Salford, England: High levels of interest have been shown in a novel ‘dry cleaning’ technology for plastic waste and could lead to significantly greater recycling of the material in the UK, according to plastic recycler Axion Recycling. The comment came following the Dusseldorf K2007 event.
Developed by German machine company Pla.to Technology, the dry mechanical cleaning system for dirty plastic flakes and films can reduce water consumption by up to 90%, and cut waste levels by half, compared to wet washing plants.
This offers major savings on operating costs, according to Pla.to.
Managing Director of Pla.to Technology Heinz Schnettler said:
“Customers are seeing the environmental and sustainable benefits of ‘dry cleaning’ technology more clearly than in the past.”
The company’s exhibition stand attracted encouraging levels of inquiries from UK-based companies interested in improving their recycling processes for this rapidly growing plastic waste stream.
Keith Freegard, Axion's Technical Director, at the K Show
Recently several units have been installed by UK plastic recyclers, showing confidence in the effectiveness of the dry-cleaning process for the mixed plastic waste sector. Axion is also undertaking trials to assess the more effective cleaning and separation techniques for mixed plastic waste.
Recent investment in the UK bottle recycling market and strong interest from retailers in the use of recycled PET and HPDE has driven the increasing collection of household plastics waste.
Axion says that at present, around 1 in 4 UK bottles are collected and, as more local authorities introduce plastic kerbside schemes, it is anticipated that the volumes of plastic bottles, rigid containers and mixed-plastics films will increase dramatically.
Further innovations unveiled at the show included a modified dry-cleaning system for wet and sticky materials, like rain-soaked HDPE bottle flakes.
One UK authority which commenced kerbside collection of plastic bottles this week is Hambleton District Council. The council has provided a blue box to its residents which caters for glass bottles, cans and plastic bottles. Paper is collected in a second bag with all dry recyclables collected on a fortnightly basis. The council anticipates that this will further boost its already respectable 34% recycling and composting rate.
“We had a very positive response to the technology, which enables more effective recycling of the dirty fraction from mixed plastic wastes, particularly food packaging such as crisp packets and yogurt pots,” commented Keith Freegard, Technical Director of Axion Recycling, the UK agent for Pla.to Technology. “Given the big push to recycle mixed plastics in the UK, we are predicting much growth in this area.
“Pla.to’s technology is useful for recyclers who can use it to open up new sources of raw material, which fits closely with what Axion does – finding dirty plastic waste and recycling it,” he said.
“The Pla.to unit is an important step in the recycling chain in that the waste plastic recyclate can be re-used in higher grade applications than at present. Critically, it is good at recycling the film fraction of mixed plastic, which is one of the trickier steps in the whole process,” added Keith.