1. Rigid Plastic Packaging Recycling and recovery ACC Overview
February 28, 2012
Rigid Plastic Packaging Recycling and recovery
ACC Overview

2. ACC’s Plastic Division
The Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents leading manufacturers of plastic resins. The American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division is comprised of 14 of the leading resin manufacturers, plus one affiliated trade association representing the vinyl industry.
BASF Corporation
LyondellBasell Industries N.V.
Bayer MaterialScience LLC
NEXEO Solutions
Braskem America, Inc.
SABIC Innovative Plastics
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
Solvay America, Inc.
The Dow Chemical Company
Styron LLC
DuPont
TOTAL Petrochemicals USA, Inc.
ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Vinyl Institute*
LANXESS Corporation
*Designates affiliated trade association

3. Who do we communicate and work with?
Value chain companies and organizations: brand owners, retailers, aligned trade associations
Government – Decision Makers
Non-government organizations
The Plastic industry:
Creates and reports on a wealth of data and research
Provides the latest news on plastic trends, and
Works collectively with organizations and government on projects to improve end-of-life opportunities for plastics
Who do we communicate and work with?
What do we bring to the table?
This presentation is designed to highlight to Waste Management, retailers and brand owners that ACC is a valued partner for information, resources, and opportunities to partner on projects.

4. Education

5. Why do we use plastics? Reduce Material Use and Weight
Maintain Freshness
Reduce Breakage
Reduce transportation costs through light weighting
Economical

6. Plastics also have positive environmental attributes
Plastics reduce energy use by 61% and greenhouse gas emissions by 57% across variety of applications compared to alternatives.
1 Denkstatt, “The impact of plastics on life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Europe,” June 2010

7. Reporting

8. US EPA: more than 4.7 billion pounds of plastic are recycled annually : more than 2.5 billion lbs. of plastic bottles were collected for recycling2 California: more than 66% have curbside recycling of all plastic containers3
Recycling Success
Slide 7 -  add clarification regarding date for source of EPA data; footnote 6 missing at bottom
1 US EPA Municipal Solid Waste in the US Facts and Figures (2010)
2 ACC “2010 National Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report,”
3 ACC “2010 United States National Post Consumer Report on Non-Bottle Rigid Plastics Recycling, 8

9. Environmental Benefits of Plastic Recycling
Existing plastic recycling, particularly PET and HDPE, results in significant savings in energy and greenhouse gas emissions The amount of energy saved by recycling PET and HDPE containers including bottles in 2008 was the equivalent to the annual energy use of 750,000 U.S. homes. The corresponding savings in greenhouse gas emissions was an amount comparable to taking 360,000 cars off the road4.
Environmental Benefits of Plastic Recycling
4 “Final Report—Life Cycle Inventory of 100% Postconsumer HDPE and PET Recycled Resin from Postconsumer Containers and Packaging,” published 2010. 9

10. 2010 Non-bottle Rigid Report
Key Findings:
In 2010, nearly 862 M lbs. of post-consumer rigid plastics were collected for recycling nationwide
an increase of ~ 72 % from 2009
Increase in the number of processors, end users and reclaimers of rigid plastics
Number of communities offering rigid plastics recycling continues to increase
Allyson for list of journals/blogers/newspapers that have picked up this story

11. National Plastic Recycling Collection: National Reach Study
At least 94% of the U.S. population has access to PET and HDPE bottle recycling
40% has access to, at least, all plastic bottles and all non-bottle rigid containers
48% has access to non bottle PP recycling of items such as yogurt tubs
Identified 1,137 cities and 215 unincorporated areas of counties in the U.S. that collect all non-bottle rigid plastics

12. More cities collecting rigid plastics
Among top 100, non-bottle recycling has doubled to 59 of 100 from 29 in 2008.
71 of top 100 had access beyond PET and HDPE bottle recycling, compared to 38 in 2008.

13. Cities Adopting Non-bottle Rigid Recycling
New York City, NY
New legislation implemented in 2010 to recycle all rigid plastic containers
Will place 300 recycling bins in public areas in the next three years and 700 within a decade
Philadelphia, PA
Now accepting rigid plastics
Recycling has risen to 16 percent as the city has added materials, moved to weekly collections, and switched to "single-stream" recycling
Connecticut Communities
Starting May 2010, residents of 64 Mid-Connecticut communities began to recycle “all plastic food and beverage containers.”

14. Collaboration

15. APR’s Bale Audits Specifications & Definitions Project
Determine Volume of Rigid Plastic Collection in North America.
Determine what is in these rigid bales.
Bring transparency to both buyers and sellers.
Grow rigids recycling in North America.

16. Existing Rigid Bale Definitions

17. APR Bale Definitions Project

18. Bale Audit Findings

19. Working with Virginia Peninsula
ACC wants to help provide resources to assist in expanding rigid plastic recycling programs
Work with communities where ACC members are located, talking with:
City Recycling Staff
Regional & State Organizations
Local & Regional Haulers
Create resources to educate communities on rigid recycling:
Market/buyers list
Grassroots letter to city council
Universal education language
Working with Virginia Peninsula

20. Education with Numbers Plastics Recycling Outreach A Joint Project by ACC and APR

21. Encouraging the Collection of Bottles and Containers

22. Opportunities to Increase Non-Bottle Rigid Plastic Recycling
American Chemistry Council (ACC) Efforts
Documenting the availability of raw material
Detailing the types and efficacy of plastic recycling technologies
Illustrating depth of current and potential demand for products
Association of Post-Consumer Plastics Recyclers (APR) Efforts
Need for consistent, clear education – APR Rigids definitions project
Enforceable reclaimer-generated bale specifications
Working with grocers to learn amount of rigids in their stores and working to create solutions for recycling
The primary domestic end uses for non-bottle rigid plastics are composite products, such as lumber and railroad ties, and relatively thick-walled injection products such as pots and crates. In addition, a number of companies compound these materials and sell to manufactures that make shapes and forms, such as wheels for roll carts, or roto- molded products such as tanks and carts. The domestic infrastructure to use the non- polyolefin (PET, PVC, PS) non-bottle plastics has not yet developed. In order for this market to develop, domestic users will require a consistent supply of clean, single-resin material. To generate such a supply will require at a minimum:

23. APR Bale Definitions Project

24. Energy Recovery

25. Limits on Recycling Technical Challenges Cost Challenges
Foodservice ware
Multi-layer/multi-material food packaging
Cost Challenges
Collection, Sorting, Cleaning, Transport
Infrastructure Challenges
Inconsistent national approach
Curbside vs Deposits vs Depots vs Retail Store
Confusing Material Codes
Technical Challenges
Multi-layer/multi-material
food packaging – will talk more about an example in a moment
Cost Challenges
Collection, Sorting, Cleaning, Transport
Infrastructure Challenges
Inconsistent national approach
Curbside vs Deposits vs Depots vs Retail stores
# 1 & # 2 , vs # 4-7 plastics accepted
Data shows that there is a ceiling on the percentage of plastics that can be recycled effectively

26. Energy Values 12,700 Btu/lb – Pet Coke 20,300 Btu/lb – Natural Gas
18,400 Btu/lb – Crude Oil
11,200 Btu/lb – High grade coal
9,800 Btu/lb – Low grade coal
12,000 Btu/lb – Non-Recycled Plastics
Natural Gas = 20,300 Btu/lb Crude Oil = 18,400 Btu/lb NRP = 14,000 Btu/lb Pet Coke = 12,700 Btu/lb Coal (High) = 11,200 Btu/lb Coal (Low) = 9,800 Btu/lb

27. Plastics to Oil Technology Study
“Conversion Technology – A complement to recycling”
Technologies specifically designed to convert plastics to energy
Pyrolysis
Chemical feedstock recovery
Commercial scale facilities being operationalized in Europe and Asia
Demonstration projects in North America
Under ISO conversion technologies qualify as recycling
ACC sponsored work by a consulting group called 4R
Evaluated the emerging conversion technologies for plastics
Pyrolysis – simply means breaking the plastic down into its component parts which allows you to turn it into an energy form, such as diesel fuel, or into a feedstock for chemical production
A lot of innovation in this space and growing commercial penetration
In North America we are behind the adoption curve but more activity in the last 18 months than there has been in many years
And from a public policy perspective these conversions are often understood to be “recycling” since the material is converted into a fuel or feedstock, not directly to energy

28. Solid Recovered Fuel
Plastics as solid fuel at cement kilns, industrial boilers, power plants.
Partnership with University of Texas.
Study at ASME Conference
Understand - economic, logistical, regulatory, and energy barriers to success
ACC sponsored work by a consulting group called 4R
Evaluated the emerging conversion technologies for plastics
Pyrolysis – simply means breaking the plastic down into its component parts which allows you to turn it into an energy form, such as diesel fuel, or into a feedstock for chemical production
A lot of innovation in this space and growing commercial penetration
In North America we are behind the adoption curve but more activity in the last 18 months than there has been in many years
And from a public policy perspective these conversions are often understood to be “recycling” since the material is converted into a fuel or feedstock, not directly to energy

29. Higher Recovery is Possible
Source: Plastics Europe

30. Plastics Energy Recovery Team (PERT)
Technical/Research
Energy Value of Plastics
Solid Recovery Fuels
Life Cycle
Emerging Technologies
Plastics to Oil
Key Partnerships
Communications/Advocacy 30

31. Thank You