Research project VABEVA
Compatibility of biodegradable bioplastics with established systems for collecting and recycling of waste plastics
Partners: - Interessengemeinschaft Kunststoffrecyclinginitiative Sachsen e.V.
- ConVerta GmbH
- Dr. Textor Plastics GmbH
- ERZ - Waste Disposal and Recycling Zwickau GmbH
Funding: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt
Duration: December 2013 - May 2015
Project description:
Since the early 1990s, packaging waste in Germany has been collected in the "yellow garbage can" and sent for material or energy recovery. However, a prerequisite for the usability of the economic and ecological potential of all collectable used plastics is their actual recyclability. This depends on numerous factors, such as the type and quality of the plastic, combination with other materials (composites), labeling or contamination with impurities.
Negative influences can make material recovery (recycling) impossible, so that only energy recovery comes into question, in which, however, the process energy for manufacturing plastic products and the raw material are irretrievably lost. In terms of the hierarchy of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act and climate protection, this would be the significantly worse option.
More recently, biodegradable bioplastics have been increasingly used, which influence the entire recycling chain (collection, identification, preparation, processing). Physical-mechanical processing properties that deviate from established plastics cause disruptions to conventional recycling processes. This causes an increased sorting effort and endangers not only the quality of the recyclates but above all the economic situation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the recycling industry.
Within the framework of the VABEVA project, concrete recommendations for action are to be developed which will contribute to ensuring that the recycling of "established" plastics continues to be of a high quality, as well as identifying possibilities for supporting the recycling of biodegradable bioplastics. Novel bioplastics that are "material equivalent" to conventional materials (e.g. Bio-PE and Bio-PET) should not be the subject of the investigations. The objective of the project was to be achieved on the one hand by means of random sampling of the situation at plastics recycling companies and on the other hand by means of practical simulation (real degree of contamination, no freshly produced materials) of the sorting and recycling processes on a smaller scale. Furthermore, it was investigated whether previously known problems, such as streaks, colored inclusions or other properties deteriorating the recyclate quality, which are attributed by recycling companies to biodegradable plastics, are actually due to these materials or to other causes.