A Dynamic Model for the Assessment of Plastics Waste Disposal Options

Abstract

Commissioned by the Swiss Foundation for the Reintegration of Plastic Materials (SSK), a numerical expert model has been developed, which allows to assess plastics waste management strategies by dynamic simulation of time-periods up to 15 years. The tool was conceived to answer questions of the type: What will happen, if up to 200'000 tons of plastics waste per year are taken out of the waste stream, which is incinerated in Swiss Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) plants, and fed into thermal recovery or mechanical recyling? Simulations on a regional scale indicate that - under specified conditions — such a diversion of industry plastics waste from the waste stream into MSWI plants makes sense from an ecological as well as from an economic perspective. In view of the increasing amounts of waste and the high costs for additional MSWI plants i t hence seems appropriate to intensify the discussion about industry plastics waste disposal options in Switzerland.