Extrusion International USA 1-2022

36 Extrusion International 1/2022 RECYCLING – CASE STUDY Mixed Waste Sorting Changing the Game TOMRA and a Norwegian waste sorting plant have demonstrated that mixed waste sorting prior to disposal is a superior solution to separate collection. Since it stopped the separate collection for plastics in its region and unleashed the power of mixed waste sorting, the facility increased recovery rates from 28% to 82% and achieved recycling rates of 56,4%, thus meeting the EU’s 2025 recycling targets ahead of time. Today, IVAR ranks fi rst in processing MSW by volume Situated in Forus, between the cit- ies of Stavanger and Sandnes in the southwest of Norway, IVAR man- ages all residues and waste collec- tion from 10 municipalities with an approximate population of 325.000. With its advanced municipal solid waste sorting plant, it recovers high volumes of recyclable materials be- methods and decided to more close- ly examine the hidden potential of its region’s household waste. With the goal of fi ndingthemost effectiveand environmentally friendly approach to waste management, the compa- ny sought the advice of TOMRA. To identify the opportunities in mixed waste sorting and assess its perfor- mance potential, the plant sentMSW samples from the region to TOMRA’s test facility in Germany. There, these materials underwent extensive tests on the company’s sorting machines. Test analysis showed that, whereas paper recovery from MSW streams performed reasonably well, plastics recovery offered room for improve- ment. Test analysis unveiled that the household waste contained high amounts of plastic recyclables, even though they were meant to be dis- posed of separately. The team con- sidered the analysis as a clear call for concrete, future-oriented action. Embracing new opportunities Based on the analysis and the still un- touched possibilities in MSW sorting, a new business case was developed. fore incineration, reducing CO 2 emis- sions and the global dependency on virgin material by supplying high- quality recycled content for new products and packaging. When local and international recy- cling targets became increasingly stringent, IVAR recognized the need to improve its waste management