Fight plastic waste
Plastic is ubiquitous. It's in packaging, smartphones and medical devices. But almost half of all products are waste after less than a month. Plastic waste causes major environmental problems and only a fraction ends up in recycling. There is no universal magic bullet against it. The solution requires a holistic approach. A new recycling process from Sweden demonstrates it.
Germany likes to be called the recycling world champion. "But that's just wishful thinking," says the 2019 Plastics Atlas published by Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which is close to the Greens. According to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the waste management industry recycled around 99 percent of the plastic waste collected in 2017. The term "recycling" can be deceptive here, because it makes a big difference whether something is recycled or actually reused. Officially, the recycling rates in Germany are therefore relatively high. However, they hide the fact that they only refer to the delivery to a recycling company, not to the material that is actually recycled.
Recovery is not equal to recycling
Deutsche Umwelthilfe estimates that the actual recycling rate for plastic packaging is around 38 percent. This figure refers purely to the mechanical recycling of "post-consumer waste", i.e. plastic waste generated by consumption. This accounts for around 85 percent of the plastic waste collected in Germany in 2017.
In the case of material recycling, a distinction is made between "material" and "raw material" recycling. "Mechanical means that the material, for example plastic, is sorted, shredded, washed, melted and processed into new plastic parts," explains Petra Weißhaupt from UBA. Feedstock recycling accounted for only one percent in 2017. In this process, plastic is broken down "backwards" into small components, for example gases, by breaking down its polymer structures in a chemical process and then used as fuel or combustible.
Of the 5.2 million metric tons of plastic waste generated in Germany in 2017 after use, the majority, around 67 percent, was "energetically" recycled. That is, incinerated in waste incineration plants or used as substitute fuel in power plants. Just 810,000 tons of recyclate (recycled plastic) from post-consumer waste was used to make new plastic products. This corresponds to an actual recycling rate of around 16 percent for plastic waste. In Germany, more than half of plastic waste is thus incinerated and only a small fraction is actually reused. This is a far cry from a functioning recycling economy, say BUND and Böllstiftung.
Not all plastic is the same
Whereas in the 1950s just under two million tons of plastic were produced worldwide each year, today the figure is almost 400 million tons. Four to eight percent of global crude oil and natural gas consumption is used for its production. In Germany, too, more and more plastic is being produced and consumed. The amount of plastic waste in the post-consumer sector from 1994 to 2017 has almost tripled. It is hard to imagine our everyday lives without plastic. 30 percent of the plastics processed in Germany are used for packaging, with disposable products accounting for the vast majority.
But not all plastics are the same. Some products are used for decades. Plastic building products, such as pipes, last more than 80 years. Long-lasting plastic products are less problematic than short-lived ones because they produce only a fraction of waste compared to consumption. In medicine, the use of plastic has led to improved hygiene through sterile packaging, or in aviation to weight savings and reduced fuel consumption. Without plastic, no car could drive today. However, plastic packaging is only used for a very short time. Many everyday products therefore quickly end up in the trash.
Raw material is a curse and a blessing
The properties of plastic are both a curse and a blessing. The material, a waste product of the petrochemical industry, is so popular because it is light, stable and versatile. In addition, plastics are usually cheaper to produce than other materials and the supply of raw materials is considered secure. One advantage of plastic, its long durability, is also its biggest problem. It takes up to 450 years for a plastic bottle to decompose in the environment. According to the UBA, three-quarters of the trash in the ocean already consists of plastics. More than ten million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year from land alone, according to the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). This costs the lives of millions of marine animals. Over time, plastic waste also breaks down into smaller pieces: microplastics. The extent to which this is harmful to the health of marine life and humans has not yet been adequately researched. Lack of waste systems is a major reason why so much plastic waste ends up in the ocean. In developing countries, the waste is usually incinerated or piles up on land and is washed into the sea en masse via rivers. There are major differences between countries: two billion people worldwide have no access to waste disposal systems.
Out of sight, out of mind
China is considered the largest emitter of plastic waste into the world's oceans. Germany is no stranger to this - it is the world's third-largest exporter of plastic waste. "Germany is not the recycling world champion, but it is very good at exporting plastic waste," says Barbara Unmüßig, director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. The scandal here is that when packaging waste is exported from Germany, it is considered officially recycled and can even be integrated into the calculation of German recycling quotas. "According to the principle of 'out of sight, out of mind,' we are exporting our plastic waste to third countries and thus only shifting the problem spatially," says BUND chairman Hubert Weiger.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germany exported just under 1.5 million tons of plastics worth almost half a billion US dollars abroad in 2016. Until the import ban in 2018, China was the most important destination for German and European recycled plastics. Since then, low-quality plastic waste may no longer be imported into the People's Republic. Germany's exports now go to Southeast Asia or the Netherlands, and via detours back to China. Contrary to the original intention of establishing plastic as a high-quality material, poorer parts of the world often lack the infrastructure to dispose of the waste in an environmentally sound manner.
New recycling process to close loop
"We should not forget that plastic is a fantastic material - it gives us products we can otherwise only dream of. The problem is that it is cheaper to produce new plastics from oil and fossil gas than from recycled plastic waste," says Henrik Thunman, professor of energy technology at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
He leads a research group in Gothenburg that has developed a new thermochemical process to recycle all kinds of plastic waste into new plastic - and with the same quality as the original.*
In the process, the plastic waste is broken down at the molecular level. The resulting gases can then be converted back into new plastics. By developing a new steam cracking system, the researchers have so far been able to turn 200 kilograms of waste per hour into a useful gas mixture.
Professor Thunman sees the resilience of plastic as a key advantage: "The fact that it doesn't deteriorate makes it a circular use, which creates a positive value for used plastics and thus an economic impetus for collection."
He wants to move away from a "linear waste hierarchy". This means that plastic is repeatedly mined to increasingly poor quality and eventually incinerated or landfilled. "We have proven that our process is technically and economically feasible and can be integrated into existing petrochemical plants," Thunman says. Biobased waste materials such as paper, wood or clothing could also be used as raw materials for the chemical process.
The new process is designed to transform today's plastics factories into recycling plants. The process was tested on the existing infrastructure of the petrochemical cluster in Stenungsund in Sweden. Several large chemical companies, such as Ineos and Borealis, manufacture some of their products there. "We can use it to switch completely from fossil resources to recycled plastic waste and close the material cycle of plastic products," says Swede.
Most plants would need about one to two million tons of plastic waste per year to reach production levels. The petrochemical industry needs an economic boost to make the change, he said. "It uses the cheapest raw material it can get on the market. That's why we need to build a European market for recycled plastics. The next step is a system that makes these materials available at low cost," Thunman urges.
Only when plastic waste, including mixed products, regains its value can the recycling system change, she said. Their process could be an incentive to keep plastic waste in their own country or import it from countries that do not have a functioning waste recycling system. "This can create a new market for plastic waste disposal for the poorer parts of the world," Thunman says.
The Swedish researchers are currently working on the details to reduce the risk for the industry to implement. "This is necessary to scale up the process from a few tons of plastic per day to hundreds of tons. Then it becomes commercially interesting," Thunman explains. This type of recycling solution will come, he says, it's just a matter of when and if there are enough recycled materials.
The Federal Environment Agency has its doubts, saying that there are currently several approaches to feedstock-based plastics recycling, but they have not yet progressed beyond the research stage. "Currently, only mechanical recycling is technically established and widespread," says Petra Weißhaupt. She also says that all attempts to generate new basic components for the production of plastics through feedstock recycling have not yet been successful on a larger scale.
The Swedish researchers, on the other hand, see their process as a global solution. Even with advanced sorting systems, they say, mechanical recycling is only affordable for certain regions of the world and can usually only produce inferior products. "For me, plastic is one of the most democratic materials. All income levels can afford it. Plastic can meet any material need and can be recycled infinitely through our process," Thunman says.
In Sweden, only about eight percent of about 1.6 million tons of plastic waste was recycled into low-grade plastics in 2017. "Despite considerable efforts in collection and sorting, a large part of plastic waste consists of mixed plastics and therefore cannot be recycled. To avoid disposal and incineration, we need efficient industrial processes that make recycling of mixed waste streams possible," Thunman said.
Paradigm shift requires rethinking
The fact is that there is currently no circular economy to speak of, either in Germany or worldwide. Manufacturers prefer to use virgin plastic for their products rather than recycled material. This is why BUND and the Böll Foundation are calling for the plastics problem not only to be shifted onto the waste management industry and consumers, but also for plastics producers to be held more accountable.
The EU and the German government are also trying to do this. From 2030, all plastic packaging in the EU is to be 100 percent recyclable. The EU has already initiated a ban on various single-use plastic items such as plastic straws. Still, many experts believe the EU plastics strategy is too vague, due to lobbying pressure from powerful industry. "There are hardly any regulations obliging manufacturers to curb production or develop recycling-friendly products," says the Plastics Atlas. In addition, the EU needs to pay more attention to the conditions under which plastics are recycled abroad, it says.
In Germany, the plastic recycling rate was increased to 58.5 percent in 2019 with the new Packaging Act. Anyone who puts packaging into circulation must be responsible for taking it back and recycling it. From 2022, the recycling rate is set to rise to 63 percent. "Manufacturers must also license and register packaging. Currently, the participation rate is still too low and the number of free riders too high," says Petra Weißhaupt from UBA.
WWF and NABU also agree: plastic recyclates must be used more often and the recyclability of packaging must be rewarded. Certain forms of plastic, such as microplastics in cosmetics, should be banned. NABU is also calling for quantitative waste avoidance targets, more reusable systems and clear specifications for recycling-friendly design of plastic products. Investments should also be made in new sorting and recycling technologies and a recycling garbage can introduced.
According to the Plastics Atlas, a combination of hard and soft measures is needed. Municipalities and cities should receive economic incentives, such as bonuses or penalties, to achieve the political targets. It is important to involve the population and companies in all phases of the change. Better waste separation and recycling alone will not solve the problem. What is needed are ideas that tackle the problem at its roots, such as "zero waste" initiatives. In other words, systems that generate no waste in the first place and promote a genuine circular economy around plastics. This is also the declared goal of the Swedish researchers: "A real paradigm shift requires rethinking," says Thunman. This is also the credo of the Plastics Atlas: "What isn't used up front can't come out the back."
*Note: The research study was financially supported by the Swedish Energy Agency. The results were recently published in the journal "Sustainable Materials and Technologies" and are publicly available.