Umincorp makes plastic food packaging from household waste. ‘The Netherlands is lagging behind’
At plastic processor Umincorp has even recycled the factory building. The machines are located in an existing warehouse near Nieuw-Mathenesse in Rotterdam, on an industrial estate full of artful graffiti. Inside, the 1970s decor has largely been replaced by open spaces and circular furniture. The showpiece of Umincorp’s meeting room is an enormous table, made from waste from the Amsterdam canals.
In the windowsill is a clock with the text ‘no time to lose’. A gift from investors, explains director Jaap Vandehoek. “I took the battery out and stopped the time at 1 to 12.” Vandehoek has been working on closing the plastic cycle for fifteen years. The factory in Rotterdam seals its success. New packaging can be made from garbage bags full of food waste and packaging. “The production of one kilogram of plastic from petroleum produces four kilograms of CO2emissions free. That is 85 percent lower for the production of a kilo from household waste.”
First remove shoes and cuddly toys from the plastic
It goes like this. First, household waste from the four major cities is separated into large plastic bales in the municipal waste companies of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This rough mix, which according to Vandehoek can still contain teddy bears, sports shoes and ‘all kinds of rubbish’, goes to the factory of Plastic Recycling Amsterdam. There the waste is further removed, cleaned and shredded.
A magnetic particle separator then separates the plastic by type. The separator contains a magnetic liquid containing a certain composition. Each plastic type has its own density. The plastic chips pass through the stream and settle at the point of ‘their’ connection. The detailed plastics have a purity of more than 99 percent, according to the company.
Since this week, the last link of the chain has also been ready. At Umincorp, the chips are separated by color, dried, melted, liquid and converted into granules again, which can then be put into a new packaging. This is already happening with fruit salad containers from Albert Heijn, which consist of about 40 percent Umincorps granules.
Nevertheless, the use of recycled plastic is not yet a challenge. “The development of packaging takes six months to 2.5 years,” says Vandehoek. “If a material works in one package, it doesn’t automatically work for another package. The product properties require very close attention. And packaging is made in millions at a time, which is a major risk for measurements.”
Please an opinion
It would help if the government mandated the use of recycled materials, he says. “Now packaging must be made of recyclable material, but not necessarily of recycled material. About 60 percent of plastic waste comes from packaging. It would therefore make much more sense to make reuse mandatory, as in England. If at least 30 percent of a packaging there does not consist of recycled material, we pay more tax.”
By waiting for Brussels for stricter rules according to the Netherlands, according to Vandehoek behind the facts. “The legislation for food packaging is so complex that no one knows whether materials can be recycled at all. Nonsense, because our material is technically food safe. It even scores well on all tests as new plastic.”
It is precisely in the packaging industry that there is more money to be made for Umincorp than for a long period of time. A lot of recycled plastic now ends up in a different sector than where it ‘began’. For example, plastic often ends up in garden chairs, rubbish bins or transport pallets. There it has a lower added value, says the director.
New plastic too cheap
In addition, Umincorp competes on the supply side with primary plastics. “New plastic from petroleum is produced on a large scale in the US and the Middle East. The negative environmental effects of production are not passed on in the price. New plastic is much too cheap.”
Vandehoek points to the clock in the windowsill. “There is no time to lose. The production of new plastics worldwide emits twice as much CO2 than aviation. That must and can really change.”
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