In a press release, Ecoplast has contradicted a metastudy commissioned by European Bioplastics according to which a level of up to 10% compostable plastics in post-consumer recycling streams does not affect the mechanical performance of recyclates.
Full press release:
Bioplastics cause problems for recycling at a level of less than 1%
– “Catastrophic to the process”: Leading PE recycler contradicts recent press release from European Bioplastics
– Strict separation of waste streams called for
Wildon, Austria (14 February 2014) – Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling GmbH, one of Europe’s leading PE recyclers, contradicts a recent press release from European Bioplastics. The lobbying organisation claims that the recycling stream may contain up to 10% compostable plastics without affecting the mechanical performance of recyclates. “A level of 10% bioplastics in the PE material stream would be catastrophic to the process and would significantly hamper the production of high-quality PE recyclates,” says Lukas Intemann, Ecoplast’s managing director.
Ecoplast (www.ecoplast.com) has been recycling plastics since 1992 and manufactures 20 000 tonnes of high-quality PE recyclates annually from post-consumer waste. Intemann states: “Based on our decades of experience, we would like to make clear that a level of less than 1% contamination with bioplastics causes massive problems in the recyclate production process.”
The press release from European Bioplastics quotes a metastudy based on relevant parts of other studies by organisations including BIOTEC and the Italian National Packaging Consortium.
Strict separation of waste streams
Because compostable plastics are often not composted but incinerated or end up in the waste stream for conventional plastics, strict separation of waste streams for conventional plastics should be implemented for the disposal of bioplastics.