“Turning” waste plastic into export products

​In addition to plastic boards to make tables and chairs, this business also has products of floor tiles, trash cans, wall partitions, etc. all made from discarded plastic.

Plastic waste recycling line into plastic sheets at Thanh Tung Co., Ltd

Turning waste into boards

Sharing this information, General Director of Thanh Tung Company Limited Bui Xuan Hung said that plastic waste recycling technology has been applied by developed countries for several decades with two purposes: to take advantage of the waste as raw materials for production and limit environmental pollution. As an enterprise operating in this field, the company has studied and decided to cooperate with Evergreen Social Ventures (Germany) Co., Ltd. to franchise the technology of pressing plastic waste into plastic boards according to the heating principle (ReForm Plastic).

This cooperation has brought good results when the first shipment of 400 sheets of 10mm and 14mm thickness, size 1.2m x 2.4m have been successfully exported since the end of 2021. Partners in Scotland is a decorative furniture manufacturing company. They order plastic plywood products to produce furniture, trash cans, flower pots and export to European countries.

Huynh Phuoc Loc, CEO of the factory, said that previously unsold industrial plastic waste such as scrap leather, shoe soles, and synthetic industrial plastics were treated by burning method. But now these types of waste are all utilized. Waste to the factory is sorted, chopped and washed. Depending on the melting temperature of each type of plastic, the waste is mixed together. Then, use a hot press to shape into a sheet, then use a cold press to make a mold, cut to suitable sizes. The results of analysis and testing show that plastic sheets products meet the standards of durability, safety for users' health and the environment.

According to Mr. Loc, because it is manufactured from low-value plastic, the product is cheaper than plywood and plastic boards. No termites, rust, even when used outdoors. Mechanical strength and long life, can be reused many times. In addition, the use of this product also contributes to limiting the exploitation of resources (green trees, metal minerals). Currently, the company produces more than 1.5 thousand plastic sheets per month (equivalent to 62 tons of garbage). Some businesses that are cooperating in collecting waste to make recycled plastic boards are: Taekwang Vina Joint Stock Company, Feng Tay Group, Changshin Vietnam Co., Ltd., etc.

Opportunities to develop the recycling industry

Mr. Bui Xuan Hung, General Director of Thanh Tung Company Limited said that, in addition to export plastic sheets, the company also has rubber tiles made from recycled plastic that are suitable for flooring in kitchens, bathrooms, and kindergartens; chairs used in parks, tables and chairs used for students in mountainous areas; large trash cans; Indoor partitions to replace gypsum board or aluminum glass, etc. The company wants to cooperate with domestic enterprises to develop products. The company is ready to support businesses in the same industry inside and outside the province to replicate this model, contributing to reducing waste.

According to Mr. Hung, the current difficulty is the policy to encourage waste recycling in general and plastic waste in particular, but it has not really reached businesses. Not only in terms of capital but also the communication activities that are useful for the environment. “We have not connected with many companies and treatment sites to collect the waste they do not sell, cannot recycle. We also have not had the opportunity to introduce our products to furniture manufacturers, enterprises in the building materials industry. We hope that agencies, departments, branches and localities give priority to buying recycled materials to implement public works and projects, connecting and promoting so that the plastic waste recycling industry has the opportunity to develop. "- Mr. Hung shared.

Jan Zellmann, founder and director of the Reform Plastic recycling project in Vietnam, said that recycling used plastic waste cannot be bought and sold, such as plastic bags, straws, plastic cups, milk cartons, styrofoam containers, materials containing industrial plastic are solutions that both create profits for waste treatment enterprises and replace the method of burning or burying. In addition to transferring the process to Thanh Tung Company in Dong Nai, we are implementing a consumer plastic waste recycling project in Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province. Both factories are operating well but not at full capacity due to unstable input materials.

According to Mr. Jan Zellmann, Vietnam can completely reduce the challenges of plastic waste by collecting and turning low-value waste into products with use value and commercial value. ReForm Plastic aims to build 100 ReForm Plastic facilities throughout Vietnam. The unit will accompany businesses and localities to replicate the plastic waste recycling model in the form of public-private partnership (PPP).

On average, Dong Nai generates about 3.6 thousand tons of solid waste every day. In particular, most industrial waste and domestic plastic waste are treated by hygienic incineration and landfill methods, with very little recycling. The fact that enterprises invest in technology to recycle plastic waste at low prices not only opens a new direction for businesses, but also contributes to raising the rate of waste recycling and developing the recycling industry. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is reviewing the proposal to establish a waste recycling industrial cluster; develop preferential policies on land, tax, capital and support to introduce recycled products to enterprises in Industrial Zones.                                                                                                         

Phan Anh