The latest figures by the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe show that recycling and other recovery methods for plastics in all applications showed significant growth in 2000, reducing the amount of plastics waste going to disposal. In 2000, demand for plastics in Western Europe increased by three percent to 36.769 million metric tons, but recovery, through mechanical recycling, feedstock recycling and energy recovery, increased by 11 percent.
An analysis of plastics consumption and recovery in Western Europe during the year also shows that, in spite of the increase in demand for plastics, total post-user plastics waste remains less than one percent of total waste, from all materials, at 19.54 million metric tons. Increased recovery of plastics waste, to 36 percent, has reduced the amount of plastics lost to landfill, the single most important factor to reduce the impact of waste on the environment.
Eight countries recovered more than half the waste plastics from packaging: The Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Belgium. There was a significant expansion of plastics’ waste collection schemes, especially in southern Europe, which contributed to a 17 percent overall increase in mechanical recycling. This was effected both within Europe and, increasingly, in Asian countries. A case study in the report highlights how the voluntary agreement between industry and government in The Netherlands has allowed them to achieve very high recovery of plastics packaging waste cost-effectively.
"This data shows how plastics can contribute to the goals of sustainable development. Plastics play a role in environmental protection, both through efficient use of resources, and year-on-year, reduced impact when plastics reach end-of-life. The increase in recovery we have seen in 2000 is a clear demonstration of this,” according to Meil Mayen, head of APME’s Technical and Environmental Centre
In addition to recycling, energy recovery again made an important contribution in countries achieving high levels of recovery. With energy recovery, 23 per cent of plastics were given a second use in place of fossil fuels, providing a secure source of power or heat. This recovery option is particularly appropriate for mixtures of different types of plastics that cannot be efficiently recycled. In Denmark, where 83 per cent of all plastics waste is recovered, energy recovery is responsible for 75 per cent. In Switzerland, 73 per cent of plastics waste is given a second life through energy recovery.
The consumption figures show that the strongest growth is in the electrical and electronic sector, where consumption was up over five per cent to 2 670 000 tonnes. For products such as computers and mobile phones, plastics provide practical benefits that other materials cannot match. Packaging remains the largest use of plastics, accounting for over 37 per cent of the market, but here innovations which make packaging lighter and more resource-efficient ensured that only 2.7 per cent more plastics were used in this sector than in 1999.Latest from Recycling Today
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