Economic and environmental impacts of reprocessing household plastic waste at Øra, compared to transport and reprocessing in Germany

Since the early 19-hundreds, plastics have been a valuable product for humans. Production has expanded throughout decades, leading to increased volumes of plastic waste. Insufficient treatment of plastic waste leads to numerous disadvantages for environment and humans. To minimize the negative effects, and sustain the value of the resource, plastic recycling is necessary. Reprocessing of plastic waste, including washing and extrusion, is a central part of this. As Norwegian household plastic waste is currently exported to Germany for this retreatment, research of running a plastic reprocessing plant in Norway was of interest. This study included two analyses investigating if a plastic reprocessing plant should be established at Øra in Fredrikstad, or if Norway should continue exporting household plastic waste to Germany. Data from two machine suppliers were compared in terms of costs and resource consumptions. First, a Net Present Value (NPV) analysis was conducted, including installation and 20-years operation of a facility at Øra. Secondly, an environmental analysis calculated and compared green house gas (GHG) emissions of two scenarios: (1) Operation of a plastic reprocessing plant at Øra, and (2) transport of plastic waste from Øra to Germany, including similar retreatment process in Germany. By using Life Cycle Assessment methodology, total green house gas emissions over the projects life time was presented, with use of different electricity mixes in both countries. Both the economic and environmental analyses showed net benefits of reprocessing household plastic waste at Øra. Best option resulted in a NPV of NOK 41,821,700, and net saving of CO2-equivalents during the life time between 15,304 - 72,914 tonnes. The NPV was most sensitive to change in plastic input amounts and variable costs, and the environmental analyses presented electricity mix as most decisive factor.