Microsoft Word - Environmental benefits of recycling 2010 update.doc

refers to a change in the chemical structure of the material, where the resulting chemicals can be used to
manufacture a range of products, potentially including plastics. An example of feedstock recycling is the use of
plastics waste as reducing agents in blast furnaces where it replaces coke for instance. It can be discussed
whether this end-of-life option should be classified as recycling since it is a form of energy recovery. However, it
is not only the energy content of the material that is used but also its ability to reduce iron oxides. It has thus
been decided to consider this alternative as a form of recycling. However, to avoid confusion, this scenario is
differentiated from the other scenarios in the results tables.

Table 25 Overview of the end-of-life alternatives compared within each case for plastics

Case Recycling Composting

Incineration

with

electricity

recovery

only

Incineration

with heat or

combined

heat/

electricity

recovery

Landfill

Anaerobic

digestion

Pyrolysis Gasification

1[PE] xxx

1[PET] xxx

2[MIX1] xxxx

2[MIX2] xxxx

2[MIX3] xxxx

2[MIX4] xxxx

3[PE] xxx

3[PP] xxx

3[PS] xxx

3[PET] xxx

3[PVC] xxx

4[MIX] xxxx

5[MIX] xx

6[HDPE] xxx

6[LDPE] xxx

6[PET] xxx

7[PET] xx

7[PE] xx

7[PVC] xx

8[PS1] x* x

8[PS2] xx

8[PS3] xx

Total number

of cases

22 0 9 10 18 0 5 0

• Feedstock recycling scenario

Ranking between the various end-of-life options within each scenario

Table 26 compares the end-of-life options compared within each scenario. When the indicator is not taken into
account in a given case the line is coloured in grey. This table should be interpreted with care. It shows the
relative ranking of the end-of-life solutions within a given case study for specific assumptions and system
boundaries. It does not provide sufficient information to be able to give an overall conclusion regarding which
alternatives are the best.