Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Finding high-impact intervention points for plastic recycling using an exploratory stock-flow model
ID_Doc 24400
Authors Wiman, H; Siltaloppi, J; Leinonen, A
Title Finding high-impact intervention points for plastic recycling using an exploratory stock-flow model
Year 2023
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136396
Abstract With the growing impetus to increase the recycling of plastic waste, a more detailed understanding of the impact of different interventions on improving material circulation in the plastic value chain is needed. This paper uses an exploratory stock-flow modeling approach to analyze the impact potential of critical intervention points and their combinations for increasing circularity and reducing linearity in the Finnish plastic recycling system. The results show that interventions at all our selected intervention points-demand, collection, sorting, and proc-essing-are needed to reach the best outcomes in terms of linear material flows. With uncertainty regarding international flows, collection-and sorting-targeting actions are most effective in avoiding the most pessimistic circularity outcomes, whereas demand-and capacity-targeting interventions have the potential to achieve the best optimistic circularity outcomes. The results contribute to previous research on plastic recycling by improving understanding of the critical bottlenecks and synergistic effects of supply-and demand-side in-terventions, as well as by supporting policy and industrial decision-making by drawing attention to effective combinations of interventions under uncertainty. The analysis also highlights how the coarse resolution structure of the material flow system governs the impact potential of intervention points, while many system parameters are less significant.
Author Keywords Circular economy; Plastic recycling; Stock -flow modeling; Recycling systems
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000964801100001
WoS Category Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences
Research Area Science & Technology - Other Topics; Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
PDF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136396
Similar atricles
Scroll