Plastic Waste: Options for Small Scale Resource Recovery

THIS SHORT BOOK is second in a series documenting the activities of small-scale solid waste recycling entrepreneurs in urban areas. Escalating demand for plastic products in many poor countries has left government authorities at national and municipal levels with the problem of how to dispose of plastic waste. Drawing on research undertaken in Cairo, Accra, Nairobi, Bamako, Manila and Calcutta, the book looks at the scale of the plastic waste recovery industry, at the various stages of the waste recovery process, and considers the actors involved at different levels of the industry. The authors’ starting point is the need to support rather than ignore solid waste recycling efforts in cities, albeit within a comprehensive framework for sustainable solid waste management. Avoiding the generation of plastic waste in the first place - an argument favoured by the environmental lobby - is seen as unrealistic in countries where “survival economics” dominate and where strong economic interest groups are likely to oppose any attempts to control the industry. The authors take a pragmatic line on what is a highly contentious subject, weaving environmental concerns into their broader focus on livelihood and environmental health concerns. The plastics recovery industry is a key employer of some of the poorest sections of society in the South. In Metro Manila, for instance, up to 7,000 individuals are estimated to be dependent on plastics recycling. The industry is dominated by numerous, small-scale, informal enterprises that rely on recovered (i.e. cheap or free) materials, and which use technically uncomplicated production processes. Collecting, cleaning and sorting plastics - the initial stages of the recovery process - are highly labour intensive, working conditions are usually severe and incomes extremely low. Because small-scale entrepreneurs have an extremely important environmental improvement function in contexts where refuse services are highly inadequate, attention to improving the financial viability, safety and environmental impact of these enterprises is required.

The technical sections of the book are devoted to improving the quality and therefore the life-span of recycled plastics products. This not only delays waste creation but also means that products are likely to fetch higher prices in the market. To this end, a series of well-tested, small-scale and low technology options for the recovery of waste plastics are described. Useful technical information on easy, low-cost tests to determine the type of plastic for sorting purposes is included in chapter two, while chapter four looks in greater detail at initial upgrading techniques, and includes a short case study on a washing and sorting workshop in Kingston, Jamaica. Chapter five looks at size reduction techniques and chapter six at the final steps in the plastics recycling process - pelletizing and product manufacturing. Chapter seven moves on to look at the financial viability of plastic reprocessing enterprises, and chapter eight suggests some practical measures for improving the working conditions and overall safety of individuals working in reprocessing. Numerous photos, tables and diagrams help to illuminate some of the more technical points. The book is aimed at policy makers at national and municipal level and non-governmental organizations who are looking to improve the efficiency and safety of existing plastics recycling businesses or to expand employment opportunities in this area. It will also be of interest to those organizations concerned with the environmental impact of urban solid waste disposal. It includes in an appendix a useful list of consultants, organizations and written materials concerned with solid waste management in general and plastic waste recycling in particular.