| Title |
Discerning the circularity of the plastic industry in Bangladesh through the lens of material flow analysis |
| ID_Doc |
14360 |
| Authors |
Siddique, S; Roy, BB; Zaman, S; Khan, A; Al Alam, A; Chowdhury, RB; Biswas, KF; Hossain, MM; Murakami, S; Sujauddin, M |
| Title |
Discerning the circularity of the plastic industry in Bangladesh through the lens of material flow analysis |
| Year |
2022 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.spc.2022.08.001 |
| Abstract |
This study performs the first national plastic material flow analysis (MFA) of Bangladesh to obtain essential infor-mation for developing the roadmap for circular economy. It quantified plastic flows for the fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 by circumventing data deficiencies through innovative methodical approach and an improvised cou-pling of primary data from extensive field surveys and historical foreign trade statistics. In FY2019-2020, Bangladesh exported only 22 % of its total annual plastic import of 1,710,296 metric tons. The packaging sector consumed the highest 937,242 metric tons (48 % of the domestic consumption). Per capita consumption and waste generation were 10.13 kg and 7.9 kg, respectively, leading to plastic use intensity of 7.94 g per 2010US$ GDP in FY2019-2020, indicating an active materialization phase and growth. Bangladesh recycled 362,332 metric tons of plastic a year, 90 % of which was done by the country's robust informal sector, leading to a better recycling efficiency (28 %) compared to developed countries. Bangladesh also fared better in plastic decoupling, with a decoupling factor of 21 compared to the average of 13 for its developed counterparts. Scenario-based forecast in-dicated a maximum of nearly 6 million metric tons of potential imports in FY2029-2030 for the business-as-usual scenario. The plastic industry exhibited better performance than many countries despite poor institutional capac-ity and lack of policy support by leveraging the informal and semi-formal sectors. Policy insights particularly on improving waste management by the informal sector, community awareness and stakeholder engagement, im-proving manufacturing processes and technologies may significantly contribute to circularizing plastic use in Bangladesh to achieve SDG12 targets.(c) 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| Author Keywords |
Plastic circularity; Sectoral plastic flow; Material flow analysis; Resource decoupling; Recycling efficiency; Informal sector |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED); Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) |
| EID |
WOS:000848098000005 |
| WoS Category |
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; Environmental Studies |
| Research Area |
Science & Technology - Other Topics; Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
| PDF |
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