Achieving 鈥渃ircularity鈥� in plastic 鈥� a system in which nearly all products are recycled in the supply chain 鈥� will take substantial investment in new infrastructure and coordinated global initiative in the decades ahead. In the meantime, the problem of plastic waste will likely get a lot worse before it gets better.
That view was shared by Anne Johnson, Vice President, Principal, Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), and Robin Waters, Executive Director, Circular Plastics Service, IHS Markit. They mapped out the sources of the challenge now, as well as technology and policy solutions being proposed to address it.
High on the list of challenges are the short-comings in collection of recyclable plastic products. About 4.5 billion pounds of potentially recyclable plastic is produced annually in the US, but only about 1.7 billion pounds 鈥� roughly 18% -- are collected for recycling, Johnson said.
Even the most familiar recyclables 鈥� PET bottles and jars 鈥� achieve a recycling rate of 28%. Far lower rates are seen for materials such as PET non-bottle packaging (11%) or polyethylene film (12%). She noted that the recycling system has not kept pace with new plastics like films and flexible packaging, which are not being collected. Most plastic is recycled into products such as carpet, textiles, and durable goods like pipe or crates. However, with commitments from brands seeking recycled content for packaging this is starting to shift.
A vulnerability in the US recycling infrastructure is its dependence on municipal funding to support collection. Local government units often have limited budget to devote to collection of recyclables and needed infrastructure. As a result, only about 54% of US households have automatic curbside access to recycling service, Johnson said. A relatively small number of large US metro areas and related MRFs account for more than half of all collected recyclables, including plastics. Further investment or supply side policies would go a long way to support improved collection.
We have a long
way to go.
Globally, plastic waste will increase in proportion with the rise in solid waste generation that comes with economic development and population growth. Globally, about 2.1 billion tons of solid waste is generated annually, and that鈥檚 forecast to rise to 3.5 to 3.7 billion tons by 2050. In the US, plastics are about 13% to 14% of solid waste.In certain parts of Asia, that proportion runs about 25%.
Advanced recycling technology holds promise as a more efficient method of dealing with some plastic wastes, noted Waters. Sometimes referred to as chemical recycling, advanced recycling alters the form of used plastics by dissolving them, depolymerizing them, or using heat to break them down into their original components. These raw materials are then used to make new plastics or used as industrial chemicals and transportation fuels.
Chemical recycling鈥檚 challenge is to achieve the commercial scale that would make these operations competitive. 鈥淲e now have emerging facilities in the 50 to 300 tons per day range, and we really need a ten-fold increase in the capacity to bring costs in line,鈥� said Waters. 鈥淲e have a long way to go.鈥�
Johnson sees chemical recycling as complementary to mechanical recycling. 鈥淭here are limits to how much we can mechanically recycle,鈥� she said. 鈥淎dvanced recycling techniques has opened the door to harder-to-recycle forms of resins and products that are technically or economically challenging to recycle by mechanical means.鈥�
The increasing use of chemical recycling may also help achieve circularity聽 by changing the competitive economics, Johnson said. 鈥淲e have to align the interests of virgin production and recovered material production,鈥澛� she said. 鈥淎dvanced recycling technologies are where we start to create聽 that link. Historically, the cost model for recycled has usually been a聽 low-cost alternative to virgin.鈥�
We need to collect more if we want to move toward circularity.
On the policy front, Johnson and Waters cited the growing interest of legislatures and regulators in extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws. These laws typically require designated producers to pay for end-of-life management of their materials. The money is used to help infrastructure and consumer education, which has a highly positive impact on public participation in collection programs. 鈥淓PR is a supply side policy. We need to collect more if we want to move toward circularity.鈥� Johnson noted.
