The management of plastic waste is a growing concern that can harm wildlife and ecosystems, and its end-of-life policies are key to mitigating plastic environmental impact. It highlights the challenges and vulnerabilities of plastic waste management, the importance of system integration and holistic analysis, as well as the potential for carbon capture to reduce emissions.

At the same time, 6% of worldwide oil consumption half of which is used as raw material and half as energy input is committed to the production of polymers. In the same vein, plastic waste generation, amounting to 250 million tons, is a growing concern. The end-of-life treatment of plastic waste has been the focus of elaborate debate, with a dispute between thermal and material valorization, motivated by plastics' energy-to-mass ratio, which is comparable to fossil fuels.

In Europe, while accounting on average for 17% of incinerated waste mass, plastics are responsible for 42% of its energetic content – contributing not only to energy recovery from unsorted waste but also to stable combustion behavior. Adding to this material-energy duality, waste management is a complex supply chain task, involving multiple stakeholders and comprising the collection, transport, and treatment of waste. public) responsibility, waste management decisions have economic, environmental, and social consequences, affecting a network of actors from citizens to local industries, and often reaching political levels, thus requiring tools that encompass the full scope of its supply chain.

Reference

Castro-Amoedo, R., et al.,On the role of system integration in plastic waste management.Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2024. 201: p. 107295.

Author: Samira Sheikhi