[Where to go to waste plastics] Discarded bottles become expensive and reborn. Taiwan recyclers hope to reuse them locally

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Author: Lao Minyi

2020-06-22 07:30

Plastic recycling is bleak, "Hong Kong Solid Waste Monitoring Report" refers to the local plastic recycling rate in 2018 fell to 7%, a record low in recent years. The report explained that "It takes time for the local recycling industry to change its business model, so the current local recycling capacity cannot absorb more waste plastics."

With the trial of "Central Rubber Collection", recyclers are arranged to enter residential houses to collect "waste rubber" such as plastic containers, plastic bags, plastic tableware, etc. that are often discarded as garbage, and convert it into valuable and marketable recycled raw materials and even products. The "People" spent more than 36 million yuan to set up a plastic bottle processing plant in Tai Po, hoping to recycle 20 metric tons of "No. 1 plastic" (PET plastic bottle) daily, and export it to Taiwan as a food-grade sterile raw material, and finally convert it into a recycled bottle. Cooperate with local beverage manufacturers to implement local waste and local reuse.

The second part of "Where is the waste rubber"

"Where is the waste plastic" series

(1) Insufficient recovery manufacturers imported foreign rubber support operations, the central rubber collection started to hit the reef

(2) Rebirth of discarded bottles and expensive plastics is exported to Taiwan recyclers hope to be reused locally

(3) If the daily processing capacity rises, if the recovery is insufficient, the closed factory landfill will become the only destination

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Plastic waste plastic bottles are exported to Taiwan

Liu Caiji Paper Co., Ltd. was awarded the Shatin District contract with 28.795 million yuan, which is the lowest in the three districts. Before the "winning the bid", it has invested 30 million yuan in joint ventures with local investors to introduce fully automated machines from Taiwan, together with the plant infrastructure, and finally "buried" more than 36 million yuan.

Different from the previous "pulling" of waste plastics, the new plant concentrates on processing local PET bottles, after machine cleaning, sorting and shredding, it can be converted into food grades that have been certified by the US FDA and the food grade certification of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Welfare and Welfare in one hour. Sterile raw materials, one metric ton of film is sold to Taiwan for US$800 (approximately HK$6,200) to be remanufactured into recycled bottles, which is about HK$1,000 higher than the "pulled" export to the mainland.

Liu Yaocheng, president of the Hong Kong Environmental Recycling Waste Recycling Industry Association and chairman of Liu Caiji Paper, said that if plastics are converted into chemical fiber clothing, the competitiveness in the mainland is limited, so they cooperate with Taiwan companies "Far East New Century" and "South Asian Plastics" to export food grade Sterile raw materials, then made into beverage bottles, tableware, etc.

Affected by the epidemic situation, the introduction of fully automated machines from Taiwan was not completed. Liu Yaocheng expected to complete it as soon as the end of this month, and officially start trial production next month. (Photographed by O'Gallery)

[Where is the waste rubber] Insufficient recovery manufacturers import foreign rubber support operations

[Where is the waste rubber] If the daily processing volume rises, if the recovery is insufficient, the closed factory landfill will become the only destination

Local beverage vendors: open to cooperation

Looking back at Hong Kong, Vita and Watsons distilled water bottles have been converted to 100% recycled materials (rPET). If there is a chance to cooperate in the future, Liu Yaocheng believes that the Taiwan plant can fully absorb the recycled raw materials, and the export price may increase by another 10% to 20%. , Is undoubtedly a strong needle. Other plastics are sent to his recycling facility in Sheung Shui to "pull the grains" into raw materials, most of which are imported into the Mainland, and some are made into new plastic bags through another newly established production line for future recycling and reuse.

Watsons replied that he was very happy with Liu Caiji's plan. At this stage, he is actively communicating with Liu Caiji and its partners on the relevant proposals and discussing the possibility of cooperation, hoping to implement the relevant plans as soon as possible and make them public. Vitasoy International Group also expressed an open attitude and will discuss with the material suppliers, environmental groups and local plastic bottle recyclers to minimize the environmental impact of packaging materials.

Locally recovered plastic bottles can be converted into certified food-grade aseptic raw materials within one hour by machine, and then shipped to Taiwan to be re-created as recycled bottles. (Photographed by O'Gallery)

Beverage bottles variable industrial packaging tape

In addition to "pulling", some recyclers process the more vulnerable waste plastic bottles into tough industrial supplies for export. Hankang Renewable Resources Co., Ltd. spent about 90 million yuan three years ago to build a waste rubber recycling plant. It mainly deals with No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 household waste rubber. The more than 100,000 square feet of factories are packed with plastic that is compressed and bundled into squares.

Beverage plastic bottles that people often come into contact with are No. 1 plastics. The company applied for a 2 million yuan recycling fund to purchase two PET drawing lines to turn the plastic bottles into recycled plastic strapping belts for binding heavy objects such as bricks. Guo Zhiyuan, marketing director, said that the price of rubber compounds was reduced in the epidemic situation, and the recycler was in a difficult period. In the past, the price of one metric ton of packaging tape reached HK$9,000, but it has now dropped to HK$6,7,000. However, fortunately, the mainland still has demand for packaging tape. About 450 metric tons of packing tape and rubber pellets are sold to the mainland each month.

▼Hankang recycling process▼

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