Secondary

Recycling of Plastics
M. BEVIS
Department of Non-Metallic Materials, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, U.K.

Increasing environmental pressures may

result in the establishment o f a secondary plastics recycling industry. This
paper reviews the present position
and describes principal routes for
secondary recycling of plastics which
are likely to be in use in future.
The predicted increase in consumption of plastics materials over
the next decade will intensify the
efforts of the pressure groups objecting to plastics waste, and this will
tend to encourage the development of
a secondary plastics recycling industry.
Indeed, in order to counter the arguments which may lead to legislation
that would limit the nature of plastics
products for sale, the plastics industry
as a whole will have to encompass a
viable secondary or tertiary recycling
capability.
The environmental setting for the
plastics industry is such that the
author believes that the existing
plastics recycling industry will undergo
substantial expansion and development
during the 1980's. This opinion is
partially supported by the predictions
of a recent Delphi Survey on the future
of the Plastics Industry, with particular
reference to West Germany I .
According to the survey, 75% of
those experts from all areas of the
plastics industry taking part thought
that the use of mixed plastics waste
without separation would be possible;
the following possibilities were envisaged:

Monomerisation by
26%
pyrolysis
For low value products
18%
Combustion for recovery
8%
of energy
As a Filler for the building
23%
sector
Recycling of mixed plastics wastes
- is hardly possible
23%
- can only be possible with
government support
1%
depends on the rise in price of
crude oil
1%
With the introduction of a separation
process, the expectations are as follows:
In future, recycling will be
economically possible

60%

The following divisions of opinion

were also noted:
No restrictions in recycling
operations
Subject to introduction of new
technology
Only practical for e~pensive
plastics
Little chance as this would be
uneconomic

39%

11%

Although recycled plastics will

assume a greater share of the market,
it is still questionable as to whether
recycled plastics will be used to as
great an extent as scrap metals are in
the metal industry.
50% of the experts who participated
in the Delphi Survey believe that
this will not be possible in the foreseeable future, with the precondition that raw material prices do
not drastically increase;
37% of the experts believe that
towards 1995 recycled plastics will
assume the same importance as
reprocessed metals in the metal
industry;
13% believe that this is unrealistic
as the use of the greater proportion
of the reprocessed plastic is not
possible on the grounds of quality.

13%
8%
40%

The expectations on the use of sorted

plastics waste are:
Possible without restrictions,
especially for recycling within
processing plants
55%
Possible with restrictions,
particularly for low value
products
34%

MATERIALS IN ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, FEBRUARY 1982

Uneconomical or problematical

The speed of technological advance

can lead to very rapid development of
secondary recycling industries. The
remarkable changes which have occurred during the last decade in the level
of utilisation of recycled glass is a
classic example. It also serves as an
indicator of the important consequences which follow the introduction
of bottle banks and other forms of
pre-segregation at municipal and
industrial levels.
The status of plastics recycling

344

Central planning by the state

conservation of resources
self dependence in
supplies of strategic
commodities
legislation to control
composition of packaging
materials
compulsory utilisation
of recycled plastics

I Pressure groups
- emphasis on
pollution control
and recycling

Government
Policies

I The
]
Industrial -_
-- Company

Economic
Activity

Social
Influences

Technological
Change

Speed of technological
[
advance - development
of new recycling processes

Increasing energy prices

- promote the
utilisation of recycled
materials
Fig. 1

The environmental setting for an industrial company involved in the manufacture or application of plastics.

towards the end of the last decade was

reviewed by Milgram2 , and a recent
publication 3, which describes 335
processes for reclaiming organic and
polymer wastes, includes many which
are relevant to plastics recycling.
An important series of articles" were
published in Kunstoffe-German Plastics
in 1978, and provide detailed descriptions of developments in plastics
recycling in many countries, including
development work on hydrolysiss and
pyrolysis6 which could provide the
basis of a substantial tertiary plastics
recycling industry.
More recent developments are referred to below, together with comments
on established practices.*
There exists today, the technology
required for the basis of a secondary
plastics recycling industry.

Recycling of PVC packaging in

France 7 , and Reference4 p 291-292
PET bottle banks s
Pre-segregation of domestic waste Liege, Belgium. Reference4
p 294-296
(This project is now well advanced
and will produce 2,400 tonnes per
annum of plastics feedstock).
Refuse Derived Plastics 9 . The
recent commissioning of a large
scale municipal recycling plant in
the Netherlands by NV Vuilafoer
Maatschappij (VAM). The annual
capacity of this plant is 125,000
tonnes of mixed refuse, giving a
90% plastics rich fraction of 4,000
tonnes per annum, which is now
being utilised for secondary plastics
recycling. A flow sheet for the
Flakt RRR** system which forms
the basis of the new VAM plant is
shown in figure 2.

The influences referred to above

will encourage the development and
expansion of an existing industry.
Apart from large scale polyethylene
film recovery and re-use, there are
clear indications of a trend in wastehandling which will lead to the generation of large tonnages of plastics
scrap; see, for example:

Towards the end of this decade,

and at the present rate of progress, an
annual supply within Western Europe
of several million tonnes of readily
accessible waste plastics will be available for secondary plastics recycling.
This will consist of industrial mixed

* Reference 15 summa.rises recent developments in recyclingpost consumer scrap,

while reference 16 identifies a recent
development in Vienna of the recovery of
polyethylenesfrom domesticrefuse.

**RRR: Resource Recovery from Refuse.

Results in a reduction of the amount of
domestic refuse to be destroyed or tipped,
and in composting operations leads to an
improvement in compost quality.

345

plastics scrap, pre.segregated municipal

waste and plastics derived from light
industrial waste and refuse. The
processes referred to below will provide
the means of upgrading this scrap and
recycling it into useful products.
The availability of large tonnages
of refuse derived plastics and presegregated municipal waste - presumably on long-term contracts and at
stable prices - together with the benefits of gaining the greater contribution
to the energy cycle, will favour the
further development of a secondary
recycling industry. These advantages
will help to offset the costs associated
with decontamination and separation
of waste plastics, and the problems
of developing markets for artefacts
produced from recycled plastics. The
greater stability associated with these
large sources of waste will encourage
large industrial firms to develop an
interest in plastics recycling, and therefore provide the finance for R and D
and plant necessary to make a success
of secondary recycling. This is already
happening and much skill and imagination is evident in the large scale
research and development work which
is currently being undertaken by
industrial firms to identify profitable
routes for the secondary recycling
of plastics. This includes recycling
machinery development as well as

MATERIALS IN ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, FEBRUARY 1982

AIR
CLASSiFiER

"

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./2

"REODER

r'

II

III
ELEC TR~5 TATIC
SEPAR~
RED DER 2

E~

I
I

eI

ORGA

PLASTICS

SHR DOER 3 I
~,._

~ '~'COMPOSTING

FLASH
DRYER

IV

I
I
t

HEAT

f
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CLASSIFIER 12

VI

.....

PAPER

JOUST
~ 1 ~ HEAVY
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PAPER

.....

Trommell = Drum
Fig. 2

Flow sheet of the Flakt RRR plant for the VAM recycling plant at
Wijster, Netherlands.

plastic product development; there are

good opportunities for new business
in plastics recycling machinery. The
effort is necessary in order to overcome
the considerable difficulties of competing with virgin materials.
Progress in these fields will be
steady, although it is unlikely that the
capacity for producing plastics rich
fractions will be matched by their
utilisation. Tertiary recycling into
energy or chemical products will
provide alternative means of utilising
plastics waste, but with an overall
reduction in the contribution to the
energy cycle compared with that
which is attainable by secondary
recycling.
A major increase in the scale of the
secondary recycling business would

result from legislation which would

ensure that preference be given to the
use of recycled plastics in the manufacture of appropriately selected artefacts.
The Principal Routes for the
Secondary Recycling of Plastics

In this section, the main categories

of waste plastics are identified, and
followed by a summary of the most
likely routes for recycling.
Waste plastics can be conveniently
divided into six categories:
I

Scraps in the form of offcuts,

rejects, sprues, etc., arising in the
manufacture of plastic products.
The bulk of this waste material
is recycled by blending it with

MATERIALS IN ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, F E B R U A R Y 1982

virgin plastic, subject to the

careful control of the levels of
contamination in the plastic
regrind and the deterioration in
the physical properties which
may be caused by repeated
thermal and mechanical processing.
Single grades of contaminated
plastic which can be collected
from consumers or processors;
for example, used fertiliser sacks,
crates, packaging materials and
in-house contaminated scrap.
Single grades of in-house or consumer scrap as in II, but contaminated with metal attachments.
For example, laminated aluminium-polystyrene sheet, milk
bottles, reject mouldings or offcuts containing metal transfers,
electroplate, etc.
Mixtures of two or more con:
taminated plastics arising as
industrial scrap. For example,
sweepings from factory floors,
scrap cables, carpet trim, laminated film and containers.
Light industrial scrap and presegregated municipal scrap - PET
bottle banks, etc.
Mixed contaminated plastics as
found in municipal refuse.

The utilisation of waste arising

in Category I is mainly through
primary recycling, which is practised
by more than one-half of the
companies involved in the conversion
of thermoplastics. New developmentslO 11 in melt filtration and
extruder design, which also apply
to the primary recycling of some
materials identified in Category II,
will lead to more effective utilisation
of plastics scrap. The largest proportion
by far is used for the regeneration of
film and crates with the aid of wash
reclamation lines and melt fdtration.
Most of the waste falling into
Categories II to VI is currently dumped.
A relatively small proportion is used
for secondary recycling, but, nevertheless, provides the feedstock for a
substantial number of successful industrial firms. The articles which are
produced from these plastics tend
to have less critical applications.
Figure 3 represents the main routes
for the secondary recycling of thermoplastics.
Route 1
ls widely practised - several hundred

346

Remaker (Kauferle - Aichach - W Germany)

compression moulding- (Davo - W Germany)
Klobbie (Rehsif- SA)

1 direct conversion
into saleable artefacts

Waste from
categories II-VI

comminution - wash
(free <500/am)

Comminution i .~3 wash - Separation

(Coarse ~ 3mm)'

4 melt separation - melt

filtration
Fig. 3

<
~

Convert to artefacts - Remaker* . , .convenuonal

. . .
Compound into pellets - convert~,r extruder
moulder/
to artefacts ~ R e m a k e r
ex. FN Plastifier (FN Industrie Herstal. Belgium
sink/float,~
Comminution
rising current:--1
(fine?)
~pellets

for

Selective -Jwettin~melt f i l t r a t i o n S , re-sale

"artefacts
pellets for
re-sale
artefacts

The main routes for the secondary recycling of thermoplastics.

:i:

L
Fig. 4a

The Remaker automatic moulding machine consists of a hopper (A), extruder screw (B) and barrel (C), mould
and platens (F) and damp hydraulics (E). This schematic diagram illustrates the mould filling stage with extruder
screw operating at r/l rpm and with the shut-off valve (D) in the open position. On completion of mould falling,
the shut-off valve is caused to dose and the screw speed is automatically changed to ~/2 (r/2 < r/l), so that
during the artefact cooling and ejection stages, the plastic in the barrel is melted and thoroughly mixed, prior
to flow into the mould when the screw speed is increased to ~/1 rpm. Mixed plastics and contaminants are
thoroughly homogenised and thick section artefacts provide for effective packing at relatively low pressures.

Remaker flow moulding machines

are in operation. The Klobbie flow
moulding machines were originally
developed
and
operated by
Lankhorst Touwfabrieken BV and
are now providing an effective
method for directly converting
mixed waste into saleable artefacts.
A substantial secondary recycling
activity in the United Kingdom
based on these machines has been
started.
Figures 4a, b and c show details of the
Remaker* and Klobbie flow moulding
machines which are purposefully
designed for the conversion of plastics
scrap onto thick-section artefacts.
The compact natures of both machines
are illustrated tn figures 4c and d :

347

Route 2.
Comminution to fine particles size
(<500 microns) in order to reduce
the effects of impurity particles
on the mechanical properties and/or
appearance of thin-section artefacts.
The FN Industrie homogenising
extruder, for example, produces
pellets from mixed waste suitable
for conversion into relatively thinwalled artefacts. A short screw plus
disc mixer and barrel are the key
elements in the design of the
machine.
Route 3.
A wide range of wash-sink/float
processes are in use and readily
available for secondary recycling
operations. For example, wash
reclamation processes are offered

by Buckau
Walther, Societa
Progrettazoni Industrali, Osterreichische Schiffswerften A.G., etc.
The schematic diagram in Figure 5
*An additional model of Remaker
moulding machine has been recently
developed by Kauferle. This differs
from earlier models in that it is a
screw mixer-over-plunger machine.
The screw]barrel melts homogenises
and mixes the feedstock, which is
then transferred through shut-off
valves to the piston/injection
chamber, prior to injection. This
results in more versatile application,
and, in particular, the use of higher
injection pressures, which provide
for the manufacture of relatively
thin-section artefacts.

MATERIALS IN ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, FEBRUARY 1982

manning levels. Special features of

the device are fdtration to 20
microns for some plastics materials,
no moving parts are involved, and
that the geometry of filter element
relative to the extrusion direction
provides for a balanced pressure
load on the ffdter screen.
All of the recycling routes which
have been identified above, with the
exception of froth flotation, are in
use. The route selected for a particular
type of plastics scrap will naturally
be determined by the properties of
the feedstock and the properties and
appearances of the artefact for sale,
and on the basis of minimum cost
consistant with these requirements.

Fig. 4b In the Klobbie flow moulding machine, the extruder without shut-off
nozzle causes the melt to flow consecutively at low pressures into
a selection of moulds (C) on a turret (D), which is contained within
a cooling trough. On completion of mould filling, a mould is rotated
into the coolant, eventually to rotate out of the coolant for artefact
ejection and mould re.filling.
represents a secondary recycling
scheme based on a rising current
separator, and adopted by BICC
(Metals) U.K. for the separation of
mixed cable insulation into copper,
polyethylene and PVC fractions.
Incidentally, cable insulation represents an attractive source of scrap
for secondary recycling 12
and
naturally occurs in large quantities
in a few locations as a by-product
from copper recovery operations.
Some of the most important
future developments in plastics
separation technology will probably
be based on improvements in
selective froth flotation techniques
which have been pioneered in
Japan 13. Some of the patents are
referred to in Reference 3 , although
processes based on these patents
have not proved to be a commercial
success to date.
Route 4.
Important recent developments in
new melt fdtration and melt
separation technology relate to this
route. Kauferle (Remaker) are
developing a device which is
capable of causing separation in the
melt 14. It can, for example, separate
high concentrations of aluminium
from polystyrene in laminates,
without the need for falter screens.
The device separates on the basis
of differences in rheological properties, and it may be possible to
extend its application to other

metal/plastics mixtures and mixtures of plastics. The key part of

the process is the separation head
with two outlets, from which
emanates metal free plastic and
metal rich plastic, respectively, and
according to pre-set proportions.
The most recent design of melt
filtration unit by Process Developments 9 can be automatically controlled to maintain constant melt
pressure and therefore minimise
wastage of plastics and reduce

Footnote:
Adapted "from a paper originally
presented
at
the
International
Conference on Plastics Strategies for
the Eighties, June 1981, Lausanne,
Switzerland.
References

Results of the IKV Delphi Survey.

Published by Institut fuer Kunststofferarbeikung an der RWTH, 1979.
English translation - Published by the
Rubber and Plastics Research Association , United Kingdom. The Delphi
Survey dealt with many aspects of the
plastics industry, and the section which
deals with recycling is a relatively small
part of the whole. Authors:
H. Ruchmann, W. Milcke, A. Frieges,

Fig. 4c Remaker flow-moulding machine - shot weight (3 kg), clamp capacity

(150 M Pa), height without feed hopper (1.76m), and length (6.05m).
The machines have the appearance of conventional moulding machines.
The extruder (R) with direct electrical drive (S) are indicated. The
clamp hydraulics (H) are to the right.

MATERIALS IN ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, FEBRUARY 1982

348

6. W. Kaminsky and H. Sinn - Pyrolysis

of Plastics Waste and Used Tyres in
a Fluidised Bed Reactor. Ibid. 284-290.
7. G. Perrin. The recycling of PVC
packaging. Shell Polymers 2 (1978)
79-82.
8. PET bottle recycling gets more practicaL
Modern Plastics International. April
(1980) 64-69. See also: Unsaturated
polyester from recycled PET. R.
Calendine, M. Palmer and P. Von
Bramer. Modern Plastics International
June (1980) 34-37.
9. M. Bevis. Recent Developments in
Recycling Processes. Shell Polymers
Vol. 5. No. 2 (1981) P. 50 - 54 to be
published.

Fig. 4d The Klobbie flow moulding machine has been designed as an automatic
machine and special attention has been given to the design of the
hopper/crammer feeder (A). The moulds (C) and cooling tanks shown
in Figure 4b are to the fight. The extruder (B) is indicated. Total length
(9.5m) with preparation equipment.
G. Burghoff, Editors: G. Menges,
H. Potente, R. Schulze-Kadelbach.
2. J. Milgram. Recycling Plastics: Current
Status. Paper presented at the Second
Recycling World Congress, Manila,
Phillipines, 1979. Conservation and
Recycling. 3 (1979) 327-335.

---'~. Mixed
granules
~'

~
i[
]]

Blower

3. M. Sittig. Organic and Polymer Waste

Reclaiming. Encyclopedia. Noyes Data
Corporation- 1981.
4. Kunstoffe-German Plastics. 68 (1978)
266-318.
5. E.G. Leverkusen Hydrolysis of Plastics
Waste. Ibid. 281-284.

Wetseparation
(-~
[_~Volume meter
[ ~/-I--~ [ -~-~ ~

T
"lower
Dust

~ ................
v
Metatlics

10. J. SneUer. New Extrusion technology:

Makes scrap reprocessing realistic and
less costly. Modern Plastics International. February
(1980) 30-33.
11. T.A. Murray. Extruder screen changers:
The choices widen. Plastics Technology
23 (1977) 65-72.
12. Modern Plastics International. February
(1980) 33.
13. K. Saitoh, I. Nagano and S. Izumi.
New separation technique for waste
plastic. Recovery & Conservation 2
(1976) 127-145.
14. New methods to recycle mixed contaminated scrap. Modern Plastics International. August (1979) 12-13.
15. Recycling post consumer wastes can be
practical and profitable. Ibid. May
(1980) 26-27.
16. Plastics and Rubber International 6
(1981) 186.

Feedscrew
Hopper
,,
placed , ~
alongside7 i~-.--i El- ~

J-I J-~"~/JJ/L~ ~-~ ~ !11,

Extrusion
~Cooling
[ ~ E ~trough
elletise

-'~k--/~_ ~ ] ] ' ~ 7 Extruder Continuous

screen
"~ L__] L] Polyethylene
Feed_~ ~
(~r-Blower

PVCPellets

screw
Centrifuge

Fig. 5

349

Schematic diagram of a rising current separator suitable for use in the separation of polyethylene, PVC and f'me
copper wire.

MATERIALS IN ENGINEERING, Vol. 3, FEBRUARY 198;