PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Plastics account for up 85% of beach litter globally, while microplastics in air, water and food pose a significant health risk. Poland used around 3.5 million tonnes of plastics in 2018, the sixth largest amount in the EU. Europe generates more than 29 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with less than a third (32%) collected for recycling. The remainder is incinerated (42%) or sent to landfill (24%).
More than 50% of the plastic waste generated in the EU is mixed plastic. The range of hard plastic types contained in this mixed waste stream poses a great challenge to increasing the level of plastic recycling and the uptake of recyclates by plastic converters. Methods for recycling plastics are only practical for clean and homogenous materials. A significant amount of mixed, contaminated hard plastic waste is therefore not recycled since it is difficult to separate this waste stream into recyclable fractions. Furthermore, plastic waste management stakeholders are not cooperating well together. Recycling companies and manufacturers have very different focuses, and many manufacturers are not interested in shifting towards products that are recyclate-based and recyclable since it would complicate procedures and make them more expensive. However, for recycling to be profitable, manufacturers must use materials that are easiest and cheapest to recover.
OBJECTIVES
The plasticLIFEcycle project aims to maximise recycling of mixed hard plastic waste and to increase the uptake of recycled plastics in product manufacturing. It will develop an innovative solution, PLCtechnology, for sorting heterogeneous hard plastic waste stream into recyclable fractions. It will also create two innovative alternatives for the uptake of recyclates in high-value products, namely production of tailored compounds and robotic 3D printing.
The project also aims to demonstrate the potential of a plastic fraction, which is currently not recovered or recycled, using sustainable options of waste sorting, recycling and fostering a new business concept based on circular economy.
Specifically, the project aims to:
- Foster deployment of integrated solutions for mixed hard plastics recycling through targeted dissemination actions between key stakeholders and general public;
- Increase the competitiveness of the waste treatment sector by pioneering a profitable solution; and
- Encourage a responsible attitude towards plastics and recycled materials.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Validation of a pilot PLCtechnology plant for efficient sorting of mixed hard plastic waste (input capacity 3 500 tonnes per year; output capacity: 2 550t/y of high-quality recyclates and 945t/y of high caloric fuel for LIFEtec gasification);
- Implementation of standardised PLC-compatible procedures for mixed hard plastic waste pre-sorting in municipal waste treatment plants leading to a standardised waste stream as an input for the PLCplant (3 500t/y);
- Validation of the pilot unit for production of tailored compounds for manufacturing products that are made from 70-90% recycled material from PLC (capacity 400t/y);
- Validation of the innovative mobile 3D printing prototype with 100% recycled material from PLC (capacity 65t/y);
- Integration of three pilot plants into continuous cooperation;
- Establishment of business network (PLCnetwork) to boost cooperation between municipal waste treatment plants, plastic recyclers and converters (12 plants in three countries);
- Improved quality of recycled polyolefins reaching levels of food packaging production, and three newly developed tailored compounds; and
- Development of five market-ready products using bulk amounts (70-100%) of PLC recycled materials.
