Recovery of marine litter

Depending on where it is collected, this waste is also very heterogeneous and its quantity can be overwhelming.

Waste from seas and oceans is a challenge when it comes to recovery for a number of reasons:

1. It is in a very high state of degradation due to the adverse climatic conditions it is subject to, e.g. high salinity, solar radiation and extreme temperatures. This makes it difficult to obtain quality recycled material using traditional processes.
2. The mix of materials involved.
3. The need for identification at source at plants of the different waste streams received. There is also a need for innovation in separation processes, equipment or a combination of the two.
4. The heterogeneity of marine litter, which includes containers of all kinds from a wide range of sources, household appliances and all kinds of lost fishing gear.

Solutions

At AIMPLAS, we have extensive experience in this area, which involves searching for solutions throughout the marine litter value chain. We can therefore offer advice on this waste stream in terms of the following points:

1. Related legislation and trends in Spain and Europe.
2. Targeted collection logistics depending on the source of marine litter.
3. Improved separation treatment in sorting and recycling plants.
4. Manufacture of final products and added value for market introduction.
5. Characterization by waste type.

Pilot plant testing to study and verify the best way to recover this waste:

1. Conditioning any morphology of plastic waste (shredders, cutters and shredding mills).
2. Sorting technologies that enable us to take advantage of the characteristics and properties of waste (e.g. near infrared (NIR) separation, sorting by density in aqueous solutions, air flow and electrostatic properties).
3. Increased properties through additivation.

Adding recycled material from other waste streams to achieve a final product that is 100% recycled.