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The recyclability of Dutch post-consumer plastic packages

The recyclability of the packages at the Dutch households and those present in the sorting products

This report describes the recyclability of Dutch post-consumer plastic packages. It focusses on the recyclability of the packages at the Dutch households and those present in the sorting products (mainly Mix and Sorting Residue). The objective of this study was to comprehend which packages are currently not being recycled in the Dutch recycling system of plastic packaging waste.

This report describes the recyclability of Dutch post-consumer plastic packages. It focusses on the recyclability of the packages at the Dutch households and those present in the sorting products (mainly Mix and Sorting Residue). The objective of this study was to comprehend which packages are currently not being recycled in the Dutch recycling system of plastic packaging waste. The research question answered in this report is:

What is the recyclability of the post-consumer plastic packages on the Dutch market, especially the plastic packages at the households and in the sorting residue and Mix sorting product?

This study has been performed in the period of June until September 2017 by researchers of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR) and is commissioned and financed by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Afval- en Reinigingsmanagement (NVRD). Other participants in the study were Midwaste, HVC and Omrin by delivering samples and additional information. The research has concisely been performed, making maximally use of an existing model of WFBR. The research was done objectively and independently.

The main conclusion is that 56% of the packages on the Dutch market are recyclable. 6% of the packages can be recycled into utensils, but are not ideal as they disturb the recycling of other packages in more circular applications, such as coloured PET bottles and PP film. PET trays are not recyclable at the moment, but are potentially recyclable in the future. These packages are now being sorted in a separate sorting product and stored until a recycling process is available. The PET trays amount to 10% of the plastic packages. 28% of the packages on the Dutch market are not recyclable, these are mainly PS and PVC packages, laminated packages and blisters.

There are still significant amounts of potentially well recyclable plastic packages present in the Mix sorting product, which would rather belong to the PE and PP sorting product. The sorting residue still contains some well recyclable packages, which gets lost via this route. Additionally, the sorting residue consist of large amounts of non-recyclable packaging, non-packages and residual waste, which are intentionally added to of the sorting residue.

The Dutch recycling system for post-consumer plastic packages and their recyclability can be improved in three ways:

  • Better sorting; produce less Mix sorting product and sort more packages in the intended sorting category.
  • Design for recycling; packages that are non-recyclable can be changed or replaced by packages that are recyclable. For instance PS and PVC flasks can be replaced by PE or PP flasks.
  • Design from recycling; packages that cannot be changed or replaced should be recycled by new or adjusted recycling technologies. For instance a part of the laminates and blisters.

Source: Brouwer, M. T., & Thoden van Velzen, E. U. (2017). Recyclebaarheid van verpakkingen op de Nederlandse markt: Huishoudelijke kunststof verpakkingen in sorteerproducten onderzocht op recyclebaarheid en hoeveelheid. (Wageningen Food & Biobased Research report; No. 1782). Wageningen Food & Biobased Research. https://doi.org/10.18174/427519

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