According to ICIS, sources from the recycled plastics market said this week that affected by the new crown epidemic, the supply of post consumer waste in parts of Europe is in danger due to a lack of manpower and resources.
PCB is the main raw material source of recycled polymer
Although post industrial materials provide some raw materials for recycling polymers, post consumer bales (PCB) are the main raw materials for all recycled polymer chains. These recycled polymers include recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET), recycled polyethylene (R-PE) and recycled polypropylene (r-pp).
In Germany, PCB can be recovered through deposit return system (DRS); in France, Britain and other countries, PCB can be collected through roadside collection stations. Although roadside collection stations in Europe are usually outsourced to private waste management companies, most of them are controlled by local authorities.
Manpower reduced, sorting center closed
With the spread of the new crown in Europe, waste collection in some countries has been affected either by staff illness or by waste collection companies actively reducing manpower to limit exposure.
Across Europe, different governments have dealt with the problem in different ways. Last month, France began collecting PCBs as well as household waste in response to a reduction in manpower. Before that, domestic garbage and PCB were collected separately, and domestic garbage was treated preferentially.
On Tuesday, the UK government issued non statutory guidelines to local councils and garbage collection companies, suggesting that priority should be given to domestic waste, but "local authorities should try to maintain existing waste services, including separate collection of food waste and dry recyclable materials."
The UK's non statutory guidelines give high priority to residues (black bags) and food waste, and medium priority to dry recyclable waste collected every two weeks. Weekly collection of recyclable dry waste is listed as a low priority and it is recommended that weekly collection be reduced to once every two weeks.
"Recycled materials are an important source of raw materials for new packaging, and if recycled materials are removed, there may be a supply chain gap for polymer recycling," the UK government website warned in its recommendation on recyclable dry waste collection
"The government says mixed recyclables is a low priority project, which is not ideal. We can keep the recycle bin running for a period of time, and our bigger problem is whether we can have enough staff - keeping a safe distance will have a certain impact on garbage collection. " A British garbage collector said.
In Eastern Europe, sources focused on the r-PET market said they saw a number of sorting plants closed for PCB processing due to a reduction in PCB collection.
"Many sorting centers in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary have been closed due to the new crown outbreak." A PCB buyer said.
Due to the constant demand of consumers for packaged goods and water bottles, the demand for r-PET used in the food application market is strong, but it is difficult for plastic processors to obtain enough materials.
"I see some sheet producers looking for sources of PCB as much as possible, including starting to look for raw materials outside Europe," said one trader
In March this year, several sorting centers in France were forced to close due to the new crown epidemic. However, as the garbage collection system adapted to the challenges brought by the epidemic, some sorting centers were subsequently reopened, which still limited the supply of recycled raw materials to some extent.
"There will be a shortage of materials to be processed, the sorting system will be shut down and collection will be blocked in many parts of France. We will lose about 50% of the material. " A major French polyolefin reprocessing plant said.
The impact of the European recycling industry is expected to be more obvious in May
However, there is usually a lag between the initial garbage collection and the flow of materials through the recycling chain. Affected by the new crown epidemic, some companies have ceased production, and construction and automotive industries (main end users of recycled polyolefins) are declining demand for non-packaging materials. Therefore, ICIS expects that individual affected countries will not feel the limited supply of raw materials until May.
Most recyclable materials in Germany rely on the deposit return system, but the situation is slightly different now. In the "closed city" area, people should avoid going to public places, and most consumers store the purchased plastic products at home instead of returning the deposit.
"People don't want to wait in line to wait for the deposit to be returned, so no one wants to return the PET bottles." A plastic recycler said.
As with most current issues related to the new coronavirus epidemic, how much impact will the epidemic have on waste collection systems across Europe, and ultimately on the availability of recyclables and their impact on sustainability goals, will It is a matter of time.
