Method to Develop Potential Business Cases of Plastic Recycling from Urban Areas: A Case Study on Nonhousehold End-Use Plastic Film Waste in Belgium

Abstract

Waste management of nonhousehold end-use plastic waste receives considerably less attention compared to household waste. This article develops and applies a cost-benefit analysis model to develop potential business cases for selective collection and mechanical recycling scenarios of nonhousehold end-use plastic film waste from urban areas considering the City of Ghent in Belgium and 12 municipalities nearby as a case study. Three different collection frequencies (weekly, fortnightly, and monthly) and two different mechanical recycling plant layouts (basic and advanced configuration) are considered. Data on waste quantity, composition, and economic parameters are collected from real sampling from urban areas combined with information from the literature. In the most favorable scenarios, results show that the annual costs of collecting and recycling are estimated to be in the range of €635 to €1,445/tonne output, depending on the collection frequencies and plant configurations. Mechanical recycling yields 48-77% regranulates, depending on the plant configuration and feedstock quality. Scale is essential for plastic recycling plant development; a positive net economic balance (ranging from €5 to €537/tonne output) is achieved when at least 10 500 tonnes/year of waste is collected (fortnightly or monthly) and processed. The recycling systems become economically more effective as the processing capacity increases. It is imperative to maintain high feedstock quality as recycling systems become economically less favorable when the residue content in the collected plastic film waste exceeds 30-35%. A greenhouse gas emission calculation indicates that minimizing residue and promoting high-quality feedstock from collected waste are the key to increasing the carbon footprint savings of recycling.