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Recycling of Polymers

This Recycling of Polymers programme is delivered over 4 online morning sessions

Outside of the plastics industry, recycling of these materials is not understood. This course sets out to explain and identify what the EU requirements are for recycling, what polymers are effectively recycled, how they are used, identified, sorted, washed and reclaimed into re-useable materials. The course further explains how these materials are modified by the use of additives, gives examples of end use applications and how to design new plastic products from an ethical point of view, eg, selecting plastics with low carbon footprints, designing components which use less energy to process and convert into products, good and poor ethical design practices when designing with these materials are explained. The course introduces an ethical Design For Manufacture concept for plastic components. Design for Recycling, inc, Theory explained, carbon reducing design practice explained. Examples include redesigning an existing product to reduce carbon foot print.

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No. of attendees

Recycling of Polymers

  • No dates

Who is the course for

  • Designers involved in Plastic Part Design
  • People who wish to learn about the plastic recycling industry
  • Those working in the Recycling Industry
  • People making ethical choices about the use of plastics, etc.

Learning outcomes

  • Upon Completion of this Course, a person will be able to:
  • Understand which plastics are effectively recycled and which are not.
  •  Understand the EU Recycling Directives governing the use and application of these materials.
  • Understand how plastics are identified in a waste stream.
  • Understand how sorted waste plastics are converted back into useable materials.
  • Make ethical decisions when selecting plastics for use applications.
  • Use an ethical Design For Manufacture approach to designing new plastic products in the future.

Course Content

  • EU Recycling Laws, Statistics and Directives, inc, Life Cycle directive, WEEE directive, ELV directive. Polymer recycling statistics and targets for EU member states, etc.
  • Overview of polymers currently recycled, inc: Recycle polymer ID numbers, polymer types, nature, properties, costs, recycled values, typical use applications and environmental issues. Inc, Polyolefines PP, HDPE, LDPE films, etc.
  • Overview of polymers continued, inc, Styrenics (PS, HIPS, SAN, ABS), Acrylics, Polycarbonates, PET and PVC – nature, properties, costs, recycled values, use applications and environmental issues covered.
  • The recycling process, typical cycle explained, washing and sorting techniques, inc: Macro-sorting, Near IR spectroscopy, X-ray sorting, Laser aided techniques, marker systems – explained.
  • Washing and granulation, Sink / Float sorting, selective dissolution methods explained.  Recycling methods explained, inc, PET bottles to granules, LDPE film to granules, Acrylic dissolution and reconstitution via REX extrusion, etc.
  • Re-constituted material testing and characterisation, inc, test methods undertaken, spectroscopic appraisal, MFI testing, tensile strength
  • Additive / recycled material property enhancement, inc, co-polymers, blends, thermal stabilizers, UV stabilizers, impact modifiers, fillers, blowing agents, colourants and reinforcing systems explained.
  • End use markets for recycled polymers, use examples inc: Poly wood, clothing fibres, building products, laminates, etc. Explanation of how the recycled polymer is used.