WASTE PLASTICS RECYCLING A GOOD PRACTICES GUIDE

BY AND FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Spain: Decree 104/2000 of the Government of Andalusia

Andalusia is a region of Spain where plastics are used intensively for agriculture. Inappropriate
management of agricultural film plastics (for example open burning or dumping) can damage
surface and ground waters and impairs the natural beauty of the landscape. The Andalusian decree
aims to avoid these problems.
The decree obliges manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of agricultural plastics to participate in
Management Groups, which guarantee the correct recovery and elimination of agricultural plastics
wastes. The groups must finance of these activities and must also ensure correct identification of
plastics used in agriculture. Holders of any waste plastics which are not supervised by a Management
Group must fulfil the same obligations. The decree does not specify any recycling, reuse or recovery
objectives.
Norway: Plastretur
In Norway, the Plastretur system covers packaging and agricultural films. The Plastretur system is
an initiative of the plastic industry, the packers and fillers and the retail trade sector. This initiative
is born from a project of the Norwegian Government to introduce an eco-tax to the packaging.
In view of this legislation and its associated costs, the business and the industrial community decided
to work on the basis of a voluntary agreement. The agreement with the government fixed a recovery
rate of 80 per cent and a recycling rate of minimum 30 per cent for the year 2001.
If Plastretur does not fulfil the agreement, the government maintains the possibility to legislate.
At the end 2000, the recovery rate was 78 per cent (19 per cent recycled and 59 per cent energy
recovered). The covenant was renegotiated during the year 2002.
Plastretur ensures that plastic packaging, agricultural films and construction films are collected and
recovered. The scheme is funded by a licence of 210/t for all the plastics included in the framework of the agreement. The Plastics are collected by the municipalities, professional collectors, local
farmers. Collectors are paid 175/t by the recyclers, which receive the contribution from Plastretur.
The contribution to the collectors is 202/t for films, 240/t for PP bags, and 54/t for the
fraction which is energetically recovered.

Voluntary agreements
A voluntary agreement or commitment is a voluntary action developed by socio-economic groups
to face certain problems. The voluntary agreement can be a spontaneous action from a sector without
any form of pressure or a spontaneous action under the public opinion or legislative pressure.
The voluntary agreement can be controlled or by the concerned sector itself, or by an independent
audit or by the public authority. If the goals of the voluntary agreement are not reached, the penalties
scheme goes from any sanction to restrictive legislative measures.
Denmark: Voluntary agreements to planning measures
In 1991, an agreement was concluded between the Danish Ministry of Environment and various
private associations to reduce the amounts of PVC waste reaching incineration plants by
cutting the use of PVC in packaging and other products, and by increasing recycling of plastics in
construction. The objective of the PVC agreement was to reduce the amount of PVC in packaging
by 85 per cent of the amount consumed in 1987 by 2000. To encourage this shift, a tax on PVC films
(ACT 91) was introduced to provide a financial incentive to change to alternative materials.

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WASTE PLASTICS RECYCLING A GOOD PRACTICES GUIDE

BY AND FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Additional targets were placed on the consumption of other PVC products, however these did not
take into consideration the growth of new PVC goods.
A PVC tax was introduced in Denmark in 2000, charged at a rate of DKr2 ( 0.27) per kg on hard
PVC and about DKr7.50 per kg for phthalate-softened PVC (precise rates depend on the amount of
phthalates contained).
In November 2003, the Danish Ministry of Taxation introduced draft legislation to lift taxation on
all rigid PVC products. Among rigid PVC products only pipes, windows and doors are presently
exempted from this environmental tax.
The changes are proposed because collection and mechanical recycling of a number of rigid PVC
products (including gutters, roofing, venetian blinds and cable trays) is now a possibility; the original
aim of the tax on these products is no longer relevant.
The Netherlands: FKS, a voluntary agreement for pipes collection and recycling
The Danish case described above shows limitations of the voluntary agreement, whilst FKS shows
how a voluntary agreement can be effective.
Since 1991, FKS has organised a national collection scheme for plastic pipes in the Netherlands. FKS
is the association of the Dutch plastic pipes industry, which has existed since 1973. The objective of
the industry was to offer a complete environmental friendly service for pipes users, from the
factory to the grave, through a voluntary commitment.
In 2001, FKS collected 3,500 tonnes of which 5 per cent was refuse; this compares to 2000, where
3,000 tonnes was collected of which, 2,500 tonnes (~83 per cent) were PVC pipes. FKS does not
make the differentiation between PP and PE pipes and all collected pipe waste is post-consumer
waste. It is difficult to compare PVC waste arisings to consumption in The Netherlands (~110,000
tonnes) because plastic pipes, and especially PVC pipes have a long application life, with a life
potential of up to 100 years.
The objective of FKS is to collect 50 per cent of collectable pipes by the year 2005 into the framework of the voluntary agreement of the European Plastics Pipe and Fitting Association (TEPPFA).
There are two collection schemes offered by FKS. For the small quantities, a network of containers
is available. The containers are located in 57 pipes selling places, which cover all the Netherlands.
The deposit of plastic pipes is free.
For large quantities from C&D works, FKS offers a service of container renting and used plastic pipes
purchase. The 30m containers are directly solicited at the FKS Secretariat. The fees are 124.79 for
the transportation costs of the container and 2.25 by day for the renting of it. In return, the
tenant of the container receive 0.0454/kilo of clean pipes. The average quantities by container is
2 tons, for which 90 are paid. This system permits to avoid high disposal costs. In comparison,
the average incineration costs are about 100/t in the Netherlands.

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