We are pleased to announce that our research was recently presented at the 11th International Conference on Industrial Ecology (July 2-5). The conference provided an excellent platform to share our methods and preliminary findings with researchers and experts in the field of industrial ecology. We also had the opportunity to learn about very inspiring plastic flow modeling projects in other regions of the world. We are now eager to further refine our research based on the insightful feedback we received, and look forward to contributing valuable insights for sustainable materials management in Norway and beyond. Stay tuned for upcoming publications detailing the comprehensive results of our study on scenarios to reduce plastic production and waste generation.
Last week we hosted the annual meeting of the PLASTCYCLE project at NILU. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss our recently published study with industry partners and researchers.
During the meeting, we planned the next steps for a country-wide mapping of the chemical additives on polymers throughout the plastics’ life cycle. This mapping will help the industry bring eco-design into the design process and increase the recyclability of products.
We also discussed the potential impacts of implementing recycling strategies and exploratory scenarios toward reducing plastic pollution. We are looking forward to seeing the outcome of this project and its influence on the international efforts towards the plastic treaty and the efficient management of plastic waste.
Many thanks to all those contributing with their time and knowledge to this project!
The plastcycle annual meeting will be held on Monday April 17, 2023, in Kjeller. Previous results of the project including the mapping of seven plastic polymers in Norway as well as ongoing research on chemical additives in plastics and possible future scenarios based on our material flow model will be presented. The agenda for the meeting can be downloaded below.
If you are interested in attending the meeting, please send an email to Marina Hauser, mjha@nilu.no.
We are happy to announce that our paper called “A high-resolution dynamic probabilistic material flow analysis of seven plastic polymers; A case study of Norway” was published in the journal of Environment International.
We provided a framework to establish inventories of polymer types for each industrial sector to implement circular strategies to keep plastics in a closed-loops, cap the production, lower consumption, and prevent waste generation.
The paper investigates the flows of seven plastic polymers through the whole life-cycle from production and manufacturing, through the use phase to the waste treatment. Seven polymer types (high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), expanded polystyrene (EPS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) were considered. We included nine different industrial sectors, namely packaging, construction, agriculture, automotive, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), boats, other plastic, clothing, and other textiles with up to 13 individual product categories included per industrial sector. A lifetime was associated to each individual product category, meaning how many years the product category is used after purchase before it is being discarded. The model uses historical data for the years 2000 to 2020 and then presents a business-as-usual scenario until 2050.
We estimated that total of 620 kilotonnes (kt) of plastic was put on the Norwegian market in 2020, which corresponds to 114 kg of plastic per capita. Packaging is the largest contributor of plastic put on the market, followed by construction and other plastic. A total of 3400 kt of plastic (630 kg/capita) are currently in use, the large majority in the construction sectors as pipes, linings or coverings. Waste generation was estimated to be 460 kt corresponding to 83 kg/capita. More than half of this waste comes from the packaging sector. Overall, half of the plastic waste is separately collected and has the potential to be recycled, the other half ends up in the mixed waste stream. Of the separately collected waste, only half (23% of total waste generation) is eventually recycled in Norway. Another ~30% (or 16% of the total waste generation) is exported, mainly for recycling abroad.
Using the separately collected waste in 2020, we developed several inter- or intrasectorial reuse scenarios. For example, 40% of plastic packaging put on the market is in the form of LDPE and currently 60% of it is separately collected. If all the separately collected LDPE waste could be reused as a secondary material for new products, it would supply 60% of LDPE packaging demand in 2021. Alternatively, it could also be used to satisfy the complete demand of LDPE in the agricultural sector. The reuse scenarios show that plastic waste management should be designed specifically for each industrial sector and not generalized over all sectors. The systematic classification of product categories based on polymer characterization and industrial sector done in this paper can provide a guidance for authorities to facilitate efficient planning for plastic waste reuse and recycling.
The paper is open source and everyone interested in reading the whole paper can download it below or from the journal website.
Last week, NCMT’s plastic and composite conference (Plast- og komposittkonferansen), the biggest plastic conference in Norway, took place in Sandane. Besides NILU, other research institutes, industry partners, and government agencies mostly from Norway but also from abroad were represented. During one of the first sessions, Golnoush Abbasi gave an overview of the PLASTCYCLE project and present first result of the stock and flow model to the whole plenum. The conference was a great opportunity to present PLASTCYCLE to a wide audience in the plastic sector and to get in contact with other institutes about possible future collaborations. The presentation about PLASTCYCLE can be downloaded below.
The results of the modelling study of seven plastic polymers (LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, PVC, EPS, and PET) in Norway from 2000 to 2050 will be presented in a 20-min-presentation at the plastic and composite conference (Plast- og komposittkonferansen) in Sandane, Norway on 28th of September 2022 under the topic of circular solutions. The plastic and composite conference is the biggest plastic conference in Norway and will provide great opportunities to present plastcycle and the results that stemmed from the project to a wide range of audience from Norway and abroad. More information and tickets to the conference can be found here.
The 32nd annual SETAC meeting was held in Copenhagen from 15th-19th of May 2022. We presented two posters on Plastcycle results:
Stocks, flows and sinks of plastic polymers within products in Norway from 2000 to 2050 – Assessment of future waste management practices and recycling targets
Will increased recycling of plastic also increase the exposure to additives and hazardous chemicals under the circular economy? An inventory of chemical additives in plastic products in Norway
Both posters received positive feedback from visitors and generated interesting conversations. The posters can be downloaded below.
PLASTCYCLE had its first stakeholder dialogue meeting on 27.05.2021. The European Commission has set a target of recycling of 55% of plastic waste by 2025 which seems to be challenging for industries to meet. We invited plastic industries to share with us their challenges regarding the use of recycled plastic in their products and provide us with their suggestions to create a sustainable closed loop for plastics.
In this meeting, NILU introduced PLASTCYCLE. The aim of the project is to map the stock and flows of plastic products and hazardous chemicals within these products in Norway. Norwegian Environment agency presented a summary of policies and measures for waste reduction and material recycling in Norway, Grønt Punkt Norge presented ways to increase recycling of plastic packaging and Handelens Miljøfond provided a summary of facts and figures about plastic waste in Norway.
This event will be held in Norwegian. If you are interested to join, please follow the link below the invitation to the registration form.
Avdeling for miljøeffekter og bærekraft på NILU, Miljødirektoratet og Grønt Punkt Norge samarbeider i forskningsprosjektet PLASTCYCLE. Målet med PLASTCYCLE er å forstå utfordringene knyttet til gjenbruk og resirkulering av plast bedre, spesielt når det gjelder (i) tilstedeværelsen av kjemiske tilsetningsstoffer og forurensninger i plastprodukter, (ii) resirkuleringskvaliteten for forskjellige formål og (iii) utilsiktet resirkulering av kjemikalier i plastprodukter.
Vi vil gjerne invitere deg til et dialogmøte 27.05.2021 kl 10-12, for å presentere prosjektet vårt og få innspill fra plastindustrien.
På agendaen:
Hva er PLASTCYCLE? Kort introduksjon til prosjektet, ved NILU
Plastforsøpling – regulatoriske tiltak for avfallsreduksjon og materialgjenvinning, ved Miljødirektoratet
Hvordan å øke gjenvinning av plastemballasje, ved Grønt Punkt Norge
Materialgjenvinning av norsk plastavfall – 50 % innen 2025, ved Handelens Miljøfond
Interessentdialog – hva er dine utfordringer?
Vi håper du og din bedrift vil være med og bidra til framtidens bærekraftige løsninger!
