Energy recovery from plastics waste

Current projections suggest that by 2006, annual consumption of plastics in Western Europe will have grown from the 1997 value of 28 Mt to 36.9 Mt, of which 69% will be recovered for recycling. The 28 Mt of plastic produced in 1997 led to 17.45 Mt of post-use waste. Only 25% of this was recovered, of which the greater part, 2.575 Mt, went to energy recovery. This pattern seems set to continue, so energy recovery must be considered as a major route to obtaining maximum value from plastics waste. In this paper, the opportunities for using plastic waste as a substitute fuel in power plant, blast furnaces and cement kilns is examined. The advantages in terms of emissions are presented, and the barriers to extending the use of plastic waste in these industries is discussed.