PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 05/23 www.petpla.net 41 TRADE SHOW REVIEW Helen McGeough, Senior Analyst, Plastic Recycling at Icis addressed current and future economics of recyclate, mechanical and chemical recycling in her presentation “RPET Europe: Outlook for supply and demand”. She explained: “Energy and employment costs, as well as the cost of living, are causing a perfect storm on the overall cost situation. At the same time, the demand for rPET is high with comparatively below-average availability. As long as a balanced supply is not guaranteed, the situation will continue.” And the situation in the recycling industry remains difficult. Although market prices in Europe for PET and rPET have fallen slightly in 2023 compared to the beginning of 2022, they are still at a high level overall. While the price difference between food-grade virgin PET pellets and rPET pellets was still marginal in Europe at the beginning of 2018 and rPET was even cheaper for a short time, the current vPET price is now back at a similar level as at the beginning of 2018 (around US$1,200/t) after a price peak in 2022. At the same time, after an increase peak of around 100% in 2022 (approx. US$2,700/t), the rPET price would currently be around 60% above the level experienced at the beginning of 2018 (US$1,360/t versus just under US$2,200/t) and is thus almost twice as expensive as virgin material. According to Icis, the key factors for the high demand for recycled material are, primarily, mandatory minimum quantities in new packaging, as well as sustainability efforts by brand owners, industry and consumers. Other demand drivers are the generally growing demand for polymers in principle. Icis estimates that global consumption of polyester polymers will increase from around 100 million tonnes in 2021 to 140 million tonnes by 2040. With the revision of the EU legislation of November 30, 2022, on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Framework regulation (PPWR), adjusted targets were set until 2040. According to this, single-use plastic bottles and packaging should contain 65% recycled material and packaging for sensitive foods other than single-use bottles 50%. Ms McGeough gave an overview of how recyclers are dealing with the situation globally and which factors are decisive. Despite the current dominance of mechanical recycling systems, particularly in Europe, North America and China/Southeast Asia, continued technological developments in both areas will have a major impact on supply in the future. She explained “Crucial to all recyclers is the input material, its availability and its cost.” Due to the different processing and subsequent applications of the recycled plastics, chemical recyclers would seek to avoid competition with waste sources from mechanical recyclers, allowing the systems to co-exist well. The current capacity of chemical recycling in Europe processes 61% of the annual waste input of 120,000 t by pyrolytic decomposition, according to Icis. The total feedstock for all chemical recycling processes consists of 56% mixed plastics, 10% PET, 8% mixed waste including nonplastics and 26% materials such as PA, PMMA or PU. A comparison of the collection of mixed waste and sorted waste from 2020 showed a recycling rate of 5% for mixed waste, 57% for energy recovery and a landfill disposal rate of 38%. For separated waste, the recycling rate was 65%, 27% went to energy recovery and only 8% ended up in landfill. Ms McGeough summed up: “Chemical recycling will continue because open loop recycling is still better than not recycling plastics at all.” Industry Analyst Jimmy Zhang, responsible for PET & Styrenics industry chain, in his presentation “New market dynamics in Asia - polyester feedstock market” addressed Asia’s price developments of and global influences on paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and gave a general outlook on polyester trends and imports and exports. While margins for PX increased between January 2022 and 2023 as prices rose in the second quarter of 2022, helped by increased demand for gasoline in the US resulting from shortages caused by the Ukraine war, PTA producers cut production volumes due to shrinking margins, Mr Zhang said. And according to the analyst, the situation could be similar compared to 2022. The expansion of PX production capacity this year, which was in the final stages, would mitigate a shortage in the second quarter, he predicted. On the PTA side, too, capacity would nevertheless be expanded by PET producYOU CAN HAVE FROM THE SAME RESOURCE ACME DRINKTEC SOLUTIONS LLP Enhanced Cavitation Superior Tool Steel IN-House Testing Balanced HR System Faster Mold Delivery Prompt Tech Support Proven 500+ ISBM Molds Globally CREATING MOLDS WITH A DIFFERENCE +91-9810418975 +91-9819020785 +91-9810631426 [email protected] www.acmedrinktec.com #Molds@70DPH
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