RECYCLING PLASTIC FROM E-WASTE: SUSTAINABLE APROACHES FOR THE MANUFACTURING OF DESIGN OBJECTS

VOLPIN, MARCOS; VAZQUEZ, YAMILA VICTORIA; BARBOSA, SILVIA ELENA

Terni

Congreso; POLY-K Advances in Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites; 2023

Over the past few years, recycling plastic from WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) has become increasingly challenging1. High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) and Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) are the two main thermoplastic polymers in this particular stream2. The suitability of employing ABS and HIPS from WEEE for the manufacturing of design objects is studied in this work, closing the loop of circular economy. Design objects fall under the category of low margin - high turnover products, which are sold for prices greater than those paid for their acquisition, with low sales volumes typically covering the costs associated with them. For this kind of products, design and image are the most critical factors, along with acceptable mechanical performance3. In this way and in order to take advantage of the gray color scale of HIPS and ABS from WEEE flakes, two processing approaches without previous mixing were considering: compression molding and injection. Samples of single ABS WEEE and HIPS WEEE as well as an equitable mixture of HIPS/ABS (H50/A50 WEEE) were prepared. Figure 1 shows samples images of, rectangular sticks produced by injection molding and square plates made by compression molding. As can be seen, obtained samples has a texture and color distribution similar to marble (injection molding) or granite (compression molding) due to this type of processing without mixing. These variations allow alternative color combinations providing brighter or darker materials. Furthermore, even if these products will not be subjected to great mechanical stress, they still need to be able to resist drops and bending stresses caused by handling. Thus, manual bending and drop tests from an average height of 1 m were carried out. Results show that both types of processing have good impact mechanical performance, and they are also resistant to manual bending as no one was broken with the application of average forces. These findings demonstrate an opportunity for the recycling of plastic from WEEE for the manufacturing of design objects such as trays for toiletries or cosmetics, encouraging sustainable practices with profits, and therefore the closing of the circular economy loop.