Science Progress (2007), 90(4), 245–268 doi: 10.

3184/003685007X228748

Plastic recycling
ABSTRACT

This review covers the options for recycling of plastic waste and provides a
general overview of the main issues associated with plastic disposal. It
provides a summary of the quantities and type of plastics in the waste
stream and also the main effects of recycling on the plastic material itself.
The four types of recycling: primary, secondary, tertiary and quarternary,
the requirements each places on the feed stock, and the uses of each are
given.

Keywords: plastic, polymer, recycling, processing, incineration, landfill

avoidance

Vannessa Goodship graduated from Warwick University in 2002 with a PhD

in Engineering. She has been working with plastics for 24 years, having left
school at 16 to work in the plastics industry. During time in industry she
gained a BA and a BSc from the Open University and also took her PhD on a
part-time basis while employed as a researcher by the University of Warwick.
She has written a number of books and papers on polymer processing and
recycling and co-ordinated the UK Polymer Recycling Network until 2004.
1. Introduction
Historically recycling in the plastic industry was carried out within
manufacturing companies as part of the standard production
process. In extrusion for instance, often where material and
contamination constraints allowed, in-house scrap would be re-
processed with virgin material, to improve final material produc-
tion yields. Plastic waste both commercial and post consumer going
to landfill.
Therefore, it is only relatively late in the development of the
plastic industry that focus and public perception has shifted
towards the problems of plastic waste. This has been driven by
two factors; a growing concern about the costs, both financial and
environmentally of land filling, and the sheer amount of plastic
waste finding its way into that waste stream.
This overview will provide a general introduction to the issues
affecting plastics recycling materials from end of life to disposal
and overview the main methods in landfill avoidance associated
with plastic waste.

2. The scale of the problem

The amount of plastics ending up in the waste stream seems to be
ever increasing. In Western Europe it is currently estimated to be
rising at 4% a year1. This is due to the fact that plastics are an
extremely useful and versatile set of materials. They have found
use in a whole range of products such as consumer goods,
packaging, automotive and construction. The use of plastics in the
automotive industry for example has been increasing due to the
drive to make cars more energy efficient and lightweight. The
overall distribution of plastic materials usage by industrial sector
within the UK is shown in Figure 1.
As a percentage of the domestic waste stream, plastics make up
only about 7%; however because of their light weight they can
seem to be contributing a much higher percentage of the bulk and
are therefore more visible in the waste stream than heavier
materials such as metals. Annually plastics contribute about 3
million tonnes, 56% of this comes from packaging materials.
This may be surprising since in Figure 1 only 35% of plastics are
used in packaging. This can be explained by considering not only
the product type but also the product lifetime. The lifetime of a
product is an important concept in recycling.

246 Vannessa Goodship

 Mechanical
engineering Medical
Toys/sports 2% 2%
Footwear
3%
%

Other
3%
Agriculture
7% Packaging
35%
Transport
8%

Furniture/housewares
8%

Electrical and
electronics
8% Building and
construction
23%

Fig. 1. Uses of plastics within the UK.

[http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Plastics.htm
accessed 4.4.07]

Consider for example a polypropylene bumper on a car. This

may well be on the same car for in excess of 10 years. In
contrast, a polyethylene wrapper on a fresh chicken may be
discarded (have a lifetime) of just a few days. Likewise, a
supermarket carrier bag may be discarded as soon as it has
served its purpose of carrying the shopping home. Plastics from
the packaging sector tend to have a much shorter lifetime. The
lifetime of a product will affect when it ends up in the waste
stream.
We have seen that packaging has a very short lifetime;
however it has been estimated that supermarkets give these
away at a rate of over 290 bags for each person a year in the
UK. If this does not make environmental sense why do it?
The answer is economics. The supermarkets are in competition
with each other for customers and to keep their market share
they must give their customers the service that they want. The
conflict between the environment and the economy can be a
major barrier in recycling. One solution is legislation; this is
beyond the scope of this paper but is further considered by
Meech, 20062.
 (Interestingly, it is the same consumer pressure that may soon
cause the supermarkets to cease this particular practice.)

3. Plastic materials
In order to understand how best to recycle a plastic material it is
necessary to know what the material is and how it is likely to
behave. Plastics are made up of polymers and additives. The
percentage of a polymer contained within a plastic material can
vary widely from virtually 100% to less than 20% and depends on
the application for which it is intended. In the USA alone over
18,000 different grades of polymer based materials are available.
For the purposes of discussing recycling, these plastics can be
subdivided into two main categories: thermoplastics and thermo-
sets. This distinction relates to the basic molecular structure and
affects which processing route as well as which recycling route can
be applied. A plastic in first use is termed a virgin material.
Common thermoplastics and their uses are shown in Table 1.
When heated they melt and flow and when cooled they solidify.
This process of heating and cooling can be repeated many times
and therefore to reprocess a thermoplastic material is it necessary
to re-melt them. HDPE, LDPE, PP and PS materials are used in
vast quantities to make many consumer items such as lids, carrier
bags and fast food packaging. PET is used for carbonated drinks
bottles. PVC is used to make flooring, shoes and bottles.
Thermosets whilst initially processed by melting in a similar
manner to thermoplastics cannot be re-melted and will decompose
rather than melt. This is because they are chemically cross linked
during a process called curing. This produces a highly dense
chemical structure which imparts stiffness and brittleness.
Examples of thermosets are epoxy resins (adhesives, electrical
insulation), melamine-formaldehyde resin (heat resistant laminate
surfaces such as kitchen worktops) and phenolics (heat resistant
handles for pans, toasters, irons).
Since thermosets cannot be recycled by re-melting they are much
more difficult to re-process. However they also tend to have longer
service lives (10 years + ) and are used in smaller quantities to
thermoplastic materials. Much research has been done looking for
ways to dispose of thermoset materials, a number of which will be
discussed later in this paper.
It was stated earlier that plastics are made up of polymer and
additives, before we move on to a more in depth look at recycling it
is necessary to briefly discuss additives and their affect on this
Table 1. Common thermoplastics and their use in packaging

Polymer Application Products

Low-density polyethylene Film, coatings Carrier bags, bin bags

(LDPE)

High-density polyethylene Film, bottles Milk and fruit juice bottles,

(HDPE) washing up liquid bottles,
fabric conditioners. (Bottles
are not transparent as per PET)

Polyethylene terephthalate Bottles Transparent drink bottles

(PET) e.g. cooking oil, cordials,
carbonated drinks

Polyvinyl chloride Film, containers Chemical bottles (weedkiller,

(PVC) car polish sprays)

Polystyrene Containers Clear when unfoamed for food

(PS) containers, also often foamed
(fast food packaging)

process. There are numerous additives commercially available for

plastics and a full discussion is beyond the scope of this review 3.
However eight of the most common additives can be found in
Table 2.
Not only can numerous additives be put into plastics; they can
also be added at a range of percentages. Glass fibre for instance
may be incorporated at ranges from 5% – 80% producing a plastic
with vastly different properties and uses.
It is this sort of versatility which has allowed plastics success in
markets traditionally using materials with such different properties
as glass, metal or wood. However this versatility can also be a
drawback when considering recycling. If one single polymer is
considered, a considerable amount of possibilities for additives
and combinations of additives exist.

4. Melt processing of thermoplastics

The focus will now switch specifically to thermoplastic material
and their processing. Processing can be simplified to three stages:
melting, forming and solidifying.
There are a number of processes used to manufacture plastic
components performing these three simple steps for example
extrusion, injection moulding blow moulding and film blowing 4.
Each is used to manufacture specific types of products.
Table 2. Common additives for plastics

Additive Purpose
Calcium carbonate Filler: generally used for cost reduction as much
cheaper than polymer

Pigments Give the plastic a colour. Generally for aesthetic

properties

Glass fibre Increased strength and stiffness

Flame retardants Increase fire resistance

Heat stabilisers Increased resistance to heat exposure

Light stabilisers Increased resistance to light exposure

Plasticisers Process aid which reduces viscosity

Foaming agents Lightness and stiffness

Extrusion is used to mix polymer with other additives (called

compounding). It can also be used to produce simple shaped
articles such as sheets of plastic and window profiles for instance.
Injection moulding can produce more complex and intricate
articles and can quickly mass produce them. Examples include
buckets, automotive door handles, mobile phone cases and TV
housings.
Blow moulding is used to produce hollow articles such as bottles.
Film blowing is used to produce thin films for wrapping or
carrier bags.
The feed stock for all of these processes is usually plastic pellets
of sizes similar to the range of pea sizes. For materials to be re-
processed they will usually have to undergo a process to return
them back to this sort of feed stock.
During all of these processes, the plastic will undergo the
following:
Heating and heat transfer: the polymer will be heated to melt and
flow and must loose the heat to solidify.
Deformation: enables the product to form during manufacturing.
Polymers are also susceptible to damage from shear force that can
occur during standard manufacturing processing as well as sub-
sequent processes such as granulation. This action is accelerated by
the high temperatures involved. The result is chemical degradation
due to molecular damage in the form of chain cleavage, cross-
linking or the formation of a series of double bonds.
Heating and shear are the main causes of the two biggest
problems associated with re-processing plastics from post
consumer products are:
(1) The degradation of the plastics due to processing and service
life.
(2) Getting acceptable properties from processing mixed plastics 5
and therefore finding applications for recyclate.
While in service the influence of the environment can also cause
deterioration in the polymer. This could be due to the action of
light, heat and weathering. This aging process is accompanied by a
change in visual properties (illustrated in Figure 2 and commonly
seen as a yellowing of white carrier bags or white PVC window
frames). The mechanical properties of both virgin and recyclate
materials are also affected.
Waste plastics, therefore, will have degraded to some degree
following their original usage. The level of this degradation
depends on the polymer type, on thermal and shear stress history
and on the initial stabilisation. To inhibit plastic degradation,
stabilisation additives can be used. Other additives such as fillers
can also be introduced into the compound to improve the proper-
ties of the recyclate.
The amount of degradation undergone by these materials will be
dependent on the processing conditions under which they were
subjected to and the levels of stabilisation present. For a second
application, it will be possible to re-stabilise them. For this to work
satisfactorily, knowledge of the type and amount of stabiliser
originally used is required. In the process of protecting the plastic
some stabilisers are used up. To ensure continued protection these
materials need to be kept at optimum levels. Further testing may be
required to assess the stability (both processing and long-term) if
required.

5. The need for separation of plastics

The reasons that thermoplastic and thermosets need sorting from
each other will hopefully be quite clear since thermosets cannot be
remelted to reprocess them. However, individual thermoplastics
families i.e. PP, PET, PVC also need to be separated from each
other before they can be reprocessed. If all the various thermo-
plastics were mixed together and recycled the properties of the new
Fig. 2. The colour change in HDPE can be clearly seen after 10 process cycles.
Virgin material (top left), material injection moulded and re-granulated 10 times
(bottom left).

mix would not be very good. This is because of the chemical

composition of polymers. They are all different and do not mix
well with each other. Instead of getting a single polymer mixture of
one single set of properties, the mixture would consist of lots of
small discrete areas of different polymers with no bonds between
them. An egg consisting of not one but many smaller individual
yolks encapsulated but not connected to a thin egg white is a simple
analogy.
Therefore, not only is separation necessary for good properties,
single polymers mixtures can also command a higher price in the
market place and be used alone or in blends with new materials.

6. Reprocessing thermoplastic recyclate

The most common method of recycling is called mechanical
recycling. In the first instance collected plastics are ground down
to a suitable size to be reprocessed. This has long been practiced by
the plastics industry in production facilities. This in-house
recycling called primary recycling makes considerable economic
sense as manufacturers not only use up their own waste but
production yields are also improved.
 For a re-processor to reclaim used material from other sources
requires greater effort. Material may come in a variety of forms:
bales, mouldings, large plastic lumps. It may also require all or
some of the following: size reduction, cleaning, sorting, and re-
granulating to a suitable feed stock size. Recycling activities of this
type are termed secondary recycling.
A further complication is that the history of the material may not
be known and therefore the properties of the resultant recyclate
produced may be substantially different to the properties of the
virgin material even if the original grade is known. For high quality
products, high quality plastic materials are required. It is therefore
difficult for recycled materials to compete in such markets where
there properties can be variable.
For example properties could vary depending on:
●How many times has it been re-processed previously.
●How much thermal degradation has it been exposed to.
●Whether it is a single polymer or mixed.
●If it is contaminated with other materials i.e. dirt, oil, wood,
metals.
●What it was used for previously.
●Whether it has been damaged by its service life (prolonged light
exposure, water exposure, steam, high temperatures etc.).
Within a closed loop cycle, these answers are usually known which
is why primary recycling is so common place. With this knowledge
comes confidence in the quality of the materials being used.
Creating closed loop infra-structures and recyclate materials
standardisation schemes therefore have and are major drivers in
improving confidence in using recyclate in the automotive sector,
packaging and waste electrical and electronic equipment sectors.
These industrial sectors have been heavily legislated to drive
improvements in recyclability, forcing manufacturers to act.

7. Recycling techniques
A material can be considered reclaimable when both a technology
for waste treatment and a market for the products are available 6.
Despite increasing research effort to find technical solutions, it is
not yet economical to separate the wide variety of plastic that end
up in the waste stream. The ideal solution would be single plastic
waste streams, which present little technical effort in order to
recycle. However a typical household waste stream may contain a
variety of plastics in the form of packaging, carrier bags, bottles,
Fig. 3. Symbol for plastic identification.

plastic lids, and food and household containers. Not only are these
plastics mixed they are also contaminated with items such as food
waste, residues, labels and glue. Plastics may be mixed with other
materials such as aluminium linings or metal closures.
One easy solution is for them to be sorted at source by the
householder and a number of local councils in the UK (alas the
authors own council is not yet one of them!) collect plastic bottles
which have been washed and dried and separated by the house-
holder. At present only PET, HDPE and PVC bottles, tubs and
pots are regularly collected and recycled from consumers in the
UK. What you are able to recycle in curb side schemes at the
moment unfortunately depends where in the UK you live.
However, specialist recycling companies will collect other types of
plastic from businesses, usually in bulk.
The plastics in a household waste stream should each be
individually marked with an identification code such as shown in
Figure 3. This was developed by the Society of the Plastics
Industry in America and is used throughout Europe. The number
relates to the type of plastic as shown in Table 3.
The largest fraction of the various plastics in household waste is
made up of polyethylene (PE) which makes up about 55%. This
includes LDPE and HDPE and a less common material called
LLDPE. Polypropylene is the second largest at 15%. 7% of waste
is made up of ‘other’ plastics. These are designated with the
symbol number 7.
It has been shown that mixed plastics are not compatible with
each other chemically. Another important factor when remelting
them is the differing temperatures required to melt and process
them. One plastic may melt while another is still solid. Again this
can seriously affect the properties of the final component.
For example PET melts at 245 ◦C whereas PE needs only 135◦C.
In fact at 245◦C, it is likely PE will start to degrade. Whereas at
Table 3. Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. (SPI) packaging codes

Polyethylene terephthalate PET also seen as 1

PET(E) or PETE

High-density polyethylene HDPE 2

Polyvinyl chloride PVC 3

Low-density polyethylene LDPE 4

Polypropylene PP 5

Polystyrene PS 6

Other 7

150◦C, at which PE would be molten for processing, PET would be

completely solid. Recycling a mixture of the two is therefore not
recommended.
A typical mechanical recycling route may be split into two types
of processes.
– Physical methods to homogenize the waste (i.e. storage, shred-
ding, washing and sorting).
– Melt processing (i.e. re-granulation and reprocessing).
Size reduction may be necessary because the feed stock must be of
a compatible size to fit into reprocessing machinery. Large items
may first have to be shredded to about 25 – 50 mm and then flaked.
Washing using a detergent will remove residues and contamina-
tion. It improves the purity of the feed stock and in some cases will
increase the efficiency of some further sorting processes. Labels,
glue, dirt etc. are removed and then the material is dried.
Often sorting will need to be carried out. Using identification
codes this can be done manually. However this is obviously very
labour intensive and final purity relies on human accuracy. If
manpower is cheap this can be an economic method. However in
the developed world mechanized sorting is preferred. There are a
variety of sorting technologies in use that take advantage of the
differing properties of plastics for separation7.
One such technique for separating the polyolefin fraction of
waste, which in household waste accounts for a majority fraction
of 70% is to use density differences. A polyolefin includes all
polymers made from monomers with linear C55C double bonds.
The different types derive from differences in polymer chains,
which in turn give variations in other properties such as melting
Table 4. Melting point and densities of common polyolefins

Polyolefin Melting point (◦C) Density (g/cm3)

LDPE 115 0.92

LLDPE 123 0.92

HDPE 130 0.95

PP 170 0.90

points and densities as shown in Table 4. Unfortunately you cannot

use these differences in melting point to separate different
fractions. However there is a method to remove them from other
material types.
All the polyolefins have densities under 1 g/cm3; this is the
density of water. Therefore polyolefins will float like sponges.
Other plastics have densities above that of water and will sink
(like soap). Separating polyolefins from other plastics can therefore
be achieved in a similar manner to sorting a bag of sponges and
soap. By tipping them into a bath and scooping the sponges off the
surface. In plastic recycling this process is done in float-and-sink
separators.
This principle will not work for all plastics. PVC and PET for
instance are both used to manufacture bottles and end up mixed in
the waste stream. However their densities are both 1.40 g/cm3. In
this case a technique called X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can be used.
This is because PVC contains chlorine atoms within its chemical
structure whereas PET does not. Therefore PVC can be detected
and separated by the identification of chlorine.
An example of an entire waste stream is shown in Figure 4.
Some of the processes may be omitted depending on the type of
waste. (Energy recovery will be dealt with later.)
When discussing processing techniques it is important to distin-
guish between the types of waste we wish to process. A homo-
geneous waste stream made up of a single polymer type can usually
be reprocessed on the same machinery that virgin materials are
processed on. A heterogeneous mixed plastic waste (MPW) stream
may also be processed in some cases on these machines but a
number of specialised reprocessing techniques may be applicable.
It is not possible to cover all processing possibilities within this
remit, many volumes have been written on polymer processing
techni- ques. However the most common process; extrusion8
will be
 Product enters Mixed Plastics Size reduction
multi material Waste Stream
waste stream

Washing
Processing and
production of
new product

Sorting
Homogeneous
Agglomeration waste streams

Extrusion and Unsorted fraction

re-granulation

Process and
inhouse scrap Energy
recovery

Fig. 4. Waste process cycle for plastics.

covered in more depth. First however a brief view will be given of

how other countries are tackling the problems of plastic waste.
In Europe, Germany has very much been at the forefront of
plastics recycling and its development; mainly in mechanical
recycling and the logistics of collection. Germany was very
heavily legislated internally by the Government as an incentive to
manufacturers and very ambitious recycling targets were set.
How individual countries in Europe have approached the
problem of packaging waste varies. Italy for instance put a 10%
charge on PE, the raw material used for film production. Finland
placed charges on non-refillable containers. Sweden placed a
product charge on plastic packaging fillers and importers, whilst
some other countries were still preparing legislation. Likewise
Government targets for recycling or recovering packaging waste
were equally variable from 30% to 85%. On the whole Europe
mechanically recycled 17.8% of its plastic waste in 2004.
The emphasis government’s place of mechanical recycling
compared to other forms of disposal also impact heavily on how
countries react to the problems of waste in general. For instance
Japan, which does not have space for landfill sites concentrates
heavily on Energy Recovery (discussed later) from waste rather
than other forms of recycling. Japan currently treats 78% of its
waste in this way.
8. Extrusion and compounding
At some point in a plastics life chances are it has passed through an
extruder. In turning from a polymer to a plastic (through the
addition of additives), the polymer undergoes a process of extru-
sion called compounding. The term compounding in general plastic
processing terms, covers a variety of process steps between the
production of the polymer and its final forming in a process
machine. This could include the conveying or feeding of the
material into a machine, metering the correct quantity of material
and mixing it in as a blend of polymer with other materials such as
additives. Finally, this would include pelletizing or cutting of the
final plastic material for use in other processes such as for injection
moulding or blow moulding machines. The typical compounding
route is outlined in Figure 5.
There are two types of extruder namely a single screw and a twin
screw. They perform slightly different tasks but work on similar
principles. In recycling, it is to perform compounding that an
extruder is most applied.
Compounding will begin with a quantity of virgin base polymer
such as polypropylene and from this a number of different
formulations and grades can be created to supply materials that
can meet the specific requirements of their end use applications. In
considering the thermal history of plastics, most material will
already have passed through some kind of a processing cycle like
this before it even goes to manufacture a saleable components.
When considering recycling a similar supply chain may operate.
Recyclate materials may be utilised by either the polymer supplier
or the compound supplier to produce grades containing all
recyclate, a mixture of recyclate and additives or a mixture of
recyclate and virgin material.
In Figure 5, a five step compounding route was illustrated
beginning with feeding or conveying. Generally mechanical
conveyors such as feed screws, conveyor belts or vibrating shutes
are utilised. Larger operations may use pressure or vacuum
operated silos to deliver material to the extruder or mixing stations.

Fig. 5. A plastic compounding route.

Fig. 6. Co-rotating and contra-rotating screws.

Accurate metering is required in many cases and gravimetric or

volumetric type feeders can achieve this. Of these, gravimetric
systems lend themselves to automation, have higher accuracy but
a higher price. Once the required compound ingredients are
metered they need to be mixed.
The aim of mixing is to disperse the ingredients to produce a
homogeneous mixture. This can be done at room temperature by
simply tumble blending to produce a dry blend, or they can be hot
mixed. Generally hot mixers are situated directly above the
extruder where the melted mixture can be poured into the extruder.
A twin screw extruder can have either contra-rotating (also
known as counter-rotating) or co-rotating screws.
This depends on the way the screws turn relative to each other
and is illustrated in Figure 6.
The aim of the screw is plastication, that is, to produce an easily
formable melt stream. The temperature of extrusion will fall
between the melting point of the polymer as a minimum, (otherwise
the polymer simply will not flow as it will be solid), but below the
onset of any thermal degradation to prevent excessive damage to
the plastic compound. The heating of the material is done by means
of external heating zones, which are incorporated into the body of
the machine. The number of zones will depend on the size of the
extruder being used. Generally they are positioned along the length
of the machine; for example at the point of input, the centre region
of the screw and the point of output. These positions correspond to
the feeding and conveying section, the melting and metering
region, and finally the exit die region. This allows temperature to
be varied and controlled across the length of the screw. Generally
the temperatures will be profiled, to be coolest at the point of
input, to aid with material feed, and hottest at the point of exit. This
is to compensate for extra heat that will be lost from the material in
this region as it hits ambient air temperature or cooling water. The
twin-screw extruder is a very effective mixer design and also ensures
both a evenly dispersed mixture and an even temperature profile
across the exiting material.
Because of the combination of feeding and screw action, twin-
screw extruders can produce compounds with very low levels of
polymers, in some cases less than 20%. The single screw extruder
cannot cope with such high levels of non-polymeric materials.
However for melt blending of virgin and recyclates or adding
relatively low levels of additives the single screw extruder is an
effective method for mixing and compounding a plastic mixture.
As the name suggests, the single screw extruder has a single
Archimedian screw that rotates in a heated metal barrel. Unlike
twin screw machines, which require material to be metered into the
screw to prevent a screw torque overload, solid material enters the
barrel through a gravity feed hopper at the feed throat. This
material is melted and conveyed along the extruder barrel by the
action of the screw. The material is plasticated during this
conveying action and then passes through a breaker plate before
exiting at the die. A breaker plate is used to take the rotation out of
the melt. Without a breaker plate, the material would spiral out of
the die in line with the movement of the screw. This breaker plate,
which resembles a sieve, also helps to build up pressure in the melt.
Extruders can also be used to make finished or semi-finished
goods such as solid profiles (bars), hollow profiles (window
frames), pipes, films, sheets and filaments. The type of extrusion
manufac- tured depends on the shape of the die through which
the plastic exits. Depending on the product, downstream
equipment (after exiting the extruder) may include a water bath
for cooling the plastic and a pelletiser to cut it into pellets. Profiles
and pipes may utilise a haul-off system with a cutting device to cut
the plastic into
lengths.
If the product is a granular material, it will find use as feedstock
for other processes for example injection moulding, blow moulding
or film blowing. Other melt processes for recycling plastics and
their tolerance to contamination is shown in Table 5.
Whilst primary mechanical recycling will continue to be
common practice amongst plastics processors, secondary recycling
is subject to both practical and economic limits for use beyond 15%
waste utilisation. Success depends primarily upon the economics of
sorting for production of single polymer materials and knowledge
of material provenance and degradation history. Processes adapted
from conventional machinery to take more highly contaminated
feedstock exist, however they are limited in application to wood-
replacement type profiles and panels and cannot overcome the
Table 5. Overview of selected plastic processing techniques

Process Complexity Forming Mould Plastic Tolerance

of parts action types to
contaminants

Blow Complex Inflation Closed Single Very low

moulding

Multi-layer Complex Inflation Closed Single Very low

blow layers
moulding

Extrusion Fairly simple Extrusion None Single Low

profiles

Film Simple Inflation None Single Low

blowing

Injection Complex Injection Closed Single Low

moulding

Co-injection Complex Injection Closed Single Low

moulding layers

Intrusion Simple None Open Mixed High

moulding

Sinter Simple Compression Open Mixed Very high

moulding

Transfer Simple Compression Open Mixed High

moulding

inherent limitations in the make-up of their feedstock. Even these

processes also generally require feedstock to have undergone some
preliminarily sorting.

9. Other routes of recycling or recovery

For materials for which reprocessing is uneconomic or not possible
such as with thermosets, other process routes exist. These are
shown in Table 6.
Thermosets are cross-linked, meaning they cannot be re-melted
and re-processed in the same way as thermoplastics. Until
relatively recently thermosets were considered non-recyclable but
with recycl- ability becoming an ever increasing criteria for
material selection, the thermoset business faced a serious threat if
ways could not be found to overcome this hindrance to market
potential. To tackle
Table 6. Standard names for processes for plastics recycling9

Definition Type of recycling

Primary recycling Mechanical recycling

Secondary recycling Mechanical recycling

Tertiary recycling Chemical recycling (feedstock recycling)

Quarternary recycling Incineration (energy recovery)

these technical challenges a series of companies and trade associa-

tions across the globe were set up to develop recycling methods for
these materials. These groups were known as ERCOM (Germany),
VALOR (France), SMC Alliance (USA) and the FRP Forum
(Japan).
One possible use for thermosets is as a filler material for
thermoplastic materials. Fillers are cheaper than polymer and can
help reduce the cost of the final compound. Powdered thermoset
scrap can find use as a material held by adhesive resins, as filler in
thermoplastics or as part of a new uncured thermoset matrix.
Using thermosets as raw materials in this way are further
examples of mechanical recycling. The economics for the success
of mechanical recycling usually depend on the cost of the washing
and sorting stages. In using recycled thermoset merely as a cheap
filler rather than in ‘added value’ applications, it is unlikely the
costs of recovering and grinding can be met. However, there are
other methods available for recycling and recovery using chemical
means.
Chemical recycling technologies, like mechanical recycling,
place their own restrictions on the quality of feedstock that they can
handle. Energy recovery (incineration) is less demanding on the
requirements of sorting of individual plastics. These disposal
methods offer an alternative to the use of land filling.

9.1 Chemical recycling

Chemical recycling is a process where the polymer is broken down
into smaller molecules that can be easily separated from impurities.
This process also known as feedstock recycling creates raw mate-
rials for petrochemical processes or feedstock that can be used to
produce the monomer for new polymers or other petroleum
Table 7. Examples of polymers made from two different polymerisation
mechanisms

Polymers from unsaturated Condensation type monomers

monomers

PE (polyethylene) Nylon 66 (polyhexamethylene adipamide)

PP (polypropylene) PET (polyethylene terephthalate)

PS (polystyrene) PU (polytrimethylene urethane)

Reaction mechanism: Reaction mechanism: reactive end groups

breaking of double bond that join, expelling water

products such as waxes and paraffin. Common examples of such

processes are cracking and hydrogenation.
Processes like these place restrictions on the types of materials
they can handle and each method has slightly different restrictions
and tolerances. Generally however they cannot handle untreated
waste and sorting is necessary to remove fractions containing heavy
metals, fillers and halogen compounds.
Chemical recycling is especially suited to polymers formed by
condensation reactions such as PET, PU and Nylon* as the process
is the reverse of the one used to create them. However, for this it
means that the waste must be reasonably free from other polymers
or impurities.
These technologies are exploited in industry. For example, the
depolymerisation of Nylon 6 has been particularly well researched
and has been practiced since the sixties10. Commercial depolymer-
isation units for polyurethanes using a process called glycolysis
operate in Germany, Austria and Denmark 11. The basic chemistry
involved in these reactions is presented by Ehrig 12 for those who
require further details.

9.2 Thermal conversion technologies

Thermal processing can be defined as the conversion of solid
wastes into conversion products with a release of heat energy. It
can serve two purposes: volume reduction and energy recovery.

——————
*There are various types of materials termed nylons, designated by a number
i.e. nylon 6, 10, 12, 66 related to different chemical structures. These materials
are also termed polyamides.

www.scilet.com Plastic recycling 263

 There are a number of different categories usually distinguished
by their air requirements.
1. Pyrolysis: thermal processing in absence of oxygen.
2. Hydrogenation: pyrolysis but in a high hydrogen or carbon
monoxide environment.
3. Gasification: partial combustion in which a fuel is deliberately
combusted with limited air.
Compared to simply burning polymeric materials by combustion,
these methods can offer significant benefits.
●Environmentally cleaner process routes producing significantly
lower emissions.
●The reduction in density enables cost reduction for subsequent
transport and handling.
●Increased energy density.
●Conversion to fuel results in higher overall efficiencies than
standard combustion.

9.2.1 Pyrolysis

In a German study published in 199913 it was found that difficult

electrical and electronic waste could be successfully recovered by
pyrolysis at temperatures of 700 – 900◦C in the absence of air.
Halogens in the waste were destroyed and complied with German
dangerous materials regulations. The resulting oil and gas products
were found to have high calorific values, which although found to
be unsuitable for use as feedstocks, could replace the fossil fuels
used to heat the kiln. The same study also compared the cost of
mechanically treating this waste to recover the metal with the
pyrolysis technique. The treatment costs for both processes were
found similar.

9.2.2 Hydrogenation

This is a very similar process to Pyrolysis but in this process, the

mixed plastic waste (MPW) is heated with hydrogen. As the
molecules are cracked, (the process is often termed hydrocracking),
they are saturated with the hydrogen molecules to produce a
saturated liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. The synthetic crude
oil produced is of a very high quality. It is necessary to keep the

264 Vannessa Goodship

pressure of the hydrogen sufficient to suppress repolymerisation or
undesirable by products.
In 1992, a coal-oil plant in Bottrop, Germany, successfully
trialed hydrogenation technologies with plastic waste. Some restric-
tions on feedstocks were necessary to optimise the efficiency of the
plant and for its success it requires close collaboration with
suppliers to ensure suitable feedstocks.

9.2.3 Gasification

Gasification technology is based on the use of partial combustion.

It was originally developed for use with coal and oil. There are a
number of variations, depending upon the type of gases used. These
include oxygen in the form of air, steam, pure oxygen, oxygen-
enriched air or carbon dioxide. The temperature required also
depends on the type of fuel. It generally falls in the range 800 –
1600◦C. Gasification is favoured for fuel gas production since a
single gaseous product is formed at high efficiency without
requiring expensive and potentially dangerous air separation
plants. The synthetic gas produced can be classified according to
its composition, heat value and application. The bulk of the carbon
present in the waste feedstock is converted to gas leaving a
virtually inert ash residue for disposal.

9.3 Energy recovery

Energy recovery can be defined as incineration to recover inherent
energy.
Given that polymers are made from oil, it is not surprising that
they are quite good fuel sources when they are burnt. The amount
of energy that can be recovered depends on a materials calorific
value. Literature values tend to give an average calorific value of
mixed plastic waste as 35 MJ/kg. When compared to paper
(16 MJ/kg) and organic waste (3 MJ/kg), it can be seen that
plastics give a relatively high energy return when incinerated.
There are a variety of methods used for energy recovery. One
pyrolysis has already been discussed. Incineration, production of
waste-derived fuel and gas recovery from landfill site emissions are
three examples of energy recovery in action.
The UK tends to lag behind mainland Europe, Japan and the
USA when it comes to using energy recovery technologies. For
example, Japan uses around 78% of its municipal waste for energy
generation, Denmark 58%, whilst the UK uses only 9%. This

www.scilet.com Plastic recycling 265

difference is mainly due to the acceptance of landfilling as a waste
disposal option. However, with the cost and restrictions imposed
on such disposal expected to increase, alternative disposal methods
will come to the fore.
Many countries throughout Europe routinely use municipal solid
waste combustors with state of the art energy recovery and flue gas
cleaning technology to produce high percentages of domestic
electricity requirements. Energy recovery is even more efficient if
the combustor is linked to a municipal localised heating system for
the supply of hot water and process steam. In Paris, France,
residential buildings in some areas are equipped with combustors.
Thereby domestic waste is incinerated locally and used to provide
low cost heating for the residents.
The world’s first electricity generating plant to run on nothing
but waste plastic fuel was built in Japan. The plant was designed to
consume 700 tonnes of waste plastic a day and provide power for
30,000 Japanese homes14.

10. Conclusion
For the most effective disposal method for plastics recycling it is
necessary to consider a number of factors. The most important of
these is the composition of the waste. If this is known then the
viability for mechanical recycling can be easily ascertained. If
mechanical recycling is not possible, then chemical recycling and
finally energy recovery both present viable alternatives to offset the
usage of oil reserves in the creation of the plastic material.
However the best way of waste disposal will always ultimately
remain one of waste minimization through best practice by both
manufacturers and the general public ensuring maximum
environmental benefit.

11. Outlook
World wide, the prospects for improved rates of recycling look
good. Brazil has seen a surge in mechanical recycling rates
comparable to Europe and balances are being found between
collecting high value materials for mechanical recycling, whilst
accepting this will not always be the only viable option. Energy
from waste schemes and mechanical recycling are likely to go hand
in hand in plastic waste disposal routes in the near future.
Similarly new infrastructures are being established to future
enable recycling activities on a broader scale. The first HDPE
milk bottles recovered from the same (closed loop) waste stream

266 Vannessa Goodship

have currently gone on trial in the UK. Other similar schemes
should also follow.
The differences in the economic development of countries world
wide tends to mean that richer countries export their waste to
poorer countries. Hopefully, as the third world developments
practices such as these will stop as they de-stabilize internal
recycling markets within individual countries and pollute the
poorer nations less able to afford technology to deal with the
waste stream in the first place.
In the longer term plastics you can throw on the compost heap
called biodegradable materials should ease many if the problems of
plastic waste. These materials are already widely available and
becoming more common for short term packaging applications.
These plastics can be made from natural materials such as
vegetable oils which may mean that in the future, not only do we
throw our waste vegetables on the compost heap but also all the
materials they were packaged in.

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Hanser Verlag, Germany.
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13. Ramlow, G. and Christill, M. (1999) Recovery of waste electrical and
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