In 2020, the (UAveiro) applied for a program for the Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy Program promoted by the General Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, with the aim of improving its waste management by including a reimbursement system for the deposit of polyethene terephthalic (PET) bottles and non-reusable cans.

The basic principle of the REAP project is the possibility that UAveiro¡¯s students and workers could be reimbursed for each bottle they return. This return is made using a specific equipment, the reverse vending machines (RVM). The reimbursement amount must be credited to the UAveiro Single Card, which is already associated with the institution's access and payment systems.

With a dedicated separation, complying with a lower degree of contamination, the product resulting from the collection will be of higher quality, and an increase in the selective collection of PET and aluminum will occur. Thus, the REAP project is a strong contribution to the environmental sustainability of UAveiro and to the implementation of its environmental management system.

PET is the most used plastic to produce water and carbonated beverage bottles due to its mechanical and thermal properties. Despite the growing rate of PET recycling [1], only a small percentage of it is used to produce new bottles. Even though beverage bottles account for over 60% of PET packaging and about 50% are recycled, the new bottles available on the EU market, on average, contain just 17% of recycled PET [2]. Directive (EU) 2019/904 on the prevention and reduction of plastic product¡¯s impact, define the targets of 77% (for 2025) and 90% (for 2029) for the separated collection of waste single-use plastic products. ¡°In order to achieve these objective, Member States may inter alia: (a) establish deposit-refund schemes (DRS); (b) establish separate collection targets for relevant extended producer responsibility schemes¡± (3).

The UAveiro RVMs were programmed to accept single-use beverage packaging, PET bottles and aluminium cans ranging in capacity from 0.1L to 2L. For packaging with a capacity between 0.1L and 0.5L (inclusive), a reimbursement of 0.02€ is credited to the card. For packaging with a capacity between 0.5L and 2L (inclusive), the reimbursement amount is 0.05€. The key aspects of system monitoring are managed through a mobile application, which provides notifications for machine maintenance requirements such as cleaning or when they reach full capacity and need to be emptied. The collected batches from the machines are stored in the UA dedicated waste park, segregated from other waste types, for further processing and onward handling.

Products recycled through the pilot project at UAveiro had two different destinations:

  • The recycling industry and producers of PET and aluminum packaging. Through the UAveiro waste management system encouraging the incorporation of the post-consumption material directly into the recycling chain of PET and aluminium to produce new packaging, the value of PET products with minimal level contamination is enhanced. Additionally, innovation in waste collection and recycling processes is enhanced, thereby mitigating environmental impacts, particularly through reduced washing requirements and enhanced recycling efficiency. 
  • Recycling for demonstration and innovation purposes. Transformation of PET into raw material suitable for research projects in the field of 3D printing. Production of new products (packaging) with varying degrees of recycled PET incorporation, which were then evaluated in terms of their final quality.

No significant changes were detected in the quality of the bottles produced with 50% recycled PET in the first recycling cycle. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of recycling when waste contamination is minimal and underscore the significance of selective collection and bottle-to-bottle recycling. [4]

The environmental assessment of the pilot project was carried out through the application of life cycle analysis (LCA). It was found that the production, use and end of life of RVM is impactful for several impact categories, particularly in the potential for depletion of natural abiotic resources. Improving the environmental performance of this system is possible by intensifying the return rate and extending the useful life of the MVRs through adequate maintenance and cleaning. [5]

Figure 1 shows the results of the number of packages collected separately from UAveiro pilot vending machines (RVM) for 30 months. It is observed that adherence to the SDR has an increasing trend, although with alternations during academic breaks at the academy. The amount of packaging collected corresponds to around 0.9 Mg of aluminium cans and 6.7 Mg of PET. Annually it represents around 24% of the plastic and metal packaging waste collected separately in the UAveiro in 2023.

The increase in the number of users shows that this initiative has been a good instrument in raising environmental awareness among the academic community, specifically for the importance of packaging separation for subsequent recycling.

REAP project team includes the Vice-Rector Vida Campi, two Environmental Engineers from the Technical Management Services, the team of teachers and researchers from Escola Superior de Design, Gest?o e Tecnologias da Produ??o de Aveiro-Norte, led by Professor Jos¨¦ Martinho de Oliveira, and the team of three teachers and three research fellows of the department of Environment and Planning.

For more information about :

   |      |      |      |  

References:

[1] Eunomia, ¡°Pet Market In Europe State Of Play 2022 Production, Collection And Recycling,¡± 2022. 

[2] A. Grant, V. Lahme, T. Connock, and L. Lugal, ¡°How Circular is PET?,¡± Feb. 2022. 

[3] Directive (EU) 2019/904 on the prevention and reduction of plastic product¡¯s impact

[4] A.A. Castro and A.P Gomes (2023) Quality assessment of PET bottles produced through bottle-to-bottle recycling. WASTES: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities 6th International Conference, 6-8 September 2023. 

[5] J M Moura, A.P Gomes, M I Nunes (2023) Environmental performance of a refund-deposit system in an academic scenario, case study: University of Aveiro. 13.? s JTIR, Bragan?a 15-18 November 2023.