Heidi Kähkönen presented the closed loop recycling pilot executed by Kiilto with several collaborators. In this pilot Kiilto arranged the collection of their own packaging from their customers. The packaging was then stored until enough materials were accumulated. Then the material was granulated to be used in production of new packaging again.
Jenni Juuvinmaa presented some key insights from STRIIM-project that ended only last fall. The project concentrated on strengthening regional collaboration between industry and other organizations specializing in the circularity of plastics in Kilpilahti area. She presented the value chain vision in which they had identified many of the relevant operators in the area as well as their places along the value chain. One of the key questions during the project was how to enhance recycling of plastics from SMEs in the region. This was discussed with several companies in the area. This, and further results of the project have been published in the vision report of the Kilpilahti area.
The problem of logistics
The volume of plastic used in companies is significant, presenting great potential for recycling. At this point, however, it is not mandatory for companies to collect their plastics separately. While there is recycled plastic available on the markets, the grades available might not fit the requirements needed. This was for example the case with Kiilto.
Comparing reuse and recycling is essential. Kiilto has pilots and projects regarding both, but logistics play a crucial role regardless. Currently, Kiilto has ongoing pilots for reusable packaging as well. Kiilto sees that multiple levels of circular economy strategies are necessary to boost circularity of plastic packaging.
During the session the participants discussed also chemical recycling and the entire value chain. The consensus seemed to be that logistics remains a challenge in many streams, such as agricultural plastics. Combining mechanical and chemical recycling could provide the solution to handle hard-to-recycle plastics. There are different sizes of organisations involved in developing recycling processes for plastics and they can test different recycling methods depending on the received materials. However, it was noted that elsewhere in Europe most plastics are recycled in large, centralized units.
For the SMEs the problem of plastic waste collection seems a bit different. For SMEs, the problem of plastic waste collection looks a little different. According to Posintra, the companies involved in a light survey in the Porvoo region, especially of hard-to-recycle waste plastics, would like to see the simplest possible “one-stop” collection and recycling solution. At the moment, it seems that while large volumes can be recycled, smaller and more unevenly generated challenging plastic waste streams need several different solutions. In order to achieve the one-stop-shop collection desired by businesses, advanced and more thorough sorting, for example by a new operator, would be needed to enable high quality recycling. To enable one-point collection wished by the companies, it would require advanced and more thorough sorting, e.g. by a new operator, to enable high-quality recycling.
Missing actors? Could you be one?
Kiilto has identified that the value chains for new recycling or reuse loops are still undeveloped, and actors are missing, especially more logistics companies are needed for collection. Kiilto’s successful pilot could be further scaled together with more collaborators to take it from a pilot to a new operating model.
Creating a joint Green Deal with different companies regarding plastics collection and recycling could be beneficial for the circulation of plastics. This might also encourage the companies to invest in collaboration in one form or another. Smaller companies might have streams that other parties are interested in. Some closed-loop systems exist, but obtaining information is currently challenging. There is a need for business analysis and identification of bottlenecks, one of which has already been identified as logistics. To minimize the need for transportation and storage, there was also discussion about utilizing pressing machines in collection phase. The challenges lie in pooling together decentrally produced small quantities of plastic waste, how should logistics and storage be arranged so that it is sustainable and cost-effective?
In conclusion, further discussion for enhancing B2B plastic collection and recycling is sorely needed. The next steps from the workshop include investigating if there are enough research and development needs to prepare a new project in the scope. The right companies and other organisations must be involved for the discussion to bear fruit.
Feel free to contact Jussi Lahtinen (jussi.lahtinen@clicinnovation.fi) if you wish to be a part of these discussions!