production. Open Access free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions. These systems are likely to significantly improve the ability to separate complex mixtures as they can perform up to 860 000 spectra s1 and can scan each individual flake. Google Scholar. in removing labels from PET flakes. It is also quite possible for the same polymer to cascade through multiple stagese.g. Some governments use policy to encourage post-consumer recycling, such as the EU Directive on packaging and packaging waste (94/62/EC). There is considerable scope for re-use of plastics used for the transport of goods, and for potential re-use or re-manufacture from some plastic components in high-value consumer goods such as vehicles and electronic equipment. Recycling thermoforms, Systemic barriers (e.g., decentralized purchasing, specifications, price) can obstruct the purchase of recycled goods. (3) Program placement can integrate recycling into the larger environmental stewardship effort. In western Europe, plastic waste generation is growing at approximately 3 per cent per annum, roughly in line with long-term economic growth, whereas the amount of mechanical recycling increased strongly at a rate of approximately 7 per cent per annum. Most current material recovery facilities have difficulty handling flexible plastic packaging because of the different handling characteristics of rigid packaging. The amount of material going into the waste-management system can, in the first case, be reduced by actions that decrease the use of materials in products (e.g. Target (1) in this research and development project was to increase recycling and reduce the production of waste. Figure 6. Chandler Slavin on Oct 16, 2012 4:53:00 PM, Topics: solvents, fluorescents, laboratory animal carcasses, or low-level radioactive wastes generated through laboratory research.) (6) The waste stream and disposal process can be analyzed to understand the campus waste life-cycle (e.g., classify buildings, examine a few buildings in each class over a period of time, gain insight into how and what waste is generated and sent to disposal). Buy Recycled Products. *Berger, M., & Goldfarb, J.L. FOIA (7) Reviewing custodial operations can identify work tasks, frequency of service (e.g., emptying trash cans and recycling receptacles), and staffing levels of the group most affected by recycling changes. Special Events. Abstract Barker et al investigate the congruence of 102 college students' self-reported paper-recycling behaviors and attitudes with actual behavior. Consequently, waste glass recycling base has a . Download preview PDF. In the UK, the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) has run an initial study of mixed plastics recycling and is now taking this to full-scale validation (WRAP 2008b). Solid Waste. Athletic events, concerts, and festivals can be targeted for recycling, involving students at every opportunity. Recycling | An Open Access Journal from MDPI Recycling is both an economic as well as environmental activity. Abstract Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight and durable materials, which can readily be moulded into a variety of products that find use in a wide range of applications. The latest generation of wash plants use only 23 m3 of water per tonne of material, about one-half of that of previous equipment. In terms of energy use, recycling has been shown to save more energy than that produced by energy recovery even when including the energy used to collect, transport and re-process the plastic (Morris 1996). As an economic activity, recycling represents recovery of residual value from waste product. NAPCOR, Phone 815-334-0087 | Fax 815-334-0089 | Toll Free 800-663-5460 | sales@dordan.com. Life-cycle analyses has also been used for plastic-recycling systems to evaluate the net environmental impacts (Arena et al. It is possible in theory to closed-loop recycle most thermoplastics, however, plastic packaging frequently uses a wide variety of different polymers and other materials such as metals, paper, pigments, inks and adhesives that increases the difficulty. Full article: Recycling - the importance of understanding the 2009). Environmental Protection Agency,(March 1996 ). UG! Introduction to Recycling. 2003; Perugini et al. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted 2005). (1) Refuse disposal and collection is being changed by recycling, providing an opportunity to reevaluate refuse disposal. INNOVATIVE RECYCLING AND WASTE REDUCTION PARTNERSHIP RUTLAND, Vt. (June 3, 2016) - Casella Waste Systems, Inc. and its customer and collaborator Hypertherm of Lebanon, N.H. have been recognized for their work and innovation around industrial recycling and waste reduction by the New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility (NHBSR). Rates of mechanical recycling and energy recovery as waste-management strategies for plastics waste in European nations (PlasticsEurope 2008b). A number of European countries including Germany, Austria, Norway, Italy and Spain are already collecting, in addition to their bottle streams, rigid packaging such as trays, tubs and pots as well as limited amounts of post-consumer flexible packaging such as films and wrappers. 2004). J. E. McCarthy, Recycling and reducing packaging waste: How the United States compares to other countries, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 8 (1993) pp 293 - 360, CrossRef Recycling in Michigan. 2009b). (e.g. This subsequently led Germany to set-up legislation for extended producer responsibility that resulted in the die Grne Punkt (Green Dot) scheme to implement recovery and recycling of packaging. Within our culture, recycling is seen as an important way in which we can help preserve our wildlife and protect the earth for our children's future. Cost-Benefit Analysis. They can replace paper-based systems with Internet systems and use double-sided photocopying. For example, PVC and halogenated additives are typically present in mixed plastic waste leading to the risk of dioxins, other polychlorinated biphenyls and furans being released into the environment (Gilpin et al. In rural areas bring schemes where the public deliver their own waste for recycling, for example when they visit a nearby town, are considered more cost-effective than kerbside collection. Garages generate many types of waste (e.g., tires, automotive batteries, oil) with readily available recycling markets. Construction and Demolition Debris. Recycling of plastics is one method for reducing environmental impact and resource depletion. Once variation in recycling due to recycling-knowledge is accounted for . This technology has been proven for rPET from clear bottles (WRAP 2008b), and more recently rHDPE from milk bottles (WRAP 2006). Recycling and Sustainability: Articles from Scholarly Journals Economics dictate that most manufacturers will already use close to the minimum required material necessary for a given application (but see Thompson et al. Mixed plastics, the least favourable source of recycled polymer could still provide a net benefit of the vicinity of 0.5 tonnes of CO2-e per tonne of recycled product (WRAP 2008c). After size reduction, a range of separation techniques can be applied. A study carried out in the UK found that the amount of packaging in a regular shopping basket that, even if collected, cannot be effectively recycled, ranged from 21 to 40% (Local Government Association (UK) 2007). Hence, it is often not technically feasible to add recovered plastic to virgin polymer without decreasing at least some quality attributes of the virgin plastic such as colour, clarity or mechanical properties such as impact strength. It makes increasing sense economically as well as environmentally and recent trends demonstrate a substantial increase in the rate of recovery and recycling of plastic wastes. There is increasing public awareness on the need for sustainable production and consumption. The same logic applies to durable consumer goods designing for disassembly, recycling and specifications for use of recycled resins are key actions to increase recycling. Incineration can be used with recovery of some of the energy content in the plastic. . The evaluation process includes a review by purchasing officials to eliminate those proposals that do not meet technical and legal requirements as well as an objective analysis of the service proposed based on a weighted evaluation sheet, narrowing the list of vendors to a select few. 4.40 3.66 while the amount of msw produced ent up per person per day, recycling ha also increased. Laser-sorting uses emission spectroscopy to differentiate polymer types. For organic materials like plastics, the concept of recovery can also be expanded to include energy recovery, where the calorific value of the material is utilized by controlled combustion as a fuel, although this results in a lesser overall environmental performance than material recovery as it does not reduce the demand for new (virgin) material. These schemes can be effective in boosting collection rates, for example one state of Australia has a container deposit scheme (that includes PET soft-drink bottles), as well as kerbside collection schemes. 2005) and these find greater positive environmental benefits for mechanical recycling over landfill and incineration with energy recovery. Take-back and refilling schemes do exist in several European countries (Institute for Local Self-Reliance 2002), including PET bottles as well as glass, but they are elsewhere generally considered a niche activity for local businesses rather than a realistic large-scale strategy to reduce packaging waste. However, if plastics are recycled into products that were previously made from other materials such as wood or concrete, then savings in requirements for polymer production will not be realized (Fletcher & Mackay 1996). Life-cycle analysis can be a useful tool for assessing the potential benefits of recycling programmes. The hierarchy of steps for integrated MSW is to first reduce or reuse, then incineration, and finally landfilling is the least preferred alternative. Washington, DC. Posted by After much frustration, I realized there is no way I can incorporate all the necessary facets in 600 words; therefore, what follows is my best attempt to simplify my findings while still being informative and of value to the industry. Food-grade rPET is also now widely available in the market for direct food contact because of the development of super-clean grades. Abstract of Recycling Report for PlasticsNews. Abstract Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight and durable materials, which can readily be moulded into a variety of products that find use in a wide range of applications. Garforth A., Ali S., Hernandez-Martinez J., Akah A.2004, Production, distribution, and fate of polycholorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and related organohalogens in the environment, Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settingsentanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions, Western Europe's experience with refillable beverage containers, Biodegradation of agricultural plastic films: a critical review, Use of froth flotation to separate PVC/PET mixtures, Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things, Recycling versus incineration: an energy conservation analysis, Report to the NEPC on the implementation of the National Environment Protection (used packaging materials) measure for New South Wales, A critical analysis of the biological impacts of plasticizers on wildlife, PVC removal from mixed plastics by triboelectrostatic separation, Patel M., von Thienen N., Jochem E., Worrell E.2000, A life cycle assessment of mechanical and feedstock recycling options for management of plastic packaging wastes, Eco-profiles of the European Plastics Industry, The compelling facts about Plastics 2007: an analysis of plastics production, demand and recovery for 2007 in Europe, Plastic waste management in construction: technological and institutional issues, Ryan P. G., Moore C. J., van Franeker J. Chemical or feedstock recycling has the advantage of recovering the petrochemical constituents of the polymer, which can then be used to re-manufacture plastic or to make other synthetic chemicals. The most common metric is the quantity of waste recycled as a percentage of total waste (i.e., diversion). Computers and Computer Systems. Please enter your email address here to subscribe to the Inside APPA newsletter. 2007). Recycling of a wider range of post-consumer plastic packaging, together with waste plastics from consumer goods and ELVs will further enable improvement in recovery rates of plastic waste and diversion from landfills. An official website of the United States government. Technologies for reducing PVC contaminants in PET flake include froth flotation (Drelich et al. The low weight-to-volume ratio of films and plastic bags also makes it less economically viable to invest in the necessary collection and sorting facilities. 2009; Teuten et al. (PDF) Introduction to Recycling - ResearchGate Bring-schemes tend to result in low collection rates in the absence of either highly committed public behaviour or deposit-refund schemes that impose a direct economic incentive to participate. These latter methods can be a good source of relatively pure recyclables, but are ineffective in providing high collection rates of post-consumer waste. Costs of landfill vary considerably among regions according to the underlying geology and land-use patterns and can influence the viability of recycling as an alternative disposal route. Recycling clamshells, Plastic materials can be recycled in a variety of ways and the ease of recycling varies among polymer type, package design and product type. Local or State Requirements. (4) A recycling coordinator (preferably full-time) can be appointed to develop and manage the program. Resources, Conservation and Recycling | Journal - ScienceDirect 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. They have the advantage that they can be used to sort different plastics that are blacka problem with traditional automatic systems. In addition, labels and adhesive materials should be selected to maximize recycling performance. A good place to start is changing the products that are purchased (e.g., avoiding excessive and unneeded packaging, using new products or equipment that require less use of the product). However, the mixed plastics recycling scenario still has a positive net benefit, which was considered superior to the other options studied, of both landfills and energy recovery as solid refuse fuel, so long as there is substitution of virgin polymer. as labels and closures). Sorting performance can be maximized using multiple detectors, and sorting in series. Springer, Dordrecht. APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities, Institute for Facilities Management (APPA U), ACUHO-I/APPA Housing Facilities Conference, Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP), Facilities Management Evaluation Program (FMEP), Part I: General Administration and Management, Part III: Energy Utilities and Environmental Stewardship. So, while over a decade ago recycling of plastics without subsidies was mostly only viable from post-industrial waste, or in locations where the cost of alternative forms of disposal were high, it is increasingly now viable on a much broader geographic scale, and for post-consumer waste. ABSTRACT Purpose Recent UK legislation requires businesses to segregate their food waste and present metal, plastic, glass and paper waste for collection separately. PET resin can be broken down by glycolysis, methanolysis or hydrolysis, for example to make unsaturated polyester resins (Sinha et al. Effective recycling of mixed plastics waste is the next major challenge for the plastics recycling sector. Solid Waste Definition Solid Waste. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves. A model of plastics recycling: does recycling reduce the amount of waste? Marketing studies of consumer preferences indicate that there is a significant, but not overwhelming proportion of people who value environmental values in their purchasing patterns. In the UK, total use of plastics in both domestic and commercial packaging is about 40 kg per person per year, hence it forms approximately 78% by weight, but a larger proportion by volume of the MSW stream (Waste Watch 2003). 2018 Dordan Manufacturing Company, Incorporated. Recycling is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on the recycling and reuse of material resources, including circular economy. Even within the EU there are a wide range of waste-management prioritizations for the total municipal solid waste stream (MSW), from those heavily weighted towards landfill, to those weighted towards incineration (figure1)recycling performance also varies considerably. Erin Seavoy Jennifer Copus Erik Jonasson. In addition, the wide range of containers and packs for branding and marketing purposes makes direct take-back and refilling less feasible. Other Recyclables. It is possible to include biodegradable plastics in aerobic composting, or by anaerobic digestion with methane capture for energy use. A major drawback to landfills from a sustainability aspect is that none of the material resources used to produce the plastic is recoveredthe material flow is linear rather than cyclic. Recycling rare earth metals plays a significant role in reverse logistics (Swain and Mishra Citation 2019). Worldwide polymer production was estimated to be 260 million metric tonnes per annum in the year 2007 for all polymers including thermoplastics, thermoset plastics, adhesives and coatings, but not synthetic fibres (PlasticsEurope 2008b). A well-managed landfill site results in limited immediate environmental harm beyond the impacts of collection and transport, although there are long-term risks of contamination of soils and groundwater by some additives and breakdown by-products in plastics, which can become persistent organic pollutants (Oehlmann et al. J. Leidner, Concept of residual value and economics of recycling, AutoRecycle 95, Dearborn, Michigan, Nov 15-16, 1995, pp 151 - 160. Chemical recycling of PET has been more successful, as de-polymerization under milder conditions is possible. However, current levels of their usage and disposal generate several environmental problems. Sample Abstract - Environmental and Natural Resources A systematic review in recycling/reusing/re-manufacturing supply chain Around 4 per cent of world oil and gas production, a non-renewable resource, is used as feedstock for plastics and a further 34% is expended to provide energy for their manufacture. One contribution of 15 to a Theme Issue Plastics, the environment and human health. Other separation techniques such as air elutriation can also be used for removing low-density films from denser ground plastics (Chandra & Roy 2007), e.g. Either way, a large-scale educational effort is key, including securing custodian buy-in to the program. Other methods include using campus media (e.g., student newspapers, radio public service announcements), established facilities office contact networks, manager interviews, presentations to and by student groups, information packets for students who choose recycling for a term paper or student project, social media networks, and special event recycling programs to support town-gown efforts.