| Title | Assessment of the Quantities of Non-Targeted Materials (Impurities) in Recycled Plastic Packaging Waste to Comply with EU Regulations and Sustainable Waste Management |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 15806 |
| Authors | Waszczylko-Milkowska, B; Bernat, K; Szczepanski, K |
| Title | Assessment of the Quantities of Non-Targeted Materials (Impurities) in Recycled Plastic Packaging Waste to Comply with EU Regulations and Sustainable Waste Management |
| Year | 2024 |
| Published | Sustainability, 16, 14 |
| Abstract | Plastic packaging waste (PPW) can be considered as solid waste with harmful effects on the environment or as a material with recycling potential in terms of sustainable development in a circular economy. Knowing the amount of PPW generated is very important as it is related to the availability of this material for recycling and determines the actual recycling rate (denominator of a fraction). PPW is very heterogeneous and contains a certain number of impurities (e.g., product residues, direct printing, glue, labels, plastic sleeves, cap, etc.). According to EU law, an annual report (for the data in 2021) on the masses of both the PPW actually recycled (PPWR) ("targeted materials") and impurities ("non-targeted materials") must be prepared and submitted to the European Commission. The PPWR is used for the calculation of the recycling rate (the numerator in a fraction). The impurities should be considered for the calculation of own resources (national contributions to the general EU budget based on the uniform call rate of 0.80/kg of non-recycled PPW). To date, the Council of the EU has not proposed a method for calculating these amounts, so they have only been estimated. The present study (the first of its kind in Poland) aimed to estimate the number of impurities in PPW and the actual amount of PPWR at the calculation point using a method accepted by the EU. In the installations, PPW (plastic packaging (15 01 02), multi-material packaging (15 01 05) and mixed packaging waste (15 01 06)) is recycled together with other plastic waste (plastic (16 01 19), plastic (17 02 03), plastic and rubber (19 12 04), and plastics (20 01 39)). It was assumed that the proportions of the mass of individual types of PPW in the total mass of plastic waste processed in the installation were proportional to the mass of impurities in these individual types of PPW. It was found that the average percentage of impurities in PPW was 4.40-6.90%, which seems to be relatively low. However, this means that, when calculating the PPWR, the mass of impurities should be subtracted from the mass of PPW entering the recycling process. As a result, the mass of PPWR at the calculation point in 2021 in Poland was almost 30,000 tonnes lower than the original mass entering the installation. Thus, applying the uniform call rate to the weight of impurities in the PPW increases Poland's own resources by approx. 24 million euros. |
| https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/6226/pdf?version=1721543999 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
15835
|
Waszczylko-Milkowska, B; Bernat, K Using the Amount of Plastic Packaging Placed on the Market to Determine the Annual Amount of Plastic Packaging Waste Generated in Poland to Enable Sustainable Waste Management(2024)Sustainability, 16, 12 | |
| 28934
|
Van Eygen, E; Laner, D; Fellner, J Circular economy of plastic packaging: Current practice and perspectives in Austria(2018) | |
| 17262
|
Dahlbo, H; Poliakova, V; Mylläri, V; Sahimaa, O; Anderson, R Recycling potential of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in Finland(2018) | |
| 18505
|
Schmidt, S; Laner, D The environmental performance of plastic packaging waste management in Germany: Current and future key factors(2023)Journal Of Industrial Ecology, 27.0, 6 | |
| 19504
|
Gritsch, L; Breslmayer, G; Rainer, R; Stipanovic, H; Tischberger-Aldrian, A; Lederer, J Critical properties of plastic packaging waste for recycling: A case study on non-beverage plastic bottles in an urban MSW system in Austria(2024) | |
| 24907
|
Antonopoulos, I; Faraca, G; Tonini, D Recycling of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in the EU: Recovery rates, material flows, and barriers(2021) | |
| 17303
|
Brouwer, M; Picuno, C; van Velzen, EUT; Kuchta, K; De Meester, S; Ragaert, K The impact of collection portfolio expansion on key performance indicators of the Dutch recycling system for Post-Consumer Plastic Packaging Waste, a comparison between 2014 and 2017(2019) | |
| 24955
|
Faraca, G; Astrup, T Plastic waste from recycling centres: Characterisation and evaluation of plastic recyclability(2019) | |
| 21237
|
Baran, B Resource (in)efficiency in the EU: a case of plastic waste(2022)Ekonomia I Prawo-Economics And Law, 21.0, 1 | |
| 27077
|
Volk, R; Stallkamp, C; Steins, JJ; Yogish, SP; Muller, RC; Stapf, D; Schultmann, F Techno-economic assessment and comparison of different plastic recycling pathways: A German case study(2021)Journal Of Industrial Ecology, 25.0, 5 |