Improving paint industry circularity: from waste paint to new paint opacifiers

** 项目概述 ** 这个为期6个月的工业研究项目将开发一种工艺，回收估计1900万升“不可用”的废弃水性涂料，使其能够作为优质、质量受控的涂料添加剂进行回收。该工艺旨在将这些塑料废物从家庭废物流中去除，并为循环经济做出重大贡献。这种回收方案将为涂料行业带来减少碳足迹的好处，并减少进入垃圾填埋场或焚烧的涂料废物。* 废弃水性涂料规模的背景 ** 英国每周产生超过100万升的废弃涂料，其中大部分被填埋/焚烧;只有有限数量的废物被重复利用或再制造。涂料行业对英国经济非常重要，提供就业机会，对GDP做出重大贡献，并且是世界其他地区的重要出口商。油漆提供了保护表面和提供美学吸引力的装饰的重要功能。然而，该行业的碳足迹是显著的。全球对装饰涂料的需求正在增长，随之而来的是废物产生和碳足迹的增加。三分之二的英国家庭废物回收中心（HWRC）不接受油漆，而是建议公众将其作为残余废物处理，然后将其送往垃圾填埋场;在那些接受油漆但不将其送往回收或再利用计划的人中，垃圾填埋/焚烧仍然是主要的处置途径。使用废油漆已被确定为减少行业碳足迹的关键方法，但由于再利用和再制造选择有限，主要是由于剩余油漆的感知差，可能被认为质量低于“新”油漆，因此将废油漆从填埋/焚烧中重新定向用于HWRC是有限的。即使这种看法可以得到解决，油漆的再利用率也有所提高，但由于降解或污染的状况，目前三分之一以上的废油漆不适合利用现有技术进行再利用或再制造。

**Project Overview**This 6-month industrial research project will develop a process to recover an estimated 19m litres of 'unusable' waste waterborne paint, allowing it to be recycled as premium grade, quality-controlled paint additive. The process aims to remove this plastic waste from the household waste stream and make a significant contribution to the circular economy. This recycling option will deliver benefits in a reduced carbon footprint for the paint industry and a reduction in paint waste going to landfill or incineration.**Background to the scale of** **waste waterborne paint**More than one million litres of waste paint is generated each week in the UK, much of which goes to landfill/incineration; only a limited quantity of this waste is reused or remanufactured.The paint industry is very important to the UK economy, providing employment, contributing significantly to GDP, and is a great exporter to the rest of the world. Paint provides a vital function for protection of surfaces and to provide decoration for aesthetic appeal. However, the carbon footprint of the industry is significant.Global demand for decorative paints is growing, with a subsequent increase in waste generation and carbon footprint. Two thirds of UK Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) do not accept paint, instead advising the public to dispose of it in residual waste, which will then go to landfill; of those that do accept paint - but do not send it to recycle or reuse schemes - landfill/incineration remains the primary disposal route. Use of waste paint has been identified as a key way to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry, but redirection of waste paint from landfill/incineration is limited for HWRCs due to the limited reuse and remanufacture options, largely due to the poor perception of leftover paint, which might be considered to be of inferior quality to 'new' paint. Even if this perception can be addressed and there is an increase in paint reuse, more than one third of waste paint is currently unsuitable for reuse or remanufacture using current technology due to the state of degradation or contamination.