Transcript DEGRADABLE PLASTIC

DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
2003 PLASTIC BAG REGULATIONS
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REDUCE
RE-USE
RECYCLE
THREE INTERVENTIONS
 CHARGING & LEVY
 THICKNESS - 24 MICRON
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TYPE OF INK
 INTERVENTIONS WORKED
 RETAILERS CONTRIBUTING TO FISCAL (3 CENTS PER BAG )
 BUYISA-e-BAG COMPANY
 UNIQUE TO SOUTH AFRICA
 COLLECTION OF ALL RECYCLABLE MATERIALS NEED ATTENTION
DEFINITIONS FOR DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
DISINTEGRATION
The falling apart into very small
fragments of packaging or packaging
material caused by degradation
mechanisms.
DEFINITIONS FOR DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
DEGRADATION
An irreversible process leading to a significant
change of the structure of a material,
typically characterised by a loss of properties
(eg. Integrity, molecular weight, structure or
mechanical strength) and/or fragmentation.
Degradation is affected by environmental
conditions and proceeds over a period of time
comprising one or more steps.
DEFINITIONS FOR DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
DEGRADABLE
A material is called degradable with
respect to specific environmental
conditions if it undergoes a degradation
to a specific extent within a given time
measured by specific standard test
methods.
DEFINITIONS FOR DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
BIODEGRADABLE
A degradable plastic in which the degradation
results from the action of naturally occurring
micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi and
algae. For this to occur oxygen and water is
required and the plastic must be derived from
Biopolymer rather than Petropolymers. (eg.
Starch from Corn, Potatoes or Wheat).
DEFINITIONS FOR DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
PHOTODEGRADABLE
The disintegration of plastic due to
exposure to ultra violet light. This will
occur naturally over time without the
need for additives. However the
process could be excellerrated with
additives.
DEFINITIONS FOR DEGRADABLE PLASTIC
 COMPOSTABLE
A plastic that undergoes degradation by biological processes
during composting to yield CO2, water inorganic compounds
and biomass at a rate consistent with other compostable
materials and leaves no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue.
This will occur if the plastic product is handled as compost and
will not occur in solid waste dumps due to the lack of oxygen
and sunlight. For biodegradable plastics to effectively
decompose they need to be treated like compost.
There are many specific application for compostable material:
mulch film and composting bags.
Petro-polymers and Biopolymers should not be used in the same
applications.
There is a view that materials used as a food source (maize)
should not be redirected into Petro-polymer applications.
RECYCLING
 SUPPORTED BY MOST PLASTIC FEDERATIONS(see UK report)
 RE-USE OF RESOURCES Disintegration destroys a reusable
resource
 CREATES EMPLOYMENT Collectors and buy back centers
 MANY APPLICATIONS for recycled material
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REFUSE BAGS, WATER PIPE, CONSTRUCTION FILM AND
NON CRITICAL PACKAGING PRODUCTS
 POST CONSUMER RECYCLERS WILL NOT PURCHASE MATERIAL
CONTAINING BIOPOLYMERS OR DEGRADING ADDITIVES
Warning issued over biodegradable plastics
Warning issued over biodegradable plastics
 11/10/2007
 By John Whitehead
 Film streams a concern, says chair of BPF’s Recycling Council.
 11 October 2007 – The presence of biodegradable packaging in the recycling stream represents, “a short
route to disaster,” the chairman of the BPF Recycling Council warned last week. “Even small quantities of
PLA in oil-based plastic bottle recyclate can create quality and specification problems,” Mark Burstall told
the BPF’s Biopolymers and Biodegradable Plastics – An Analysis of their Future Role seminar.
 Film streams are another concern, he pointed out, since much of the recyclate from this sector is used in
damp proof applications. “Film is much more difficult to sort with potentially disastrous consequences for
quality and reliability,” he told the event.
 Confirming long held suspicions about the compatibility of the two streams, Burstall highlighted the dangers
that biodegradable pose to conventional recyclers whether full degradation take place or not.
 “We all think biodegradable polymers have an important role to play but find specific applications. Don’t mix
biodegradable and conventional plastics in the same application,” he went on.
 Possible biodegradable applications include collection bags for composting and horticultural and agricultural
film, in each case made in a special colour. In theory, noted experienced recycler Burstall, biodegradable
plastic bottles can be put in the green bin for composting. “In practice,” he said, “compost site operators
cannot tell the difference and so they reject all plastic bottles.”
 However, Burstall is at pains to emphasise that concerns relate to biodegradable plastics and that
biopolymers without this property do not raise an issue.
 Quoting 2006 figures from Wrap, Burstall put UK biopolymer consumption at just 3,000 tonnes out of a
plastics packaging total of 2.5m tonnes. Despite a 525,000 tonnes recycling figure, the quantity going to
landfill still amounts to almost 2m tonnes a year, he acknowledged.
WASTE PYRAMID
POST CONSUMER WASTE
QUOTE –
Great Reads Investigation
American Bill Rathjee, former archaeologist and
now garbologist, says the dumps of the
Roman Empire are still leaching today.
Rathjee has been rewriting landfill science
since he discovered that lack of oxygen and
sunlight slowed decomposition. Landfills are
therefore not vast composters but vast
mummifiers – making our newspapers and
baked-bean tins the trash time capsules of
the future.
QUESTION
Support recycling which is very much
clear cut OR degredation with the
mine field of claims made my additive
suppliers.
Support anti-litter campaigns
TRANSPACO RECYCLING
TRANSPACO RECYCLING
ISO 9001:2000
TRANSPACO AS YOUR
SUPPLIER
 Largest post consumer polyethylene
recycler in South Africa.
The only retail plastic bag manufacturer
which recycles post consumer waste.
Processes over 1 800 000 kilograms of
post consumer polyethylene waste per
month.
PCA RECYCLING FACT SHEET
PLASTICS INDUSTRY VIEWS ON OXO-BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS
July 2008
BACKGROUND:
The Plastic s I n
dustry ack nowledges:
Plastics is a v is ible com ponent of litter
Ox o-biodegradable additiv es hav e a place f or c ertain product s that are not recy cled
prov ided that they degrade at the right time and in the right end env ironment.
That it is concerned ab
o ut the c ons equenc esof oxo-biodegradable additiv es on he
t exist n
i g
and well-established R3 billion South Af rican plastics rec y c lingindus try .
Obj ectiv e ofthe Plastics Industry:
To protect the v iability of the Plastic s Recycling Sector which has a proud record of:
Recycling some 175 000 tons per yea r, including bread bags , but w ith capac ity to do
more , through some 160 companies providing employment to thousa nds
Being world class in the percentage of polyethylene film being recycled.
Building up a reputation for quality of products manufactured from recycled materials
FACTS:
The prim ary f ocus of global environm ental
ef f orts are to reduc e, re-use and recy cle not des troy
Although
oxo-biodegradable
m at erials
m ay be designed
to break down and
dec ompose the facts are that this does not
alway s happen, and especially in land-f ill
The perc entage of plastics in land-fill is
v ery low.
Plastics degrade under norm al c onditions
under UV light within 6 -12 months .
H owev er, there are c laim s that indicate by
adding oxo-biodegradable additiv es that
this proc ess is inhibited
A
North Am eric an additiv e s upplier
dis courages
recy cling
of
oxobiodegradable plastics
Indian R esearc h adv is es t he Plastics
Indus try that the recy cling of oxobiodegradable plastic s is not adv is able f or
use in durable produc ts.
Ox o-biodegradable plastic s will n ot s olve
litter problem s; c hanging the behav o
i ur of
people will.
Bec aus e of the high recy cling rate in SA,
c hanges in the
f eed stock s upply to
recy clers in South Af ric a will hav e a m ore
adv ers eimpac t on the sector than in some
other c ountries .
Aus tralian experienc e is that recy clers
av oid feedstock where there is any
c ontam ination
of
oxo-biodegradable
plast ic polym ers
Recy clingof plastics , inc luding thin f ilm f or
bread bags , etc , c reates em ploym ent in
the f orm al recy clings ector and in inf ormal
plast ic c ollection and Ņ harvstingÓ
e
s ec tors
South Af ric an research on the v iability of
m ix ing oxo-biodegradable materials with
other waste plastic under SA recy cling
c onditions has not been done.
The Plastics Indus try is to commis s ion
researc h to establish whether the m ixing
of polym ers c ontaining oxo-biodegradable
additiv e with other plastic s will hav e a long
term ef f ect on durable products .
Ox o-biodegradable materials c annot be
eas ily identif ied and s o rted out of the
was te s tream, s o t he Recy clerhas no way
of ass ess ing pot ential dam age, or o f
ass ess ing just how m uc h stabilis er to add
to try o
t nullify the degrading additiv e
The oxo-biodegradable additiv e has a
s pec if ic task Š to de stroy the polym er
m olecular s tructure and properties, so
recy cling becom es im pos sib le after a
c ert ain time period
R ecy cling of ox o -biodegradable bread
bags and f actory waste has now bee n
s topped in South Af rica.
Consider this v iew from Woolworths, a leading retailer in South Af rica: They s ay Ņthey w ere
k een on biodegradable pac k aging but they refused to go t he additiv e rout e realizing it w as going to
c ompromise the fragile recy c ling industry in S A and that there w as no point in taking oil Š a no n
renew able ma terial Š and making it Ņ dis ap
pear.Ó
10 FACTS ABOUT PLASTICS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
1.
Plastics are one of the most resource efficient and versatile materials available to society.
2.
Plastics make a significant contribution to the vital goals of sustainable development:
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Social progress: plastics provide affordable products giving more people access
to higher standards of living, healthcare and information.
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Economic development: the plastics industry chain in Europe adds value to
society. It employs well over 1.5 million people and generates sales in excess
of 159 billion euro.
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Environment protection: plastics help save resources – fossil fuels and energy.
Plastics products save water and food.
3.
Plastics consume only a tiny fraction – just 4% - of the world’s oil, as feedstock.
4.
Plastics products in use save oil :
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100kg of plastics parts in cars reduces oil consumption by about 12 million tons each
year in Europe, reducing CO2 emissions by 30 million tons a year.
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Plastics help reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from our homes: the
innovative use of plastics can reduce domestic fuel consumption to 3 litres per
square metre, compared to an average of 20 litres.
10 FACTS ABOUT PLASTICS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
5.
Plastics are too valuable to waste – even at end-of-life. After serving a useful purpose,
plastics can either be recycled or used as an alternative fuel. Plastic waste has a
calorific value at least equal to coal and with lower CO2 emissions.
6.
Renewable energies rely on plastics: solar panels, wind turbines.
7.
Over 1 billion people in the world lack access to safe water. Plastics can preserve and
distribute water economically, reliably and safely.
8.
No other material can compete with plastics when it comes to meeting technological demand
while preserving resources.
9.
10.
Plastics are the champions of prevention:
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Plastics packaging represents 17% of all European packaging and yet packages over 50% of the
consumer goods.
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Over a ten year period it is estimated that plastics packaging per unit has been reduced by around
28% thanks to technology.
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Without plastics packaging, the weight of packaging would increase four-fold, production costs
and energy consumption would be doubled, and waste volume increased by 150%.
Plastics make our lives safer: airbags, seatbelts, baby seats, bike helmets, medical devices …….
are just some examples.
LINKS
USEFUL LINKS REGARDING PLASTIC
AND THE ENVIROMENT
www.savetheplasticbag.com
www.plasticseurope.org
www.plasticsinfo.co.za