Re:Plastic Mechanical Engineering 589: Sustainable Design of Technology Systems Instructor: Steven Skerlos December 16, 2013 Final Design Review Team 2 Marianna Kerppola Mid-Hat Abdulrehman Monya Bransky Nicholas Putnam Samuel Ayinde 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We conducted an extensive research study to understand the supply chain and end of life for plastic films, including manufacturing, use, and recycling. We discovered that plastic is the least recovered material by percentage weight of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated. In particular, plastic films are not recycled as efficiently as high density plastics because films cannot be easily remanufactured into new products, and films are often contaminated by the goods being packaged (e.g., foods). Forty-five percent of LDPE plastic is used as packaging (GreenBlue, 2009). These films are used in food packaging, newspaper bags, diapers, packaging for consumer goods, industrial shipping packaging, heat seal packaging applications, and so on. LDPE can be recycled into a handful of second-life materials, one of the most common being composite lumber. Plastic film is shredded, ground up and mixed with additives, such as rubber substitute, to create the composite lumber. Unfortunately, composite lumber is very energy intensive to produce and requires 4,200 ton-miles of transportation for the life cycle of 1 Mbf. Re:Plastic is a community-based plastic film recycling business. Rather than shipping plastic film to composite lumber manufacturing facilities, Re:Plastic has developed a machine that heats and moulds plastic film into an unpcycled stock material for manufacturing consumer products. Our goal is to inspire people to view plastic film as a valuable resource, rather than waste. Re:Plastic will design and sell affordable furniture and home goods to environmentally conscientious consumers. Specifically, we would target our products to millennials, individuals born between 1981 and 2000, who exhibit a strong propensity to buy products based on their social and environmental impact. Re:Plastic is a significant environmental and social improvement compared to landfilling or recycling into composite lumber. Landfilling results in chemicals leaching into groundwater, while composite lumber generates significant CO emissions through 2 transportation and manufacturing. Re:Plastic would avoid all of these environmental and social damages. Re:Plastic may release some emissions during the plastic melting process, yet we will limit these emissions by heating the plastic to only 200oC. To finalize our project, we will need to further explore the technical specifications of the Re:Plastic stock material to ensure a quality product can be repeatedly created in the machine. Similarly, we will need to perform additional market research to determine the financial viability of the Re:Plastic business idea. 2 Table of Contents Introduction p. 4 Description of Baseline Product p. 4 Plastic Waste Overview p. 4 Uses of LDPE Plastic Packaging p. 5 Recyclability of LDPE Plastic Packaging p. 5 Replacements for LDPE Plastic Packaging p. 7 Design Ethnography p. 8 Description of Persona p. 10 Project Requirements and Engineering Specifications p. 11 Sustainability Evaluation p. 14 Use Context p. 14 Overview of Environmental Impacts p. 15 Environmental Profile and Root Causes p. 15 Stakeholder Network (please reference diagram on page 12) p. 15 Quantified sustainability evaluation of baseline p. 15 Concept Generation p. 18 Concept Selection p. 20 Alpha Design p. 21 Feedback on Alpha Design p. 24 Final Concept Description p. 24 Business Plan p. 25 Company Description p. 25 Market Analysis p. 25 Product Description p. 27 Marketing and Sales Strategy p. 28 Financial Projections p. 30 Additional Reflections on Project Outcome p. 30 Justifications for Sustainable Design p. 30 Design Critique p. 31 Recommendations p. 31 Acknowledgements p. 31 References p. 32 3 Introduction Re:Plastic stemmed from the desire to reduce environmental damages from plastic films. Plastic films pose significant environmental costs, including littering land and waterways, occupying landfill space, and emitting greenhouse gases through incineration. By weight, LDPE plastic packaging represents 61% of plastic bags, sacks, wraps and other films generated in municipal solid waste, yet only 15.7% of LDPE plastic film packaging is currently recovered (EPA, 2011). This year, plastic recycling has been further compromised as a result of China’s Operation Green Fence, whereby China will no longer accept “poorly sorted or dirty shipments of recyclable waste from foreign exporters” (Earley, 2013). Because plastic recycling infrastructure is limited in the US, more plastics may end up in landfills and waterways. Our goal for this project is to transform LDPE plastic film from waste to a valuable product for society. Description of Baseline Product Plastic Waste Overview Municipal solid waste (MSW) is defined by the EPA as the waste that ends up in landfills from consumer use. This waste excludes, but is not limited in exclusion of, construction waste, wastewater treatment sludge, and non-hazardous industrial waste from manufacturing. Plastic composes 12.7% of MSW generated, yet only 8.3% was recovered for recycling. As such, plastics are the least recovered materials by weight of all of the MSW in the pie chart to the right, provided by the EPA MSW 2011 Facts and Figures (EPA, 2011). According to a study conducted in the School of Process Engineering at UCL in London, packaging generates 35% of all plastic solid waste worldwide (Al-Salem, 2009). In the US, LDPE composes 4.3% of packaging by weight (GreenBlue, 2009). Recycling high density plastics is becoming more common and varied. Sorting waste is the biggest challenge in recycling plastics. Current plastic separation techniques include: mechanical sorting, triboelectric separation, and speed acceleration techniques. These methods utilize size and density, static charge, and infrared wavelength to classify and sort PSW. While these methods are not widespread yet, high density plastic recycling is growing because of the high manufacturing cost of these plastics. LDPE plastics, on the other hand, are cheaper and easier to manufacture, but have a much lower recyclability. LDPE films can be collected and mixed (<50% LDPE) with virgin additives and rubbers, and then extruded for use as a recycled plastic (Kowalska, 2002). While this is a viable option to recycle thin LDPE films and thin plastics, it requires virgin chemicals and rubbers and generates carbon emissions during manufacturing and 4 transportation processes. Below is a material flow diagram for LDPE plastics from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. As illustrated, approximately two-thirds of LDPE plastic is transformed into films. Additionally, there is a long list of contaminants that would impede recyclability. Finally, the diagram effectively illustrates the minimal LDPE end-of-life reprocessing options. LDPE Material Flow (GreenBlue, 2009) Uses of LDPE Plastic Packaging LDPE is a preferred form of packaging because of its strength compared to its small mass and its lost cost. An LDPE grocery bag can hold up to 2000 times its own weight. When purchased in bulk, LDPE packaging film costs between $2.00 and $8.00 per kilogram, depending on the grade and the supplier. With an average LDPE package weight of 4g, that is 250 packages per kg and 0.8 to 3.2 cents per package (Alibaba, 2013). Companies that package their goods in LDPE film purchase it from separate manufacturers, then package the products at their own company. Recyclability of LDPE Plastic Packaging Some regions have infrastructure to collect plastic films for recycling. For example, California has mandated all supermarkets to have an ‘at-store recycle program’ for plastic bags (CalRecycle, 2013). The state also mandates the stores to track and follow up on the collection and transportation. California has also required plastic manufacturers to provide 5 educational materials for consumers on plastic bag recycling. Most plastic bags are sent to recycling companies to create composite lumber. Composite lumber is a mixture of plastic resin and wood fiber with some additives such as wax fiberglass and preservatives (Chenu, 2006). Fossil fuels are involved in the transportation of these LDPE products to the recycling centers where they get turned into lumber. The production of plastic-wood composite is among the most dynamic industries in the recycling sector (K-Tron, 2013). Shown below are two diagrams obtained from K-Tron that shows the basic steps involved in the processing. In the above diagrams, wood is used to represent any material that could be used. For our case, wood could be replaced with LDPE plastics. Plastic/wood gets fed on the left, and additives are added in the barrel. Continuous mixing of dried plastic/wood with additives with high-speed compounding feeds a gear pump to produce the profile. Composite wood can then be used to create decks, park benches, playgrounds, etc. In particular, composite wood is a nice replacement for traditional lumber because it does not rot or degrade when exposed to most weather conditions. While recycling for LDPE plastic packaging is available, consumers are not fully utilizing these options. Moore Recycling Associates found that 72% to 74% Americans have access to plastic film recycling via curbside collection or a drop-off facility within 10 miles of their home (Moore Recycling Associates, 2012). However, these recycling options appear to be minimally utilized. According to the EPA, only 15.7% of consumer generated LDPE and LLDPE plastic film packaging waste is recovered (EPA, 2011), even though it appears that a greater portion of the population has access to recycling. There are two hurdles for recovery of LDPE plastic packaging: 1. Consumers need to drop-off LDPE plastic packaging to a material recovery facility (usually a local grocery store). In 2008, only 4% of recovered plastic bags and films were generated through curbside recycling programs (Moore Recycling Associates, 2010) 2. Grocery store managers may not be aware of the store’s material recovery program, thereby providing misinformation to consumers (Moore Recycling Associates, 2012). 6 Replacements for LDPE Plastic Packaging Because LDPE plastic packaging cannot degrade in a landfill, some companies are replacing LDPE plastic packaging with a recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable alternatives. For example, Nestlé Prepared Foods Co.’s Stouffer’s brand adopted paperboard trays for its family and large-family sizes of multi-serve frozen meals, replacing plastic trays (Mininni, 2010). However, paper packaging may not be a solution for all products. Paper products, such as paper towels, toilet paper and/or diapers, cannot get wet before they reach the consumer, in which case, paper packaging may not provide the appropriate level of protection for the product. Much research has been dedicated towards the development of biodegradable plastics. PLAs, PHAs and cellophane are the most likely alternatives for LDPE plastic packaging. Below is a table comparing the alternative bioplastics. Criteria PLAs PHAs Cellophane Global production capacity 62% 4% 6% (European Bioplastics) Key ingredients Renewable starch Synthetic product Typically made from sources, such as corn produced by cotton pulp or sugarcane different types of (Wikipedia) bacteria (Flint, 2013) (Rahmat, 2012) Manufacturing Emits few TBD TBD considerations? greenhouse gases (Rahmat, 2012) Can be turned into film? Yes (Rahmat, 2012) Yes Yes Biodegradability on land Only in a controlled Degrade in aerobic 80% biodegradable in compost facility and anaerobic landfill conditions (Royte, 2006) conditions (Flint, (Shin, 1997) 2013) Biodegradability in oceans Submerged in Completely degraded Submerged in seawater for 26 within 5 weeks seawater for 26 weeks, lost only 1% of (Winter, 2012) weeks, lost 20% of its its mass (Winter, mass (Winter, 2012) 2012) Heat resistance Up to 180oC (Plastics Up to 150oC (Winter, Up to 190oC News, 2013) 2012) (Wikipedia) 7 Price $1.90/kg (Rahmat, $1.00 - $1.25/kg $5.00/kg (Rahmat, 2012) (Winter, 2012) 2012) Though some companies are transitioning towards bioplastic alternatives, LDPE plastics remain the the market standard for packaging, suggesting that in the short term, recycling options for LDPE plastic will reduce packaging from landfills and waterways. Design Ethnography Prior to conducting interviews and research, we developed a design ethnography plan. First, we outlined the guiding questions, to ensure that the interviews lead to new and useful information about plastic films. Following this, we defined who to interview for this project, including the users or clients of the Re:Plastic product and service, stakeholders for plastic films, and experts about plastic. Next, we compiled a literature review of preexisting knowledge about plastic films. After these steps were completed, we formed data collection methods. We considered what type of information could be obtained from each "who" via interviews and observations. Then we determined the best information gathering technique for each individual "who" in our plan. Finally, we developed our the data collection structures. For observations, we decided where and when the observations would happen. To prepare for interviews, we created semi-structured interview outlines. Once all of the aforementioned steps were complete, we commenced our design ethnography. When we started our project, we did not have a preconceived idea for how to reduce plastic packaging from landfills and waterways. In our initial design ethnography, we wanted to understand the following areas: ● In households, how are decisions about waste management made and maintained? What do consumers find easy/difficult about waste management? How do individuals learn about waste management options in their community? ● How do businesses decide to package their products -- specifically ones that use LDPE plastic film? Who in the organization makes these decisions? How do they source their suppliers? ● How do recycling facilities manage/recover LDPE plastics? How do they interface with drop-off stations? How do recycling facilities find buyers for recycled materials? First, we conducted an observation to determine how prevalent plastic film was in grocery store products. We found that over 30 different product categories used plastic films. We also observed the contents of recycling bins to gain insight into the recycling habits of Ann Arbor community members. We found that recycling bins predominantly contained paper/cardboard products and generally no LDPE, which cannot be handled by the recycling stream in Michigan. Next, we considered whether we could eliminate LDPE at the source by developing a sustainable packaging alternative for food products. We interviewed the packaging purchaser at Eden Foods. We learned that Eden Foods is already considering transitioning to a biodegradable packaging option (e.g., wood fiber based material or PLA). We also learned that manufacturing lines could easily adopt biodegradable packaging materials, but a major hurdle is testing whether product would contaminate/interact with foods inside packaging. Based on this ethnographic research, we 8 determined that developing an alternative to LDPE packaging was outside of the realm of our abilities within this semester, so we decided to focus on a second life use for plastic films. We performed a secondary literature review for current reuse and recycling options for plastic films. We learned that composite plastic lumber is currently the most common second life for plastic films. Concurrently, we started to test whether LDPE could be melted and pressed into a reusable product. We discovered that we could create a stock material comparable to composite plastic lumber or wood by melting and pressing plastic films. At this point, we conducted further design ethnography to understand: ● Who would be interested in using stock re:Plastic? What potential uses most interest consumers? ● What steps would be necessary in order to secure an abundant supply of the raw material used in manufacturing re:Plastic, LDPE films? ● How do recycling facilities manage/recover LDPE plastics? How do they interface with drop-off stations? How do recycling facilities find buyers for recycled materials? ● How would we obtain a specialized machine for making re:Plastic and what would the cost be? Below is a list of the interviews/surveys that we conducted. Users ● Homeowners/Renters, college age through age 80 interested in upcycled products ○ Key findings ■ The majority of people, regardless of age, were interested in Re:Plastic furniture. ■ Most adults who had lived in the same spot for several years or more did not need any more furniture for their home. ■ College students frequently stated having an immediate need for furniture. ■ Most students reported that their dorm or rental was missing at least one useful piece of furniture, such as a bookshelf or dining table. ■ Students reported that their ideal furniture would be durable, but also lightweight for ease of transportation. ■ Most students would be willing to pay no more than lower end of what is currently on the market. ● Student engineering design teams ○ Key findings ■ All teams were drawn to the idea of using a recycled, environmentally friendly material. ■ Most teams said that stock Re:Plastic would be especially useful if it could be loaded into a 3D printer. Re:Plastic is not suitable for this use, however. ■ Some teams hoped that they could machine Re:Plastic (using the mill or lathe), but Re:Plastic is not suitable for this use either. ● Chris Gordon, Director of Wilson Student Project Center ○ Key findings 9 ■ The University is currently interested in using material such as (current material) wax to reduce tool wear ■ Pressed plastic could eliminate waste in the lab and be repressed into a material for use again on site ■ The center would benefit greatly from plastic modeling Stakeholders ● Store Managers with Bag Collection Programs ○ Key finding- Kohls Department Store (Haggerty Road, Northville, MI) ■ Store manager was interviewed regarding the Kohls Cares sustainability program ■ Discovered that the financial return for collecting plastic bags is not great and does not support the recycling program, finances come from other areas of company. ■ Willing to donate bags to community based projects for Re:Plastic or sell bulk material to Re:Plastic. ■ Interested in the community educational value of Re: Plastic and willing to work to promote the recycling of films. ● Plastic Film Recycling Facilities ○ Key findings- Bryan Plastics (Bryan, Ohio) ■ Films are not always collected, only a few times a year because the demand for the collected films is so low that they keep a very low inventory and only begin to collect again as orders are placed. ■ Films sold for composite lumbers to Trex indirect suppliers. ○ Key Findings- NPR Recycling (Romulus, MI) ■ #4 LDPE films collected but only ‘processed’ at their facility. (Films are balied into large blocks and tied off) ■ Sold to next level recycler to be shredded and turned into LDPE pellets. ■ Films often sorted out of the recycling with other debris such as organic material that will be landfilled. Material is rarely ordered by next level recycling companies. Experts: ● Machine tool companies ○ Key findings ■ Eight Michigan based specialty machine tool companies were contacted to get a rough estimate for the cost of building the Re:Plastic machine. ■ Seven of the eight companies were not willing to take the time to give us an estimate, since we were not ready to immediately purchase the machine and have it made. ■ Bernal, the one company that was willing to work with us, put us in contact with their Senior Applications Engineer, Dave Radlick. ■ Radlick was not able to give us a cost estimate, because the machine design is currently a very broad description. Description of Persona Marie Turner is starting her sophomore year at University of Michigan, where she is 10