Plastic packaging

Plastic has been around for over a century now, but using it to wrap and transport things has really become entrenched in the last 30 years. Anyone over 60 can remember a life without plastic bags and fast food containers, anyone under 30 cannot even imagine it.

Plastic packaging has been revolutionary for the food industry. Light, cheap, ‘inert’ (although that is uncertain), waterproof and enhances the appearance of the product. With 311 million tons (US) of plastic currently produced per year, 26% is packaging and generally single use.

Where does it come from and what can we do with it when it is no longer in use?  Plastics are derived from hydrocarbons, either oil or gas. Small molecules called monomers are manufactured and further processed into long polymers, making a strong, resilient product. Most of this resin production in the US and Europe. The resin produced then has additives inserted to give the plastic different properties and colours, eg phthalates (soften and strengthen), bisphenol A (toughens and makes clear) and is either exported as beads or sheets for manufacturing products. Most plastics come to WA in this form.

National Plastics Recycling Survey 2013/14 in Australia is a good reference to follow the trail. http://www.packagingcovenant.org.au/data/Publications/R03-03-A11013_NPRS_2013-14_Report.pdf

Manufacturing containers or packaging locally for food products use virgin resin. If there is leftover material in the cut, this may be remelted and reused but businesses are reluctant to take any other plastic from unknown sources (recycled material) for uncertainty in specification and integrity of the material.

So the plastics collected for recycling, what happens to them? In WA we are a collection and export location. It is all about the market and who will give the best price. Plastics from recycling bins, soft drink PET (polyethylene terra-phthalate) and milk bottles HDPE (high-density polyethylene) for example, are sorted into plastic types and sold to recyclers in China* or Malaysia. They are then washed, cleaned and shredded. Recycled plastic is mixed with virgin material and loses some integrity when recycled. Often plastic is only recycled once as recyclers cannot guarantee the purity of product. Labels, covers, glues, inks, additives all compromise the value of the recycled material. Plastics are only recycled once and for a lesser value. For example, PET may go clothing, or sheeting. The mixed plastics used in bollards and furniture will not be recycled at end of life.

In 2016 CLAW in Welshpool have started collecting old wheelie bins and clean plastic pots, shredding and on-selling for recycling manufacturers.

* China since 2008 has established a ‘Green Fence’ whereby the recycling factories are required to improve their standards of processing. This translates to cleaner material necessarily being sent by countries such as Australia and the US. They will not take our dirty, contaminated rubbish anymore. The fallback destination is currently Malaysia.

Ref: The New Plastics Economy. Ellen Macarthur Foundation 2016

Plastic collection from commercial suppliers are usually more pure in plastic type and have less contamination. CLAW Environmental in Welshpool are the main collectors for commercial suppliers in WA. http://www.clawenvironmental.com