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Elizabeth Carroll provides insight into the new recycling report from AMI
Elizabeth Carroll, Consultant Recycling & Sustainability
European mechanical plastics recycling exceeded 8 million tonnes in 2021 despite feedstock insecurities caused by Covid-19 slowdown
The waste plastics value chain is a complex and dynamic sector, with an evolving operating environment. New legislation and targets for the recycling of plastics and the use of recyclate are changing the way the whole plastics industry must operate. The mechanical plastics recycling industry, therefore, has become the focal point for investments, acquisition, and expansion.
Capturing the value of plastics through reuse and recycling not only helps retain a product which currently primarily derives from the earth’s finite natural resources, but also helps prevent the leaking of plastic waste into the ecosystem and helps create a circular economy. Because of this the plastics recycling industry is gaining growing attention.
Although the volume of commodity plastic entering the waste stream on a yearly basis is extremely large, estimated by AMI as 35.6 million tonnes in 2021, feedstock availability should not be taken for granted. Much of this waste is currently uncollected for recycling or ‘lost’ at the sorting stage and ends up in landfill or used by EfW plants. Feedstock is therefore a finite resource, characterised by bail price fluctuations and variable quality and supply.
Municipal waste collection varies by country, in both set up and the plastic fractions they collect. Of the various feedstock sources, municipal waste feedstock is forecast to have the highest growth rate to 2030. This is due to collection systems improving and capturing further plastics fractions, as is the case in Belgium and France. Other countries are also looking at increasing collections.
Plastics recyclate production was 8.2 million tonnes in 2021 and is forecast to grow at a rate of 5.6%/year to
2030. To put this figure into context, one must review it in tandem with the 35.6 million tonnes of commodity plastic that entered the waste stream in 2021. This implies that Europe achieved an overall plastic recycling rate of 23.1%, far lower than one might have assumed. That being said, certain waste streams, for example, PET bottles, achieve far higher recycling rates, due in part to bottle deposit schemes and/or established collection systems in place across Europe.
The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on both the volume of waste being collected for recycling as well as simultaneously reducing the demand for recyclate, as factories closed or reduced production. However, to date it has not seemed to have had a long-lasting effect, as the industry has in general bounced back.
Rigid packaging represents the largest end use market for recyclate, utilising close to over 2 million tonnes in 2021, thanks in part to the large volume of PET which is collected and recycled for food grade applications. Volumes are expected to increase further, as AMI expects the commercialised and scaled production of food grade
Market Reports
Mechanical Plastics Recycling European Market 2022 Published February 2022
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