Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
11d61881-e9b9-4f04-bcec-37145a4adf41
Waste treatment
Associated ID
f0379d98-27de-4924-becc-c61cdcde55f9
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
After being sorted and baled by the collection and transportation system, various recyclable waste plastics require size reduction and cleaning treatments prior to recycling, in order to produce clean raw materials suitable for further physical or chemical recycling.
The shredding process primarily uses shredding equipment to break down various types of waste plastics (e.g., waste PP, waste HDPE, waste PET, waste PS) into smaller plastic flakes. This process mainly consumes electricity and generates particulate matter emissions. The cleaning process primarily involves the use of fresh water and sodium hydroxide to remove various contaminants attached to waste plastics. Natural gas is consumed during the process to heat the fresh water, enhancing the cleaning efficiency. Inputs for this process include fresh water, natural gas, and sodium hydroxide, while outputs include wastewater, exhaust gases, and solid waste.
This process is mainly applicable to the shredding and cleaning of various post-consumer waste plastics prior to resource recovery.
Activity Description
This dataset represents the crushing and cleaning process of sorted waste plastics. It includes the electricity consumed by crushing and cleaning equipment, the natural gas and auxiliary materials consumed by cleaning equipment, as well as the discharge of wastewater, waste gas and solid waste generated during the treatment process.
Process Description
The process of crushing and cleaning sorted waste plastics.
Time period
2021
2026
Geography
China
Geography comment
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The waste plastics intended for resource recovery are processed through shredding and cleaning equipment for size reduction and washing.