Sustainability Impact Assessment of Increased Plastic Recycling and Future Pathways of Plastic Waste Management in Sweden
| Autor: | Yi Yu, Aida Esmailzadeh Davani, Leonidas Milios |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Resource (biology)
Plastic recycling Natural resource economics plastic recycling 0211 other engineering and technologies 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences Management Monitoring Policy and Law 01 natural sciences recycling targets plastic waste media_common.cataloged_instance General Materials Science 021108 energy European union Waste Management and Disposal lcsh:Environmental sciences 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common lcsh:GE1-350 Cost–benefit analysis Circular economy Incineration sustainability assessment Greenhouse gas Sustainability Business |
| Zdroj: | Recycling, Vol 3, Iss 3, Pp 33-0 (2018) Recycling Volume 3 Issue 3 Pages 33-0 |
| ISSN: | 2313-4321 |
| Popis: | Plastic is a versatile material that has contributed to numerous product innovations and convenience in everyday life. However, plastic production is growing at an alarming rate, and so has the generation of plastic waste. Unsound waste management results in plastic leakage to the environment with multiple adverse effects to ecosystems. Incineration of plastic waste produces excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while plastic as a material is consumed and cannot be used again as a resource within a circular economy framework. For this reason, the European Union (EU) takes measures to increase plastic recycling, introducing higher targets for recycling in its revised waste legislation. Sweden follows suit, prioritising actions for improving the management of plastic waste. In this contribution, three scenarios of future plastic waste management are analysed for their sustainability impacts by 2030. The analysis is enabled by a plastic waste management flow model that calculates environmental, economic, and social impacts. The indicators used in the model to describe the impacts in each axis of sustainability are (1) GHG emissions, (2) monetary costs and benefits, and (3) number of jobs created. The results indicate several trade-offs between the different scenarios and between the different sustainability aspects of future plastic waste management, with their strengths and weaknesses duly discussed. Concluding, the most promising and sustainable future scenario for plastic waste management in Sweden includes high targets for recycling&mdash in line with EU targets&mdash and a gradual phase-out of plastic incineration as a waste management option. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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