WASTE PLASTICS RECYCLING A GOOD PRACTICES GUIDE

BY AND FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Industrial

FKS INITIATIVE TO RECYCLE PLASTIC PIPES IN THE NETHERLANDS

Since 1991, FKS has organised a national collection scheme for plastic pipes in the
Netherlands. FKS is the association of the Dutch plastic pipes industry. The objective of the
industry was to offer a complete environmental friendly service for pipes users, from the
factory to the grave, through a voluntary commitment.
The targeted audience are professionals using plastic pipes, from major construction and
demolition enterprises to the individual plumber or repair-person.
Collected materials are plastic pipes made of PVC, PE or PP, and only pipes that are clean and
free of chemical contamination will be accepted. The instructions specify materials that are
not accepted (but are commonly found with pipes), such as polyester goods, plastic films,
hose pipes, sand, cables, iron, garden chairs and buckets.
The objective of FKS is to collect 50 per cent of collectable pipes by the year 2005.
There are two collection schemes offered by FKS. For the small quantities, a network of containers is available. The containers are situated in 57 locations across the Netherlands. The
deposition of plastic pipes is free and is open to the general public. For the large quantities
of pipes that are potentially available at major C&D sites, FKS offers a service of container
renting ; used plastic pipes may then be purchased.
FKS undertakes to give a second life to collected pipes, either through recycling or by reusing
them. For PVC pipes, FKS aims to make the most of the recyclable properties of this material. The PVC is recycled into new multi-layer pipes (core of recycled PVC and external layer of
virgin PVC), which are marked with a FKS logo. This FKS logo is a certificate of guarantee
which certifies that the pipes respect the technical European norms and is made with recycled materials.
For PVC pipes, the associated costs of the FKS system are the following:
0.10/kg for collection
0.35/kg for sorting & recycling (in this case, flake production)
0.15/kg for micronisation (reducing flakes into a fine powder)
The costs of the FKS recycling scheme can then be estimated to 0.60/kg. These are the
global costs of the FKS system and they do not make any distinction between commercial
C&D collections (i.e. by container renting) or collection made from the general public (i.e. at
points of sale). Financing for FKS comes exclusively from the payment of the users for its
services.
In the near future, FKS wants to develop a partnership with municipalities for the collection
of these materials and the associated communication of the scheme. One idea is to put a
dedicated FKS container into municipal container parks.

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WASTE PLASTICS RECYCLING A GOOD PRACTICES GUIDE

BY AND FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Commercial
BUREAU ECONOMIQUE DE LA PROVINCE DE NAMUR (BEP) BELGIUM
While there is no legal obligation to collect EPS in Belgium, the BEP offers a fixed service for
its collection. At the beginning 2002, the BEP launched a test for the selective collection of
the EPS in 14 container parks of the region of Namur. In four months, 910 m3 (about 20t)
was collected. With such results, the BEP decided to extend, based on this experience, into
the 31 container parks of the Province. In the container parks, the EPS is collected in large
capacity (about 1m3) transparent bags. These bags are put on a support with a cover and
allows for a visual control of the deposited materials. Only material that is clean (typically
from E&EE packaging) and without labels is accepted; food containers, EPS chips, dirty or
damp EPS and insulations rolls of EPS are not accepted. Collected EPS is mixed with cement
to make acoustic and/or thermal insulation panels

ECOFONE COLLECTION SCHEME LIPOR, PORTUGAL

In the region of Porto (Portugal), the waste agency, LIPOR, has equipped its container parks
with specific containers for plastics. They are particularly sited near to industrial areas, and
so the material that they collect include plastic films, EPS, plastic furniture, pipes, roller
shutters etc. Dependant on the region, LIPOR also receives through its container parks
plastics that surround large capacity wine bottles. LIPOR also organizes a phone (Ecofone)
service for households and the trade and small businesses sector. Most of the material
collected through the Ecofone service is plastic film from the commercial sector.

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