TY - JOUR

T1 - Critical properties of plastic packaging waste for recycling: A case study on non-beverage plastic bottles in an urban MSW system in Austria

AU - Gritsch, Lea

AU - Breslmayer, Gisela

AU - Rainer, Ricarda

AU - Stipanovic, Hana

AU - Tischberger-Aldrian, Alexia

AU - Lederer, Jakob

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2024/5/29

Y1 - 2024/5/29

N2 - The low recycling rate of post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PPW), which is partly due to insufficient separate collection, heterogeneous composition and high levels of contamination, poses a challenge in Austria, where the recycling rate must double in order to meet the target of 55 %. This study analyzes key packaging characteristics of non-beverage plastic bottles influencing recyclability, using Vienna as a case study. Additionally, a net quantity indicator and separate collection rates were calculated. 738 bottles from mixed MSW and 1,159 bottles from separate PPW collection were analyzed. The main polymer's proportion described by the net quantity indicator was higher for bottles from separate collection (69–72 %) than from mixed MSW (58 %), showing that a large share of the foreign materials are residues and dirt, with significantly higher contents in mixed MSW (20 %) than in separate collection (11 %). With a separate collection rate of 19.2 %, the great potential for recycling currently lies in mixed MSW at 4,112 t/yr. Thereof, 46 % is uncolored, 54 % is colored/white and, in terms of material grade, 30 % is food grade. The most common filling volume for PET, PP and HDPE was 0.5 < x ≤ 1.5 L (23–59 %) and the most common decoration technology was label (60–85 %). PET and PP had the highest shares of food-grade bottles (37–46 %), while PP had the highest share of colored bottles (22–31 %). The mechanical recycling potential of bottles depends largely on packaging characteristics, influencing separate collection and also automatic sorting. Harmonized design specifications are therefore crucial for this heterogeneous PPW fraction.

AB - The low recycling rate of post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PPW), which is partly due to insufficient separate collection, heterogeneous composition and high levels of contamination, poses a challenge in Austria, where the recycling rate must double in order to meet the target of 55 %. This study analyzes key packaging characteristics of non-beverage plastic bottles influencing recyclability, using Vienna as a case study. Additionally, a net quantity indicator and separate collection rates were calculated. 738 bottles from mixed MSW and 1,159 bottles from separate PPW collection were analyzed. The main polymer's proportion described by the net quantity indicator was higher for bottles from separate collection (69–72 %) than from mixed MSW (58 %), showing that a large share of the foreign materials are residues and dirt, with significantly higher contents in mixed MSW (20 %) than in separate collection (11 %). With a separate collection rate of 19.2 %, the great potential for recycling currently lies in mixed MSW at 4,112 t/yr. Thereof, 46 % is uncolored, 54 % is colored/white and, in terms of material grade, 30 % is food grade. The most common filling volume for PET, PP and HDPE was 0.5 < x ≤ 1.5 L (23–59 %) and the most common decoration technology was label (60–85 %). PET and PP had the highest shares of food-grade bottles (37–46 %), while PP had the highest share of colored bottles (22–31 %). The mechanical recycling potential of bottles depends largely on packaging characteristics, influencing separate collection and also automatic sorting. Harmonized design specifications are therefore crucial for this heterogeneous PPW fraction.

KW - Verpackungsabfall

KW - Getrennte Sammlung

KW - Verpackungsdesign

KW - Produktrückstände

KW - Packaging design

KW - Packaging waste

KW - Product residues

KW - Separate waste collection

UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2024.05.035

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85194404310&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.wasman.2024.05.035

DO - 10.1016/j.wasman.2024.05.035

M3 - Article

VL - 185.2024

SP - 10

EP - 24

JO - Waste management

JF - Waste management

SN - 0956-053X

IS - 30 July

ER -