WEEE AND ELV | INNOVATION
Hard work involved in recycling durable plastics
Recyclers of plastics used in automotive and electronic applications need to deal with issues such as raw material supply, legacy additives, tough regulation and technical challenges. Peter Mapleston reports on groups making progress
Recycling of plastics from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is taking on an increased level of impor- tance in the fledgling global circular economy. The volumes that need to be handled are massive, but the amount of plastics retrieved and put back to good is still modest. There are many technical, logistical and legal obstacles to overcome. In the European Union alone, ELVs generate between 7m and 8m tonnes of waste of all types every year, according to the European Commis- sion. Last year, the world generated 53.6m tonnes of WEEE, an average of 7.3 kg per capita. By 2030, the figure is projected to grow to 74.7m tpa, according to a recent report by the United Nations. Of all the waste produced in these durable
applications, a significant amount is high-value plastics that have the potential to be given a second life – just consider that around 8% of a car’s weight is accounted for by plastics. More and better ways need to be found to recycle those
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plastics (as well, of course, as all the other materials in e-waste).
One significant problem for recyclers is simply
getting hold of material. Chris Slijkhuis, Commer- cial General Manager at MGG Polymers in Austria, a major recycler of WEEE plastics that has been operating in the field for almost 15 years, highlights problems in obtaining raw materials for the company’s operations. The company, which has capability to process around 55,000 tpa of material (providing an output of around half that amount, the remainder being converted into energy), depends to a large extent on imports from other EU countries. MGG’s recycled materials are sold virtually exclusively to companies operating in production of parts for consumer durables. Despite Austria being part of the EU, within which there is free movement of goods, it is hampered by the fact that some EU countries classify WEEE plastics as hazardous waste, due to the fact that they may contain certain additives,
Main image: In the black: producing recycled plastics from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is a tough challenge
July/August 2020 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 35
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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