Plastic

250000bottles/

hour

6Million/month

700YEARS

RECYCLING

Waste Associated With Plastic Recycling Industry

Pabasara Gunawardane

Plastic CodingRecycling In Sri Lanka

(Society of the Plastic Industry, 1987)

Sorting

Washing

Shredding

Extruding

Recycling Process

Eco Sans Plastics (pvt) Ltd.

Sorting

Shredding

Extruding

Final Product

Products

Highly polluting industry – EPL ‘A’ category

Emission standards are published in gazette extraordinary No. 1534/18 of 01.02.2008

Polluting status of the Industry

Waste Generation&

Mitigation

Dissolved solids and dissolved aromatic compounds are present.

Passing though resin beds and activated carbon filtration is practiced

Hot water is re-used by cooling

Larger scale plastic collectors clean the materials separately now

Waste Water

Gaseous emission from machines during plastic heating process - Wet scrubbing, Using safety wears

Dust and particles – Better housekeeping

Gaseous Pollutants

Almost everything is re-used

Un re-usable matter will be sent to incineration.

Solid Waste

Noise & Vibrations Machines in operation - Enclose in a room to

avoid noise, dissemination; servicing and lubrication of machines

Vibration - Proper mounting of machinery

Plastic is melted during the recycling process, which causes it to break down and release the chemicals used to make it.

Recycling plastic is associated with skin and respiratory problems resulting from exposure to and inhalation of toxic fumes, especially hydrocarbons and residues released during the recycling process

Heating and reheating also degrades plastic

Issues With Plastic Recycling

Small scale recyclers have low facilities for the treatment processes.

The production of ‘Virgin’ plastic cannot be reduced.

The environmental quality of the countries where new materials are made from recycled plastics will be degraded. (China, India and Malaysia)

Waste segregation practices should be strictly followed in the country

The monitoring of the discharged waste water/air and solids by the recycling plant should be monitored frequently

The government should involve more effectively to the industry

Reduction of the use of plastics nationwide

More safety measures should be taken when handling the recycling process

Increasing the awareness among the public

Recommendations

Mr. Anura JasenthuliyanaManaging DirectorEcosans Plastics Ltd.

Mr. Sampath WijekoonInformation CenterNational Post Consumer Plastic waste Management Project

Personal Contacts

Container recycling institute(2014), Plastic Facts & Statistics, available on http://www.container-recycling.org/index.php/factsstatistics/plastic Accessed on 10th May 2015

Biofina group (2013), 5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process, Available at http://biofinagroup.com/5-stages-of-the-plastic-recycling-process/ Accessed on 10th May 2015

Ronnin, James (2011), Recycling Plastics May Be Better than Wasting, but Can Be Toxic, Too, http://www.eurekarecycling.org/page.cfm?ContentID=126 last access on 10th May 2015

Ministry of finance and Planning(2014), Environment guidelines for SMEs Sri Lanka.

References