Efficient recycling
We are often asked how to handle end-of-life pipes, pipes left on the construction site or pipes that are damaged during the construction phase and therefore have to be discarded. Fortunately, we have good news – when it comes to recycling, PE and PP are excellent materials.
PE and PP belong to the plastics group of polyolefins, which in their pure form can be recycled and converted into new products. The qualities used in pressure pipes, sewage pipes and cable pipes are of high quality and therefore have a variety of potential uses when recycled. Hallingplast has its own recycling facility where we take care of discarded pipes from production and reuse them in new raw materials.
For anyone who uses PE and PP in the market, waste management companies have also started to address this and have developed systems for collecting and receiving end-of-life pipes. There are several companies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland that are active in the washing, recycling and pelletising of materials recycled from PE and PP, which are then sold to manufacturers of various products.
How are PE and PP recycled?
When it comes to consumer plastics, many different plastics are mixed and it can be difficult to separate them to create good, clean products from the recycled material. On the other hand, in the case of pipes and fittings, it is quite easy to separate PE and PP from other plastic materials and recycle them separately.
The first step in the process is to sort, wash and coarsely grind the material. In a coarse mill, the pipes are “chewed” down to small pieces and then transported to a fine mill, which grinds the plastic into finer pieces. These are then run through an extruder that melts the plastic, filters out any impurities and makes new pellets from the material. The result is a material that is recycled, clean, and, not least, has a great social value because it is material that would otherwise have gone to energy recovery.
High-quality recycled PE and PP materials can be reused in a wide range of products and if the process is well controlled, there is no major deterioration in quality.
Recycling of plastic waste
Plastic waste is always generated from production in connection with the commissioning of production lines or pipes that must be scrapped. This waste is recycled to 100% by being cut up and granulated in our facility and then reused in production. We thus avoid transport to recycling facilities abroad with associated pollutants. Other waste is sorted at source and collected by a local waste company, ensuring proper handling and reuse.
New regranulation plant
Developments in recycling are constantly moving forward, and so are we. Right now we are building a completely new, large-capacity recycling facility to recover waste from our own production and receive end-of-life pipe systems from fish farms, among other things. Our goal is to continue to be a leader in recycling.
More plastic needs to be recycled
The recycling rate for metal has been as high as 80 per cent, while for plastic it is only 20 per cent. It goes without saying that everyone has a job to do, although PE and PP for pipes account for a small part of the world’s total plastic consumption. Hallingplast recycles 100 per cent of its own discarded material after significant investments in modern mills and pelletising equipment.
We encourage all customers and other players in the industry to deliver all plastic waste to companies that can reuse it. For information about who you can deliver your plastic waste to, we recommend that you contact your local waste collector or your contact person at Hallingplast.