RECYCLING & REGENERATING PLASTIC WASTE

RECYCLING & REGENERATING PLASTIC WASTE

RECYCLING & REGENERATING PLASTIC WASTE OUR COMMITMENT TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY is to foster premium re-use of plastic waste to reduce carbon emissions and to divert plastics destined for landfills or incineration. Sustainability Context INDEVCO Flexible Packaging is developing an internal circular economy in the Middle East to increase the uptake of plastic recycling and regeneration. The division has invested in recycling facilities, as well as in waste collection, sorting and cleaning equipment. Using closed loop mechanical recycling, plastics plants in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are cycling materials into the same application or into applications requiring similar quality recycled resins, rather than combining all waste into lower value final-use applications that cannot be recycled again. By doing so, our internal circular economy is reducing virgin raw material consumption and increasing reuse and recycling, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal SDG12 for responsible consumption and production. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports in The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics 1 that business-to-business plastic films comprise one the most attractive segments for recycling cost-benefit balance. Reuse could not only offer cost savings but also value beyond packaging, if industries and companies created common systems for recycling. Immense opportunity exists for films and bags that do not fit into existing recycling streams: 95% of the value of plastic packaging materials is lost after first-use 2 ; 72% of plastic packaging is not recovered with 40% landfilled and 32% leaking out of the collection system. And only 5% of material value is retained after considering loss during sorting and reprocessing 3. Coalitions among industrialists, brand owners, and retailers in more mature markets are driving public awareness to increase uptake of plastic film recycling, including the American Chemistry Council s Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) with its Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) 4 and the British Plastic Films Recycling Group 5. 2

RECYCLING & REGENERATING PLASTIC WASTE OUTCOMES Collection, Sorting & Washing of Plastic Waste Lebanon, Saudi Arabia Impact Began dry and wet plastic resin washing at $2.4 million plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia Collected 25,014 MT of recyclable plastic waste, including 52.9% from sister companies in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, which: In 2015, Recom expanded plastic waste collection from Jeddah in western Saudi Arabia to Jubail in the Eastern Province. The operation optimized sorting by material and color and introduced both dry and wet washing capabilities to ensure converting of premium applications as opposed to lower quality end products. In 2016, Recom collected nearly 90% of the group s total 25,014 MT of plastic waste recycled, along with sister company Masterpak in Lebanon with 10%. By diverting plastic waste that would have been landfilled or incinerated into useful applications, the plants are supporting UN SDG12 (Target 12.5) to substantially reduce waste generation through recycling and reuse. - Saved ~ 89,425 m2 in landfill area6 Plants collected post-industrial plastic scrap (PE, PP, PS and nylon) in wet and dry powder, lumps, floor sweeps, films and bags, and balance lots. Films included diaper pack trim from sister company plants in INDEVCO and Napco Consumer Products divisions, petrochemical films, agri and strawberry films from local farms, and post-commercial films from shipping agencies, warehouses and commercial centers. In Lebanon, Masterpak collects discarded PP car automotive waste. Napco became one of the first companies to secure an environmental license to import approved plastic waste from the UK to Saudi Arabia for recycling. Evolving its coalition with large petrochemical plants in the Eastern Province, Recom now offers professional plastic waste handling services on petrochemical premises and has invested in necessary collection equipment: hook loader trucks, dumpsters, big skips, waste balers, flatbed trucks and forklifts. A crusher, among the largest in Saudi Arabia, reduces plastic lump sizes, which are then shredded and granulated. 3

RECYCLING & REGENERATING PLASTIC WASTE Regeneration of Recycled Resins Lebanon, Saudi Arabia Impact Increased production of recycled resins in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to 18,521 MT / year, which: - Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by ~ 46,302.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E)7 64.8% of recycled resins were converted by sister companies INDEVCO member companies, Recom in Saudi Arabia and Masterpak in Lebanon, converted plastic waste into 18,521 MT of LLDPE and LDPE recycled resins, using twin screw granulating machines that preserve the material s quality and properties. INDEVCO s R&D arm, Polymer Application Center for Technology (PACT), worked on recycling and compounding difficult polymers, from multi-layer barrier films to car bumpers, to selectively streamline the plastic waste for higher value converting. Sister companies incorporated around 65% of these recycled resins into plastic films. Agri and strawberry films, for example, were reconverted into mulch film and silage covers, while diaper trim pack was converted into films for the bitumen industry. Other resins were used to produce garbage bags and bin liners, as well as irrigation pipes. Regenerating plastic waste into quality resins, that replace virgin resins, promotes sustainable and efficient use of natural resources, in line with UN SDG12 (Target 12.2). Timeline 1985 Napco Modern Plastics Products Company in Dammam starts recycling with limited capacity, a pioneering initiative in the kingdom 1990 Napco shifts recycling machines to United Plastics Products Company in Jeddah 2008 Recycling reaches 400 tons / month using fewer but newer machines, and compounding begins at a stand-alone facility in Jeddah 2015 Recom in Jeddah reaches a recycling capacity of 1800 MT / month Napco invests $2.4 million to open a recycling facility in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, including a state-of-the-art wet washing line Investment at Masterpak in Lebanon expands from 150 to 300 tons / month, including printed waste 2012 Masterpak introduces recycling capability that reprocesses its entire internal plastic waste volume 4

RECYCLING & REGENERATING PLASTIC WASTE References 1 Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2016, January 19). The new plastics economy: Rethinking the future of plastics. 2 Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2016, January 19). The new plastics economy: Rethinking the future of plastics, p. 35. 3 Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2016, January 19). The new plastics economy: Rethinking the future of plastics, p. 35. 4 American Chemistry Council s Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) introduced the Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP). www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/wrap/wrap-1.html 5 British Plastic Films Recycling Group. www.bpf.co.uk/recycling/default.aspx 6 To calculate the approximate landfill surface saved, we followed the following assumptions a) When disposing plastic waste would be compressed in bales b) Each waste bale holds 400kg (0.4MT) with a width of 110cm, height of 80cm, and length of 130cm c) Volume of bale = LxWxH= 1.144 m3 d) Landfill area per bale = LxW= 1.43 m2 7 Project Greenbag (2009, November 8). Plastic bags and CO2, emissions during their lifetime: Plastic / paper bag facts. www.projectgreenbag.com/news/plastic-bags-and-co2-emissions-during-their-lifetime. 5