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

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• Commercial energy recovery facilities have not been developed in NZ as yet. • Some material types, such as PVC, are not suitable for energy recovery. Key factors influencing the recovery of plastic material include: • voluntary industry approaches, such as the Packaging Accord, backed up by Government’s preparedness to consider regulation should these prove ineffective • lack of information about how much material is available, and where it is available from • confusion over product types manufactured from a variety of plastic resin types (e.g. food trays and ice cream containers) meaning that they are not being collected • the need for standardisation and labelling of plastic products • the cost of transportation • lack of information on future end-market trends and recovered plastic material prices; as well as the need for evaluation of current recovery techniques • communication between all parties in the life cycle of plastic products. In the short term, plastics recovery will be improved by working back from the end of the product life cycle. This will involve meeting recovery targets, improving collection procedures and encouraging product users to recycle. In the longer term, the focus will be on smarter product design, more efficient use of resources during manufacturing, reducing transportation costs, and encouraging parties involved in the plastic life cycle to communicate. Expansion of the recovery infrastructure to include a wider range of products will be required. The long-term focus will also have to accommodate future influences such as the increasing use of degradable plastics, and whether product stewardship legislation and subsequent regulations will be introduced. Recommended actions from this report focus on improving information and expanding the end markets for recovered plastics products. In addition, there are a number of recommendations for action by Plastics New Zealand and the wider Plastics Industry. These focus on: • locating and collecting resins and products during the manufacturing and pre-consumer phase and reducing contamination levels • improving standardisation and labelling within the plastics industry • investigating international best practices for energy recovery • investigating compostable and degradable plastics, and their best end-of-life options • monitoring and evaluating information and statistics regularly •providing regular updates on future product and material trends e.g. PLA •promoting Product Stewardship and Design for the Environment best practice. Many parties are involved in the life cycle of plastic products. The final recommended actions include developing better communication channels, improving labelling systems, liaising with councils on kerbside council contracts and encouraging the public to recycle more. 3 Sustainable End-of-Life Options for Plastics in New Zealand
Acknowledgements Special thanks are given in particular to the commercial recycling companies that participated in the 2005 PNZ Recycling Survey of 2004 recycling data; and also to the Ministry for the Environment for providing Plastics New Zealand with raw data from their national council survey undertaken in partnership with Local Government New Zealand, as the information was valuable and greatly appreciated. Plastics New Zealand members and staff have willingly provided data and assistance. A number of people from the wider waste and resource recovery sectors have freely given their time and information. Initially Carolyn Cox and subsequently Ket Bradshaw, in their roles as Environmental Managers of Plastics New Zealand, have overseen the project and provided invaluable guidance for this report. Acknowledgements 4
Page 1 and 2: Research Project Report Sustainable
Page 3: Executive Summary The purpose of th
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 and 16: 2. Statistical Analysis of Plastic
Page 17 and 18: 2.3 Breakdown of Recovered 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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