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Flake sorting –  Demystifying Chemical Recycling: An Emerging Solution or a New Set of Challenges? 09-11-2023

Flake sorting

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Tomra presents new Innosort Flake

Its enhanced features enable simultaneous flake sorting by polymer, colour and transparency, achieving unmatched quality even from highly contaminated inputs.

With the introduction of the new Innosort Flake, Tomra provides the ideal flake sorting solution to help the industry recover more recyclable materials from any waste stream with maximum yield.  Flake sorting

Alberto Piovesan, Global Segment Manager Plastics at Tomra Recycling Sorting, explains: ”Given recycled content targets in Europe and elsewhere, the market needs to prepare for future demand. Recyclers need solutions to produce high-quality post-consumer recycled content in sufficient volumes.

At the same time, they strive for reliable sorting results and operational flexibility. With the new Innosort Flake, this is now possible.”  Flake sorting

Any colour, any polymer

Equipped with a powerful sensor combination, the new Innosort Flake sorts polymers by material type and colour, removing any impurities to create pure fractions.

Thanks to its advanced near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer, the machine precisely detects various polymers, allowing for the recovery of recyclable materials from highly contaminated infeed. With this technology, plastics recovered from mixed waste, for example, can be sorted for recycling, providing access to more recyclable materials that otherwise would be lost or downcycled for lower-grade applications. For instance, polyolefins (PO), such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are often found comingled in the same waste stream. With the new Innosort Flake, mixed plastic fractions that have been shredded and washed can be sorted into clean fractions of PET, PP and PE and other materials that meet the quality requirements for extrusion and the creation of high-quality post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.  Flake sorting

Moreover, plant operators profit from the machine’s unmatched colour sorting performance. Its enhanced optics, with a changeable colour background and dual-sided high-resolution cameras, detect millions of colours and create single-colour fractions. Its high contrast imaging can even differentiate between white opaque and natural, transparent and translucent flakes, reducing material losses and maximizing yield.

Piovesan adds: ”The new Innosort Flake is designed to sort any colour, any polymer, at the same time. It levels the playing field for recyclers and gives them maximum flexibility to respond to the respective market demands. If an operator wants to purify PET this month and produce a clean blue PP next month, it is technically possible with the new machine. What’s more, it is cost-effective.”  Flake sorting

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Flake sorting

Borealis, TotalEnergies Start Up Baystar PE Joint Venture

New unit brings Borealis’ proprietary Borstar PE technology to North America and completed the partners’ integrated petrochemicals venture

Borealis and TotalEnergies recently brought on stream their ambitious Baystar joint venture’s new 1.3-billion lb/yr (625,000 m.t.) in Pasadena, Texas, which brings to North America Borealis’ proprietary Borstar 3G technology and more than doubles the current production capacity at Baystar’s site.

Referred to as Bay 3, the unit completes the partners’ integrated petrochemicals venture, which includes the expanded Bayport PE facility, including two existing legacy PE units producing 881.8 million lb/yr, and the 2.2- billion lb/yr ethane cracker at the TotalEnergies Platform in Port Arthur, Texas, brought on stream in mid-2022.

Borstar technology has been shown to produce advanced value-added polymers with enhanced sustainability by enabling light-weighting and the incorporation of greater amounts of post-consumer recycled materials in a variety of end products, serving the energy, infrastructure and consumer products industries. Flake sorting

According to Baystar president, Diane Chamberlain, “Borstar technology enables our technical, production, and sales teams to collaborate in the creation of the highly customized products our customers require to remain competitive and meet consumer demands” She notes that these PFAS-free materials, enable more than 50% post-consumer recycled material in some end products. Also, due to their broad molecular weight distribution, Borstar PE offers superior physical properties with no need for process aids or additives.

Said Borealis CEO Thomas Gangl, “The arrival of Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology in North America by way of Baystar marks, in line with our owners’ strategies, a crucial step for us in becoming a global leader in advanced and sustainable chemicals and material solutions,” Expanding and deepening our footprint through Baystar enables us to better serve customers and partners by offering improved access to Borstar based products produced right here in North America.”  Flake sorting

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Flake sorting

Opinion: Time to clear up the ocean-bound plastic issue

We need to demystify ocean-bound plastic and educate people on its potential

We all know that plastic in our oceans is an environmentally devastating problem that is only getting worse. According to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Report, over 17 million tonnes of plastic entered the ocean in 2021, and that number is set to double or even triple by 2040. The collection and recycling of ocean-bound plastic has great potential to address this spread, but sadly, not enough businesses and consumers understand what it is, which has led to a general misunderstanding of the category.

For many, recycled ocean-bound plastic conjures up images of plastic being pulled directly from the sea or from around the neck of a sea turtle, which is simply not the case. Plastic pulled from the ocean has already been degraded by the salt and sun, making it very difficult to recycle at scale.  Flake sorting

At best, well-meaning companies try to engage with consumers by using this emotive but misleading imagery as a shorthand – and, at worst, bad actors in the industry deliberately conjure this image in order to greenwash or generate confusion.

Our operating definition of ocean-bound plastic is inspired by the pioneering work of Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering and 2022 MacArthur Fellow, Dr. Jenna Jambeck, and her team. They utilised various criteria in their research, and it is important to consider these factors together, rather than looking at one aspect of the problem in isolation.

The country or region lacks proper waste management infrastructure and collection incentives.

The infrastructure is being overwhelmed by population growth and/or increased tourism.

There is a significant risk to wildlife and biodiversity if plastic contaminates their ecosystem.  Flake sorting

It is found within 50km (30mi) distance of an ocean coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean.

The Prevented Ocean Plastic programme focuses on addressing these concerns in tandem, working with at-risk coastal communities to create an intervention before this plastic reaches our waterways, where it can cause immeasurable harm.

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Flake sorting

We’re supporting legal action against Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone for their misleading claims about recycling

Along with the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), we’re supporting the Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) in filing a legal complaint to the European Commission against three food and drink giants, over their use of misleading ‘100% recyclable’ and ‘100% recycled’ claims on plastic water bottles sold across Europe.

What’s the problem?

We’ve likely all seen slogans on plastic water bottles, claiming that the bottle is ‘100% recyclable’ or ‘100% recycled’. However, claims such as these, commonly found on plastic water bottles all over Europe, are either vague, factually incorrect, or not substantiated, and may suggest that bottles can be recycled in an infinite circular loop, which is simply not true.  Flake sorting

Evidence shows that there is no such thing as truly circular plastic and that recycling – while less harmful than other methods of waste disposal – cannot solve the worsening crisis of plastic pollution. The process of recycling actually continuously degrades the properties of plastic, making ‘infinite’ recycling impossible. In fact, only 9% of plastic ever made has been recycled, and production of new plastic is now expected to triple by 2060.

These claims about recycling also fail to account for all the parts of a plastic water bottle, such as lids and labels, which are not made from fully – if at all – recycled plastic and are much less likely to be effectively recycled.

The reality is that single-use plastic is neither circular nor sustainable. Recycling can never catch up with the sheer volume of plastic produced on our planet.

Rosa Pritchard, ClientEarth lawyer

Quite simply, we are producing too much plastic, and people and planet are drowning in it. Recycling is not a satisfactory solution, and companies shouldn’t be implying to consumers that plastic bottles are ever a sustainable choice.  Flake sorting

What’s the legal action?

We’ve supported BEUC in raising an ‘external alert’ to the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network against Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone for suspected widespread infringement of consumer protection law.

An ‘external alert’ is an important tool that allows designated entities – such as BEUC – to submit complaints to the Consumer Protection Cooperation network and the European Commission, meaning they can submit evidence of business practices they suspect infringe consumer protection law directly to the enforcement authorities.

The external alert submitted here argues that the recycling statements on plastic water bottles, which are often reinforced by ‘green’ imagery and generic environmental catchphrases, may mislead consumers into viewing single-use bottles as a ‘sustainable’ choice, when this simply isn’t the case. The most sustainable way to consume water is using a refillable bottle and drinking tap water.  Flake sorting

The evidence is clear – plastic water bottles are simply not recycled again and again to become new bottles in Europe. A ‘100%’ recycling rate for bottles is technically not possible and, just because bottles are made with recycled plastic, does not mean they don’t harm people and the planet. Where waste can be recycled, consumers should keep up their good work. Recycling is less harmful than other disposal methods, like incineration or landfill. But it’s important companies don’t portray recycling as a silver bullet to the plastic crisis. Instead they need to focus efforts on reducing plastic at source. Companies are in a unique position to change how we consume but currently these claims – which we consider to be misleading – are making it hard for consumers to make good environmental choices.

Is recycling worthwhile?

Recycling is less harmful than plastic being incinerated or going into landfill. And consumers should still recycle wherever possible.  Flake sorting

But, the ‘recyclability’ of a plastic water bottle depends on lots of different external factors, such as local infrastructure when it enters the recycling system. In the EU, the recycling rate for plastic bottles is approximately 50%, with only 30% used to make new bottles. The remainder goes towards products like textiles, which are generally unrecyclable and more likely to end up in landfill, or an incinerator, causing pollution and contributing to climate change.

The combined effect of the claims on these bottles about recyclability risks persuading consumers across Europe that single-use plastic packaging does not harm the environment, while distracting attention from the urgent need to hugely reduce plastic production across the globe.  Flake sorting

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We’re supporting legal action against Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone for their misleading claims about recycling

 Demystifying Chemical Recycling: An Emerging Solution or a New Set of Challenges?

The escalating plastic pollution crisis and inefficiencies in the plastic recycling system have turned many against single-use plastics and led to national and state bans on some plastic packaging. Now, the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries have launched a category of plastic processing technology called chemical recycling or advanced recycling. The plastic industry describes it as a potential panacea that can clean up millions of tons of plastic waste produced annually. Is it everything claimed?

The Ocean Conservancy recently hosted a forum to discuss their findings after examining chemical recycling. The implications of this technology are intricate, and the technology is still evolving. However, the early evidence is that chemical recycling still requires immense energy, generating large amounts of planet-warming CO2. At the same time, it does not significantly reduce the volume of plastic toxins. Flake sorting

“Chemical recycling is an umbrella term that captures a suite of disparate technologies,” said Dr. Anja Brandon, Associate Director of U.S. Plastics Policy at the Ocean Conservancy. She suggested that fossil fuel and plastic companies fudge these terms to confuse consumers and policymakers. “These terms are constantly changing. Its ‘chemical recycling,’ ‘advanced recycling,’ ‘molecular recycling,’ and ‘renewable technologies.’ Different companies all use different terms.”

One clear message from the event was the importance of reducing the use of plastic. As much as 40% of plastic becomes single-use packaging, which accounts for much of the plastic pollution in the oceans and landfills. Flake sorting

“Recycling mitigates the harm of waste and extraction, but not as much, of course, as reuse and certainly reduction is our primary strategy,” said Lynn Hoffman, Co-President of Eureka Recycling in Minneapolis and National Coordinator for the Alliance for Mission-Based Recyclers.

Hoffman noted that mechanical recycling is not without its environmental flaws but suggests that most plastics, especially single-use plastic packaging, are not recycled because of the broken economics of today’s system.

It’s often cheaper to use virgin plastic because of the complexity and cost of sorting and processing plastic. Flake sorting

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 Demystifying Chemical Recycling: An Emerging Solution or a New Set of Challenges?

Creating a Plastics Circular Economy in the Food Industry

Recently, there has been a push for the food industry to trade plastics for new packaging alternatives. However, as industry leaders work together to lower the carbon footprint of food packaging, it’s imperative to take a fact-based approach to the sometimes polarizing topic of plastic.

The concept of simply eliminating so-called problematic materials sounds like a quick and easy solution; however, these reflex reactions to misguided findings and policies just further complicate the problem. In most cases, this shifts the issue to a new material, which has its own challenges.  Flake sorting

The design of plastic materials and recycling technologies has continued to advance, making plastics, such as polystyrene (PS), far more eco-friendly than many people realize.

What makes a material sustainable?

One way to understand the full impact and environmental costs of a product is by using a lifecycle assessment, or LCA. A full LCA examines each step of the product’s entire cycle. It accounts for all energy, raw materials, and emissions involved at each stage of a product’s life. Only when we understand a product’s full life cycle can we accurately compare our options.

However, once a product is produced, that’s not the end of its existence. Additional inputs often add to its life cycle impact at other stages along the way to fulfilling its purpose. For example – shipping and distribution. The impact of shipping lighter materials, such as plastic, will be significantly lower as opposed to heavier materials, like metal or glass, due to the reduced fuel use.  Flake sorting

While an LCA is all-inclusive, there are methods to break down the assessment into separate, trackable portions. The product’s carbon footprint (PCF), for example, is specifically the equivalent amount of CO2 that is released into the earth’s atmosphere as a result of a product’s production, use, and afterlife. Product carbon footprint can be a very useful metric for estimating a product’s environmental impact since CO2 is a major contributor to climate change.

After use, the final resting place for the material contributes to the footprint, too. This can help demonstrate the benefits of circularity. If materials end up in landfills, each step of its life and all the inputs used to make that product need to be repeated and made again. However, if it can be recycled, the original inputs used to create the product stay in the value chain, reducing the need for that environmental impact to be repeated. Closing the loop with waste prevention and recycling allow for the life cycle of this valuable material to be infinite. To be repurposed and reused, again, and again. Flake sorting

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Creating a Plastics Circular Economy in the Food Industry

Lenzing Advances Circularity Through Strategic Industry Partnerships and Value Chain Innovation

A strong commitment to achieving textile circularity, forging industry partnerships, and realizing value chain innovation are infused in Lenzing and the TENCEL™ brand’s strategic DNA. This year, the company continued to introduce exciting collaborations and initiatives, launching innovative products and creating added value for supply chain partners.

Incorporating TENCEL™ branded fibers, Japanese denim mill Kaihara and Lenzing have elevated their long-standing partnership this year, developing several innovative denim garments with finishing technology by Jeanologia. The capsule collection showcases Kaihara’s craftsmanship and the versatility of TENCEL™ fibers in high-end denim fashion worldwide.  Flake sorting

Lenzing and Kentaur also launched a collection of uniforms for culinary professions. These innovative uniforms are made from a blend of 50% TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibers with REFIBRA™ technology and 50% recycled polyester, to give textile waste a second life while maintaining a high level of quality and comfort.

Regarding fibers, Lenzing has extended the REFIBRA™ technology to LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded viscose fibers with 20% of recycled content, and announced the expansion of the production of their EU Ecolabel certified[1] responsible viscose fibers at Lenzing’s Purwakarta site in Indonesia. The site will also produce LENZING™ ECOVERO™ black specialty fibers by the end of 2023.  Flake sorting

To address the industry’s increasing supply chain complexities, Lenzing partnered with supply chain solutions company project44™ to pioneer a real-time ocean shipment tracker that aims to enhance the transparency of the global fiber supply chain through greater carbon emission visibility. The tracker empowers Lenzing’s customers with accurate real-time insights on fiber orders, supporting Lenzing’s commitment to digital transformation and supply chain transparency in textiles and nonwovens.

The launch of the pilot “Start with the Original” campaign in China strives to enhance awareness of the correct usage of trademarks to safeguard industry partners and consumers. Harold Weghorst, Global Vice President of Marketing & Branding, Lenzing AG reaffirmed the education and training initiatives of the campaign that will help sustain a healthy business environment in the domestic ecosystem.  Flake sorting

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Lenzing Advances Circularity Through Strategic Industry Partnerships and Value Chain Innovation

PCR packaging – Mura Technology’s flagship advanced plastics recycling plant opens in Teesside 08-11-2023

Flake sorting

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