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How to Implement a Plastics Recycling Programme

Many recycling coordinators and public works officials want to respond to citizen pressure to recycle plastics and to create plastics recycling programmes. Communities, however, are often discouraged by commonly voiced barriers, such as "There are no markets;" "Plastics are too difficult to identify;" "Plastics are too bulky to collect;" "Our trucks can't hold enough material."

But for every barrier found by one community, there exists a solution found by another. The proof is that over 4,000 communities in North America (more than 400 in Canada) currently have curbside collection of one or more types of plastic or have drop-off centres accepting plastics.

Recycling plastics, like recycling other post-consumer materials, is a dynamic process that involves a sequence of key steps. The flow of materials creates an integrated system that begins when the manufacturer sells a product to a consumer. The consumer uses the product and then passes the material to a secondary "market," a series businesses that process plastics into forms accepted by manufacturers of recycled plastic products. In essence the recycled product is not waste but once again a raw material. This market could involve a hauler, a company that transports recyclables; a handler, a scrap processor that will sort, bale and/or granulate material; or, a reclaimer, a facility that converts resin from bottles and containers.

Basic steps in the plastics recycling process are:

1. collection;
2. separation into discrete resins;
3. reclamation (reprocessing) into flakes or pellets of consistent quality acceptable to manufacturers;
4. use in the manufacture of products or containers;
5. purchase by consumers; and,
6. repeat steps 1 through 5.

As can be imagined, the flow of materials is similar to the flow of water in a plumbing system. If the flow in the pipeline is too fast, the plumbing system becomes backed up. If the flow is too slow, the trickle may not be sufficient to operate the system.

Today, most sorting of plastic bottles and containers is done by hand. While a number of automatic sorting technologies are currently being developed, manual sorting is likely to continue in the short term. Even after the most valuable resins have been removed from the sorting stream, the various plastics that remain can still be recycled. They can be re- manufactured into a variety of product applications using a technology known as commingled or mixed plastics recycling.

Resins can be separated and reclaimed for many end uses. High-quality single resins command the largest and most profitable markets for recycled resins, although commingled recycling technology is available in some areas. In either case, manufacturers of consumer products require consistent purity to maintain the same product performance available from virgin material and hopefully at a cost savings to buying new material.

Companies in the plastics industry of developed countries are using technology for including recycled plastics in food packaging and keep the regulatory authorities informed of development in this area.

There are five preliminary steps for implementing a plastics recycling programme:

1. Survey all available markets for plastics - both handlers and reclaimers.
   This requires conducting a market survey and determining what kinds of plastics each market will accept.
2. Estimate the quantity of plastic recyclables available for collection.
   This involves determining the weigh and volume of plastic that can be anticipated based on a calculation of volume and weight per household times the number of households.
3. Select a plastics market and negotiate a contract.
   Contracts can be long or short-term and the tradeoff is between the security of a guaranteed price and the potential for a higher return. Some other issues may include, conditions of the materials, containers, transportation and scheduling, scheduling and fee structure, references and haulers.
4. Design the collection programme.
   In designing a collection programme, the community must first decide between curbside and drop-off collection. If the former is chosen, components of collection must be decided. Some of these will include deciding on, commingled or separated plastic collection, pick-up schedules, drivers and crews, containers, and type of vehicles used.
5. Implement an effective community education campaign.
   Success of a programme will hinge upon public participation and acceptance, thus education about plastics recycling is key to community participation and support. Initial announcements and a kick-off campaign are recommended as well as the involvement of service groups to help firmly establish the programme in a community.

This article is based on a brochure of the same name published by the Environment and Plastics Institute of Canada (EPIC). For more information, contact: Environment and Plastics Institute of Canada 1262 Don Mills Road, Suite 104 Don Mills, Ontario M3B 2W7, Canada Tel: +(1-416) 449-3444, Fax: +(1-416) 449-5685.

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