NATIONAL SWORD Focus on… Plastics
P
lastics come in many diff erent forms and polymer types, making them more diffi cult
to separate for recycling than some other materials. T e segregation of plastics at skip yards and waste transfer stations is therefore oſt en focused on materials for which there are established end markets in place, while some, oſt en lighter fractions, may be sent to landfi ll or for energy recovery.
Some of the plastics handled at these sites come in the form of plastic packaging, such as the plastics around pallets, but it usually consists of non-packaging such as PVC used in construction, HDPE membranes, piping and insulation.
As with all commodities, the market for recovered plastics is driven by supply and demand and prices for material can fl uctuate depending on the price of oil and in turn, the price of virgin plastics. It is also impacted by market conditions around the world, where a signifi cant proportion of UK material is exported for recycling. Exports accounted for around 21% of the estimated 3.7 million tonnes of plastics arising in the UK in 2015, according to fi gures from resource charity WRAP.
CHINA
However, in July 2017 the market was rocked with the announcement that China was banning the import of many recovered materials including plastics from January 2018 - causing plastics prices to fall and uncertainty going forward. China had previously been the largest export market for the material.
Simon Ellin, Chief Executive of the Recycling Association (the trade association representing paper and plastics processors) explained the impact China’s decision is having.
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He said: “Everyone knows that China are not going to be buying so it is a buyers’ market suddenly. We have seen prices going down which is no surprise. We have also seen a lot of cherry picking.”
He added: “T e market for lower grade material in some cases has dried up completely. Operators handling lower value materials like industrial fi lm and mixed rigid materials will be particularly vulnerable to changes in demand.”
OPPORTUNITY
However, Mr Ellin said that the change needed to be viewed as an opportunity for businesses. He commented: “Skip and resource operators need to position themselves at the top of the market and produce a commodity as product and move away from the idea of waste. T ey need to make sure the materials they are supplying are separated as far as they can be and are clean.”
He added: “Sometimes you have to be a pragmatist and if it can’t be collected in a form that allows it to be recycled then the next best option is waste to energy incinerating. But if you look at the economics it could cost £100 a tonne to send material to an incinerator but you might get £100 a tonne for mixed plastics bottles. T e economics will vary depending on the quality and demand.”
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