2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada
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2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada December 2012 Prepared by Moore Recycling Associates for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association Moore Recycling Associates Inc PO Box 1327 Sonoma, CA 95476 T 707-935-3390 F 707-935-1998 www.MooreRecycling.com 2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada 1 2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada Introduction This is the third year that Moore Recycling Associates has conducted a survey to determine the amount of postconsumer plastic recovered in Canada for recycling. This report shows how much Canadian postconsumer plastic was collected and reclaimed domestically—in Canada or the U.S.—and how much was exported overseas. This study is sponsored by the Canadian Plastic Industry Association (CPIA) and is made possible by the businesses that cooperated by providing data. Executive Summary In 2011, a minimum of 268.5 million kilograms of postconsumer (including post commercial)1 plastic material was collected for recycling in Canada. As expected, most of that was plastic bottles, and the remainder was non-bottle rigid plastic, foam or film plastic. This represents an increase of 24% over what was reported in 2010. Postconsumer Plastic Recovered Year-over-Year (kg) Year Exported Purchased for processing in Destination Total Canada or the United States Unknown 2011 33,861,693 227,964,334 6,707,288 268,533,314 2010 34,727,931 177,125,078 5,328,610 217,181,619 2009 22,168,450 157,173,715 8,762,125 188,104,289 The increase is due to an increase in recovery and continued progress in getting companies to report this data. Overall, 85% of the material reported was reclaimed in Canada or the U.S., and 13% was exported overseas. The destination is unknown for the remaining 2%. 1 Throughout this report the term “postconsumer” refers to used plastics that have served their intended purpose; this includes both plastics used by consumers and commercial plastics used by businesses (also referred to as post- commercial). Commercial materials are usually recovered outside of curbside or drop off collection programs and include items such as totes, pallets, crates, film, and other commercial packaging.This report does not include post-industrial recycling (materials generated in manufacturing and converting processes, such as manufacturing scrap and trimmings/ cuttings). Moore Recycling Associates Inc, Sonoma CA 95476 www.MooreRecycling.com 2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada 2 U.S. companies purchased 51.7 million kilograms of postconsumer plastic from Canada for processing in the U.S. The material purchased by U.S. reclaimers combined with the plastic exported overseas resulted in 85 million kilograms of postconsumer plastic leaving the country an increase of 3% over what was reported in 2010. Overall, 66%—more than 176 million kilograms— of Canadian-sourced recycled plastic, and an additional 75 million kilograms of US sourced plastic, was reclaimed in Canada. This is a voluntary survey, therefore this report represents the minimum known to be recovered for recycling. To obtain the data for this report, Moore Recycling conducted a survey of over 500 companies that are involved in the flow of recycled plastic in North America. These companies are made up of reclaimers, exporters, brokers, Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and other handlers of scrap plastic. One hundred and twenty seven of the companies surveyed are Canadian companies. The significant majority of postconsumer plastic material collected for recycling in Canada is handled by a handful of large reclaimers, the rest by medium to small businesses. Non- PET bottle reclamation data was received from 28 reclaimers: 17 of which are in Canada and 11 in the U.S. Data on all plastic material types was provided by 18 U.S. and Canadian plastic exporters. Moore Recycling received PET bottle and non-bottle reclamation data from the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). Data gathered in the survey is cross checked with data available from Canadian Provinces. We continue our on-going market research and encourage full participation in the survey in order to provide precise findings in future reports. According to feedback provided by Canadian reclaimers the supplies are tight for both bottles, and clean, clear film. Reclaimers also noted the issues of bale contamination and finding reasonable priced feedstock. The export market reported the challenges of strong domestic demand in 2011, and noted it is becoming more difficult to market lower quality material to China. Demand and pricing were generally strong throughout the year, primarily driven by the strong interest in—and support of—sustainability goals in Canada. Rigid (Bottle and Non-Bottle) Plastic Recovered By Resin (kg) PET HDPE PP LDPE PVC PS Other Total 113,648,333 79,325,473 26,244,748 205,322 287,732 1,018,741 10,701,099 231,431,448 This table shows the breakdown of rigid plastic packaging by resin. Resin-specific data for film—which makes up the additional 37.1 million kilograms of postconsumer plastic recovered in Canada in 2011—is not available, but most recovered film is PE (Polyethylene). Moore Recycling Associates Inc, Sonoma CA 95476 www.MooreRecycling.com 2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada 3 The following chart shows the breakdown of material collected by major category. Postconsumer Plastic Recovered in 2011 by Major Category (kg) Foam 752,654 Film 37,101,867 Bottles 179,747,823 Non-Bottle Rigid 50,930,972 The data reported in 2011 represents an increase of 29.3 million kilograms (19%) for bottles, and an increase of 21 million kilograms (70%) for non-bottle rigid plastic. The non-bottle increase is primarily due to more plastic segregated by resin being reported in 2011. The film recycling reported remained about the same with a 1% Year Bottles Non-Bottle Rigid or 272 thousand kilogram increase. The survey 2011 179,747,823 50,930,972 specifically asked for data on foam collected in 2011, thus foam is reported separately from non-bottle rigid 2010 150,439,320 29,912,342 recycling for 2011.2 Bottles Based on the consistency in year-over-year responses, the increase in plastic bottle collection is primarily due to an increase in recovery. There was a 14.7 million kilogram increase in PET Bottle recycling according to the same set of PET bottle reclaimers responding in 2010 and 2011. A few additional exporters reported PET bottle exports in 2011, but the overall total for export was slightly under 2010. The increase for HDPE bottles (12.9 million kilograms) was 2 Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) was reported as non-bottle rigid Polystyrene (PS) prior to 2011. Moore Recycling Associates Inc, Sonoma CA 95476 www.MooreRecycling.com 2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada 4 Year PET Bottles HDPE Bottles reported by the same domestic reclaimers that reported for 2010. The export of HDPE bottles reported 2011 108,547,368 66,527,789 decreased in 2011. Exports of HDPE bottles now only 2010 93,856,842 53,645,714 make up 2% of all HDPE bottles reported. PET bottles are the highest volume plastic collected for recycling. In 2011, PET bottle collection and domestic reclamation capacity were in equilibrium in Canada. The dominant end use for recycled PET bottles continues to be fiber, followed respectively by food & beverage bottles, sheet & film, strapping, and non-food bottles. Engineered resin, and other products make up a small percentage of end uses for recycled PET (RPET). HDPE bottles are the second highest volume of recycled plastic. HDPE bottle capacity3 is estimated at 106 million kilograms for 2011, with an 80% utilization of that capacity. This represents an increase in HDPE bottle capacity of 29 million kilograms over 2010. The primary end use for natural bottles is new bottles, according to the Canadian reclaimers that reported. The primary end use for colored HDPE bottles is pipe. Colored HDPE bottles were also used to manufacture film/sheet, automotive applications, lawn and garden products and, to a lesser extent, lumber/decking. Non-Bottle Rigid Plastic Non-bottle rigid plastic saw a substantial increase in 2011 due to both an increase in recovery year-over-year and to some segregated resin material that was likely recycled but not reported in 2010. That said, the non-bottle rigid recovery represented in this report is conservative. The majority of the curbside non-bottle rigid plastic recovered is captured (although it is possible there is more going to the overseas export market than reported), Year Non-Bottle Rigid but it is quite likely that non-bottle rigid material from commercial recovery is under-represented in this report. The majority of non- 2011 50,930,972 bottle rigid plastic collected for recycling is made up of HDPE and 2010 29,912,342 PP. Half the non-bottle HDPE comes from mixed bales (primarily All Rigid, Pre-picked and Tubs & Lids) and the other half comes from HDPE injection drums, buckets, and crates. Seventy-nine percent of the non-bottle PP comes from segregated resins. The majority of the remaining non-bottle PP comes from the mixed bales mentioned above for HDPE. Many organizations in the U.S. and Canada are working together to help make progress in recycling more PET packaging (including items such as clamshells, deli containers, and cups), and according to NAPCOR, “2011 saw the first significant amount of PET thermoformed packaging moving through the system in both the US and Canada.”4 3 Capacity for processing bottles often overlaps with capacity to process plastic non-bottle rigid plastic and/or film. Thus, adding the bottle, non-bottle rigid and film capacities from this report together could result in double counting some capacity. 4 2011 Report on Post Consumer PET Container Recycling Activity Moore Recycling Associates Inc, Sonoma CA 95476 www.MooreRecycling.com 2011 Postconsumer Plastics Recycling in Canada 5 A very conservative estimate for non-bottle rigid plastic reclamation capacity is 50.4 million kilograms per year.