Characteristics and Material Flows of Non-Packaging Plastics in Municipal Solid Waste: A Case Study from Vienna

Gisela Breslmayer (), Lea Gritsch and Jakob Lederer
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Gisela Breslmayer: Christian Doppler Laboratory for a Recycling-Based Circular Economy, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, Austria
Lea Gritsch: Christian Doppler Laboratory for a Recycling-Based Circular Economy, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, Austria
Jakob Lederer: Christian Doppler Laboratory for a Recycling-Based Circular Economy, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-24

Abstract: In contrast to packaging, non-packaging plastics remain largely untargeted by EU regulations, despite their comprising over 60% of primary plastics in the EU 27 + 3 in 2022. This results in lower separate collection and recycling rates as well as fewer studies analysing recycling-relevant characteristics in non-packaging plastic waste (NPW), which are relevant to ensure the circularity and sustainable management of all plastics. This study presents a detailed characterisation of NPW found in mixed municipal solid waste and lightweight packaging waste on polymer and product levels, using the case study of Vienna, Austria. Results show that 4100 t/yr of polymers targeted for recycling, especially polypropylene, are currently discarded and lost in mixed MSW. A large share of NPW, however, exhibits recycling-hindering traits like multi-polymer objects or black colouring. While products made of high-quality food contact material were assessed to be ideal for separate collection to ensure closed-loop recycling, consideration should be given to collecting the majority of NPW via recycling centres to prevent contamination of target polymers with currently non-targeted other polymers. Design for recycling guidelines should also be introduced for non-packaging plastics, targeting separability, colouring and small-scale products. By doing so, a more sustainable management of NPW can be achieved.

Keywords: non-packaging plastics; manual sorting analysis; FTIR-analysis; material flow analysis; mixed municipal solid waste; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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