• About
• Plastic from households
• Beverage cartons
• Carton packaging
• Plastic from industry
• Green dot members

Plastic from households

Each year we seem to set new records for material recycling of plastic packaging from households, as more local authorities encourage residents to sort their waste. In 2006, for example, 9840 tonnes were recovered as material as against 6520 tonnes in 2005. Increasingly, municipalities are also introducing pick-up schemes. Of the various methods for collecting from households, the use of transparent bags is the most effective, but optical sorting systems in which different types of waste are sorted in plastic bags of different colours, are a promising development.

The most important trends in plastic packaging from the household sector are that an increasing number of municipalities have introduced packaging pick up at the same time as those municipalities with existing packaging pick up have increased their volume. Of the various collecting methods being used today, it is pick up collecting from households with transparent bags that is the most effective. However, it seems optibag systems are advancing. This is a system in which different types of waste are sorted into different coloured plastic bags. A number of the major cities that plan to introduce pick up collection from households seem to go for this option.