European Union | The Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) has published a report entitled ‘Assessment of the environmental advantages and drawbacks of existing and emerging polymer recovery processes'. In accordance with a relevant announcement, the report describes the plastics waste streams generated by different economic sectors in the EU and develops an outlook of the composition of these streams for the coming 10 years.
The report from the European Union institute analyses the technical and environmental potential of various plastic recovery schemes, as well as assessing the possibilities for environmentally favourable existing and emerging processes to enter the market. Quality and quantity of plastic waste streams are estimated for 2015. For this purpose the six waste categories packaging, vehicles, electronic equipment, agriculture, municipal waste, and construction are analysed in detail.
One of the report's most important findings is that it identifies ways in which new and existing technologies could be combined to improve the recovery of waste plastics from the perspective of their environmental and technological performance. The study provides national and European policy makers with useful information on recycling systems and on the evolution of plastics consumption, thereby facilitating good decision making in the field of waste management.
Acknowledgement
The full report can be downloaded from the IPTS website. http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=1532
