Framework for Plastic Waste Management: Assessment of Factors Impacting the Circularity of Plastics

Introduction

In developed and developing countries, solid waste management is considered an important agenda. It has a great negative impact on the economy, environment, and social well-being (Tesfaye & Kitaw, 2020). In this domain, Plastic waste management has become a growing concern all over the world, and especially for a developing country, it is considered as the biggest challenge (Sabir et al., 2016). Due to ease in handling and manufacturing procedure of plastic goods, the usage of plastic is increasing drastically. Research shows that plastic waste is expected to get doubled in the next 20 years due to inefficient handling (Drzyzga & Prieto, 2019). The property of being non – biodegradability makes it difficult to dispose of. According to studies, the world is producing 381 million tons of plastic and half of which is for single use only. The proportion of recycling is only ~10% (Condor Ferries, 2020). According to a report by OECD (2018) and UNEP (2018), the rate of plastic recycling is very low. On the other hand, the rate of recycling of other materials is nearly 50% i.e., paper (~43%) and aluminum (~50%) (Matar et al., 2014). At the global level, plastic waste is managed as follows.

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  24% of plastics are incinerated

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  58% - 62% plastic is disposed in landfills

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  14% - 18% plastics is utilized for recycling

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  5% of plastics are kept back for any other use

The monetary loss for mostly single-use plastic accounts for 80 – 120 billion $ that is roughly around half of entire Pakistan’s GDP (Khurshid, 2019). In Pakistan, 65% of waste includes water bottles, caps, plastic bags, and packaging (WWF, 2015) These statistics reveal one of the most obvious reasons i.e., inefficient plastic waste management. Due to this very inefficient system and most of the proportion of plastic being ended up in landfills and oceans, the environment of the earth is suffering from air pollution, surface and groundwater contamination, land, and marine pollution (Mintz et al., 2019). This throwaway culture is the major hindrance in adopting the circular model of plastic production (Mcdermott, 2016). Pakistan is a developing country that has also emphasized setting out policies for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

To address this issue the circular economy model provides a system that helps reduce waste generation and its harmful impacts on the environment (Silva et al., 2019). They are focused to utilize their waste material efficiently for further usage rather than disposing of it in the landfills after single-use (Aytekin & Büyükahraz, 2016; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). Studies showed that responsible handling at the production level and awareness among consumers and manufacturers plays a significant role in efficient waste management (Mas-Tur et al., 2019). Similarly, Pakistan being a developing country is no way behind in its efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainability Development goals 2030 by implementing circular economy in its business modules by taking, making, recycling, and reusing for attaining sustainability in businesses and environment as well.

Considering the importance of environmental sustainability and identifying the need for environment-friendly products especially in the category of plastic products that pose a severe threat to the environment being non-biodegradable, leaving recycling the ultimate option for the sustainable greener future, SPEL (Synthetic Products Enterprises Limited) being a responsible organization is working on the recycled plastic accessories and is looking to expand its product line for the recycled plastic products.

Plastic waste is managed by three methods primary recycling where waste generated during manufacturing processes is fed to the machines again to the system before it goes into landfills secondary recycling is using post-consumer waste to regenerate plastic goods for use. While tertiary recycling accounts for the depolymerization of the large polymers to use as feedstock to produce chemicals and fuels (Alhazmi et al., 2021).