B. Ferreira Pozo, C. Aliaga Baquero, J. L. Martí Arbona, M. Hortal Ramos. Inserat TOMRA Sorting GmbH

Transcription

1 B. Ferreira Pozo, C. Aliaga Baquero, J. L. Martí Arbona, M. Hortal Ramos Inserat TOMRA Sorting GmbH 196

2 Recovery of Recyclables from MSW Experiences from Poland and Cyprus Recovery of Recyclables from Municipal Solid Waste Experiences from Poland and Cyprus 1. Introduction Situation in Greece and Cyprus Situation in Poland Recyclables in MSW Modern material recovery facilities for MSW Conclusions Bibliography Introduction A high amount of recyclable materials are still landfilled in many European countries. Against this backdrop mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) was previously considered to be purely a residual waste stream but now it is increasingly being looked at as a valuable source for recyclable fractions. The European waste legislation is an important driver for recycling. The revised Waste Framework Directive (EU-Directive 2008/98/EC) sets out recycling targets for municipal solid waste and proposes that the recovery of materials, such as paper, metal, plastics and glass from private households should be increased to a minimum of 50 % by weight by 2020 [1]. The Directive entered into force on 12 th of December 2008 and is addressed to all EU member states. Article 40 of the Directive requires member states to take the steps necessary to comply with the Directive within 24 months of the date of its entry into force, i.e. December The main objectives of the Directive can be summarized as follows: Increase reuse and recycling Prefer recycling and material recovery to energy recovery Reduce waste disposal/landfilling However, the current recycling rates for municipal solid waste and the state of the waste management systems still show huge differences within the EU. 197

3 Several member states have a long way to go to meet the formulated targets, which can be seen in figures 1 and 2. Share % Switzerland Germany Austria Netherlands Sweden Denmark Belgium Norway Luxemburg France Italy Finland Great Britain Estonia Portugal Ireland Slovenia Iceland Hungary Estonia Poland Malta Greece Czech Republic Slovakia Cyprus Latvia Lithuania Landfill Incineration Recycling Composting Turkey Croatia Romania Bulgaria Marocco Bosnia and Herzegovina EU 27 Figure 1: Municipal solid waste treatment in Europe Source: Eurostat Figure 1 illustrates the amounts of municipal waste landfilled, incinerated, recycled and composted in 2008 as a percentage of the total amounts treated, figure 2 shows the corresponding figures in kilogram per capita and year. Some European countries have made significant advances in diverting municipal solid waste from landfills, often due to the implementation of national measures, like landfill bans for biodegradable waste without pretreatment. Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium have achieved landfill rates below 5 %. Other countries, such as Greece, Cyprus or Poland, are not that far advanced, yet. These countries still highly depend on the landfilling of municipal solid waste. However, in the last years first advances have also been made in Poland and Cyprus by investments in modern and improved waste management infrastructure Situation in Greece and Cyprus The quantity of municipal solid waste generated in Greece continues with approximately 460 kg per inhabitant and year in 2010 to be somewhat lower than the average of round 500 kg per inhabitant and year in the European Union. 198

4 Recovery of Recyclables from MSW Experiences from Poland and Cyprus Specific waste generation kg per inhabitant and year Switzerland Germany Austria Netherlands Sweden Denmark Belgium Norway Luxemburg France Italy Finland Great Britain Estonia Portugal Ireland Slovenia Iceland Hungary Estonia Poland Malta Greece Czech Republic Slovakia Cyprus Latvia Lithuania Landfill Incineration Recycling Composting Turkey Croatia Romania Bulgaria Marocco Bosnia and Herzegovina Notes: Malta: data refer to 2006; Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: data refer to 2008; Several countries: exports for recycling included; Slovenia: % imports for recycling included; Italy: machanical-biological treatment included in composting; Austria, Germany, Netherlands: Only amounts delivered to first treatment, i.e. residues from other processes (e.g. MBT, incineration) not included in landfill. EU 27 Figure 2: Specific municipal solid waste generation and treatment in Europe Source: Eurostat In 2010, approximately 5.2 million Mg of MSW were generated in Greece according to statistical data from Eurostat. Landfilling of MSW is still the predominant method in Greece. In Greece, in 2004 only about 8 % was recycled at the source and the remaining 92 % was landfilled without prior treatment. Of the landfilled waste, only 52 % was disposed in sanitary landfills whereas the remaining 40 % was dumped in non-engineered sites [2]. Newer statistical data from Eurostat from 2010 still report landfill rates of more than 80 %. Mostly the municipalities are responsible for collection, treatment and final disposal of the MSW. According to the Greek Environmental Ministry about 85 % of the MSW is subject to organized collection and transportation; the remaining 15 % are generated in isolated mountaniuos or island areas where collection and disposal are very often not performed properly [2]. Currently the main policy approach in Greece is the increase of material recovery by implementation and expansion of recycling programs with source separation in larger cities and municipalities of Greece. Additionally the construction of material recovery facilities 199

5 shall be forced. Absolute priority is currently given to the gradual phasing out of the nonengineered and uncontrolled dumpsites and the remediation of the major landfills. The construction of new sanitary landfills as well is already under way. Cyprus Cyprus is according to EU statistics after Denmark in Europe the country with the highest waste generation with 770 kg per capita and year. High consumption patterns, also influenced by the tourism, are reasons for the high waste production. Approximately 610 thousand Mg of MSW were generated in Similar as Greece, Cyprus still highly depends on landfilling of waste; more than 80 % of the MSW was still landfilled in Most of the landfills do not comply fully with the EU landfill directive or are totally uncontrolled dumpsites. However, first recycling initiatives are also established in Cyprus. In 2010 about 41,500 Mg packaging waste was recycled through the Green Dot System Cyprus which represents roughly 7 % of the total amount of MSW. The green dot system covers according to their own numbers about 85 % of the population and cooperated with 22 Municipalities and 30 Communities. A strategic plan on solid and hazardous waste management has been implemented in Cyprus. The main proposal of the strategic plan is the creation of four regional centers for MSW management. These centers foresee the construction of sanitary landfill sites, material recovery facilities, biodegradable waste treatment, biogas collection & energy recovery, transfer station and a demolition waste disposal unit [5] Situation in Poland The quantity of municipal solid waste produced in Poland in 2011 is estimated to reach about 12.5 million Mg, which represents about 320 kg per inhabitant and year. The amount of MSW produced in Poland is therewith significantly lower than the average in EU. In 2009 almost 95 % of the municipalities carried out separate waste collection. This resulted in the recovery of about 500 thousand Mg of recyclables in form of plastics, paper, metals and glass. Paper and plastics represented approximately 50 % of the recovered waste. However, compared to 10 million Mg of municipal waste collected in 2009, the amount of waste collected separately and directed for recycling represented only about 5 % [3]. The requirements and objectives that arise from the revised waste framework directive are reflected in the National Waste Management Plan Poland 2014 which became effective on 1st of January The following targets were formulated: 1. include all the inhabitants in an organised system of collecting municipal solid waste until no later than 2015, 2. include all the inhabitants in a system of separate collection of waste until no later than 2015, 3. decrease the amount of biodegradable municipal solid waste which is sent to landfills, so that no more than: 50 % in % in 2020 of the mass of this waste produced in 1995 is landfilled, 4. decrease the mass of landfilled municipal solid waste up to maximum 60 % of the produced waste by the end of 2014, 200

6 Recovery of Recyclables from MSW Experiences from Poland and Cyprus 5. prepare waste materials, at least such as paper, metal, plastics and glass from private households (and, if possible, of other types of waste similar to that collected from private households) for re-use and recycling in the amount of at least 50 % of their mass by 2020 [4]. Analysing the present state, i.e. the capacity of the existing installations for sorting, recovery, biological treatment and incineration of waste, it can be concluded that achieving such a level of reduction will not be possible or at least extremely difficult [3]. 2. Recyclables in MSW Municipal solid waste contains recyclable material fractions including different kinds of plastics, mixed paper and cardboard, glass and metals. The composition of the municipal solid waste varies, but typically recyclables are present within certain per cent ranges, such as mixed paper and cardboard: ~ 5 ~ 25 % plastics: ~ 10 ~ 15 % glass: ~ 3 ~ 10 % metals: ~ 1 ~ 3 % The mixed paper in MSW contains besides newspapers, magazines, books, cardboard also other paper packaging products and tissues papers etc. Within the plastic fraction, the majority usually originates from short life packaging material, but also plastics from other long life products, such as toys or consumer products are found. The main polymers present in MSW are PE-film (mainly LDPE), PET, HDPE, PP, PS and PVC. The majority of the glass found in MSW consists of hollow glass (from bottles etc.), to minor extent also some plate glass can be found. The metals in MSW can be roughly split into ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The amount of the ferrous metals in MSW is usually two to three times higher than the non-ferrous metals. Socio-economic factors like the income level of the population, the urbanization of a region and the existence and effectiveness of separate collection systems for recyclables have also a significant impact on the waste composition. Higher income and/or urban areas are typically characterized by a higher content of recyclables in the MSW compared to low income and/ or rural areas, as the following figures illustrate for MSW collected and analysed in Cyprus. Other relevant factors besides the total percentages of recyclables contained in MSW are the specific waste production per capita and year, the existing waste management system, such as the presence of separate collection systems for recyclable fractions and other important economic factors like e.g. the price for recyclables and the waste disposal cost for landfilling or incineration. The value of most recyclable fractions has increased within the last decade with exception of the time period during the financial crisis starting end of 2008, where a significant drop of prices of all recyclable fractions could be observed. However, within quite short time the prices have recovered and reached or even exceeded the level before crisis. At the same time, due to stricter environmental legislation and very often limited landfill capacities, the disposal costs for landfilling and/or incineration have increased in most European countries with exception of some central European countries, due to existing overcapacities in incinerators. 201

7 composition % Figure 3: Source: Composition of MSW samples, Cyprus own analysis MSW sample urban area Organics Paper Cardboard Beverage carton PET HDPE LDPE PP PVC Other plastics Fe-metals Non-Fe metals Glass Textiles Leather, rubber Wood Fines < 20 mm Inerts MSW sample rural area Figure 4: MSW in Cyprus Urban area Figure 5: MSW in Cyprus Rural area Even if systems for separate collection of plastics, paper, glass and metals are offered and implemented to a certain extent both in Greece, Cyprus and Poland, the remaining municipal solid waste may be seen as a source for recyclables. The participation of the consumers on separate collection systems is limited for several reasons, very often both motivation and knowledge for recycling is missing which results in low separation efficiencies at home for most recyclable fractions. Under directive 2008/98/EC, there is no obligation of achieving appropriate levels of recovery and of preparing waste for re-use and recycling only through the development of separate collection of waste. The directive mentions e.g. installations for the recovery of mixed municipal waste from households. It also points out economical, technical and environmental aspects of the issue [3]. 202

8 Recovery of Recyclables from MSW Experiences from Poland and Cyprus Price EUR/t PE-Film 90/10 Mixed paper 1.02 PE-HD Figure 6: Price development for selected recyclable fractions Poland Average Zł/t 200 GB Average /t Figure 7: Development of landfill costs in Poland and Great Britain However, the sorting of recyclables from mixed municipal solid waste is still controversially discussed. Very often both the technical and economic feasibility of sorting recyclables from very mixed waste fractions as well as the quality of the obtained recyclable fractions are questioned. Disappointing attempts to recover recyclable fractions from mixed municipal waste in the past decades had contributed to this scepticism. It was assumed that recyclable fractions cannot be recovered if all materials are mixed together. Analysing the waste markets today, it turns out that the recovery of recyclables from mixed municipal waste is state-of-the-art already in many countries for some years. Advances in mechanical waste processing technologies have resulted in the development of modern and efficient material recovery facilities also for municipal solid waste. The quality of the fractions obtained in such facilities can be compared to those obtained in facilities for sorting source separated material fractions with purities of the recovered recyclable fractions typically well above 90 %. Especially for the plastic fractions similar or the same prices can be obtained. 203

9 Figure 8: HDPE/PP recovered from MSW in Poland Figure 9: PET recovered from MSW in Poland The price obtained for mixed paper recovered from municipal solid waste is usually a little lower, mainly due to an often higher water content compared to paper recovered from dry, pre-selected recyclable fractions. Figure 10: Mixed paper recovered from MSW in Poland 3. Modern material recovery facilities for MSW Based on several years of experience in sorting separately collected waste fractions and significant developments in waste processing technologies, especially in sensor based sorting technologies, a separation of recyclables from mixed MSW without pre-selection by consumers now can be achieved with qualities comparable to pre-selected waste fractions. Optimize the total value chain of waste treatment by: Automated sorting Collection of waste All in one bin or Optimized separate collection system Modern automatic sorting plant incl. sensor-based sorting Recycling industry (PET, PE, Paper, Metals...) Bio-methane plants (organic) Biomass incinerators Cement kilns/power plant (RDF) Incineration plants (RDF) Other channels Residue (into landfill and incineration) Collection Separation Application/Utilization Figure 11: Waste management process 204

10 Recovery of Recyclables from MSW Experiences from Poland and Cyprus The knowledge of the input material is crucial for the design of a material recovery facility. Technological concepts for sorting and recovering material fractions from mixed municipal waste were developed and adjusted to the respective, individual conditions in the different countries. The main objective was to develop efficient automated sorting processes providing a maximum recovery of particular material fractions for recycling, such as: paper, PET packaging, PE/PP packaging, PE film, beverage carton, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and fractions to be used for the production of high-quality refuse derived fuel (RDF). These sorting processes are specifically designed for the respective input material and consider a combination of traditional mechanical processing technologies like bag opening, screening, ballistic separation or wind shifting with metal separation technologies and advanced automated sensor based sorting technologies, like NIR (Near-Infrared) sorting systems. Figure 12 shows a simplified flow chart for a MSW material recovery facility. Input: mixed MSW Pre-treatment Bag opener Screening Magnet/eddy current separator Ballistic separation/windshifter Sensor-based sorting e.g. NIR, VIS, X-ray (XRT and XRF), Metal sensor, Color line camera PP HDPE PET PE-film Paper Organic RDF Metal Other Figure 12: Simplified flowchart for modern MSW material recovery facility The process basically consists of a successive enrichment of recyclable fractions by preconditioning using mechanical processing equipment, like screens, wind shifters or ballistic separators. The final purification step of the recyclables is then achieved by applying automated sensor based sorting technologies for a positive sorting of different fractions. The principle of an optical NIR sorter is shown in the figure below. The automated sensor based sorting systems work by analysing the input material using a scanner that is placed over a fast-running conveyor belt. The scanner identifies material type, color, shape and size as well as the position of the material on the conveyor. Air jets separate then the defined fraction from the remaining material. Until a few years ago a recovery of recyclables from MSW in Poland or Greece was only effected in manual sorting plants. These manual sorting plants are characterised by a rather small hourly capacity and a low level of recovery of recyclable materials, since the recovery depends on the number of pickers working in sorting cabins and their productivity. 205

11 Feeding of unsorted material Spectrometer scanner Separation chamber Figure 13: Principle of sensor based sorting system Figure 14: Manual sorting of recyclables In modern automated facilities the treatment capacities can be considerably increased and higher levels of consistent products can be recovered. The demand for human labour for sorting is clearly reduced and mostly limited to a quality control of the automated sorted recyclables. The higher investment costs for automated solutions usually pay off quickly due to significantly lower operational costs fewer manual pickers are needed, more recyclables are recovered and thus lower amounts of waste have to be landfilled or incinerated. The concepts for material recovery facilities are further developed based on practical experiences from operating plants in order to increase the efficiency of the recovery process. Additionally a further focus will be in future on the increased recovery of material fractions from mixed municipal waste where only a limited recovery takes place nowadays, such as glass or also organic fractions, always depending on the local conditions and the demands in the individual markets. Some examples of modern material recovery facilities are shortly presented below. 206

12 Recovery of Recyclables from MSW Experiences from Poland and Cyprus MRF in Larnaca, Cyprus The site located close to Larnaca comprises an automated sorting plant, an area for the treatment of biodegradable waste found in the MSW flow and a landfill site. The plant, which is one of the most modern material recovery facilities for municipal solid waste, was commissioned in 2010 and is able to sort 180,000 Mg of municipal solid waste per year. 12 automated Titech autosort waste sorting machines are installed in the plant to recover recyclable materials including PET, PE-film, PE-HD, PP and paper across the plant s mixed waste streams. Additionally ferrous and non-ferrous metals are sorted from the MSW. In total between 15 and 20 % of the plant input are recovered as recyclable fractions. Figure 15: Optical separators in MRF in Cyprus MRF s in Poland Several modern material recovery facilities for MSW are also in operation in different cities of Poland. The most modern facilities in Bielsko-Biala, Elk and Warsaw were commissioned in 2011 and 2012 and are equipped with between five and seven Titech autosort sorters and recover e.g. mixed paper, PE film, PET, HDPE, PP, beverage carton, mixed plastics and also ferrous and non-ferrous metals using magnets and eddy current separators. The plants are able to process up to 130,000 Mg per year. Figure 16: MRF for MSW in Poland 207

13 4. Conclusions Poland, Greece and Cyprus still highly depend on landfilling of municipal solid waste and have a long way to go to fulfil the recycling targets formulated in the revised European waste framework directive. However, advances are made in these countries in the last years by investment in modern waste infrastructure, such as material recovery facilities and sanitary landfills. Additionally separate collection systems for recyclable fractions have been implemented. It can be observed that even if separate collection systems for recyclables are implemented, the remaining mixed municipal solid waste contains considerable amounts of recyclable fractions including paper, plastics, glass and metals. Modern material recovery facilities using combinations of traditional mechanical waste processing technologies and advanced sensor based sorting equipment are able to effectively sort recyclable fractions of commercial standards from mixed municipal solid waste. Several years of experiences with the processing of pre-selected recyclable fractions in material recovery facilities have caused significant developments in waste processing know-how and technologies. Especially automated sensor based sorting technologies have contributed to more efficient processes and plants with higher treatment capacities. A detailed knowledge about the input material and the consideration of individual, local conditions is crucial for the development and design of a modern and effective material recovery facility. 5. Bibliography [1] Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives [2] Papaioannou, M.; Economopoulou, A.: Hellenic ministry for the environment, Physical planning and public works, Department of International Relations and EU Affairs. In: Proceedings of the National Reporting to the Twelfth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the United Nations (UN CSD 12), Athens, 2004 [3] Rajca, M.: Innovations in Sorting Processes for Mixed Household Waste Regarding the Objectives of the National Waste Management Plan Poland 2014, 2011 [4] The National Waste Management Plan Poland 2014 [5] European Commission, Environmental Policy Review