Assessment of polyethylene and polypropylene content in polyethylene and polypropylene packaging waste

Post-consumer plastic containers and packaging, even sorted by types of the main polymer, are very heterogeneous, because they contain other materials and substances - packaging elements, internal and external contaminants. The share of target material in waste and secondary resource flows is important for assessing the recycling prospects - the higher the content of secondary materials, the lower the output of recycled materials will be. The paper presents the results of experimental studies to determine the composition of plastic waste. In the polyethylene and polypropylene waste different components were identified, namely, target plastic (the “body” of the package), lids/dispensers, labels/stickers and contaminants (liquids, dirt, food, etc.).