Sustainable End-of-Life Options for Plastics in New Zealand

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2.2 Progress on Packaging Recycling Targets The Packaging Accord 8 target of reaching a recycling proportion of 23% (by weight) from total plastic packaging consumption 9 by 2008 is on track. In 2003, the proportion of recycled plastic was 19% of the total amount of packaging consumed, and in 2004 it increased to 20%. Figure 6: Amount of plastic packaging material consumed (top line) and recovered (bottom line) from 2000-2004 (Source: 2005 PNZ Mass Balance and Recycling Surveys of 2004 data) Current trends indicate that by 2008 an estimated 150,000t of plastic packaging material will be consumed, an increase from 137,909t in 2004. This reflects both an increase in population and per capita consumption of plastic packaging. Consequently, if the amount of material consumed increases, the amount recovered will need to proportionately increase. In order to ensure current recovery progress stays on track, (to reach the 23% recycling target by 2008), the proportion of plastic packaging recovered needs to increase by at least 2000t (1%) per year over the 2005-2008 period. Year Consumed Recovered Recycling Proportion [%] 2000 117,475 20,809 18 2001 128,985 23,758 18 2002 123,485 23,305 19 2003 125,955 23,816 19 2004 137,909 9 28,004 20 2005 138,000 28,980 21 2006 142,000 31,240 22 2007 146,000 33,580 23 2008 150,000 34,500 23 Table 3: Recovery progress from 2000-2004 and predictions for 2005-2008 8. For more information about the Packaging Accord, visit: www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/sustainable-industry/initiatives/packaging/, www.packaging.org.nz/accord.php, and www.plastics.org.nz/page.aspid=637 9. Total plastic packaging consumption is estimated from total manufactured packaging in NZ less exports plus approximately 30% imported packaging. 15 Sustainable End-of-Life Options for Plastics in New Zealand
2.3 Breakdown of Recovered Plastic by Material Type Of the total 35,442t of plastic recovered in 2004, Figure 7 shows a breakdown of the quantities by each main material type collected. 10 The largest quantity of material recovered was 12,444t of LDPE (including all other material and laminated films). The second-highest tonnage was HDPE with 8,932t, followed by PET with 8,016t. There were 2,412t of PVC recovered, 1,415t of PP, 417t of PS and 218t of EPS. The remaining 1,588t comprised a mixture of other plastic material types such as ABS and SAN. 11 Figure 7: Total amount of plastic recovered in 2004 by material type 12 (Source: PNZ Recycling Survey, 2005) 2.4 Plastic Recovery Trends Figure 8 shows the annual trends in tonnages for each material collected from 2000 to 2004. 13 The total annual tonnages of PET and HDPE steadily increased over this period. The annual trend for PVC remained fairly constant with a small tonnage collected, compared to the significant increase of LDPE overall (even though the total tonnage of collected LDPE dipped in 2003). PP showed only a slight increase with relatively low tonnages collected. PS had the largest amount of material recovered in 2000, which dropped in 2001, then slowly increased annually until 2004. 10. As the imported packaging and non packaging component of total NZ consumption is unknown it is not possible to compare recovered plastic against consumption for each of the material types 11. Note: Each material type consists of a range of products. For example: collected PVC comprised mainly cable/wiring, film and other products. For a breakdown of product types for the main material types refer to section 2.5 12. Refer to Appendix 2.6 for a list of the plastic identification codes, material acronyms they correspond with, the full polymer names of each, and examples of common products that are manufactured from these materials 13. Note: Recovery trends reflect manufacturing trends. For example, the decrease in the amount of PVC film being manufactured for packaging is reflected in a reduced amount available for recovery. Statistical Analysis of Plastic Material Types 16
Page 1 and 2: Research Project Report Sustainable
Page 3 and 4: Executive Summary The purpose of th
Page 5 and 6: Acknowledgements Special thanks are
Page 7 and 8: 4.2.5 Measure of Degradability ....
Page 9 and 10: Introduction In 2003 the New Zealan
Page 11 and 12: Results 1. Plastic Material in NZ 1
Page 13 and 14: From the 2005 PNZ Mass Balance Surv
Page 15: 2. Statistical Analysis of Plastic
Page 19 and 20: 2.5 Breakdown of Colours and Produc
Page 21 and 22: 2.5.4 PVC Approximately 2,412t of P
Page 23 and 24: 3. Assessment of the Current NZ Inf
Page 25 and 26: Figure 16: Implementation of kerbsi
Page 27 and 28: Figure 18: Other material recovered
Page 29 and 30: 3.3.3 Forms of End-Market Material
Page 31 and 32: 4.2.4 Cons • The cost of deriving
Page 33 and 34: 4.2.8 Viability of Composting Plast
Page 35 and 36: Strict regulations have been set in
Page 37 and 38: 5. Factors Influencing Recovery 5.1
Page 39 and 40: Commercial recyclers operating unde
Page 41 and 42: 5.9 Key Points Voluntary industry a
Page 43 and 44: Recommendations R.1 Improve Informa
Page 45 and 46: Appendices Appendix 1: Supplementar
Page 47 and 48: Appendix 2.8 Forms of Plastic End-M

Sustainable End-of-Life Options for Plastics in New Zealand

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