A model of plastics recycling: Does recycling reduce the amount of waste?

Fletcher, Brenton; Mackay, Michael E.

doi:10.1016/0921-3449(96)01068-3

Cited by 37 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…If recycled plastics are used to produce goods that would otherwise have been made from new (virgin) polymer, this will directly reduce oil usage and emissions of greenhouse gases associated with the production of the virgin polymer (less the emissions owing to the recycling activities themselves). However, if plastics are recycled into products that were previously made from other materials such as wood or concrete, then savings in requirements for polymer production will not be realized (Fletcher & Mackay 1996). There may be other environmental costs or benefits of any such alternative material usage, but these are a distraction to our discussion of the benefits of recycling and would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.…”

Section: Ecological Case For Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities

Hopewell¹,

Dvorak²,

Kosior³

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

2,215

1,260

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight and durable materials, which can readily be moulded into a variety of products that find use in a wide range of applications. As a consequence, the production of plastics has increased markedly over the last 60 years. However, current levels of their usage and disposal generate several environmental problems. Around 4 per cent of world oil and gas production, a non-renewable resource, is used as feedstock for plastics and a further 3 -4% is expended to provide energy for their manufacture. A major portion of plastic produced each year is used to make disposable items of packaging or other short-lived products that are discarded within a year of manufacture. These two observations alone indicate that our current use of plastics is not sustainable. In addition, because of the durability of the polymers involved, substantial quantities of discarded end-of-life plastics are accumulating as debris in landfills and in natural habitats worldwide.Recycling is one of the most important actions currently available to reduce these impacts and represents one of the most dynamic areas in the plastics industry today. Recycling provides opportunities to reduce oil usage, carbon dioxide emissions and the quantities of waste requiring disposal. Here, we briefly set recycling into context against other waste-reduction strategies, namely reduction in material use through downgauging or product reuse, the use of alternative biodegradable materials and energy recovery as fuel.While plastics have been recycled since the 1970s, the quantities that are recycled vary geographically, according to plastic type and application. Recycling of packaging materials has seen rapid expansion over the last decades in a number of countries. Advances in technologies and systems for the collection, sorting and reprocessing of recyclable plastics are creating new opportunities for recycling, and with the combined actions of the public, industry and governments it may be possible to divert the majority of plastic waste from landfills to recycling over the next decades.

show abstract

Section: Ecological Case For Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities

Hopewell¹,

Dvorak²,

Kosior³

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

2,215

1,260

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, recycling requires a lot of water and energy resources. Moreover, there are a finite number of times a plastic product can be recycled and some items remain unrecyclable (Fletcher & Mackay, 1996;Rigamonti, Grosso, & Giugliano, 2009;Babader, Ren, Jones, & Wang, 2016). Every time plastic is recovered, the quality of the recycled material gets downgraded.…”

Section: Returnable Packagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communicating Returnable Packaging Through Product Labelling

Ratnichkina¹

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research seeks to find effective ways to communicate returnable packaging campaigns to consumers through product labelling. This is an important line of inquiry as more and more countries are rolling out regulations that penalize companies for their wasteful practices. Knowing how to encourage people to engage with returnable packaging campaigns will be of great interest to future marketers and sustainability practitioners. This research uses experimental approach with the use of online questionnaires showcasing different label messages. Results show that the conventional method of tapping into the altruistic side of human nature with guilt-inducing messages is ineffective for the population at large. Embracing the self-enhancing, gain-seeking, pain-eliminating side of human nature results in a bigger pro-environmental behaviour change. Making the process of “doing the right thing” easier resulted in the higher willingness to return an empty milk bottle among participants when compared to financial rewards, social modelling, and justification.

show abstract

“…The author also argues that with a centralized system, recycler's association can increase the variety of material with the commercial potential of recyclability and their insertion on the market, which improves the association's profitability. As more waste collection containers are distributed in a community, and as more people get educated and informed about recycling, more plastic inevitably will be recycled over the years (Fletcher & Mackay, 1996).…”

Section: Selective Waste Collection Using Vdpmentioning

confidence: 99%