Viridor-PLASTIC ENERGY project pioneers food-grade recycled plastic and low-carbon energy

20 May 2020 --- UK waste management specialist Viridor and chemical recycling pioneers PLASTIC ENERGY have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a feasibility project to convert hard-to-recycle plastics such as films into recycled oils (TACOIL). The recycled oils would be used as a feedstock to create virgin-quality food-grade plastic material while the process would enable PLASTIC ENERGY to generate low-carbon electricity as a fuel source. The commenced feasibility work would seek to return up to 30,000 tons of previously unrecyclable plastic to the economy every year. If successful, the project is expected to be finalized by the end of 2023.

The project represents a “ground-breaking” UK circular economy collaboration, integrating with Viridor’s polymers investments to deliver a more complete plastics recycling solution. Viridor would provide predominantly low-density plastic film – a stream traditionally not recycled due to contamination – to a PLASTIC ENERGY chemical recycling plant.

The MoU envisages a plant co-located with a Viridor energy recovery facility, enabling PLASTIC ENERGY to draw low-carbon electricity from the process. The chemical recycling facility would be owned, developed and operated by PLASTIC ENERGY.

“We are currently working on the feasibility study for the project, which usually takes around six months, to further understand the economics, logistics and permits for the project. If successful, we will proceed to the project development and construction phases,” Viridor and PLASTIC ENERGY tell PackagingInsights.A Viridor energy recovery facility control room.

“Both companies share a commitment to increasing recyclability and contributing to a meaningful investment in a more sustainable and circular economy. We recognize that collaboration and innovation are key to achieving our green economy goals,” the MoU adds.

A cure to the contamination problem
Plastics, including low-density plastic films, are often contaminated with food, inks or other materials. Plastic films often have the additional challenge of being composed of multiple layers of various plastic types, making them hard to recycle through more conventional mechanical recycling processes.

“This contamination can be prevented through efficient segregation and simpler packaging composition but this is not always possible depending on the product application,” Viridor and PLASTIC ENERGY explain in a joint statement. Innovation in plastic films is now largely focused on mono-layer technologies, such as Amcor’s AmLite Ultra Recyclable high-barrier laminate pack and Mondi’s BarrierPack Recyclable all-polyethylene film, which can be recycled through existing polyolefin recycling streams.

“Also, part of the contamination can be removed through washing and drying. However, this step is expensive, especially for low-value plastic such as many plastic films, as it requires energy and resources. Chemical recycling usually doesn’t require this washing/drying step and can recycle mixed plastic waste with a controlled contamination level,” the MoU adds.The project is expected to be finalized by the end of 2023.

Is chemical recycling a long-term solution?
Chemical recycling has received some criticism for its high-energy intensiveness relative to mechanical recycling. However, Viridor highlights that its project with PLASTIC ENERGY will facilitate the use of the energy created at the recovery facility as a source of low-carbon power.

At the same time, Viridor has invested and will continue to invest in mechanical recycling and reprocessing. “Viridor sees this project integrating with the company’s existing polymers investments, which include mechanical recycling, contributing to a more complete plastics recycling solution,” the company tells PackagingInsights.

PLASTIC ENERGY likewise views chemical recycling as complementary to mechanical recycling. “We need many solutions to overcome the plastic waste challenge we are facing and chemical recycling is one of the solutions that will support existing and future technologies,” the global solutions provider says.

“Chemical recycling recycles plastic waste that is technically challenging for mechanical recyclers due to the complexity of product composition (multi-layers) and its degradation, as well as the contamination of the plastic with organics, inks or other materials. We also treat plastic waste that is economically difficult to recycle mechanically.”

“We can [chemically] recycle mixed plastic together and don’t need to sort plastic waste by plastic types and colors, so we can take a broader range of plastic waste that would be economically difficult to recycle mechanically. Also, we produce a material of higher quality,” PLASTICS ENERGY explains.

The Viridor-PLASTIC ENERGY project converts hard-to-recycle plastics like films into recycled oils.Although chemical recycling is more energy-intensive than mechanical recycling, PLASTICS ENERGY concedes, it keeps the key resource that is plastic in a closed-loop, enabling the recycling of more plastics. Chemical recycling responds to a different demand for food-grade recycled plastic that is currently fulfilled mainly by virgin plastic, while the process also boasts an environmental impact “well-below” the current alternative for these plastics, which is waste-to-energy, the company highlights.

European chemical recycling infrastructure is on the rise. In December, recycling and recovery organization Citeo joined forces with Nestlé and Mars, international energy company Total and plastic recycling technology provider Recycling Technologies to develop an industrial chemical recycling industry in France.

More recently, German technology company Coperion developed a closed-loop concept for the production of flexible multi-layer film in which up to 100 percent of production waste can be re-processed and fed back into the production process.

By Joshua Poole