Plastics can be broadly defined as a range of synthetic and non-synthetic materials that use polymers as their main ingredient.
Polymers can be both man-made (eg nylon, polyester and polypropylene) and natural (eg silk, hair and DNA)
Plastics are highly adaptive, making them very attractive across a wide range of applications. Plastics can be lightweight, durable and relatively inexpensive to produce, and are very valuable in industries and hospitals where single use plastic medical supplies are very difficult to find alternatives for.
Plastics may be mixed with other materials to improve their performance, for example fire retardant, dyes and elastomers.
Plastics can be used in bottles, furniture, mouldings and plastic bags. They can also be spun into fibres that are used to make fabrics (such as polyester, nylon, rayon, acrylic, and spandex), string, ropes, cables. They are used in coatings, adhesives, elastomers and rubbers.
Essentially plastics are used in everything from the space shuttle exterior to canned vegetables.
Expanded Polystyrene (a.k.a. 'Styrofoam')
Clean styrofoam is accepted for recycling at all of Council’s recycling and waste depots. The foam is shredded, heated and extruded into marketable pellets of polystyrene.
Polystyrene foam is not accepted in the yellow lid recycling bin. During transportation in collection trucks it gets crushed and contaminated with glass shards, dirt and grime. This renders it unrecyclable.
PVC or Polyvinyl chloride
PVC comes in many different forms. These plastics contain chlorinated compounds (that means chlorine is part of their chemical make-up), so it is important to separate them from other plastic polymers, because melting the plastics release chlorine gas, which is harmful to people and animals.
There are limited opportunities for recycling PVC. One opportunity is the shredding and chipping of PVC pipes, with the chips returned to the manufacturer to produce non-pressure pipes. PVC pipes are accepted at Council’s recycling and waste depots.
HDPE or High density polyethylene
In a commercial setting, HDPE is valued for its sturdiness, and is commonly used in things like bins, rainwater tanks and pipes – these hard HDPE items are shredded and sold into the market.
How clean the shredded HDPE is can affect its re-sale value. To have the best chance of selling HDPE back to the market for a good price, Council has applied for grant funding to install a plastic washing and flaking plant at the West Nowra Depot.
In a domestic setting, HDPE most often comes in the form of milk bottles. These and similar plastic containers are recycled through your yellow lid bin.
PET or Polyethylene terephthalate
PET is used typically in carbonated (fizzy) drink bottles, which are recycled through your yellow lid bin.
PP or Polypropylene
PP is used for a wide variety of products from food containers to plastic 'fabric' tarps.
In food container form, it is recycled through your yellow lid bin. In fabric form, it is recycled through Council’s newly commissioned MICROfactorie™ into either 'green' ceramic tiles, or 3D printer filament.
PE or Flexible polyethylene
PE comes in many and varied forms, but usually is a type of plastic film.
Clean factory packaging wrap (e.g. large clear plastic sheets used to wrap mattresses and other furniture), is currently collected into 'bales' at the depots, and sent on to a plastics recycler.
Agricultural film such as silage wrap is currently collected into bales at the depots and sent on to a plastics recycler, with an agreement in place for Council to purchase some of the recycled plastic materials they produce from it.
This refers to all kinds of soft plastics that were previously collected in the RedCycle scheme.
With the commissioning of Council’s own Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) (or recycling sorting facility) at West Nowra in early 2024, there is an opportunity to take advantage of the 'Curby' collection system. Curby allows soft plastics to be collected separately in the recycling bin and recovered prior to entering the MRF.
By 2024 it is anticipated that the capacity of plastics recyclers to process soft plastics in NSW will have improved sufficiently to accept the collected soft plastics from Councils.
The UNSW SMaRT Centre team have partnered with Council in ongoing research and development of new mechanical recycling solutions for soft plastics.
Council is also researching a chemical recycling option to complement the overall approach. This has the potential to render mixed contaminated plastics down to their base polymers (in an oil form) and to use that oil to manufacture new plastic material.
All levels of government are working behind the scenes to develop and maintain viable recycling and recyclable processes.
The Australian Food & Grocery Council (AFGC) are also working towards a long-term solution.
Shoalhaven City Council will continue to collaborate with research partners to actively pursue recycling solutions that have potential for success in the Shoalhaven.