A recycling technology selection framework for evaluating the effectiveness of plastic recycling technologies for circular economy advancement

Abstract

Despite progress in plastic waste recycling technologies, global plastic waste recycling rates remain disappointing. This issue not only suggests an underutilization of existing recycling technologies but also hinders resource utilization, the circular economy, and sustainable manufacturing. Several studies have proposed to address this issue, such as by evaluating the efficiency of recycling technologies based on the volume of recycled waste. However, such single-indicator methods often overlook other critical factors and, thus, may not provide holistic assessments. Additionally, existing methods for evaluating or comparing different recycling technologies are often complex and time-consuming. Meanwhile, several other studies have proposed hundreds of indicators for assessing the effectiveness and suitability of recycling technologies, which often complicates the selection process. Consequently, recyclers and other stakeholders often struggle to select effective and suitable recycling technologies for different plastic waste types and under specific conditions. To address these challenges, we propose the recycling technology selection framework (RTSF), a simple tool that enables easy visualization of relevant recycling indicators under five key pillars: economic, technical, environmental, social, and policy. By allowing recyclers and stakeholders to quickly identify, select, and visualize factors of interest from a large pool, the RTSF enables qualitative comparison and enhances the evaluation of the effectiveness and suitability of multiple plastic recycling technologies. Lastly, the RTSF can serve as a preliminary tool and be used in conjunction with other approaches to enhance the effectiveness of plastic recycling technologies.