Plastic Packaging Waste Research Articles

Plastic packaging waste in Europe: Addressing methodological challenges in recording and reporting.

A reliable comparison of European Union (EU) Member States' reporting of statistics on plastic packaging waste generation, recycling and recovery is necessary if there is to be a fair transition to a circular economy across the EU. It is a priority for there to be an improvement in the quality and validity of these statistics to assess each Member State's performance in relation to EU targets. This article explores the quality of national reporting based on the two main approaches which are used to calculate packaging waste generation, namely 'placed on the market' and 'waste analysis'. The findings outline how Member States apply a variety of approaches leading to different packaging waste statistics which makes reported data difficult to compare. Often, it is not clear what approach is applied in different counties. Factors such as freeriding, non-compliance and de minimis have represented the primary weaknesses in evaluating and reporting packaging waste statistics as producers have financial incentives for under-reporting. This article highlights the need to inform circular economy strategies by addressing the challenge of comparing data on packaging and plastic packaging waste generation across the EU.

Polypropylene Post-Consumer Recyclate Compounds for Thermoforming Packaging Applications

Polypropylene (PP) plastic packaging waste consists of a variety of different plastic packaging products with a great span in rheological and mechanical behavior. Therefore, the resulting post-consumer recyclates usually show melt mass-flow rates (MFR) in the region of injection molding grades and intermediate mechanical properties. High-quality packaging applications demand a distinct property profile that is met by tailor-made PP grades and cannot be met by recyclates with intermediate performance. One such application with high market volume is high-stiffness thermoforming trays. The aim of this research was to blend intermediate-performance recyclates with a virgin PP grade to obtain compounds that fulfill the rheological and mechanical demands of this application. Three commercially available PP post-consumer recyclates were acquired and compounded with different blending ratios with a high stiffness, low MFR virgin PP grade. As the pure recyclates show different rheological properties, the blending ratios had to be adapted for each of them to fit into the MFR range of 2-4 g/10 min which is desirable for thermoforming applications. The resulting PP recyclate compounds show a distinct correlation of recyclate content with rheological and mechanical performance. However, the resulting property profile was directly dependent on the performance of the originally used recyclate. The best-performing recyclate could be used in a blending ratio of 65 m% recyclate content while adhering to both property limits, the MFR of 2-4 g/10 min and the lower bound tensile stiffness of 1500 MPa.

Country-specific assessment of mismanaged plastic packaging waste as a main contributor to marine litter in Europe

Land-based litter and leakages from inadequate waste management are among the primary sources of marine litter. Plastic packaging and small non-packaging plastic items (PPSI) represent the most extensive application of virgin plastics produced and the largest fraction of post-consumer plastic waste. Moreover, PPSI are amongst the top recognizable litter items recorded on European beaches. This study aimed to estimate mismanaged PPSI waste generated in 33 countries in Europe, as well as in coastal territories bordering European seas. A material flow analysis was performed for each country for 2012 and 2018. The results indicate that most countries generated higher amounts of PPSI waste in 2018, both in absolute amounts and per capita. We estimate that 26.1 million tons of PPSI waste were generated in 2018 in the whole region, corresponding to 42.9 kg per capita (compared to 38.7 kg in 2012). This was also the case for mismanaged PPSI waste, with 3.01 million tons estimated for 2018, compared to 2.90 million tons in 2012, even if most countries managed to reduce their shares of mismanaged PPSI waste. Furthermore, differences in litter pressure around the regional seas are clear, with 90% of the estimated mismanaged PPSI in European coastal territories being generated in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions. Limitations related to data gaps and reporting lead to significant uncertainties in our estimations, even if the study made use of officially reported data from European countries. Our study suggests that reductions in the share of mismanaged PPSI waste seem to be mainly driven by efforts at the end-of-life stages of plastics (i.e., waste collection, recycling, disposal) but that these were not sufficient to offset higher amounts of PPSI waste generated in 2018, compared to 2012. Furthermore, exports of plastic waste, including from EU countries, may result in intensified shares of mismanaged PPSI. Responses on both waste management and waste prevention are needed to transition to a circular economy and to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the marine environment.

Evaluation of the Effect of Castor Oil-Based Experimental Additives on Pla/Starch Foils

Biodegradable packaging materials are attracting more and more interest nowadays, the primary driving force of which is the generation of enormous amounts of plastic packaging waste. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two castor oil-based experimental additives on the properties of foils made from incompatible biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and native starch (10-50 wt%). Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measurements and tensile tests were used. It was found that increasing the starch content affected the crystallization of PLA in the blends. Furthermore, since the additives did not significantly change the glass transition temperatures, the additives did not affect the mobility of PLA chains. Regarding the tensile tests, the tensile strength of the 60:40 PLA:starch longitudinal sample could be increased by approximately 10 and 6 MPa at 25 and -25 °C, respectively, when additives were introduced.

An Innovative Approach to Closing the Loop in a Circular Plastics Economy by Upcycling Single Use Post Consumer Thin Film Plastic Packaging Waste into Durable Plastic Products

An Innovative Approach to Closing the Loop in a Circular Plastics Economy by Upcycling Single Use Post Consumer Thin Film Plastic Packaging Waste into Durable Plastic Products

How to Achieve Ambitious Recycling Targets for Plastic Packaging Waste? The Environmental Impact of Increased Waste Separation and Sorting in Norway

How to Achieve Ambitious Recycling Targets for Plastic Packaging Waste? The Environmental Impact of Increased Waste Separation and Sorting in Norway

Management Practices for Compostable Plastic Packaging Waste: Impacts, Challenges and Recommendations

Management Practices for Compostable Plastic Packaging Waste: Impacts, Challenges and Recommendations

The pyrolysis system for aluminum packaging with the highest aluminum recovery efficiency

Recently, to save time, people have often preferred canned food because of its convenience, high nutritional value and safety compared with fast food. This has caused the amount of packaging waste in the world to increase rapidly, becoming one of the major dangers to the global environment. However, governments, environmentalists and scientists were soon aware of the dangers of this type of waste and soon developed improved methods to treat and minimize its impact on the environment. From the achievement of metal recovery in used products, this study also inherited the achievement of metal recovery in nonaluminum packaging products, namely, milk pouches, blisters, softener pouches, snack pounds, toothpaste tubes, and foods containing standing pouches, by pyrolysis. This study aimed to convert food packaging plastic wastes (MFPWs) into raw materials (aluminum and carbon particles) using three combined methods: pyrolysis and mechanical and chemical treatment. This experiment used a fixed-bed reactor in the laboratory to heat plastic packaging waste to obtain a solid fraction at a temperature of 800°C, and the retention time was 30 minutes. Food containing 98.64% of the samples yielded the most desirable results, while the second highest percentage of samples were produced from aluminum toothpaste tubes, for which the product contained 93.24%. Owing to the demand for metal recovery in all industries in general and in the food industry in particular, this research proposes identifying a packaging waste category from which pure aluminum can be recovered most efficiently by pyrolysis technology, and the feasibility of the results obtained will be tested shortly.

Sustainable Construction: Optimization of Road Potholes Repair with Polymer Mix Aggregates

The roads in Banyuwangi city have sustained considerable damage; the asphalt supply has not met the need because 45% of the roads are built using gravel and soil. Another problem is related to plastic, which is a type of waste that is difficult to recycle. Thereby, to solve these two problems, we conducted research in making polymer-modified asphalt by utilizing food packaging plastic waste. The process followed the standard specification of Highway Construction Division 6, revision 3: the polymer blending process was performed when the hot asphalt mixing temperature was 145℃-155℃. The research results found that the variation of asphalt content used in the mixture was 4.5%, 5%, 5.5%, and 6%. Moreover, the optimal asphalt content was 6%. The polymer was mixed with the optimal asphalt content of 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%. The test results showed that the optimal polymer content was 1% polymer. For optimizing and repairing road potholes, polymer asphalt with asphalt content of 6% mixed and 1% polymer can be chosen as a solution. Polymer-modified asphalt had a high stability value, which was 1181.9 kg. The discovery of this mixture of materials is very appropriate for sustainable road construction in Indonesia.

Agricultural Plastic Waste Management

This article aims at describing both the studies and results implemented in the framework of the H2020-EU research project “RECOVER: New bio-recycling routes for food packaging and agricultural plastic waste” which deals with the sustainability of innovative biodegradation processes for plastic waste and production, in any environmental, social, economic and safety matters. In such a framework, the POLOG University Centre (Livorno, Italy), reconstructed and analyzed the actual farm plastic waste supply chain, as described in the following sections. The first section is introductive and it has been intended as a primer to the most common different types of plastic materials. The second section has deserved to be a state of the art on the most relevant issues raised in plastic waste management. The third section deals with suitable approaches to address the environmental side effects of rapidly growing plastics production, use, and disposal. Some of these approaches were listed, such as physical treatment of the polymeric components, plastic reduction use and employment as much as mechanical and/or chemical recycling and energy recovery. The fourth section shows how some of the above main issues, which raise coping with plastic reduction and recycling, are suited to be coped with from a logistics perspective. Such logistics belong to the basic needs due to tackling any plastic waste supply chain, i.e. collection and transport to intermediate stock and final delivery to recycling plants and/or brownfields, applying the set of methodologies and techniques drawn from the well-known field of pick-up-and-delivery models. These last tasks become crucial when the main effort has addressed the enforcement of any feasible changes from the use of items made in old high environmental intrusive to their replacement with new agricultural and biodegradable plastics. The paper goes to end presenting shortly of a few suitable solutions that could be proposed and applied to the entire plastic waste supply chain. Finally, some concrete aspects of each phase of the supply chain were discussed and it was highlighted how much each of these can be best used in addressing the problem known throughout the world as the problem of the emergency of old plastic waste.

SIMULATION OF BLOOD INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AS GOOD HEALTH AND WELL BEING (SDGS 3): CASE OF THE INDONESIAN RED CROSS JAKARTA BRANCH

With around 5.6 million tons of annual plastic consumption and merely 7 percent plastic recycling rate, Indonesia is facing a plastic pollution crisis. The recent progress of Indonesia’s recycling industries has provided an asset to address this crisis. In 2017, the domestic post-consumption plastic waste could only fulfil around 24 percent the domestic needs for recycled plastic, which stands at 1.65 million ton/year. Leveraging the plastic waste ‘asset’ through circular economy can fill this demand gap. A five-month study was conducted to analyse the recycling rate of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polypropylene (PP)-based beverage plastic packaging in Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area to see their potential in fostering circular economy. Structured interview involving 385 upstream and downstream recycling actors in Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area provided primary data for the study. While secondary data from previous studies, academic journals, Nielsen’s audit data and electronic sources complement the primary data, particularly regarding recycling actors and packaging consumption rate. The study showed that over 329 tons of beverage plastic packaging waste was collected daily in Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area, in which PET-based packaging had accounted for 78 percent of them. Waste pickers play a key role here by contributing to 65% of the collected PET waste. The study also showcased a mature recycling chain of PET and PP-based packaging with its recycling rate that reaches 74 to 93 percent. Looking at their economic value, PET and PP contributed 30 to 51 percent to the income of waste collectors. It can also be estimated that economic activities related to PET management in the could generate IDR 700 million per day at collector level only. The demands of PET continue to increase following the growing innovation in PET-based products. An effectively managed PET and PP plastic system could simultaneously address this demand and foster circular economy.

ADVANCING THE POTENTIAL OF PET AND PP-BASED BEVERAGE PACKAGING TO SUPPORT CIRCULAR ECONOMY

With around 5.6 million tons of annual plastic consumption and merely 7 percent plastic recycling rate, Indonesia is facing a plastic pollution crisis. The recent progress of Indonesia’s recycling industries has provided an asset to address this crisis. In 2017, the domestic post-consumption plastic waste could only fulfil around 24 percent the domestic needs for recycled plastic, which stands at 1.65 million ton/year. Leveraging the plastic waste ‘asset’ through circular economy can fill this demand gap. A five-month study was conducted to analyse the recycling rate of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polypropylene (PP)-based beverage plastic packaging in Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area to see their potential in fostering circular economy. Structured interview involving 385 upstream and downstream recycling actors in Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area provided primary data for the study. While secondary data from previous studies, academic journals, Nielsen’s audit data and electronic sources complement the primary data, particularly regarding recycling actors and packaging consumption rate. The study showed that over 329 tons of beverage plastic packaging waste was collected daily in Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area, in which PET-based packaging had accounted for 78 percent of them. Waste pickers play a key role here by contributing to 65% of the collected PET waste. The study also showcased a mature recycling chain of PET and PP-based packaging with its recycling rate that reaches 74 to 93 percent. Looking at their economic value, PET and PP contributed 30 to 51 percent to the income of waste collectors. It can also be estimated that economic activities related to PET management in the could generate IDR 700 million per day at collector level only. The demands of PET continue to increase following the growing innovation in PET-based products. An effectively managed PET and PP plastic system could simultaneously address this demand and foster circular economy.

Biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) films coated with tannic acid as an active food packaging material

Non-biodegradable plastic packaging waste, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, is increasing, resulting in environmental pollution. In this study, we prepared ecofriendly food packaging films using poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB-4HB), a microbially produced biodegradable aliphatic polyester, as a replacement for non-degradable packaging films. The films were prepared using hot-pressing and surface-modified to be hydrophilic via N2 plasma treatment. Finally, the films were coated with tannic acid (TA) by dip-coating. The effects of these treatments were investigated, and the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the P3HB-4HB film were evaluated. We found that the TA coating improved the film’s mechanical and thermal properties, which had been reduced by the N2 plasma treatment. Importantly for packaging applications, the TA coating did not affect the visible-light transparency. The films were used to store bananas, and lower weight loss and browning were observed compared to those of non-packaged bananas, demonstrating the promise of the prepared films.

Plastic Packaging Waste Management in Iceland: Challenges and Opportunities from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

The management of plastic packaging waste is advancing quickly, and new strategies are being implemented worldwide for better resource recovery. To assess the environmental benefits of new ways of handling plastic packaging waste, we need to first evaluate current waste management options in order to create a basis for comparison. In this study, the environmental impacts of plastic packaging waste handling are assessed for the first time in Iceland using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The results show that mechanical recycling, despite including the impacts of exporting the waste to different European countries, has more environmental benefits than landfilling the waste in Iceland. Increasing the recycling rates of plastic waste in Iceland is also identified as a promising option from a resource efficiency perspective. With better waste sorting, Iceland can become more environmentally sustainable, ensuring that plastic materials land in recycling processes, and thereby enhancing the flow of material in the circular economy.

Post-consumer plastic packaging waste from online food delivery services in South Korea

Along with the rapid growth of the food delivery industry, concerns are growing regarding the management of plastic packaging waste. This study estimates the amount of plastic packaging from online food delivery services in Korea and assesses its environmental effects using life cycle assessments. This study also compares the environmental impacts of the adoption of multi-use containers, the use of recycled materials, and the increase in recycling rates proposed by the Korean government for efficient plastic waste management. A total of 72.93 kt of plastic packaging was consumed by online food delivery in 2020, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate accounted for 81.48% of the packaging materials consumed. The adoption of multi-use containers is the most environmentally effective alternative, but its negative impact on terrestrial ecotoxicity is approximately 5 times higher than that of others. Although the other two alternatives are 2–6 times less efficient than adopting multi-use containers, they can still play an important role in plastic waste management. Overall, these results provide empirical information on food packaging waste and insights into the sustainable management of plastics. Keywords: Food packaging, Plastic waste, Online food delivery service, Waste management, Environmental impact.

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Mixed PE Fractions from Post-Consumer Plastic Packaging Waste.

The functional properties of recycled post-consumer flexible polyethylene packaging waste have been studied using materials collected and sorted at a large-scale facility in Sweden. The studied fraction was used both as received and after simple laboratory washing in water with added sodium hydroxide at 40 °C. The materials were melt-compounded with a twin-screw extruder using two different temperature profiles and two screw configurations and injection-molded into slabs, whose thermal and mechanical properties were assessed. The results showed that the mechanical properties of injection-molded samples were not changed significantly either by the washing or by the temperature or screw configuration used in the compounding. Washing reduced the viscosity and molecular mass to a minor extent. As expected, the ash content of the compounded pellets was reduced by washing. The thermo-oxidative stability decreased with increasing compounding temperature and with washing.

Evaluation of plastic packaging waste degradation in seawater and simulated solar radiation by spectroscopic techniques

The goal of this study was to evaluate the degradation of plastic packaging waste in seawater and under simulated solar radiation by different spectroscopic techniques in view of their potential recycling. Selected packaging products made of polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene (PS) were weathered in a Solar Box for 4 cycles of 504 h each (21 days), for a total of 2016 h (84 days). At each aging cycle, digital images of the polymer samples were acquired to investigate surface changes in terms of cracking and fragmentation. Furthermore, color measurements were carried out by reflectance spectrophotometry in the visible range (VIS: 400–700 nm). Finally, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in the shortwave infrared region (SWIR: 1000–2500 nm) coupled with chemometric techniques was applied to monitor the aging process in terms of reflectance spectral variations and to evaluate the possibility of predicting the polymer aging time.The results showed that plastic packaging samples are characterized by different degradation behaviors, such as surface alteration (i.e. fractures, grooves and deep cracks), color variation (i.e. yellowing and discoloration) and fragmentation and microplastic formation, corresponding to changes in reflectance and chemical bonds vibrations. The degradation phenomena are influenced by both thickness and polymer type, being more evident for PP and PS samples rather than for HDPE ones.Concerning the results based on SWIR-HSI, principal component analysis (PCA) highlighted the spectral variation of polymers occurring during the artificial aging process through the different clustering in the score plot. Furthermore, good correlations were obtained between polymer spectral signature and aging time applying Support Vector Machines (SVM) prediction model. The use of the proposed spectroscopic techniques, as well as the development of predictive models based on HSI, contributes to understand the behavior of polymers when exposed to marine environment. This approach represents a promising tool for the definition of the degradation status of polymers and for the selection of marine plastics characterized by a level of degradation compatible with their recycling, fully in line with the principles of circular and sustainable economy.

Separate collection rates for plastic packaging in Austria – A regional analysis taking collection systems and urbanization into account

According to the EU Circular Economy Package, recycling of plastic packaging waste (PPW) has to be enhanced significantly by 2025 and 2030. Although a set of measures will be required along the whole value chain of plastic packaging, the process of separate collection remains the backbone. Hence, a detailed understanding of the performance of current separate collection systems is crucial. As a case study, the separate collection of PPW was analyzed within a single country, Austria, where a variety of collection procedures are implemented. By using the method of material flow analysis, separate collection rates in terms of quantities and qualities were analyzed for separate collection systems of different settlement patterns, target fractions, and service levels provided. Results show that the highest performance was achieved in systems that cover mainly rural areas and where all plastic packaging wastes are collected through curbside collection, with separate collection rates of 74–77%. With additional collection via collection centers, these values increased to 78%-83%. In comparison, the results for urban areas showed the lowest separate collection rate of 56%. In the case that separate collection targeted plastic bottles only, maximum collection rates of around 50 % were observed, with the tendency towards higher collection rates if co-mingled with metals. To enhance separate collection, a general shift to the target fraction “all plastic packaging” instead of “plastic bottles only” is crucial. Modelling of optimized collection systems in all Austrian regions would lead to a theoretical total separation collection rate of 74%.

OPTIMIZATION OF POLYMER AGGREGATE WITH SAND AND ASPHALT MIX FOR ROAD POTHOLES REPAIR

The roads in Banyuwangi city have sustained considerable damage; the asphalt supply has yet to meet the need because 45% of the roads are built using gravel and soil. Another problem is related to plastic, a type of waste that is difficult to recycle. To solve these two problems, we conducted research in making polymer-modified asphalt by utilizing food packaging plastic waste. The process followed the standard specification of Highway Construction Division 6, revision 3: the polymer blending process was performed when the hot asphalt mixing temperature was 145°C- 155°C. The research results found that the variation of asphalt content used in the mixture was 4.5%, 5%, 5.5%, and 6%. Moreover, the optimal asphalt content was 5.3%. The polymer was mixed with the optimal asphalt content of 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%. The test results showed that the optimal polymer content was 0.5%, with a maximum of 1%. Polymer-modified asphalt had a high stability value of 23.64% greater than conventional. In addition, the air cavity value in the mixture was 5.74% greater than conventional asphalt. The discovery of this mixture of materials is very appropriate for sustainable road construction in Indonesia.

PRACTICE OF ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF WASTE DISPOSAL WITH ELEMENTS OF PRINTING DESIGN

The problem of disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) is considered, taking into account the presence of inclusions in them in the form of paint and varnish coatings of printing design. It is shown that their disposal, given that more than 90 % of MSW have such inclusions, requires sound technological solutions. It is shown that the main problem is the disposal of “mixed waste”, which covers all plastic packaging waste from household waste and includes rigid and flexible products from various types of polymers and colors, which are usually created with a print design element. It is proposed to use high-temperature disposal methods based on pyrolysis and gasification processes. It is advisable to consider such methods in combination with technologies for obtaining alternative energy carriers and obtaining various types of substances and energy on their basis, for example, mechanical, thermal and electrical. A description of the processes of gasification of low-grade solid fuels by the method of thermodynamic modeling is presented. It is shown that the economic efficiency of waste disposal increases significantly when the pyrolysis and gasification processes are combined when the pyrolysis plant and the gas generator waste disposal process are combined into one technological process, which will make it possible to bring the waste utilization to almost 100%. It is also indicated, as promising, the use of gasification and pyrolysis products, including coke and hot ash, in external combustion engines of the Stirling engine type (with external heat supply). Bibl. 8, Fig. 5.