I studied chemistry at university and then went on to become a lecturer in TAFE. The plastic polyethylene (poly) is made by joining together small molecules of ethylene to form long-chain molecules of polyethylene in a process call 'polymerization' . These long chains give polyethylene its plastic properties and enable it to be moulded into various shapes ('plastic' simply means 'able to be moulded'). These long-chain molecules hold the plastic together. On exposure to sunlight however these chains are ruptured by ultraviolet light into smaller chains. Eventually all the chains are ruptured to the point where the plastic becomes brittle, loses all its properties and it simply 'collapses'. Why? Because the long polymer chains which originally held it all together no longer exist. It is no longer a 'plastic' and therefore cannot be remoulded. The 'plastic' is said to be 'spent' and no technology exists for reversing this chemical breakdown to produce useable plastic again.
To me, spent poly tanks therefore cannot be recycled by remoulding again. The industry currently recycles 'clean' plastic such as factory scraps, seconds etc. and to me are trying to lump spent plastic into the same category. From what I can gather no-one seems to have done any research into recycling this plastic or even given it much thought. This issue needs to be addressed immediately. Further down the track millions of tanks are going to need to be disposed of. If the industry doesn't sort this out quickly we could be heading for a major environmental problem.
What is more worrying is that a concerned member of the public who wants to do the right thing by the environment is being reassured by the industry that his poly tank will be recycled. It seems I am being misled to make me feel environmentally comfortable about buying a poly tank.
This is the story from the 9 July when I first began my enquiries until the end of July. From the beginning of August I have put further 'conversations' into separate posts for each individual. This will be ongoing until and the true situation regarding recycling spent poly tanks is brought out into the open for public discussion and debate.
Leisa Donlan is CEO of ARMA, the Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia , a thriving and powerful $500 million associated industry which began in Queensland 18 years ago. This is where tanks are failing and just lying around waiting to be disposed of.
PREAMBLE 5 August
The Australian plastic poly rainwater tank industry began in Queensland 18 years ago. Little thought has been given to how they are going to be recycled when “spent’, ie when UV has completely degraded them to the point they can no longer be repaired and have to be disposed of. The industry was counting on 30 years expected life so why even think about recycling yet?. They are discovering the Australian sun is harsher than expected and tanks are already beginning to fail, many welll before their warranty expires. This has created a problem which they are reluctant to acknowledge and address.
My experiments with developing a more environment-friendly, longer lasting and cheaper alternative to the poly tank led me to research poly tanks and told me things are not quite as rosy as one might think.
The following ongoing ‘storyboard’ follows progress of how I fared in my investigations into what is being done about recycling spent poly tanks in Australia.
I am no journalist who would know the best place to go asking questions and be more efficient. I’m just an ordinary person trying to find some answers.
July’s storyboard follows emails back and forth between various people. I’ll keep you up to date as things happen. I don’t know where it will lead or if it’ll even get off the ground but I say “if you never try you’ll never know”. It will be interesting to see how things evolve.
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The story starts here on the 9 July 2008
The polytank industry is telling the Australian public that poly rainwater tanks can be recycled but is not telling them that this does not include spent tanks ie. ones which have been completely degraded by UV to the point where they can no longer be repaired and need to be disposed of. I think the real truth is they can't (at least not yet) and I‘m challenging them to come up with the evidence. To my knowledge there is no technology available to reverse the degradation process and reconstitute useable plastic. Essentially the polytank industry will not acknowledge that tanks are already failing, many well before their warranty even expires. Why discuss recycling if there’s no problem? I think there is a big problem but the industry don’t want to acknowledge it.
The issue of recycling spent tanks needs to be addressed without delay otherwise we are heading for a major environmental problem further down the track when millions of spent tanks will need to be disposed of.
Where does this leave us? In a current situation where the public are being misled into thinking spent tanks can be recycled and are doing the right thing by the environment in buying a poly tank. Is it simply a marketing tool to take advantage of the current water crisis and the honest desire of individuals to care for the environment?
I have been trying to ask questions of the manufacturers but get no replies to my emails. I have also been asking questions of Leisa Donlan CEO of ARMA, Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia but the answers have been evasive.( www.watertanks.org.au.)
What follows is a diary of events as they are happen.
I am rather inexperienced with computers, emails, blogs etc at the moment but am learning fast and making improvements as I go. If you have any suggestions for making things easier for us all please let me know. I am working towards putting a website together. You will then be able to post comments as we go.
Don Matthews
31 July 2008
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9 July – 31 July
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Look at the Water Tank Group website http://www.watertanks.org.au/. This is the official website of ARMA, the association of rotational moulders who make poly tanks
Can poly tanks be recycled?
Yes, they can be completely recycled.
Polyethylene is already regularly recycled and used again in different products. The poly tank industry has shown a
real concern for our environmental future by working with Auckland University on finding new ways to make it easy
for tank owners to recycle their own tanks at the end of their product life.
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To ldonlan@rotationalmoulding.com
Jul 9, 2008 11:36 AM
Recycling spent poly tanks
gmail.com
I am doing some research on recycling of spent poly tanks and was wondering if you could direct me to the source of your website statement "yes they can be completely recycled"
Thanks
Don Matthews
------------------------------------------------
from Leisa Donlan
to Don Matthews
date Jul 9, 2008 12:16 PM
subject RE: Recycling spent poly tanks
Dear Don
Thanks for your email. Could you please give me some more details on where you are from and what the research entails. I'd be happy to provide more information when I understand a little more about your project.
Best regards
Leisa Donlan, FSAE
Chief Executive Officer
Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia Inc
1st Floor, 40 Ipswich City Mall, Ipswich Qld 4305
PO Box 826, Ipswich Qld 4305
Australia
Ph: +61 (0)7 3812 1450
Fx: +61 (0)7 3009 0600
Web: www.rotationalmoulding.com
ARMA is a proud member of the Alliance of Rotational Moulding Organisations
-------------------------------------------------
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for your reply.
I am just an ordinary person looking into the recycling of spent poly tanks for my own private interest. I'm a little confused as I have heard from another source that spent poly tanks are not able to be recycled at present. As you say 'yes, they can be completely recycled' I thought you might be able to shed some light on this.
Thanks
Don Matthews
----------------------------------------------------
Hi Don
No problems. Poly tanks can be completely recycled. There is usually some confusion around recycling tanks because they cannot be 100% recycled back into another tank. However 100% of the tank material can be recycled (just not into another tank).
The process for recycling will depend on their length of service. Polyethylene is commonly recycled at the moment as a part of the everyday manufacturing process, however most of this current "regrind" is manufacturing scrap and therefore usually very clean.
For tanks which have been in service for long periods of time, there can be a build-up of silt in the bottom of the tank, which needs to be roughly cleaned and of course, the tanks have to be cut down into pieces small enough to be ground up. Tanks in service will almost certainly have some UV degradation and this will affect the type of products the regrind can be used for.
The reason for this is that it is impossible to be sure what chemicals may have been stored in tanks and if these chemicals were to survive the recycling process, the material may not be safe for drinking water or food contact, even though in Australia many tank aren't used for drinking water. Hence the difficulty in recycling back into new tanks.
There are however, many uses for regrind in the agricultural and materials handling industries, which already uses products manufactured from regrind.
ARMA is currently engaged in researching what gaps there are in infrastructure to ensure that the process of recycling will be easy for homeowners in the future.
I hope this has been helpful. Please let me know if I can provide any further information.
Best regards
Leisa
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Dear Leisa,
Thankyou for the information sent. It is good to know polytanks are being completely recycled into useful products.
I assume spent tanks are included but couldn't find any mention of these in your reply? How are they being recycled? Ones that have been completely degraded by UV and have reached the end of their useful life. These are now beginning to make an appearance in the environment and I am wondering what produsts they are being recycled into.
Thankyou for your help with my research.
Don Matthews
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From the website www.stainlessrainwatertanks.com.au (John Rosenfelder) This is what started me digging deeper. Have a look at the website
Q: My polyethylene tank has a UV rating of 16,what does it mean?
All polyethylene's are susceptible to degradation upon long term exposure to sunlight. This deterioration is brought about by chemical changes which occur in the polyethylene as a result of exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) portion of light. The poly becomes brittle and loses strength. To slow down this process UV stabilisers are added to the polyethylene. The number indicates the amount of stabiliser added to the poly. For example: UV 4 would mean 4000 hours of continuous outdoor exposure in Florida, before the polyethylene loses 50% of its original strength. Consequently, UV 16 (this is the maximum amount of stabiliser which can be added) would mean that the poly will last 16000 hours before it loses 50% of its original strength. After this time the poly is spent, and no amount of welding or other repair methods will prolong the service life of your plastic tank.
Currently, there is no way to recycle the spent plastic and this may create a real environmental problem when all the plastic tank will start to fail in the years to come.
Numerous tanks which were built with a UV rating of less than 16 are failing now. It is a fair assumption that the UV exposure in Queensland is similar to Florida, if not worse.
------------------------------------------------------
from
Don Matthews to John Rosenfelder
kathy1@primus.com.au
date Jul 10, 2008 2:20 PM
subject Recycling spent poly tanks
mailed-by gmail.com
Hi John,
Manufacturers are telling me spent tanks can be recycled. Your comment
Currently, there is no way to recycle the spent plastic and this may create a real environmental problem when all the plastic tank will start to fail in the years to come.
makes me wonder. Is there more to this than meets the eye ?
Regards
Don
-------------------------------------------------
from
John & Kathy
to Don Matthews
date Jul 10, 2008 7:53 PM
subject RE: U-V-Protection.pdf
mailed-by primus.com.au
Don,
I do get many inquiries from all Australia and over the world (USA weekly!!) to supply tanks.
Unfortunately it is not feasible to transport our tanks more then 400-500km maximum from the point of manufacture. .
Unfortunately your statement that "manufacturers state that tanks are recyclable" cannot be substantiated. For such a statement to have any value concise information would be required. Example Mr..... from Poly World, in his position as Managing Director declared on the (date) that tanks manufactured from polyethylene after expire of their service life can be recycle in following manner........... with the end product being used as...........
I would welcome if you could supply such information and I change my website accordingly. Any other statement is meaningless and purely a marketing tool.
I am in close contact with ………………….. (name removed ) in Brisbane, one of the largest poly tank manufacturer in Australia. My question to him regarding recycling is always answered in a very coy and political way. Essentially nobody in this industry would address the issue that poly tanks are actually failing already, many well before there warranty expires. Therefore if nobody acknowledge this problem in the first place, there is no need to discuss recycling!!!!!
I am not a scientist, but my common sense and every day experience tells me that there is a real issue with recycling spent poly.
This statement is based on following reasoning.
1)"spent" poly is a product where the polymers, which give poly the elasticy and strength are destroyed by the exposure to UV rays. To the best of my knowledge there is no technology available to reverse this process.
2) We replaced numerous split and cracked poly tanks, and this shells just remain in the field, some for years. Refuse dumps do not accept them ( here in Brisbane anyway). If there would be any value in this piles of twisted plastic, somebody surely would be happy to accept them.
3) The shell of the black poly tank, shown in my website, resting on a vacant block of land about 4km from the Brisbane CBD for the last 4 years. Well within walking distance of some metal recyclers. If there would be any value at all in this heap of plastic, it would have disappeared years ago.
4)If you take a drive through the country side around Brisbane, towards Gatton you see numerous failed tank just laying in the fields, one of them is actually recycled. It has been spilt in halve and is used as a goat house.
5) If you visit Bunnings you will find garden edging made from recycled plastic, but not poly.
Yours
Sincerely
John Rosenfelder
SRT
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What follows is the reply I got from Leisa Donlan to my last email
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Dear Don
Most of the spent tanks will be recycled into animal troughs, road barriers and other non food grade products.
Best regards
Leisa Donlan, FSAE
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Don,
Interesting in deed, I may try to get this tank I have been talking about to them. Can you find out where the recycling plant is located so I can have a look myself . Ipswich is only 45 minutes from my factory. I have a guess (which may be wrong) that the recycled tanks (if it is factual) are actually tanks which did not pass the quality control, also virgin poly and not photodegraded poly.
Yours
John
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Leisa and John are next door neighbours
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Hi Leisa,
Don Matthews made me aware that you actually can reuse failed poly tanks. I have a 23000l split poly tank, which has been unsuccessfully welded a couple of times. I tried to take this tank to the local dump, but it was rejected, I was told that it cannot be recycled. General waste apparently is burned, and the poly gives of very toxic fumes. Could you please advise where I can take this tank and the residual value, if there is any. Your help is much appreciated.
Regards
John Rosenfelder
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My next email to Leisa Donlan
----------------------------------------------------
ldonlan@rotationalmoulding.com
cc
kathy1@primus.com.au
date Jul 24, 2008 3:31 PM
subject Recycling spent poly tanks
mailed-by gmail.com
Dear Leisa,
Thankyou for your latest reply but I am having a problem with all of this.
You say "Most of the spent tanks will be recycled into animal troughs, road barriers and other non food grade products". From this I take it that recycling is not actually taking place at the moment but will at some time in the future. To my knowledge the degradation of polyethylene by UV is an irreversible process and no technology is currently available to reverse this. I would be most grateful if you could direct me to where this might be happening or to any research centres working on the problem of reversing the UV degradation process.
If indeed spent poly cannot be recycled I have a few more problems.
1. What is going to happen to the millions of tanks which are going to be lying around littering the landscape in future years? The problem has already begun. Tanks are already beginning to fail, some even well before their warranty expires. John Rosenfelder has a tank which he cannot repair and which the dumps will not take because to burn them releases toxic fumes. He is asking you what to do with it. This is only one example. There are others lying around waiting to be dealt with. "Can poly tanks be recycled? Yes, they can be completely recycled" says the Association of Rotational Moulders in Australasia's website, The Watertank Group. I am waiting with interest to see what you do with John's tank.
If the polytank industry cannot come up with a solution, and quickly, we are headed for a major major environmental problem. What thought has been given to this in the rush to take advantage of the current water crisis and sell as many tanks as possible?
2. I do not seem to be getting any replies to my email questions sent to manufactures etc. Probably because I only have vague addresses like sales@teampoly, brisbane@ozpoly, info@polyworld, sales@nationalpolyindustries. - my questions are probably getting lost in the system. Do you have contact names and more specific addresses of key people so that I can be sure my questions are getting to the right person. It would seem manufacturers are the most appropriate people to be advising me on these matters.
3. Polytank industry websites are telling people spent tanks can be recycled. This makes people feel they are making the right choice for the environment by purchasing a poly tank. Why are they being misled on this? It seems more like a marketing tool rather than a genuine care for the environment. I am willing to stand corrected if I am coming to the wrong conclusiions.
4. I am the getting the impression that no-one in the polytank industry is willing to address the problem that tanks are already failing. If no-one acknowledges there is a problem in the first place I guess there is no need to discuss recycling, ......is there?
.
Don Matthews
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Copy of above email sent to John Rosenfelder
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Hi Leisa,
I would appreciate if you could acknowledge my mail and advise the location in Brisbane which would accept my tank for recycling.
Regards
John Rosenfelder
-----------------------------------------------------
Hi John
What part of Australia are you in?
Best regards
Leisa
---------------------------------------------------
Hi Leisa,
Thank you for your prompt response. I am in Brisbane.
Regards
John
----------------------------------------------------
Bother, why couldn't you be in Perth? (my comment)
------------------------------------------------------
Leisa Donlan
to
Don Matthews
date Jul 28, 2008 11:34 AM
subject RE: Recycling spent poly tanks
Dear Don
I can see you are becoming frustrated.
Please let me reassure you that ARMA has been working on a project in conjunction with University of Auckland and two of the largest material suppliers, for the past two years on the most efficient method to ensure that ALL rotomoulded polyethylene tanks currently being sold into the market will be able to be efficiently recycled. The actual process of recycling occurs now and is common practice between manufacturers and their recyclers, however the necessary infrastructure to make it easy for consumers to have their old tanks collected, cleaned, cut down and reground without the support of the manufacturer, does not commonly exist. The research project is working on two levels:
One: Identify how many times PE from tanks can be recycled without loss of properties or what additives are necessary to maintain properties to expand the current uses of regrind.
Two: Identify what additional infrastructure is necessary from either government or industry to make the process as simple as possible for consumers. (Eg collection, cleaning & cut service)
We are well aware of the future impact of the materials we use to manufacture on the environment and there is a real will in our industry, not a "marketing" ploy, that we do everything possible to ensure any environmental impact is reduced. Since the equipment and technology to recycle is available and regularly used, the biggest issue for consumers at the moment is the process of moving the tank to enable recycling. The level of failed product is relatively low at the moment, however as product ends its life cycle, we are well aware this will increase significantly and as I've mentioned, we began to work on the issue over two years ago, when government began to change legislation to require water tanks in homes.
Some manufacturers will help their customers organize this now, however in future years when these products are at the end of the life cycle it may be difficult for consumers to arrange for recycling or replacements. Some manufacturers will currently agree to collect the wasted or failed product as a part of the replacement process and will deal with recycling themselves, others do not.
The most common material produced by recycling is referred to as "regrind". It usually has high levels of carbon black additive and is used in products that serve underground or that have a limited product life, such as those I've already mentioned. Regrind cannot be used for water tanks.
I hope this has helped clarify things for you.
Regards
Leisa Donlan, FSAE
Chief Executive Officer
Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia Inc
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END OF JULY STORYBOARD
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