BENCHMARK ANALYSIS FOR PLASTIC RECYCLATES IN AUSTRIAN WASTE MANAGEMENT

Plastic recyclates are granulates which are produced by the processing of plastic wastes. The circular economy package of the EU, especially the amendment of the Waste Framework Directive, sets a new goal for the use of different types of these recyclates. Corresponding primary raw materials can assure reliable qualities with respect to stable physical and chemical properties. Besides, the production of recyclates is often even more expensive than the production of primary raw material granulates. Several quality assurance measures are carried out along the value chain from plastic waste to final plastic products. Recyclates are evidently priced based on the price of primary raw material granulate. Pricing also correlates with different quality parameters, however, such as degree of mixing, degree of degradation and presence of impurities. This paper examines the correlation between different quality features and how they affect the pricing policy for recyclates. Experts and Stakeholders along the value chain of plastic recycling in Austria and Germany have been interviewed about the most important quality assurance parameters and how they (would) affect prices of recyclates. Therefore, quality parameters for the sorted plastic waste as an input for plastic waste recycling companies and manufactured recyclates are included in this paper. Experts from the plastic waste recycling industry confirmed that there is a profound correlation between price and quality that is presented and discussed in the paper: The higher the quality of the recyclates, the lower the level of impurities and the purer the recyclates, the higher the price.