Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Recycling potential of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in Finland

Helena Dahlbo a,⇑, Valeria Poliakova b,1, Ville Mylläri c, Olli Sahimaa a, Reetta Anderson d
a
Finnish Environment Institute, P.O. Box 140, FI-00251 Helsinki, Finland
b
Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Jan-Magnus Janssonin Aukio 1, FI-00560 Helsinki, Finland
c
Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 527, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland
d
Fortum Waste Solutions Corporation (previously Ekokem), Kuulojankatu 1, FI-11120 Riihimäki, Finland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Recycling of plastics is urged by the need for closing material loops to maintain our natural resources
Received 12 May 2017 when striving towards circular economy, but also by the concern raced by observations of plastic scrap
Revised 20 September 2017 in oceans and lakes. Packaging industry is the sector using the largest share of plastics, hence packaging
Accepted 22 October 2017
dominates in the plastic waste flow. The aim of this paper was to sum up the recycling potential of
Available online 31 October 2017
post-consumer plastic packaging waste in Finland. This potential was evaluated based on the quantity,
composition and mechanical quality of the plastic packaging waste generated by consumers and collected
Keywords:
as a source-separated fraction, within the mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) or within energy waste.
Plastic
Packaging
Based on the assessment 86,000–117,000 tons (18 kg/person/a) of post-consumer plastic packaging
Recycling waste was generated in Finland in 2014. The majority, 84% of the waste was in the mixed MSW flow
Quality in 2014. Due to the launching of new sorting facilities and separate collections for post-consumer plastic
Quantity packaging in 2016, almost 40% of the post-consumer plastic packaging could become available for recy-
Waste cling. However, a 50% recycling rate for post-consumer plastic packaging (other than PET bottles) would
be needed to increase the overall MSW recycling rate from the current 41% by around two percentage
points.
The share of monotype plastics in the overall MSW plastics fraction was 80%, hence by volume the recy-
cling potential of MSW plastics is high. Polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) were the
most common plastic types present in mixed MSW, followed by polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly-
styrene (PS) and high density polyethylene (HDPE). If all the Finnish plastic packaging waste collected
through the three collection types would be available for recycling, then 19,000–25,000 tons of recycled
PP and 6000–8000 tons of recycled HDPE would be available on the local market. However, this assess-
ment includes uncertainties due to performing the composition study only on mixed MSW plastic frac-
tion. In order to obtain more precise figures of the recycling potential of post-consumer plastic packaging,
more studies should be performed on both the quantities and the qualities of plastic wastes.
The mechanical and rheological test results indicated that even plastic wastes originating from the
mixed MSW, can be useful raw materials. Recycled HDPE showed a smaller decline in the mechanical
properties than recycled PP. The origin and processing method of waste plastic seemed to have less effect
on the mechanical quality than the type of plastic. The applicability of a plastic waste for a product needs
to be assessed case by case, due to product specific quality requirements. In addition to mechanical prop-
erties, the chemical composition of plastic wastes is of major importance, in order to be able to restrict
hazardous substances from being circulated undesirably.
In addition to quantity and quality of plastic wastes, the sustainability of the whole recycling chain
needs to be assessed prior to launching operations so that the chain can be optimized to generate both
environmental and economic benefits to society and operators.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H. Dahlbo), valeria.poliakova@ 1. Introduction
student.tut.fi, [email protected] (V. Poliakova), [email protected]
(V. Mylläri), [email protected] (O. Sahimaa), [email protected] Recycling of plastics is urged by the need for closing material
(R. Anderson).
1 loops to maintain our natural resources when striving towards Cir-
Present address: Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 527, FI-33101
Tampere, Finland. cular Economy, but also by the alarming observations of plastic

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.10.033
0956-053X/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61 53

scrap being spread in oceans and lakes due to both land-based and waste stream in Europe in 2012 (Hestin et al., 2015; Plastics
sea-based activities. The land-based activities include e.g. littering Europe, 2013). Plastic packaging is used for a variety of purposes,
by recreational or tourism activities, wastewater emissions and ranging from food and beverage packaging to toy and electronics
waste management processes, whereas sea-based activities packaging. The primary function of a packaging is to protect the
include e.g. fisheries, aquaculture, shipping and maritime–based product; hence different types of products require different prop-
tourism (UNEP, 2016). Recycling of plastics is still on a low level. erties from the packaging. From this follows that the plastic pack-
In 2012 the annual volume of globally traded waste plastics was aging waste is rather heterogeneous.
around 15 million tons, less than 5% of the new plastics production The aim of this paper was to sum up the recycling potential of
(Veilis, 2014). According to Ellen McArthur Foundation (2016) post-consumer plastic packaging waste in Finland. This potential
globally only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, was evaluated based on the quantity and quality of the plastic
and even less is retained for a subsequent use due to the losses packaging waste generated by consumers and collected as a
in sorting and reprocessing. source-separated fraction, within the MSW or within a separate
Higher than current recycling rates are proposed in the Euro- fraction called energy waste (Fig. 1). In order to estimate the recy-
pean commission revised proposal for the Circular Economy pack- cling potential, 1) the volumes of the flows of plastic packaging
age (Circular Economy strategy, 2016). The target for municipal waste collected separately or within mixed MSW were estimated,
solid waste (MSW, where plastic is one component) recycling 2) the composition of MSW plastic fraction was studied in a case
and preparation for reuse is suggested to be raised to 65% by study, and 3) the mechanical, thermal and rheological characteris-
2030. For plastic packaging waste, 2020, 45% recycling target is tics of samples obtained from separately collected plastic packag-
set for 2020 (COM(2014) 397 final). The target for recycling of plas- ing and from mixed MSW plastic waste were studied.
tic packaging waste rises to 60% (COM(2014) 397 final) in 2025. The practical implementation of waste management and the
The global plastics production is constantly increasing. In 50 performance of separate collection systems vary in different
years, plastics production has surged from 15 million tons in regions and between countries, hence the composition of MSW
1964 to 311 million tons in 2014 (Ellen McArthur Foundation, also varies. This Finnish case study can be considered as an exam-
2016). Within the past years the increase has remained quite slow, ple of a sparsely populated Nordic country. The Finnish MSW man-
globally the production has grown with 12 million tons from 2009 agement systems are mainly based on source separation and
to 2014 and in Europe from 55 million tons in 2009 to 59 million separate collection of recoverable waste fractions. Only few facili-
tons in 2014 (Plastics Europe, 2015). The Finnish plastics produc- ties exist for industrial sorting of mixed MSW.
tion represents a percentage of the European production, being
around 600,000 tons in 2013 (Plastics Europe, 2015). 2. Background
The sector using the most plastics is packaging industry, with a
share of 39.9% in Europe in 2015, followed by building and con- 2.1. Quantity and composition of plastic packaging waste
struction, with a share of 19.7% in Europe in 2015 (Plastics
Europe, 2016). Most plastic packaging is discarded after a relatively In order to evaluate the resin types composing the packaging
short service life, while other products like the ones used in con- waste, the source of that waste should be considered. Packaging
struction have a longer life. Consequentially, packaging dominates waste is generated in households, as well as in administrative, ser-
in the plastic waste flow representing 63% of the overall 25.2 mil- vice and business operations and industrial activities (Fig. 1). The
lion tons of post-consumer plastic waste that ended up in the focus of this work is on post-consumer packaging waste

Fig. 1. Focus of the study is within plastic packaging originated from consumers, i.e. packaging for food, cosmetics, household chemicals, etc. This packaging is currently
collected in three waste streams in Finland: (1) separately collected plastic packaging, (2) mixed waste, and (3) energy waste fraction (including plastics, cardboard, paper and
wood).
54 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61

Table 1
Composition of the plastic fraction of MSW by polymer type (%).

Area Year HDPEa LDPEb PPc PETd PSe Other mono Source
Western Europe 1998 17.8 22.7 19.6 8.1 11.9 20.1 Aguado and Serrano (1999)
Europe 2005 15–20 38–43 5–10 7–12 12–17 N/A Delgado et al. (2007)
EU 27+2 2010 14 27.9 17.5 11.9 7.6 21.2 Villanueva and Eder (2014)
Europe 2017 15–20 38–43 5–10 12–17 12–17 N/A Delgado et al. (2007)
a
High density polyethylene.
b
Low density polyethylene.
c
Polypropylene.
d
Polyethylene terephthalate.
e
Polystyrene.

originating from consumers. This waste is sorted and collected dif- by 2020. Currently, the Finnish MSW recycling rate lies far behind
ferently in different regions. In Finland post-consumer plastic the target, at 41%.
packaging is collected either separately in the bring site collection According to Hestin et al. (2015) 15.9 million tons of
in the mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) or in energy waste. post-consumer plastic packaging waste was generated in Europe
Bring site collection with regional collection points close to mar- in 2012. The recycling rate for plastic packaging varies in different
kets and stores, etc. was started in 2016 due to the Government countries, being around 20% in France and Malta, and up to around
decree on packaging and packaging waste (518/2014), which stip- 50% in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland, Estonia, Slove-
ulated the producers full responsibility of packaging waste man- nia and Czech Republic in 2014 (Plastics Europe, 2015).
agement. In addition, some municipalities have launched It is assumed that not all of the packaging collected can be recy-
post-consumer plastic packaging collection trials which offer a cled. The recyclability of plastics depends primarily on the type of
simpler way for consumers to sort and discard their plastic packag- plastic resin or the mix of resins and on the different technologies
ing wastes close to home, at properties. Separate collection is available for recycling. Hestin et al. (2015) evaluated that theoret-
increasing gradually, and processes for the sorting, washing and ically, the possible recyclable share of plastic packaging would in
recycling of plastic packaging were launched recently. 2020 be 80% and in 2025 85%. This evaluation was based partly
Post-consumer plastic packaging waste is statistically included on French figures (76%) from separation studies by Eco-
in MSW. For the data collected from different countries to be com- Emballages (2012) and assumptions on potential eco-design
patible, MSW is defined by Eurostat as ‘‘mainly produced by house- improvements. However, the recycling yields were estimated to
holds, similar wastes from sources such as commerce, offices and be some percentages lower, 73% in 2012, 76% in 2020 and 78% in
public institutions are included”. It also includes waste ‘‘from the 2025 due to the efficiencies of the processes in the recycling chain
same sources and similar in nature” collected separately by or on (Hestin et al., 2015).
behave of municipality or by private sector (Eurostat, 2017). The
proportion of plastic in MSW as well as composition of it varies
between countries. Table 1 summarizes the MSW plastic fraction 2.2. Impact of ageing and recycling on the quality of plastic materials
composition published in different sources.
Aguado and Serrano (1999) based their figures on the publica- As mentioned earlier, the number of plastic types included in
tion of Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME) pro- plastic packaging waste is probably the most important factor
duced in 1998, where proportions of various polymers types found affecting the recyclability. Packages containing only one plastic
in MSW are given. The composition of MSW plastic waste was later type are relatively easy to recycle compared to multilayer pack-
studied and future scenarios predicted by Delgado et al. (2007), ages. The properties of plastic materials may change during their
who presented a division of plastic wastes into different plastic use and recycling process. Different factors such as exposure to
types on the European level in 2005 and estimation of the division sunlight, air, oxygen, water, cold, heat, and micro-organisms cause
for 2017 (Table 1). According to his estimation, amount of ageing of plastics by degrading them. Degrading types include
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste in MSW was expected to thermal, radiation, mechanical, ultrasonic, hydrolytic, chemical,
grow from 2005 to 2017. A detailed break up of plastic types found and biological degradation (Allen and Edge, 1992), of which ther-
in MSW is presented by Villanueva and Eder (2014), according to mal degradation and the radiation of the sun (i.e. photodegrada-
whom the biggest fraction of ‘‘other mono” plastics is polyvinyl tion) are the most typical in plastics. These two degradation
chloride (PVC), which constitutes 8% of the total. The figure for types have many similarities, the main difference being in the ini-
polystyrene (PS) also includes expanded polystyrene styrofoam tiation step: in thermal degradation initiation results from the
(EPS) (Villanueva and Eder, 2014). thermal dissociation of chemical bonds in macromolecules and in
The overall amount of plastic packaging was estimated to be photodegradation from photodissociation of chemical bonds
117 239 t/a in Finland in 2012 (Jokinen et al., 2015). The recycling (Rabek, 1996). During recycling, plastics are consecutively pro-
target for 2008 (22.5% of the plastic packaging waste) was reached cessed which exposes them to thermal degradation. This is often
and topped with a 25% recycling rate in 2012. However, due to the primary ageing mechanism of packaging, which in general
uncertainties in data collection and calculation methods used by has only limited contact with UV-irradiation.
operators, these figures were estimated to exaggerate the true sta- In addition to temperature and radiation, oxygen has an impor-
tus (Levinen, 2014). New targets were given in 2014 (Government tant role in the degradation process of plastics. Photo-oxidative
decree on packaging and packaging waste (518/2014)) setting the degradation includes processes such as photo-oxidation, crosslink-
target separately for the beverage packaging deposit system to 90% ing, chain scission and secondary reactions, which cause many
and for the non-deposit packaging to 16% in 2016 and 22% in 2020. changes in the appearance and properties of plastics. The most typ-
Since much of the post-consumer plastic packaging waste is ical changes in material are embrittlement, cracking, deterioration
included in MSW, increased recycling of this waste could also help of mechanical properties, color changes, and significantly short-
in reaching the recycling target for the overall MSW, which is 50% ened lifetime (White and Turnbull, 1994; Rajakumar et al., 2009).
 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61 55

The effects of recycling on the properties of plastic material can 2015 in the Southwest and Uusimaa regions of Finland. The sam-
be simulated by either consecutive re-processing of plastics, sub- ples for the studies were obtained in the course of two large scale
jecting them to photo- or thermal ageing or by combining these MSW studies that were performed using a 3-level classification
two. When evaluating the results of artificial ageing experiments, system first proposed by Sahimaa et al. (2015) and later refined
types and amount of stabilizers in pristine polymers used in study by Liikanen et al. (2016). In these studies the mixed MSW was first
play an important role (Luzuriaga et al., 2005). Hamad et al. (2013) divided into 38 materials fractions, from which, plastics and
have reported that virgin low density polyethylene (LDPE) under- plastic-containing fractions were taken out for further separation
goes crosslinking reaction as a result of consecutive extrusions, and analysis. The mixed MSW was from both detached houses
with processability being altered only after 40 re-extrusions. Ther- and apartment buildings.
mal ageing of unstabilized pristine LDPE results in abrupt degrada- The plastics and plastic-containing fractions of MSW were fur-
tion of material and chain scission, accompanied by crosslinking ther sorted into groups (fractions) of packages with similar proper-
reaction. During photo-ageing crosslinking is prevailing ties. Sorting of plastic was performed manually utilizing ASTM
(Luzuriaga et al., 2005). While Boldizar et al. (1999) study on International Resin Identification Codes (i.e. recycling symbols).
re-processing of high density polyethylene (HDPE) suggested that In cases where recycling symbols were not available, identification
no significant changes occurred in HDPE after 10 cycles of was done by an experienced staff member, based on knowledge
re-extrusion, later work by Camacho and Karlsson (2002) reported about properties and typical applications of different plastic types.
that post-consumer HDPE undergoes chain scission reactions All contents of the packages were removed. Corks were removed
already after 2 consecutive extrusions. Luzuriaga et al. (2005) from the bottles whenever possible. After sorting all fractions were
reported that while thermal ageing of pristine HDPE results in weighed and stored. Effect of moisture and content leftover on the
increase in crystallinity, the material is retaining acceptable final weight of the fractions was not considered, neither the weight
mechanical properties after 10 months oven ageing at 100 °C. of labels. Data regarding the weights of the separated fractions
Photo-oxidation of material results in crosslinking and later chain were later reorganized into the following 8 categories based on
scission. Repetitive processing of both virgin and post-consumer the quality and type of the plastic fraction: 5 major plastic types
polypropylene (PP) was found to cause chain scission (Hamad (HDPE, LDPE, PP, PET and polystyrene (PS)), a category containing
et al., 2013; Camacho and Karlsson, 2002). Luzuriaga et al. (2005) other plastic present in minor amounts, a category of mechanically
reported virgin PP to be stable during thermal ageing, while under- inseparable plastics and a non-plastic category. In addition, the
going chain scission and formation of hydroperoxides as a result of portion of black plastics was identified. Results of the composition
photo-oxidation. study are presented in Section 4.2.

3. Materials and methods

3.3. Sample materials representing post-consumer plastic packaging
3.1. Assessment of post-consumer plastic packaging waste volumes
Due to the broad use of HDPE and PP, recovered HDPE (rHDPE),
In order to assess the recycling potential of post-consumer plas-
recovered PP (rPP) and their virgin references Borealis HE6063
tic packaging waste in Finland, two types of waste streams were
HDPE and Borealis HC205TF PP were selected for testing and
studied, namely plastic packaging collected as part of mixed
comparison.
MSW and plastic packaging collected separately. Additionally, the
The rHDPE sample was obtained from a separate collection trial,
amount of plastic packaging in energy waste was estimated. Data
where hard plastic packages (HDPE, LDPE, PP and PET) were col-
for the total amount of Finnish mixed MSW and energy waste from
lected in 2014 in Eastern Finland (Table 2). A sample of 3000 kg
households were based on Salmenperä et al. (2016), who modeled
was sorted with mobile TiTech equipment based on NIR (near
the origin of different MSW waste flows in Finland. Plastic content
infrared) technique rented from Tomra Sorting GmbH. The sorted
of the mixed MSW was evaluated based on the composition studies
rHDPE sample was washed and granulated by NGR, Next Genera-
described in Section 3.2 and data on the average composition of
tion Recyclingmaschinen GmbH, in Austria. The rHDPE had a
Finnish households’ mixed waste, based on sorting studies per-
brown/grey color.
formed within the past ten years in various regions in Finland
Borealis Borstar HE6063 was selected to be the reference of the
(Finnish Solid Waste Association, 2016). The composition of energy
rHDPE based on preliminary test results. Borstar HE6063 is a nat-
waste originating from households was based on a composition
ural, ultraviolet(UV)-stabilised, colorable, bimodal high density
study by Forssell (2011).
(HD) jacketing compound.
Estimates of post-consumer plastic packaging available for
The rPP sample was obtained from mixed MSW plastic waste
recycling in the near future were calculated based on the recently
through manual sorting (Table 2). The sample of approximately 3
initiated bring site collection system for post-consumer plastic
kg of rPP was washed using an ordinary washing machine, with
packaging waste and the capacity of two new mechanical sorting
a 60 °C program, and using LV color washing agent. The samples
plants. The mechanical-biological sorting plant of Fortum Waste
were dried overnight at room temperature after which they were
Solutions Oy (former Ekokem Oy) in Riihimäki is designed to take
freezed before grinding. Due to the ductility of the material, grind-
in 100,000 tons of mixed MSW annually and sort out about 37% of
ing was difficult even for cooled samples. The grinding machine
biowaste, 10% of plastic and 3% of metal (Puoskari, 2016). The
jammed several times and caused problems in the grinding quality.
capacity of the other recently established mechanical sorting plant
The largest particles were removed manually before compounding
of Päijät-Hämeen Jätehuolto Oy in Lahti is 66,000 tons, of which
in order not to jam the extruder. Compounding of the material was
3500 tons of plastics is estimated to be sorted for recycling
performed with a Brabender double screw extruder DSE25 using a
(Honkanen, 2015).
processing temperature of 210 °C.
The reference PP material, Borealis HC205TF, was chosen to
3.2. Assessment of municipal solid waste plastic composition match with rPP based on preliminary test results. Borealis
HC205TF is a nucleated polypropylene homopolymer intended
The composition of plastic packaging waste within MSW was for thermoforming packaging like trays, cups, containers, house-
estimated through sorting studies performed on mixed MSW in wares, and thin wall packaging.
56 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61

Table 2
Sources and treatment of the plastic samples representing recycled polymers.

Sample Amount of Source Sampling Sample pretreatment

polymer for
sampling
rHDPE 600 kg Separately collected Mechanical sorting with NIR (near- Washing and granulating by NGR (Next Generation
plastic packaging (trial in infrared, TiTech) Recyclingmaschinen)
2014)
rPP 59 kg Mixed MSW Manual sorting of plastic types Washing in a household washing machine (60 °C) with LV color
(Sorting experiment, described in detergent. Drying overnight at room temperature. Freezing prior to
Section 3.2) grinding

Table 3
Equipment, standards and circumstances used for the production of plastic specimen.

Material Injection molding Standard Processing temperature Mold temperature Injection speed Injection time Cooling time
equipment [°C] [°C] [mm/s] [s] [s]
HDPE ES 200/50HL CC90 ASTM D638 – 67 T 210–220 60 65 1 25
PP (Type I) 220–230 30 35 1 25

3.4. Characterization of the selected sample materials sumers deliver around 140,000 tons of mixed MSW directly to
household waste recycling centers. The amount of plastic packag-
In this paper, three different characterization methods were ing in this waste is very small, 0.4% hard plastic packaging and
chosen to assess the mechanical properties, processability and 0.9% soft plastic packaging making 560 tons and 1260 tons respec-
thermal stability of the recycled samples and their references. tively (Viitanen and Kumpula, 2016).
The HDPE and PP samples were produced with equipment, stan- Packaging in mixed MSW can contain food scraps and moisture,
dards and circumstances described in Table 3. which increase the weight of the packaging. According to RVF
Mechanical properties of the samples were tested using 5 kN (2005), a correction factor 0.56 for hard plastic packaging and
Testometric M 350-5CT material testing machine equipped with 0.58 for soft plastic packaging should be applied if the results of
PWG25 pre-tightening wedge action grips. A total of 30 samples mixed MSW composition studies are compared to clean packaging
were tested and no conditioning was applied to samples prior to material. On the other hand, Koskimaa (2016) has reported mois-
the testing. The samples were tested according to the ASTM ture content of 14.5% for hard plastic packaging and 32% for
D638 – 67 T standard using 51 mm/min test speed. soft plastic packaging in Finnish mixed MSW. Consequently,
Melt flow index (MFI) of the materials were measured using taking these correction factors into consideration, the volume of
Ceast 6542 machine. Measuring temperature was 230 °C for PP post-consumer plastic packaging in mixed MSW is 73,000–
and 190 °C for HDPE. 2.16 kg and 5 kg weights were used 104,000 tons altogether.
respectively. In some regions, plastics are collected as energy waste from
The thermal stability of the plastic materials was estimated by households. Energy waste collection is relatively rare, altogether
measuring oxidation onset temperature with Netzsch differential around 5000 tons annually (Salmenperä et al., 2016). According
scanning calorimetry (DSC) 204 F1 heat-flux DSC. The samples to Forssell (2011), household energy waste contains 28% plastic,
were heated at a rate of 10 °C in an oxygen atmosphere (50 ml/ which is mainly but not exclusively packaging materials. By
min). The onset point was defined as extrapolated onset from the assuming that packaging form 70% of plastic in energy waste,
intersection point of the baseline tangent and the tangent of the post-consumer plastic packaging waste in Finnish energy waste
initial inflection. totals around 1000 tons.
Until 2016, PET bottles with deposit were the only separately
4. Results and discussion collected post-consumer plastic packaging stream in Finland. The
recycling system for these PET beverage containers works well
4.1. Volumes of post-consumer plastic packaging waste and currently 93% (12,000 tons, equal to 2.2 kg/person/a) of the
annually sold PET bottles is recycled (Pullinen, 2016).
Annually around 890,000 tons of mixed MSW is collected from Based on the above figures, it can be estimated that a flow of
households in Finland (Salmenperä et al., 2016). This mixed MSW 86,000–117,000 tons of post-consumer plastic packaging waste
contains in average 7.3% hard plastic packaging and 7.6% soft plas- was generated in Finland in 2014. The majority, 84% of the waste
tic packaging (Finnish Solid Waste Association, 2016). Our compo- originates from MSW (Fig. 2). This is equal to around 18 kg/per-
sition studies from Uusimaa and Southwest regions (Section 3.2) son/a. If all Europeans would generate the same amount, alto-
showed somewhat lower percentages for hard plastic packaging, gether around 13.5 million tons of post-consumer plastic
but similar for the soft ones, as follows: packaging would be generated in Europe each year. This is some-
what lower than the 15.9 million tons estimate by Plastics
 Uusimaa: hard plastic packaging 6.7%, soft plastic packaging Europe (2015).
7.7%. In Finland, actions have already been taken to improve the recy-
 Southwest: hard plastic packaging 6.9%, soft plastic packaging cling of plastics from the 2014 situation. Based on these actions, it
7.4%. can be estimated that in addition to the existing PET bottle recy-
cling, separately collected or mechanically sorted post-consumer
Consequently, mixed MSW contains 60,000–65,000 tons of hard plastic packaging available for recycling will add with 21,500 tons
plastic packaging and 66,000–69,000 tons of soft plastic packaging. (3.9 kg/person/a) in the near future based on the following collec-
In addition to the on-property collection for mixed MSW, con- tions and operations being started in 2016:
 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61 57

Prior to 2016
After 2016
0% 0%
MSW(collected from
1%
14% citizens)
15%
1%
MSW (delivered by
citizens)
9% Energy waste

Separatelly collected
14% 60% (PET)
Separately collected
(other plastic packaging)
84%
1% Mechanically sorted from
1% MSW

Fig. 2. Distribution of post-consumer plastic packaging in various waste flows prior to and after 2016 in Finland.

 6000 tons per year from new RINKI (the organization taking presented in household waste. Most of the plastic waste was
care of the producer responsibility for packaging waste) bring packaging (around 90%).
site collection points (Soini, 2016). PP and LDPE were the most common plastic types present in
 2000 tons per year from plastic packaging collection trials at mixed MSW, followed by PET, PS and HDPE. Majority of the PP
properties (Soini, 2016). plastic consisted of hard PP items, such as containers of meat
 10,000 tons per year from the mechanical–biological sorting and butter, lids and flower pots. Roughly 20% of the PP originated
plant of Fortum Waste Solutions Oy (former Ekokem Oy, see from biscuits and chocolate wraps and bread and pasta packaging.
Section 3.1) (Puoskari, 2016). The LDPE fraction originated almost entirely (around 90%) from
 3500 tons per year from the mechanical sorting plant of grocery bags and other soft packaging. The main sources of PET
Päijät-Hämeen Jätehuolto Oy (see Section 3.1) (Honkanen, were bottles together with grape and vegetable containers,
2015). whereas for PS the main sources were individual packages of dairy
products and for HDPE shampoo and detergent bottles and canis-
Most of the mechanically sorted plastic is post-consumer plastic
ters. Plastics present in only insignificant amounts (PVC, acryloni-
packaging even though also other plastics are present in this flow
trile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), etc.) were
to a minor extent. Following these innovations, almost 40% of the
summarized under category ‘‘Other monotype”.
post-consumer plastic packaging would be available for recycling
The inseparable plastic fraction contained multilayer bags and
(Fig. 2).
lids from packaging of meat products, cheese, fish, frozen vegeta-
Post-consumer plastic packaging is an important waste flow
bles and fruits, items marked with symbol ‘‘7” (standing for com-
when moving from the current 41% (Laaksonen et al., 2017)
binations of various plastic types or other materials than marked
towards 50% recycling rate for MSW by 2020 in Finland. The
with 1–6 recycling symbols). Additionally, plastic toys and other
21,500 tons increase in post-consumer plastic packaging recycling
items, where different plastic types were inseparable were
estimated to be achieved with the collections and processing
included in the inseparable plastic fraction. The non-plastic frac-
implemented in 2016 would mean that the overall MSW recycling
tion contained rubbish that was mainly the content of the packag-
rate would grow with around 0.8 percentage points. If 50% recy-
ing, but also plastic items permanently attached to other materials
cling rate for post-consumer plastic packaging (other than PET bot-
like glass, metal or cardboard, i.e. laminated paper packaging,
tles) were achieved, this would increase the overall MSW recycling
razors.
rate from the current 41% by around two percentage points. It
When comparing the results for the composition of MSW plastic
would require around 9 kg/person/a of plastic packaging to be
fraction of the present study with results from previous studies
recycled and still there would remain a gap of 7 percentage points
(Table 1, Section 2.1), it can be noticed that the results are more
to catch up in order to reach the target of 50% recycling for MSW. In
in line with values provided by Villanueva and Eder (2014) than
Sweden, where the recycling rate of MSW has reached 50%, plastic
with predictions by Delgado et al. (2007). Relatively smaller HDPE
packaging recycling from households was 6.9 kg/person/a in 2016
fraction in the present study compared to other evaluations can be
(Avfall Sverige, 2017).
explained by the presence of HDPE in ‘‘Inseparable plastics” cate-
gory (i.e. as a part of plastic toys) or in items less frequently
appearing in MSW (sleds, buckets, houseware, etc.). In addition,
4.2. Composition of the municipal solid waste plastic inseparable plastic category, including among other items multi-
layer films and plastic toys, is dispersed into other categories in
The results from composition studies of plastic fraction of MSW the estimations of other authors.
are presented in Table 4 below. The results are given as percentage Four main sources of uncertainty were identified, which can
of MSW plastic waste. All together 295 kg of plastic waste were affect the shares of different plastic types presented in Table 4.
analyzed, 167 kg from Turku region and 128 from Uusimaa region. The first source was manual sorting, resulting in the possibility
The analyzed plastic fraction was comprised of all plastic items that part of the plastics was identified erroneously; for example,
58 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61

Table 4
Shares of major plastic types in the MSW plastic fraction according to two sorting studies.

Plastic type HDPE LDPE PP PET PS Other monotype Inseparable plastic Non-plastic
Share in MSW plastic fraction [%] 6.9 27.6 21.7 13.4 8.6 2.0 10.7 9.1

40 Table 5
Measured melt flow indexes of HE6063, rHDPE, HC205TF, and rPP.
HE6063 (HDPE)
35 rHDPE Material 190 °C, 5 kg 230 °C, 5 kg 230 °C, 2.16 kg
HC205TF (PP) [g/10 min] [g/10 min] [g/10 min]
30
rPP HE6063 (HDPE) 1.8
rHDPE 1.2
25
Stress [MPa]

HC205TF (PP) 18.0 3.7

rPP 17.0 3.3
20

15
and the processing techniques may also have affected the results:
10
rHDPE was separated, washed and compounded with commercial
line while the washing and compounding of rPP was performed
5 on a laboratory scale; in addition, rHDPE was collected separately
whereas rPP was separated from mixed MSW.
0 Luijsterburg and Goossens (2014) have in their study shown
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% that the collection method for the plastic packaging waste has
Strain [%] hardly any influence on the final quality of the recyclate, but
Fig. 3. Typical tensile testing curves of HE6063, rHDPE, HC205FT and rPP.
changes to the sorting and reprocessing steps can improve the
quality. Nevertheless, when the results of the present study are
compared with the mechanical properties of industrially manufac-
some hard HDPE items could have been identified as PP. The sec- tured, commercial recyclates, namely recycled HDPE and PP prod-
ond source was a slight discrepancy between the composition of ucts (of the Circo brand by Fortum; Circo, 2017) that originate from
the collected and the evaluated samples: in the plastic fraction col- a mixture of MSW plastics and separately collected plastics, no sig-
lected during the first of the two MSW composition studies, 51% nificant difference in mechanical properties is observed. The ten-
was rigid plastics. Due to time constrains, only 43% of this plastic sile stress and elongation at yield are 24.8 MPa and 39% for Circo
collected were sorted into fractions with rigids constituting 59% rHDPE and 26 MPa and 7.2% for Circo rPP (Circo, 2017), so the
of all plastics. All the plastics collected in the second MSW compo- reduction in elongation is slightly smaller with industrially pro-
sition study were sorted. The third source was that the assump- duced material, while other values are very close to the ones
tions used for the reorganization of the weighting data into the obtained in the present study. This suggests that processing tech-
final 8 categories were based on the best available knowledge niques and origin of the samples play a smaller role than the type
and therefore the categorization can be refined if new facts become of plastics, when it comes to the effect of recycling on the mechan-
known. The fourth source was the small size of the sample. Only ical quality. Nevertheless, more detailed assessment should be per-
300 kg of plastic waste were analyzed, while Uusimaa region alone formed in order to evaluate this.
has a population of 1.64 million inhabitants, which generate Melt flow index (MFI) was measured to estimate the process-
around 500 kg/person/a of MSW (Eurostat, 2017). If all the Finnish ability of the material. MFI is the mass of polymer flowing through
plastic packaging waste collected through the three collection a small capillary in ten minutes when a certain force is applied to
types would be available for recycling and the composition of that it. When compared to viscosity measurements, MFI is a very sim-
waste identical to the waste in our sorting study, then 19,000– plified method. However, it is the current standard in the plastic
25,000 tons of rPP and 6000–8000 tons of rHDPE would be avail- industry.
able on the local market. The measured MFIs were rather similar for the studied plastic
types (Table 5). The values were not directly comparable between
plastics because of the differences in temperatures, yet it was evi-
4.3. Characteristics of the post-consumer plastic packaging waste dent that rHDPE and rPP originated from different sources and
were intended for different applications. rHDPE originated mainly
The results of the mechanical tests (Fig. 3) revealed that there from thick-walled bottles (for e.g. detergents) and therefore a small
are differences between plastic types. The yield strength and mod- MFI grade was used. The MFI of rPP was higher than of rHDPE,
ulus were higher for the rHDPE than for the virgin reference but which means that the material flows better during processing. This
the elongation was slightly reduced for the rHDPE. The changes is an important property in applications like food packaging, which
in rPP were more significant as the yield strength was 26%, elonga- were the main sources of the rPP.
tion 86% and modulus 21% lower than in the virgin reference. Chain scission reactions during multiple processing of PP have
The different behaviour is likely to be caused by the competitive been shown to increase the MFI (Gonzalez-Gonzalez et al., 1998).
chain scission and crosslinking reactions discussed earlier. Chain On the other hand, the crosslinking and branching reactions in
scission reactions are clearly occurring in the PP samples due to HDPE decrease the MFI during consecutive processing cycles
the deterioration of the mechanical properties. Initial increase in (Oblak et al., 2015; Kealy, 2009). The MFIs for the studied plastic
the mechanical strength and modulus of HDPE on the other hand types were rather similar. However, the original MFIs of recycled
indicate that crosslinking or chain branching reactions are grades would have been different and further processing of these
dominant. grades is likely to change them even more.
The results suggest that the mechanical properties of rHDPE are Oxidation induction time (OIT) and oxidation onset tempera-
less affected by recycling than those of rPP. The origin of the plastic ture (OOT) are generally used to estimate the thermal stability of
 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61 59

Table 6 material properties, different types of substances may be added

Measured oxidation onset temperature for to the plastic material during production. Therefore, plastic as a
HE6063, rHDPE, HC205TF, and rPP.
material may contain a variety of chemicals, of which some, but
Material Value [°C] not all are potentially hazardous. However, the chemical composi-
Borstar HE6063 250.4 tion of the post-consumer plastic packaging was not analyzed in
rHDPE 230.0 this study. In a recent study on plastic waste in general Pivnenko
HC205TF (PP) 232.7 et al. (2016) analyzed phthalates, which are commonly used as
rPP 227.1
plasticizers in plastics manufacturing. The highest concentrations
were measured for di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) (max 2700
mg/g in source separated waste plastics), exceeding the limit value
for plastic articles intended to come into contact with food (EC,
the material and the efficiency of the stabilizers used (Volponi
2007) or be used in electric and electronic equipment (EU, 2015).
et al., 2004; Ruvolo-Filho and Pelozzi, 2013; Focke and van der
According to Pivnenko et al. (2016) the phthalates were either
Westhuizen, 2010). In this study, OOT was chosen from these
potentially added in the later stages of plastic product manufactur-
methods since it provides certain advantages over OIT: no pre-
ing (labelling, gluing, etc.) and were not removed following recy-
testing is needed for the proper temperature and the length of
cling of household waste plastics or samples of the household
the measurement is relatively stable.
waste plastics were contaminated by other articles with higher
The results in Table 6 were as expected, showing higher OOT for
phthalate content (e.g. PVC). In another recent study, Götze et al.
virgin grades compared to recycled grades. For HDPE the difference
(2016) presented an overview of physico-chemical waste charac-
was 20 °C and for PP 6 °C. The possible applications of rHDPE and
terization data available in literature for individual waste material
rPP include different types of packaging, where the materials do
fractions. High concentrations of cadmium, antimony and zinc had
not have to withstand highly degrading environments or even out-
been detected in the plastics fraction, which were traced back to
door exposure. However, multiple processing cycles of recycled
non-packaging plastic and plastic items (Rotter et al., 2004;
plastics consume stabilizers, and according to these results the
Götze et al., 2016).
addition of stabilizers in recycled materials is recommended to
In general, there is still very little published data on the chem-
inhibit the formation of free radicals.
ical composition and potentially hazardous substances of different
plastic waste fractions. Due to the restrictions on the use of mate-
4.4. Applicability of post-consumer plastic packaging waste for rials and substances for packaging intended to be in contact with
recycling food (EC, 2004) and the post-consumer plastic packaging waste
consisting primarily of food packaging, it could be suggested that
According to our composition studies, the share of monotype post-consumer plastic packaging waste could be recycled more
plastics in the overall MSW plastics fraction was 80% (Table 4). safely than e.g. plastic wastes from construction. However, since
Monotype plastics are more suitable for mechanical recycling than the post-consumer plastic packaging fraction contains also other
multilayer plastics, hence this result shows that by volume the than food packaging, this needs to be verified with chemical anal-
recycling potential of MSW plastics is high. The test results of the yses of the material.
mechanical properties of the recovered plastic types show that
changes occur in the recycled plastics, but extend of the change
is plastic specific and properties need to be tested case- 5. Conclusions
specifically for each application and plastic material flow.
Multilayer plastics is a waste flow that needs further research. In this study, the resource potential of post-consumer plastic
The composition of recycled multilayer film plastic waste in Fin- packaging waste collected either separately, within the mixed
land was recently analyzed. The sample pool consisting of 121 MSW, or within energy waste was assessed by calculating the
samples was analyzed with polarized light optical microscopy, potential flows of post-consumer plastic packaging from different
DSC and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The sam- collections, estimating the plastic type composition of the MSW
ples in the pool had from 1 to 24 layers, with an average of 6. A plastics through a sorting experiment and by analyzing mechanical
total of 738 layers were analyzed by Häsänen (2016). Based on properties of plastic samples representing the different flows.
the analysis, the sample pool consisted of 56.7 vol% LDPE or LLDPE, Based on our assessment 86,000–117,000 tons of post-consumer
13.5 vol% of PP, 9.5% of polyamide-6 (PA-6), 7.8% of PET, 4.5% of plastic packaging waste was generated in Finland in 2014. This is
copolymers of PE and PP, 4.1% of print, 2.0% of ethylene vinyl acet- equal to around 18 kg/person/a. If all the Finnish plastic packaging
ate (EVA) or tie layers and of 1.9% ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) waste collected through the three collection types would be avail-
(Häsänen, 2016). These kinds of polymer blends are very often able for recycling, then 19,000–25,000 tons of rPP and 6000–8000
immiscible and to improve their performance, compatibilization tons of rHDPE would be available on the local market. However, this
is required. Compatibilisation of post-consumer packaging waste assessment includes uncertainties due to performing the composi-
has been studied by e.g. Pracella et al. (2002). tion study only on mixed MSW plastic fraction. In order to obtain
One example of the current applications for post-consumer more precise figures of the recycling potential of post-consumer
plastic packaging waste is the Finnish circular bag ESSI, launched plastic packaging, more studies should be performed on both the
in 2017. 90% of the bags raw material is recycled plastics, with quantities and the qualities of plastic wastes.
45% originating from post-consumer plastic packaging waste, and According to the present composition study, the share of mono-
another minimum of 45% coming from industrial sources type plastics in the overall MSW plastics fraction was 80%. Mono-
(Circular Economy Bags, 2017). Other current applications for the type plastics are more suitable for mechanical recycling than
post-consumer plastic packaging waste include buckets, tubs, bins multilayer plastics, hence this result showed that by volume the
and flower pots. recycling potential of MSW plastics is high. If 50% recycling rate
When accessing recyclability, not only resin but also additives for post-consumer plastic packaging (other than PET bottles) was
should be considered. Plastics are used for various applications achieved, this would increase the overall MSW recycling rate from
where different material properties, among others flexibility, the current 41% by around two percentage points and would
stability and colors, are needed. In order to obtain the required require around 9 kg/person/a of plastic packaging to be recycled.
60 H. Dahlbo et al. / Waste Management 71 (2018) 52–61

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