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PLASTIC FEATURE


Contamination hinders plastic recycling


By PAUL FEARS, Press Offi cer Bunting Magnetics Europe


THE environmental impact of poorly managed plastic waste has barely been out of the headlines since the BBC’s Blue Planet II series was aired in 2017.


Since then there has been a wave of political activism to tackle the problem, which was even addressed in the UK’s autumn 2018 budget announcements.


Chancellor Philip Hammond outlined several new measures to tackle plastic waste. This included introducing a new tax from 1 April 2022 on produced or imported plastic packaging that does not include at least 30% recycled content.


This has not quelled the public's negative feeling towards plastics. Yet plastic remains one of the most versatile and useful materials available and can come in a wide range of plastic types, as can be seen in any household. Plastic is present in food packaging, mobile phone casings, tables, chairs, DVDs, televisions, and many other everyday items that would not exist without it.


Certainly, product designers need to give recyclability a higher priority and


18 SHWM February, 2019


this change in attitude is required for all materials. At present, plastic is the big environmental villain.


Exporting the issue


Since 2012, British companies have shipped more than 2.7million tonnes of plastic scrap to mainland China and Hong Kong. However, this only accounts for two-thirds of all the plastic waste exported from the UK.


In December 2017, China announced that in early 2018 it will stop importing “foreign garbage” stating such waste materials were commonly contaminated with “large amounts of dirty waste, or even hazardous wastes”. However, this has not stopped the export of plastic waste. In 2019, the UK increased the amount of plastic waste shipped to Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, and the Netherlands.


Contaminated pre-sorted waste


Most used plastic packaging enters the recycling process as pre-sorted household waste. The specifi cation of what materials a single recylcing bag may contain depends on the recycling strategy of


the local council and varies considerably across the UK and Europe.


On arrival at a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), the collected materials are separated into metal, plastic, cardboard, and any other materials defined within the local strategy. Separation of these materials is achieved using either technology or a combination of separation equipment and a ‘human picking line’.


The ability to successfully separate the materials is compromised by the presence of other waste. Materials which have been incorrectly added to recycling bags at the household or during collection include used nappies, food waste, paint tins, and other problematic materials.


At the MRF, metal packaging (e.g. steel and aluminium drink and food cans) is commonly recovered using Overband Magnets positioned over the main feed conveyor prior to the picking line and Eddy Current Separators. Other materials are manually handpicked and stored separately. Until recently, the mix of plastic packaging could then be sent to


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