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Possibilities of recycling EPS in Denmark

Summary

The main purpose of this project is to evaluate the possibilities of recycling EPS in Denmark. The project has been divided into a number of phases, which are listed hereunder:

The phases are as follows:

• Method description
• Brief description of EPS
• Recycling of EPS in Denmark
• Recycling of EPS abroad
• Possibility of increased recycling rather than incineration of EPS in Denmark
• Environmental assessment of recycling versus incineration of EPS in Denmark
• Summarised assessment of the possibilities of increased recycling of EPS in Denmark.

Method Description

In researching existing methods for recycling EPS, an important factor in deciding the criteria and information sources was the fact that complete-scaled collection schemes and facilities in continuous operation were used.  The selection and description of existing methods placed particular importance on the fact that the sale of EPS recycling is documented.

The Internet and the Danish Plastics Industry (EPS Section) as well as consultations with equipment suppliers and collectors form the basis of this market research on existing methods and sale of EPS for recycling purposes.

Focussing on Danish criteria (amount of waste, composition, collection schemes), an assessment has been made of the possibilities of recycling EPS on an environmental-economic basis. The analysis is a comparison of recycling, incineration and of newly-manufactured EPS. It is important to note that due to financial limitations an in-depth environmental-economic study was not carried out.

The environmental analysis comprises technologies for:

• Production of EPS raw material
• Production of EPS product
• Incineration of EPS
• Recycling of EPS
• Collection for recycling/incineration.

The resources parameters are energy (in the form of electricity) and fossil fuel. The emission parameters include CO₂, SO₂ and NOx.

The economic analysis was carried out solely as a business-economic assessment of Danish enterprises. This means that a social-economic assessment was not carried out.

The Danish Packaging Industry has estimated that the supply of Danish EPS packaging material in Y/E 2000 amounted to a total of 4,985 tons, composed of 2,769 tons of sales packaging and 2,216 tons of transportation packaging, respectively.

Statistical data on the Danish output of each individual EPS packaging product is not available.

Neither does data exist on the Danish output of EPS insulating material. However, the Danish production in Y/E 2001 amounted to approx. 9,000 tons. Import and export are considered as being insignificant.

Only about 5 per cent of EPS produced in Denmark is used for various leisure time articles.

Information was supplied by Danish EPS manufacturers, refuse companies and recycling companies, which collect and recycle EPS, and by manufacturers of equipment for EPS recycling.

The EPS section of the Danish Plastics Industry has established a voluntary return arrangement for used EPS packaging material from the EPS manufacturers’ customers. According to the Plastics Industry, 480 tons of EPS was collected for recycling purposes during 2001.

According to the Plastic Industry the recycling of EPS in Denmark is quite limited. In 2000 116 tons of EPS were recycled. The recycling has been growing and the Danish Plastics Industry judges that the recycling in 2001 was approx. 480 tons.

Primarily recycling is carried out through the RUNI EPS Recycling Aps - secondarily by the voluntary return arrangement of the plastics industry.

No Danish companies convert EPS into PS.

No EPS is added to concrete and tiles. Only to a small extent is EPS used in soil improvement.

Granulated EPS packaging material was previously used to a small extent as cavity wall insulation in Denmark. However, new standards and requirements for cavity wall insulation have almost put a stop to this form of application.

The collection and recycling of EPS abroad vary substantially. Collection and recycling depend among other things on the infra structure, existing collection schemes and recycling facilities, type of energy production (incineration) as well as subsidies/taxes on waste disposal.

In industrialised countries, the collection and recycling of EPS varies considerably. Some countries have built or expanded existing recycling facilities so that EPS may be included. This is the case in Germany, Norway, USA, and Japan.

Most countries only collect "clean" EPS packaging material, that is EPS, which has not been used in connection with the retail sale of food products.

The recycling of EPS is often influenced by the co-operation of companies to which EPS can be sold. Abroad EPS among other things is recycled for the production of video cassettes, office articles, (clothes) hangers, soil improvement, drainage schemes, lightweight concrete and road elements, speed reductions, insulation and noise insulation, packaging filling, garden furniture, flowers cribs, pot trays and energy production.

The collection and recycling of EPS typically takes place when the companies bring clean EPS packaging material to centrally placed collection centres. Here the material is sorted. The very clean material can then be used in the production of new EPS products. The very polluted material is compressed and taken to the incineration plant or landfill. The remaining part (after compression) is transported to regeneration facilities where it is converted into PS raw material.

No commercially viable special techniques for the recycling of EPS have been found.

The project group decided to carry out the environmental-economic analysis of the three scenarios listed below.

Table 1
scenarios (tons)

Scenario one states the situation in Y/E 2001, 4,505 tons are sent for incineration.

1.1.1.4 Scenario Two

In scenario two the recycling is increased from 480 tons to 1,200 tons, while 3,785 tons are taken away for incineration.

Scenario Three

In scenario three the recycling is increased to 2,000 tons and 2,985 tons are conveyed for incineration.

Environmental Assessment of Recycling versus Incineration of EPS in Denmark

Environmental-economical data has been established for:

• Production of virgin EPS raw materials
• Production of EPS products
• Incineration of EPS
• Collection and transport of EPS
• Facilities for recycling of EPS
• Electricity production in Denmark.

In addition, environmental-economic data has been calculated for:

• EPS collected for incineration
• EPS collected through the collection scheme of the Plastics Industry
• EPS collected for export purposes for regeneration into PS.

Summarised Assessment of the Possibilities of Increased Recycling of EPS in Denmark

Table 2 shows variations in scenarios two and three compared with scenario one.

Table 2
Variations in scenario two and three compared with scenario one

As it appears from Table 2, both scenario two and three show substantial gains on the applied environmental factors and minor gains on the total business economics.

The reason why all environmental factors reflect a gain is essentially due to the fact that only 29 KJ/kg of EPS is recycled when burnt, whereas the production of virgin EPS raw material consumes 84 MJ/kg.

It is remarkable that energy consumption and emissions from collection and transport only account for an insignificant portion of total energy consumption and total emissions.

The economic saving is noticeable, but there is substantial uncertainty, in particular with regard to collection costs. The saving is made up of reduced costs for the disposal of EPS for incineration at the waste producers, as well as of savings at the producers of EPS products for the purchase of virgin raw material.

The scenarios include different collection schemes and some processing facilities with low utilisation degree. Increased collection of EPS for recycling purposes would normally lead to efforts to unify the current schemes with consequent increased efficiency and economic results.

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