September/October 1991
A recent roundtable explored supplies of and demand for scrap plastics, emphasizing postindustrial materials and potential for profitability.
By Robert J. Garino
Robert J. Garino is director of commodities for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (Washington, D.C.).
There are three interdependent prerequisites for establishing an economically viable plastic scrap recovery system, according to Susan L.D. Day, a resource recovery specialist with GE Plastics (Southfield, Mich.): value, collection density, and scrap availability.
Speaking at Scrap Processing and Recycling's second Plastic Roundtable, held in Minneapolis in July, Day explained that there must be enough value in the scrap plastics to cover the costs of collection and processing, as well as to edge out virgin counterparts. In addition, she said, the scrap must be accessible through well-established distribution channels that allow reasonable collection and economic transportation. Furthermore, Day pointed out, a significant volume of material must be accumulated in order to encourage the collection and recycling process.
Each of the half-dozen roundtable speakers touched on at least one of these conditions during the program.
A Durable Dilemma
Although some plastics are being recovered from durable goods, noted Day, most such products are not designed for recycling and present a unique challenge as scrap material because of the large number of complex resins used by manufacturers.
As one solution to this problem, GE Plastics has been advocating a concept of 'designing for the environment," she reported. The concept, which is similar to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries's (ISRI) Design for Recycling stresses the use of compatible materials when plastic parts within an application cannot be easily separated from each other.
GE is also advocating implementation of a standardized identification system of marks on product components, Day said, which would help identify recyclable resins once the product's useful life is over.
Plastic Recycling: "A Logical Addition"
His firm's move into plastic recycling was "a logical addition" to its well-established metals activities, observed Stephen J. Nedelman, vice president of the nonferrous division of Steiner-Liff Iron and Metal Co. (Nashville, Tenn.). Plastics are processed in a 22,000-square-foot facility equipped with a ramp and truck dock access and staffed by two forklift operators and two "material handlers," he reported.
Steiner-Liff obtains its plastic scrap supplies from a variety of sources, Nedelman said, including a "significant" amount of automotive industrial plastic scrap from a nearby General Motors assembly plant. The firm also handles some postconsumer plastics.
One of the special difficulties inherent in recycling postindustrial scrap, he said, is that different types of materials may have similar characteristics, making identification sometimes troublesome. Considerable attention must be paid to identifying not only the general resin type of the material--such as ABS, polycarbonate, or nylon--but also specific formulations and characteristics that must be known in order to properly segregate the scrap, he noted.
To avoid problems m identifying plastics, Nedelman recommended, scrap buyers should insist on receiving from generators material safety data sheets on the items they purchase. Employing outside testing laboratories may also be helpful in accurately classifying and identifying scrap materials, he suggested, but firms should concentrate on developing in-house lab capabilities.
Steiner-Liff, which sells "regrind" processed plastics, has found that marketing the products presents major challenges, Nedelman reported. The firm had to develop an entirely new customer base of brokers, reprocessors, exporters, and a “very few direct users,” he said. Manufacturing products from processed plastic scrap material requires consistent, high-quality, and dependable supplies, so consumers tend to buy only from a handful of long-standing sources.
The problem of limited end-use markets for plastic scrap is compounded by the fact that--despite public relations impressions to the contrary--most "major producers of plastic resins do not recycle their own materials," said Nedelman. GE's Day noted that her company will take back plastic scrap, but "only where markets have been identified.”
Industry Immature
"The recycled plastic market is characterized by a consortium of conflicting purposes," Ellis White, general manager of Firma Corp. (South Gate, Calif.), said at the roundtable. There is potential for a lasting solution to these conflicts, he said, but the spirit of cooperation between generators and would-be recyclers has not been fully developed.
A major difficulty White identified is that plastic recycling is extremely price-sensitive. The cost advantage of scrap can quickly disappear over the short term, such as when virgin resin producers are prompted to lower their prices because of a weak economy. The net result, he pointed out, is that companies are forced to leave the industry--either temporarily or permanently.
White explained that Firma's entry into scrap plastic processing was, like Steiner-Liff's, a "logical outgrowth" of the company's existing business. The company operates two independent wire-chopping facilities with a combined capacity of more than 4,000 tons per month. Together, he noted, these wire chopping operations generate up to 1,900 tons of plastic residues monthly. Because of this volume, Firma was prompted to move into recycling the material but, White remarked, the effort was, and is, costly.
Currently, Firma recycles 700 tons of plastic scrap monthly. A subsidiary, Firma Plastics, also processes--and consumes--polyvinyl chloride.
Plastic Film Recycling "Lacks Infrastructure"
"The lack of an infrastructure for collecting, handling, and reprocessing" plastic films, as well as limited end markets are the major obstacles to large-scale recycling of the material, according to Christine S. Latella, director of recycling technologies for Mobil Chemical Co. (Pittsford, N.Y.).
Although Mobil and some other manufacturers have recycled plastic films for years, she said that out of an annual supply estimated at close to 6 billion pounds, "only 1 percent of film bags and 11 percent of shrink-and-stretch films" are currently recovered.
Mobil recycles "virtually 100 percent" of its own in-plant scrap and purchases 75 to 80 million pounds of industrial scrap film annually, Latella reported. The firm also recycles grocery bags collected from approximately 4,000 stores around the country, she said, noting that the company expects to gather 6 million pounds of grocery bags this year.
“Some” plastic film can be recycled into new film products such as trash bags, industrial film, and grocery and merchandise bags, she said, but secondary markets also exist, such as use in drain pipes, injection-molded products, and asphalt.
A variety of end-use markets should be able to absorb significant quantities of recovered plastic film, said Latella, adding that the growth in plastic film recycling will depend primarily on commercial as opposed to household collection programs. The establishment of such programs, she said, will be driven by market demand, with an emphasis on quality and consistent supply. By 1995, she predicted, 8 to 10 percent of all plastic films will be recycled.
"Commercial, industrial, and institutional sources" offer the most potential as scrap plastic film suppliers, based on resin characteristics and volume of the scrap they generate, said Latella, but contamination should be a concern with all supplies. She added, however, that scrap film with 5-percent contamination or less can be reprocessed without washing.
Postconsumer Boom Expected to Continue
The growth in curbside collection programs is the reason for the dramatically growing recycling rate for plastic bottles, according to two speakers who presented an update on recycling of some common postconsumer plastics at the roundtable.
Luke B. Schmidt, president of the National Association for Plastic Container Recovery (NAPCOR) (Charlotte, N.C.), estimated the 1990 recycling rate for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles at 30 percent, with 225 million pounds recycled. Schmidt forecast that annual demand for recycled PET will climb to 643 million pounds by 1993.
NAPCOR's mission is to act as a "facilitator" in support of local PET collection programs, according to Schmidt, but the trade group also provides information on finding and developing markets for recycled plastic.
Ted Clark, manager of recycling for Union Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Co. Inc. (Danbury, Conn.), predicted that recycling of PET and high-density polyethylene bottles combined will reach a whopping 1 billion pounds by 1995, which would require an average annual growth rate of more than 22 percent.•
A recent roundtable explored supplies of and demand for scrap plastics, emphasizing postindustrial materials and potential for profitability.