{"title":"Overcoming barriers to proactive plastic recycling toward a sustainable future","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.envc.2024.101040","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The plastics sector, accounting for a significant portion of global emissions, presents a challenge and an opportunity in achieving carbon neutrality. Despite Japan's commendable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle recycling rates, most plastics are thermally recycled, creating environmental issues. This study proposes an evaluation framework to enhance recycling, aligned with end-user preferences and fostering a circular plastics economy. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study conducts fieldwork including interviews with plastic recyclers and analysis of industry data. A weighted sum multicriteria analysis integrating end-user preferences, recycling effectiveness, and market dynamics is utilized. Systemic, process, and policy challenges were shown to hinder sustainable recycling practices, while varying willingness to pay, emission and cost reduction potentials, among acceptability and sectoral diversity informed priority plastic types for recycling. Multicriteria analysis showed that although PET is favored by end users, Polyoxymethylene (POM) emerges as a potential priority target for manufacturers and recyclers. Sensitivity analysis underscores the potential impact of establishing or enhancing willingness to pay (WTP) toward certain plastic types. Moreover, manufacturer and recycler evaluations suggest a broader willingness to recycle plastics than previously assumed. The proposed evaluation framework offers insights toward plastic recycling strategies. Policy interventions such as sustained subsidies for recyclers, market incentives leveraging WTP preferences, and technological advances, including chemical recycling and the broadening of plastic type recycling in line with user and manufacturer preferences, could all contribute to promoting sustainable plastic recycling practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34794,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Challenges","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Challenges","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010024002063","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Environmental Science","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The plastics sector, accounting for a significant portion of global emissions, presents a challenge and an opportunity in achieving carbon neutrality. Despite Japan's commendable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle recycling rates, most plastics are thermally recycled, creating environmental issues. This study proposes an evaluation framework to enhance recycling, aligned with end-user preferences and fostering a circular plastics economy. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study conducts fieldwork including interviews with plastic recyclers and analysis of industry data. A weighted sum multicriteria analysis integrating end-user preferences, recycling effectiveness, and market dynamics is utilized. Systemic, process, and policy challenges were shown to hinder sustainable recycling practices, while varying willingness to pay, emission and cost reduction potentials, among acceptability and sectoral diversity informed priority plastic types for recycling. Multicriteria analysis showed that although PET is favored by end users, Polyoxymethylene (POM) emerges as a potential priority target for manufacturers and recyclers. Sensitivity analysis underscores the potential impact of establishing or enhancing willingness to pay (WTP) toward certain plastic types. Moreover, manufacturer and recycler evaluations suggest a broader willingness to recycle plastics than previously assumed. The proposed evaluation framework offers insights toward plastic recycling strategies. Policy interventions such as sustained subsidies for recyclers, market incentives leveraging WTP preferences, and technological advances, including chemical recycling and the broadening of plastic type recycling in line with user and manufacturer preferences, could all contribute to promoting sustainable plastic recycling practices.
塑料行业占全球排放量的很大一部分,它为实现碳中和带来了挑战和机遇。尽管日本的聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)瓶回收率值得称赞,但大多数塑料都是热回收,从而产生了环境问题。本研究提出了一个评估框架,以根据最终用户的偏好加强回收利用,促进塑料循环经济的发展。本研究采用混合方法进行实地考察,包括采访塑料回收商和分析行业数据。研究采用了加权和多标准分析法,综合考虑了最终用户偏好、回收效果和市场动态。结果表明,系统、流程和政策方面的挑战阻碍了可持续回收实践,而不同的支付意愿、减排和成本降低潜力、可接受性和行业多样性则为优先回收的塑料类型提供了依据。多标准分析表明,尽管 PET 受到最终用户的青睐,但聚甲醛(POM)成为制造商和回收商的潜在优先目标。敏感性分析强调了确定或提高对某些塑料类型的支付意愿(WTP)的潜在影响。此外,制造商和回收商的评估结果表明,回收塑料的意愿比之前假设的更广泛。建议的评估框架为塑料回收战略提供了启示。政策干预措施,如对回收者的持续补贴、利用 WTP 偏好的市场激励措施以及技术进步,包括化学回收以及根据用户和制造商的偏好扩大塑料类型的回收范围,都有助于促进可持续的塑料回收实践。