PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Consumption patterns continue to increase at an unsustainable rate and therefore waste volumes remain a problem for Member States. Waste streams in landfills from used expanded polystyrene (EPS) have especially increased in recent years. EPS is not biodegradable and requires a large amount of landfill space owing to its low density.
The amount of EPS waste generated in Europe in 2010 was 1.6 million tonnes, according to data from Chemical Market Associates. In Spain, around 80% of EPS is sent to landfill (around 32 000 tonnes/year) and the remaining 20% is incinerated. Effective solutions are needed to reduce EPS waste volumes and promote more sustainable consumption patterns.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the LIFE COLRECEPS project was to establish a demonstration plant to recycle EPS waste and produce pearls of EPS. These high-quality recycled pearls would be used to manufacture new prototype products. Through this process, the lifecycle of expanded polystyrene would be extended, giving an added value to this waste stream and reducing the amount of EPS being sent to landfill or incinerated. The project actions were planned for the urban area of Valladolid and the outcomes would make a valuable contribution to the aims of the Waste Framework Directive on, by reducing waste going to landfill and increasing recycling.
The new prototype products were intended to have applications in the industrial sector and have the advantage of being designed specifically for the end user, with enhanced features compared to existing products. The performance of the new prototype products (packaging items) would be optimised using an analysis of factors such as compressive strength, thermal conductivity, dimensional stability, water absorption, and water vapour permeability. The aim was to ensure that the new products are fully fit-for-purpose as recycled material. The project also planned to carry out a study of logistical and collection alternatives for EPS waste, in order to identify a more optimal management model. This knowledge would be augmented by findings from an evaluation carried out during the project, exploring industrial implementation options, as well as the environmental and socio-economic impact of such a novel waste management approach in urban areas such as Valladolid.
RESULTS
The LIFE COLRECEPS project achieved its main objective to demonstrate the performance of a pilot plant for EPS waste recycling and the production of high-quality recycled EPS pearls that can be used for the fabrication of packaging products. It carried out an inventory of EPS waste generated in the Valladolid area and developed a logistics model for the collection of this type of waste in the urban area of the city. A pilot plant for EPS waste recycling was constructed and shown to be viable. This pilot plant allowed the different phases of the process to be defined and validated: waste pre-treatment, waste extrusion, recycled pearls expansion and preparation of EPS pearls for the fabrication of products with recycled EPS waste. The estimated maximum capacity of the plant is 500 Kg of waste per cycle operation.
The project’s direct environmental impact is clear: 22 tonnes of EPS waste (10% of the annual waste produced in the Valladolid area) were recycled (and their landfilling avoided); 16 tonnes of high-quality recycled EPS pearls were produced, thus avoiding the need to purchase new EPS material; 85% of the waste entering the pilot plant was valorised. By recycling EPS waste and producing new EPS material, the project is in line with the Circular Economy Strategy and the Circular Economy Action Plan.
The next step was to demonstrate how this recycled material can be used to produce a prototype for packaging purposes. The prototype was constructed using 40% recycled EPS and 60% commercial EPS in order to achieve the technical requirements. Studies of the production process showed that it is very similar to the production process using commercial EPS. The project then produced 25 500 boxes for the packaging of electrical appliances. The mechanical properties of the produced boxes were analysed under laboratory conditions and their performance assessed by a potential final user, a Spanish electrical appliance company. Furthermore, a feasibility study for the industrialisation of the process was carried out, defining the requirements of the plant and associated costs for a future industrialisation of the process. The products are expected to be 10% cheaper than the ones made using raw material. The pilot plant, which was installed in the facilities of AB TURQUEPLAST, is moreover expected to require three to four workers to maintain its operations at full capacity.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
