12 Apr Investment in recycling
Our battle with recycling is ongoing and finding solutions to increasing waste levels that can be converted into recycling rather than being disposed of in landfill, is the main target. With China’s plastic ban and the limited recycling and treatment capacity for plastics, the European market has suffered heavily.
As studies show, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. A shocking statistic that highlights just how big of a problem waste in our world is becoming. Many companies are failing to invest in the movement of recycling, becoming bystanders and watching disasters occur.
At this current moment, every minute, 1 million plastic bottles are bought, with half of the volume being selected for recycling but only 7% is used to produce new bottles. At Indaver, we’re implementing our technology to help improve the current state of recycling efforts. With the Plastics-to-Chemicals (P2C) project, a depolymerisation technique is being used so that high-quality recyclables can serve as feedstock for the chemical industry. The plan is to have a first 15 kilo-tonnes demo plant available in the summer of 2020. With such plants, we aim to offer the most safe and sustainable alternative to recycling, with a strong focus on the removal of impurities.
Rivenhall’s focus doesn’t stop there. Our PMD (Plastic bottles and packaging, Metal and Drink cartons) procedure focuses heavily on the sorting of waste, where we divide the materials into various fractions, which are ready to use as raw material l for the recycling industry. The PMD action plan allows the removal of hazardous materials, creating a higher level of purity as we separate more fractions. Furthermore, our pre-treatment of hard PVC used in construction, delivers an end product that can be used in the production of new construction materials, meaning we’re able to sustain high levels of reproduction.
Indaver continue their contributions toward recycling by addressing the treatment of paper and cardboard. The old paper and cardboard that Indaver recovers at their unit in Willebroek is recycled to produce new types of paper, insulation materials and fillers. In conjunction with this, Indaver owns 35% of the VLAR Papier, a company that recovers paper and cardboard from households and is used entirely as raw material for magazines and newspapers, demonstrating the investment we make into ensure this process is carried out.
For more information on Indaver’s processes and contributions to recycling, please visit https://www.indaver.com/be-en/installations-processes/material-recovery/ or get in touch with our friendly team today.