Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Plastic Sorting Best Management Practices:Resources for MRFs, Municipalities, & Reclaimers
September 25, 2018
* RESCHEDULED
Presentation slides and recording will be posted on the APR Website.
Today’s Presenters
Kara PochiroAPR VP ofCommunications &Public Affairs
Tonya RandellProgram Managerat More Recycling
Associates
Stacey DemersProject Director at SCS
Engineers
Liz BedardAPR Director of APROlefins /Rigids PlasticsRecycling Program
Today’s Session…
Brief Overview of APRAPR’s Perspective & Intro to BMPsA Consultant’s Perspective & How BMPs Benefit Cities, StatesIndustry Expert’s Perspective & Demonstration of BMPsQuestions
International trade association
The Voice of Plastics Recycling®
Companies committed to the success of plasticsrecycling
Who is APR?
IncreaseSupply
EnhanceQuality
ExpandDemand
CommunicateValue
APR Primary Goals
APR BestManagement
Practices forPlastic Sorting
Liz Bedard, DirectorAPR Olefins/Rigids Program
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
Plastics come in many different resins and forms.
Optimizing plastic recycling requires understanding –
What plastic material is in therecycling stream?
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
The IssueMunicipalities and states regularly sort
wastes/plastics to understand their streams.
However, there are no plastic sorting standards.
Without plastic sorting standards, valuablewaste sorts can not provide:
• Consistent data• Comparative data• Understanding of trends
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
The SolutionAPR Best Management Practices for
Plastic Sorting
Developed by:• Association of Plastic Recyclers
• More Recycling• Key Waste Composition Consultants
Support from American Chemistry Council
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
The result of detailed researchand industry review.
Taking into consideration varied aspects ofwaste/plastic sorts, such as:
• Budget
• A community’s specific recyclables list
• Anticipated waste stream and,
• Item considered problematic
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
What are the BMPs?
Three plastic sorting levels &five major categories.
Major Categories
1. #1 and #2 Bottles/Jars2. #3-7 Bottles & Small Rigids3. Bulky Rigids4. Film & Flexibles5. Other Plastic
Plastic Sort Levels
1. Sorting Level #12. Sorting Level #23. Sorting Level #3
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
• Sorting Level #3’s twenty nine sortswhich can be contracted into….
• Sorting Level #2’s seventeen sortswhich can be contracted into…..
• Sorting Level #1’s eight sorts.
All sorting categories are based on“Marketable Bales”.
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
SortingLevel #1
SortingLevel #2
SortingLevel #3
#1 & #2 Bottles/Jars 3 3 3
#3-7 Bottles & Small Rigids 1 8 18
Bulky Rigids 1 1 1
Film & Flexibles 2 3 4
Other Plastics 1 2 3Total 8 Sorts 17 Sorts 29 Sorts
APR Best Management Practicesfor Plastic Sorting
How Industry will use Data?
• Standardized categories enable plastic reclaimers to:• Improve recovery approaches
• Understand volumes available
• See trends in the industry
• Anticipate needed capital investments
APR BestManagement
Practices forPlastic Sorting
Liz Bedard, DirectorAPR Olefins/Rigids [email protected]
21
What Are WeWasting?Using Waste Characterization Data forProgram Planning and Design
SCS ENGINEERS
Why Do A WasteCharacterization Study?
• Gauge Program Success
• Assess Diversion Opportunities
• Calculate Environmental Benefits
• Estimate Potential Revenue and Jobs
• Identify Disposal Trends
• Target Materials and Generators
• Assist in Facility Design
• Evaluate Energy Value
22
SCS ENGINEERS
What Materials are in This Pile?
23
Material Types usuallydictated by Client, andbased on:
1. Previous Studies2. What MRF Accepts3. Recycling Programs
of otherjurisdictions
4. Curiosity
SCS ENGINEERS
Typical Load Sampling
24
SCS ENGINEERS
Sample Sorting
25
Waste SortingHappens:1. Quickly – sort about
2000 pounds per day2. Larger, Easily-
Identifiable ItemsFirst
3. UnidentifiableItems go in OtherCategory
4. Plastics alwaysmost difficultmaterial
SCS ENGINEERS
Some Plastic Material Types
26
PET Bottles (#1) HDPE Natural (#2)Bottles & Jars
SCS ENGINEERS
Some Plastic Material Types
27
Polystyrene (#6)Styrofoam
Expanded Polystyrene(#6)
SCS ENGINEERS
Some Plastic Material Types
28
Single-Use ShoppingBags
HDPE Colored (#2)Bottles & Jars
SCS ENGINEERS
Consistent Material Definitions AllowComparisons
29
PAPER
PLASTIC
ORGANIC
METAL
GLASS
OTHER
YEAR - 1996
PAPER
PLASTIC
ORGANIC
METALGLASS
OTHER
YEAR - 2007
PAPER
PLASTIC
ORGANICMETAL
GLASS
OTHER
YEAR - 2014
The Changing Waste Stream
SCS ENGINEERS
Although Material Types Can Be Added
30
OGANIC
METAL
GLASS
OTHER
PAPER
PET Containers
PET Bottles
#3-#7 Containers
Durable Plastic Items
Other Plastic
Non-Recyclable Film
Recyclable Plastic Film
PLASTIC
YEAR = 2014
SCS ENGINEERS
Before a Waste Characterization Study…
31
Stacey Demers, ProjectDirectorSCS [email protected]
1. How Will the Information & Data be Useda) Education and Outreachb) Evaluation of Existing Programs
2. More Materials = More time = More Cost3. Plan Early for Comparisons
a) Prior Studiesb) Other Jurisdictions and Statewide
4. Use APR Guidance for Consistency
Good Waste Sort DataMatters
Tonya RandellSeptember 25, 2018APR webinar
Why Waste Sort Data is Important
Good Standards = Clear, Usable Data
• There is a loss of clarity when we diverge from standards.• For example, PET Bottle bales usually contain PET jars.
– But if you sort only bottles and put the PET jars into a differentcategory, PET hasn’t been sorted in a way that can easily combinedto track to the marketable commodity.
– It’s hard to aggregate data about what is or isn’t being collected,marketed, and reclaimed.
• Standard waste sort categories support existing efforts to usestandard terms for both outreach and commodity discussions.
Plastic Recycling Terms and Tools
Goal: Increase thequality and quantity ofplastics collected and tofacilitate better tracking.
Outreach Terms
Clear, Concise &Common terminologyand simple tools forcommunity recyclingprograms to helpcommunicate moreeffectively to residents.
Commodity Terms
Use APR bale specsto help streamlinecommunicationsabout buying andselling plastics thathave been collectedin the plastics valuechain.
31%
20%
25%
24%
PET HDPE Non-Bottle Rigids Film
Annual PlasticSurvey Data
~ 6 BillionLbs in 2016
More Recycling collectsdata to see whatplastics are beingrecycled in the US andCanada.We provide data or writereports on these 4distinct categories
Granular DataDrives IndustryBecause Non-Bottle Rigids make up aquarter of the total plastic we track, it’simportant to break out to othercategories to see trends by resin.
33%
2%
5%
4%
7%
17%
5%
2%
11%
14%
PP Bottles, Containers & Other Rigid HDPE Bottles- Natural HDPE Bottles- Colored HD/LD Containers & Other Rigid
PET Bottles/Jars PET Containers & Other Rigid PS Containers & Other Rigid Bulky Rigid Plastic
Other Containers & Rigid Trash
EstimatedBreakout of3-7 Bales
Consistent DataLeads to Trends
Using the samedata categoriesacross thecountry andyear over yearallows industryto track trendsover time.
Waste BMPs and Data Collection
Good National Data Starts Here
Level 2
Level 3
Level 3details
Sample Sort forSpecific Items:Pouches and PSFoamIf you only wanted to focus onPouches and Foam, you could dospecific sorts of Film & Flexiblesand Other Plastics, withoutneeding to do the sub-sorts for 3-7 & Smalls.We believe everyone wouldcontinue to pull out HDPE andPET bottles because of the rolethey play in most plastic recyclingprograms.
Conclusion
• These BMPs help us with better comparisons;• Which help us draw conclusions on where we are,
compare to where we were, and provide direction aboutwhere we should go with plastic recycling.
• And they work in tandem with other industry efforts fromeducation through the value chain to reclamation andconversion.
