| Title | Scaling up resource recovery of plastics in the emergent circular economy to prevent plastic pollution: Assessment of risks to health and safety in the Global South |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 4216 |
| Authors | Cook, E; Velis, CA; Cottom, JW |
| Title | Scaling up resource recovery of plastics in the emergent circular economy to prevent plastic pollution: Assessment of risks to health and safety in the Global South |
| Year | 2022 |
| Published | Waste Management & Research, 40, 12 |
| Abstract | Over the coming decades, a large additional mass of plastic waste will become available for recycling, as efforts increase to reduce plastic pollution and facilitate a circular economy. New infrastructure will need to be developed, yet the processes and systems chosen should not result in adverse effects on human health and the environment. Here, we present a rapid review and critical semi-quantitative assessment of the potential risks posed by eight approaches to recovering value during the resource recovery phase from post-consumer plastic packaging waste collected and separated with the purported intention of recycling. The focus is on the Global South, where there are more chances that high risk processes could be run below standards of safe operation. Results indicate that under non-idealised operational conditions, mechanical reprocessing is the least impactful on the environment and therefore most appropriate for implementation in developing countries. Processes known as 'chemical recycling' are hard to assess due to lack of real-world process data. Given their lack of maturity and potential for risk to human health and the environment (handling of potentially hazardous substances under pressure and heat), it is unlikely they will make a useful addition to the circular economy in the Global South in the near future. Inevitably, increasing circular economy activity will require expansion towards targeting flexible, multi-material and multilayer products, for which mechanical recycling has well-established limitations. Our comparative risk overview indicates major barriers to changing resource recovery mode from the already dominant mechanical recycling mode towards other nascent or energetic recovery approaches. |
| https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242x221105415 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
4553
|
Cook, E; Derks, M; Velis, CA Plastic waste reprocessing for circular economy: A systematic scoping review of risks to occupational and public health from legacy substances and extrusion(2023) | |
| 21827
|
Klemes, JJ; Fan, YV; Jiang, P Plastics: friends or foes? The circularity and plastic waste footprint(2021)Energy Sources Part A-Recovery Utilization And Environmental Effects, 43.0, 13 | |
| 4615
|
Venkatachalam, V; Pohler, M; Spierling, S; Nickel, L; Barner, L; Endres, HJ Design for Recycling Strategies Based on the Life Cycle Assessment and End of Life Options of Plastics in a Circular Economy(2022)Macromolecular Chemistry And Physics, 223, 13 | |
| 7956
|
Vollmer, I; Jenks, MJF; Roelands, MCP; White, RJ; van Harmelen, T; de Wild, P; van der Laan, GP; Meirer, F; Keurentjes, JTF; Weckhuysen, BM Beyond Mechanical Recycling: Giving New Life to Plastic Waste(2020)Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 59, 36 | |
| 20283
|
Eriksen, MK; Damgaard, A; Boldrin, A; Astrup, TF Quality Assessment and Circularity Potential of Recovery Systems for Household Plastic Waste(2019)Journal Of Industrial Ecology, 23, 1 | |
| 20115
|
Hahladakis, JN; Iacovidou, E An overview of the challenges and trade-offs in closing the loop of post-consumer plastic waste (PCPW): Focus on recycling(2019) | |
| 21326
|
Solis, M; Silveira, S Technologies for chemical recycling of household plastics - A technical review and TRL assessment(2020) | |
| 3165
|
Shamsuyeva, M; Endres, HJ Plastics in the context of the circular economy and sustainable plastics recycling: Comprehensive review on research development, standardization and market(2021) | |
| 27914
|
Sitadewi, D; Yudoko, G; Okdinawati, L Bibliographic mapping of post-consumer plastic waste based on hierarchical circular principles across the system perspective(2021)Heliyon, 7.0, 6 | |
| 21617
|
Sadhukhan, J; Sekar, K Economic Conditions to Circularize Clinical Plastics(2022)Energies, 15.0, 23 |