From Plastics & Rubber Weekly Magazine

By Tim Tunbridge

Defined technical framework can “significantly aid” plastics recycling growth.

16 July 2008 – An international standard designed to assist the development of a worldwide market for plastics recovery and recycling has been launched.

The standard ISO 15270:2008 - “Plastics - Guidelines for the recovery and recycling of plastics waste” - has been compiled after input from relevant international industry bodies and stakeholder associations.

It is a compilation of their opinions regarding essential requirements and good practices and is not mandatory.

However, it is hoped the standard will help establish a sustainable infrastructure for recovery/recycling and a sustainable market for recovered materials and products manufactured from them.

Michael Fisher, the current chair of the ISO Technical Committee on Plastics (ISO TC 61), told PRW.com that the standard was important to all plastics recycling stakeholders in “both the public and private sectors”.

Before his retirement, Fisher worked as a senior director for the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council in Arlington, the US. He added that the standard specifies terms and definitions related to plastics recovery and provides a framework for understanding different plastics recovery options.

Fisher said it covers plastics in all markets, from bottles to automobiles, and was written to be globally relevant.

He added: “Plastics recycling is still largely an emerging industry around the globe and a common language supporting a defined technical framework can significantly aid in its growth.”

Fisher added: “It is a standard that recognises that resource recovery is not simply a solid waste management issue but is important to sustainable development and benefits from an integrated resource management perspective.”