8 February 2023 – Recycling plastic can be difficult and expensive. And it’s not possible to recycle plastic endlessly. But PureCycle has developed a way to change this.
Plastic is everywhere. And while it’s very useful, it also causes a lot of harm in the form of plastic pollution.
While most plastics can be recycled, often the process involved is complicated. This means that many plastic items aren’t accepted by UK councils, including toothpaste tubes, toothbrush heads and other things we use regularly.
These will then end up in landfill, where they stay for hundreds of years, harming our environment.
According to Statista almost half of all UK plastic waste is incinerated to produce energy. 25% ends up in landfill and only 12% is recycled in our recycling facilities. The rest is sent abroad.
US based company PureCycle uses a new recycling technology that could be a game changer for plastic recycling.
The Problem With Recycling Plastic
Some plastics are relatively easy to recycle such as drinks bottles. But many plastic items consist of more than one type of plastic. Some products consist of plastic and other materials. This means they are much more difficult to recycle.
Most recycling facilities in the world, including here in the UK, use mechanical recycling processes, such as melting the plastic down, so it can be reused to make new products.
But different types of plastic will melt at different temperatures. So this method only works with part of our plastic waste. If other materials come into play, it becomes impossible to recycle them using this method.
Another problem is that plastic can only be recycled a limited number of times. Over time, it will lose its quality and can no longer be reused. It will then end up in landfill, where it will take hundreds of years to break down, often releasing toxins as it does.
Compare this to aluminium or glass, which can be recycled forever without loss of quality.
PureCycles New Recycling Technology
PureCylce wants to change all this by using a new recycling technology. It was developed by Proctor & Gabmle (P&G) in 2013 and falls in the category of chemical recycling.
Unlike mechanical recycling, this new technology is able to create “virgin” plastic, which can be used and recycled endlessly, according to P&G. “Virgin” plastic is a term that is used for new plastic that has been newly created.
Making this new plastic from used plastic rather than the raw materials, mostly fossil fuels, means that our plastic use can become more sustainable.
Another advantage of this new recycling technology is that it can be used with plastic that has different colours, shapes and even if it’s dirty. So there would be no need any more to rinse yoghurt pots before putting them in the recycling bin.
However, PureCylce only recycles plastic no. 5, which is also called polypropylene (PP) waste plastic. This type of plastic is extremely versatile and is widely used across the world. Even though polyethylene is still the most used type of plastic.
So the company’s challenge is to convince people to buy no. 5 plastic. One way they do that is by partnering up with stadiums in the US. Their aim is to teach the public as well as staff who make purchasing decisions.
We teach them how to change their purchasing behaviors so that they can end up with a consistent type of plastic.
Dustin Olson, CEO at PureCycle
The company’s aim is to create a “closed loop” recycling system, which will reduce the amount of new plastic we produce drastically. The idea is that plastic is recycled using their new technology and transformed into “virgin” plastic.
Then this is used to make new products for consumers. Once at the end of their lives, they are recycled again and transformed into “virgin” plastic, and so on.
New Technology Comes To Europe
PureCcylce already has a recycling plant in Ohio, USA, which should be fully operational by 2023. They have plans to build another in Georgia, USA and are working to build relationships with South Korea and Japan.
And they are going to build a plant in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Belgium. This plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 59,000 metric tons. But there are also plans to increase the capacity to 240,000 metric tons per year in the future.
We are excited to bring our Ultra-Pure Recycled (UPR) resin to customers in Europe, where companies and policies are at the forefront of the circular economy. Being in the NextGen District will enable us to capitalize on existing efficiencies, collaborate with other innovators in the space and forge new partnerships.
Wiebe Schipper, Vice President of Europe Operations at PureCycle
It is expected that construction on the new recycling plant will start in 2024.
If PureCycle can fulfil their mission and create a circular economy for most plastic we use, then this could be a big step towards solving our problem with plastic pollution.
