WO2021032389A1

WO2021032389A1 - A machine and a method for efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging

Info

Publication number: WO2021032389A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/070566
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karthick MANICKAM; Nimish Harshadrai Shah; Shankar Eshwarabettu NAYAK; Mounesh PANCHAL; Kushalappa BALAKRISHNA; Arun Kumar MATHIVANAN; Mallikarjuna Neralakeri SHARANAPPA; Ezhumalai PERUMAL; Manjunath Maruthi DEVADKAR; Bhavani Bhaskarraju Venkata LAKSHMI; Gopinathan Thaliyan VALIYAVEETIL; Venkataramu RAMAKRISHNAIAH
Original assignee: Unilever Ip Holdings B.V.; Unilever Global Ip Limited; Conopco, Inc., D/B/A Unilever
Priority date: 2019-08-20
Filing date: 2020-07-21
Publication date: 2021-02-25

Abstract

The present invention relates to a machine and a method for efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging for recycle or reuse. The invention more particularly relates to incentivizing individual consumers who use products sold in plastic bottles made of substantially a single polymer to recycle the bottles after they finish using the products in the bottles. The incentives may be by way of discounts on future purchases of products sold in such types of plastic packaging.

Description

A MACHINE AND A METHOD FOR EFFICIENT COLLECTION AND SEGREGATION

OF USED PLASTIC PACKAGING

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a machine and a method for efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging for recycle or reuse. The invention more particularly relates to incentivizing individual consumers who use products sold in plastic bottles, jars or pouches made of substantially a single polymer to recycle them after they consume the products.

Background of the invention

There are many consumer products that are sold in plastic packaging e.g. shampoos, hair conditioners; bodywash, handwash and facewash products; lotions, creams and gels for skin care; hair oils; products in liquid form for washing and conditioning cloths; liquid dishwash and floor cleaners; food products like jams, ketchups, spices, juices, milk, yoghurt, cooking oil; and a host of other products. Individual consumers buy such products on a daily, weekly or monthly basis for use in their homes; offices and other commercial establishments. After the product has been consumed, the habit is for the consumer to throw it away along with the rest of the garbage. Such plastic packaging are thus rarely recycled and form a part of the one-time use packaging which end up in our rivers, oceans and landfills. The adverse effect of this on the ecosystem has been well documented and the awareness of the problems involved requires a solution which necessitates action not only by the industry but by consolidated actions of individuals, communities, municipalities, and nations.

In the recent past, efforts have been made to recycle or reuse used plastic packaging. Individual households and communities have been asked to segregate their waste into “wet waste” and “dry waste” in addition to other types of waste like biomedical, electronic etc. A problem associated with the present system of waste collection is that all types of “dry waste” like single polymer plastic bottles, glass bottles (some of which may be broken), multilayer laminates (like those used for making sachets), paper, cardboard etc. are all mixed, collected and brought to a single collection site. It is highly labour intensive to segregate the various types of plastics, identify single polymer plastic packaging, collect the individual types so that they can be efficiently recycled. Further, the labour force carrying out the segregation are not educated enough to ensure that polymers of the same type are collected together in one stream. Another problem associated with such manual segregation is the health hazard associated with the labour force coming in contact with the proliferation of harmful germs that may grow in the consumer products including decaying food products left behind in the packaging.

The present inventors have been working on various solutions including experimenting on various ideas along with plastic manufacturers, recyclers, waster segregators, municipal bodies etc but they found the solutions to be wanting in trying to solve the above problem.

W09957687 discloses a container apparatus for reception of different types of containers, there amongst metal cans and plastic bottles, which apparatus has a chamber comprising an opening, a chute in which a container can slide by its own weight, and identification means for identification of container and container type, where said chamber in the container apparatus is provided with sorting arranged to, in dependence of said identification means, sort the container to one out of a plurality of predetermined compartments. Potentially the chamber also comprises destruction means devised to lead containers during densification to a part of the sorting means. W01 4070772 discloses a reverse vending machine that includes an interface cabiner having an inlet portal. At least one bin is provided for receiving the accepted recyclable container. A roller system identifies and sorts the recyclable containers. A crusher is driven by a motor with a mechanical couplintg between the crusher and the motor The crusher is adapted to receive various containers and is positiioned intermediate between the roller system and the bin. A cart or frame displacable relative to the interface cabinet, the crusher is mounted on the cart or the frame. A reverse vending machine in another embodiment includes an interface cabiner, the interface cabinet having an inlet portal for recyclable container input and a rejected container depositary. At least one bin and a roller system are provided along with a wash system for cleaning components of the interface cabiner between the inlet portal and the bin.

The above cited prior art do not provide for a machine and a method for collection, and segregation of used plastic packaging where the consumer is incentivized to do the recycling. The present inventors then decided to develop a smart machine and a method which could tackle the problem as close to the source of the problem as possible and use incentives that would attract consumers to adopt the method. The machine developed involves one which automatically scans and identifies the material of the plastic packaging i.e the polymer used, preferably segregates them into various bins for easy transportation to the respective recyclers. The method also has the feature of incentivizing the consumer to get discount on future purchases of similar consumer goods as a result of recycling the used packaging with the machine and method of the present invention.

To the knowledge of the present inventors such a machine which can be used in small communities while at the same time incentivizing the consumer to recycle more and more has not been reported or used.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide for a machine that automatically identifies the polymer of the used packaging materials, segregates the same and collects them in individual bins, a separate bin for each type of polymer and/or nature of the packaging material.

It is another object of the present invention to incentivize individual consumers to participate in this eco-friendly venture.

Summary of the invention

The present invention relates to a machine for efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging for recycling or reuse comprising

(i) A scanner for reading input information on the type of polymer from codes printed or embossed on the packaging; and for inputting a consumer code of the individual wishing to recycle; said scanner capable of transmitting the collected information to a server;

(ii) An input port for feeding the packaging into the machine;

(iii) a plurality of bins, each for collection of one type of polymer.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a an efficient method of collecting and segregating used plastic packaging for recycling or reuse comprising the steps of: (i) An individual entering manually or through scanning the individual consumer code into the scanner of the machine of the invention;

(ii) Scanning the codes printed or embossed on the packaging on said scanner;

(iii) Feeding the packaging into said input port; and

(iv) Incentivising such collection by delivering a discount on future purchases of products sold in such types of packaging to the individual based on the amount of used packaging being recycled by said individual through said machine.

The invention will now be illustrated with the help of the following preferred embodiments which are meant purely to exemplify the invention and are not meant to limit the invention in any way.

Brief description of the figures

Fig 1 is a top view of the machine as per the invention.

Fig 2 is a front view of the machine as per the invention.

Fig 3 is a schematic view of the crusher as per the invention

Fig 4 is a schematic of the various types of embossing present on single plastic packaging to indicate the various types of polymers.

Figure 5 is a schematic of the machine with the washing system.

Detailed description of the figures

Referring to figure 1, the machine of the invention comprises a scanner (1) for reading the input information on the type of polymer from codes printed or embossed on the packaging. Such polymer material identifier is usually embossed on the bottom of most plastic bottles. A key board console (2) and video display (3) is used to input the consumer code manually into the machine. The machine comprises a wireless communication module (not shown) which is capable of transmitting the above information to a remote location preferably a server. The machine comprises a plurality of input ports (4), each port corresponding to one bin, each of the bins meant for collecting one type of polymer.

Referring to figure 2, the machine comprises a plurality of bins (5).

Referring to figure 3, the machine has included therein (not shown in figure 1 and 2) a crusher or cutter which is placed between the input port and the bin. Referring to figure 4, the various types of polymers and the industrially accepted code embossed on the packaging are shown clearly.

Referring to figure 5, the machine with the washing system is shown clearly. The washing system could comprises a high pressure jet of water (not shown) which sprays water on the shredded packaging, the wash water is then collected in a liquid waste chamber (6) from where it is ejected.

When in use a consumer comes with his used plastic packaging to the machine of the invention which is conveniently located near his home, shopping area or other convenient location. He first enters his consumer code into the keyboard console (2). The video display (3) indicates the consumer code he has input. This video display and its associated hardware and software act as the communication interface between the consumer and the machine. Upon verification, the consumer then scans the code embossed or printed on the packaging on the scanner (1) present on the machine. Alternately the code may be in the form of labels stuck on to the packaging. The machine then identifies the type of polymer and displays the same on the video display and also indicates the bin number into which the consumer needs to deposit his used packaging. Once the consumer deposits his packaging into the input port (4) corresponding to the selected bin, the process is then repeated until all of his used packaging is deposited.

Invisible to the consumer, the used packaging in the respective bin is then crushed/ cut using the crusher/ cutter as shown in figure 3, into chips of desired size. The respective chips of each polymer type is then collected in the respective bin (5). The machine may also have an optional washing module which comprises a high pressure jet which sprays water on to the cut plastic chips to cleans the plastic free of any residual product in the used packaging. The wash water may then be then collected in a liquid water collection bin for disposal to the drains.

Detailed description of the invention

These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be utilized in any other aspect of the invention. The word “comprising” is intended to mean “including” but not necessarily “consisting of” or “composed of.” In other words, the listed steps or options need not be exhaustive. It is noted that the examples/ embodiments given in the description below are intended to clarify the invention and are not intended to limit the invention to those examples per se. Similarly, all percentages are weight/weight percentages unless otherwise indicated. Except in the operating and comparative examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description and claims indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word “about”. Numerical ranges expressed in the format "from x to y" are understood to include x and y. When for a specific feature multiple preferred ranges are described in the format "from x to y", it is understood that all ranges combining the different endpoints are also contemplated.

“Plastic”, “packaging” or “plastic packaging” as per this invention is an article used to package certain consumer goods like those used for home care, personal care or foods and refer to packaging made of substantially a single polymer material. The machine claimed in the present invention relates to plastic, packaging or plastic packaging made of substantially a single polymer and therefore does not include packaging made from laminates of different type of polymers or made from blends of polymers.

“Polymer” as per this invention refers to the material of construction which is used to make the plastic packaging.

The machine as per the invention serves the purpose for efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging. Consumers often throw their used plastic packaging into a dry waste bin from which it is difficult to segregate the waste into each individual plastic type for recycle. The machine of the present invention is intended to tackle this problem by ensuring segregation at source and also ensuring that the consumer who uses such machine is rewarded / incentivized by getting a discount on future purchases of products sold in such type of plastic packaging. Thus, the more the person recycles used packaging, the more he or she benefits from future purchases in terms of cost. At the same time he is proud of having ensured sustainability and minimizing plastic pollution by ensuring such recycling. The machines of the present invention may be placed at convenient locations like in housing complexes, shopping malls or supermarkets which are frequented by most people and so this makes it convenient for most consumers to use such machines.

Once a consumer has identified a machine nearby, he has to take his used packaging to the machine. He enters his consumer number which may be a user id, an alphanumeric code or any equivalent unique identity code either on the keyboard console of the machine. Alternately he may have an individualized QR code or bar code on an App on his mobile phone which he could scan on the scanner on the machine to identify himself. Once he is identified, the machine prompts him to scan the used packaging one by one. It is possible to input the used packaging into a single input port after which the used packaging is conveyed and automatically dropped in the respective bin after crushing/ cutting. Alternately and as preferred option, once the type of plastic packaging is identified, the consumer is prompted to drop the used packaging into a designated input port, which may be one out of several input ports, one for each bin.

It is preferred that the machine is used for collection and segregation of used plastic packaging which is made substantially of one type of polymer e.g. it may be made fully of one of the following six types of polymers which are most commonly used polymers as packaging materials: high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polystyrene (PS). Alternately it may be any other commonly used polymer packing material which is presently used or may be used in the future. If the polymer packaging material is a composite or a multilayer laminate where one or more of the above polymers together with metallic layers (sometimes), each in substantial amount, the machine of the present invention would not operate well or operate sub-optimally. Thus in order to ensure efficient operation, the lid or pumps use on the plastic packaging which are generally made of a material different from that of the body of the packaging, are removed and kept separately. Only the body of the packaging which is substantially of the same polymer material is deposited in the machine of the present invention. In similar lines, sachets and pouches which are made of composite or multilayer laminates are not suitable for use in the present invention. The machine optionally comprises a plastic crusher or a cutter downstream of the input port. This crushes the polymer or cuts them into chips to deposit in individual bins for efficient collection and transport to the recycling depot.

The machine of the invention may additionally also comprise a means to clean the crushed or cut polymer chips free of residual products sticking to the used packaging which are deposited in these machines. The cleaning can be done with the help of high pressure water jets, the efficiency of which may be enhanced with a jet which is a combination of water and air. In such a case the machine requires the provision of a wash water collection vessel which needs to be emptied from time to time. When such a facility is provided on the machine, the machine needs to be installed near a location where cleaning water is available and provision for disposal of the waste water is also available. Alternately the waste water may be drained in to mobile van which collect the waste water from time to time to dispose at a remote location.

The method of the invention ensures that the consumer is incentivised to do such recycling. Upon deposition of a finite number of used packaging in the machine, he get a pre-specified amount of Discount points in his account, which may used to get discounts on future purchases of products sold in such packaging. Although this machine and method may be used to collect, segregate and recycle used packaging sold by any company, the Discount points system may be used by one company to offer discounts on future purchases of products from that company.

It is possible by way of this machine which may be GPS enabled, to inform every individual consumer on the video display the total discount points he has accumulated so far, the total amount of plastics he has recycled so far, details relating to carbon footprint saved, etc. The machine could also be programmed to indicate the location of nearby machines so that the consumer could easily use another location nearby as per his convenience, in the future. The machine, in order to link to a server is preferably internet enabled with a wifi or internet router setup. The machine may optionally also be made portable with suitable wheeled assembly so that it can be easily relocated to another location.

The discount points may be transferred electronically to the consumer’s virtual account or may be delivered in the form of physical coupons which are printed out from the machine of the invention. In such cases, the machines optionally has a printer module for printing out the physical coupons. Alternately it may be delivered through messaging services like mobile SMS service or through an app that works on the users smartphone.

It is thus possible by way of the present invention to ensure efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging and to incentivize consumers to do so by giving attractive cost advantages.

Claims

1. A machine for efficient collection and segregation of used plastic packaging for recycling or reuse comprising

(ii) An input port for feeding the packaging into the machine;

(iii) A plurality of bins, each for collection of one type of polymer.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plastic packaging is made of substantially one type of polymer.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the consumer code of the individual may be read off by said scanner from a hand held device like a mobile phone which comprises an individualised code unique to the consumer.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein the individualised code unique to the consumer is a bar code or a QR code.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the consumer code of the individual may be manually input on a key board console included in said machine.

6. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the codes embossed on the packaging is one of the various type of polymer material symbols embossed on the bottom of said plastic packaging.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 6 wherein the material symbols are selected from one of HDPE, LDPE, PET, PP, PVC or PS.

8. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the machine comprises one input port for every bin.

9. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a crusher or a cutter downstream of said input port for crushing or cutting the sorted packaging before transfer to the respective collection bin.

10. An efficient method of collecting and segregating used plastic packaging for recycling or reuse comprising the steps of:

(i) An individual entering manually or through scanning, the individual consumer code into the scanner of the machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims;

(ii) Scanning the codes printed or embossed on the packaging on said scanner;

(iii) Feeding the packaging into said input port; and

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the consumer separates the lid or pumps which are generally made of a material different from the body of the packaging before feeding the body of the packaging into said machine.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the machine is located at strategic locations convenient for the consumer to carry and deposit the used plastic packaging.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the strategic locations include housing complexes, shopping malls, or supermarkets.