Challenges, rejects and waste
Challenges in recycling certain plastics
Not all plastics are easy to recycle, and many have little or no recycling value. It is important to understand:
- Which plastics can be recycled locally.
- Which plastics need to be sent elsewhere for recycling.
- Which plastics cannot be recycled at all.
Some of the most difficult plastics we work with include:
Gunia (rice sacks or raffia bags)
- Used for transporting goods over long distances.
- Mainly made from polypropylene (PP), but the exact polymer type is often uncertain.
- Challenges:
- Large in volume and difficult to process efficiently.
- Unique properties make it hard to integrate into our recycling system.
Ocean plastic
- Carried by tides from different towns, countries, and even continents.
- Often degraded by sun, saltwater, and weather, making it hard to identify the polymer type.
- Challenges:
- The degradation of plastic reduces its strength and recycling value.
- Difficult to process effectively in standard recycling systems.
Understanding these challenges helps in finding better solutions and deciding which plastics can be recycled and how.
Plastics we cannot process
Some plastics are too difficult to recycle with our current equipment and processes. These include:
PS (plastic type 6)
- Found in plastic cutlery, CD cases, and some packaging.
- Challenge: We do not have the capacity to turn this material into a useful product.
OTHER (plastic type 7)
- A mixed category that includes many different polymers such as PC (polycarbonate), ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), and PLA (polylactic acid).
- Challenge: These plastics have different structures and behaviours, making them difficult to recycle in our system.
Multi-layer packaging
- Found in food and drink packaging, such as chip bags and juice cartons.
- Made up of multiple layers of different materials, including various plastics, aluminium, and cardboard.
- Challenge: Separating these layers is very difficult, so we cannot recycle this type of packaging.
Knowing which plastics cannot be processed helps us focus on materials we can recycle effectively.
Managing waste in plastic collections
Around 7% of the plastic we collect cannot be recycled and is classified as waste. This includes:
- Non-plastic items mistakenly collected.
- Plastic types we cannot process locally.
- Dirt, sand, and water weight trapped in collected plastics.
- Contaminated plastic, such as:
- Plastic mixed with fibreglass.
- Plastic with hard-to-remove metal parts.
This waste is safely disposed of at the designated dumpsite with municipal approval.
Recommendation
- Identify waste streams – Understand the types of non-recyclable materials that may enter your collections.
- Plan for proper disposal – Find a safe disposal site that follows local and national environmental regulations.
