RECENT PREPRINTS FROM ARXIV
PLASTIC RECYCLING: A PANACEA OR ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION PROBLEM.
Nisha Singh
& Tony R.
Walker.
NPJ MATERIALS SUSTAINABILITY volume 2, Article # 17 (1 Aug 2024)
ABSTRACT: Increasing plastic waste is a critical global challenge to ecological and human health requiring focused solutions to reduce omnipresent plastic pollution in the environment. While recycling has been touted as one solution to counter plastic waste and resource utilization, it has been largely ineffective in offsetting the impact of rising global plastic production of more than 400 million metric tonnes annually, due to low global recycling rates of only 9%. Over three decades since implementing plastic resin codes, recycling has favored thermoplastics, neglecting thermoset plastics. There is a constant need to enhance overall recycling efficiency by exploring advanced methods, as enormous gaps exist in fully unlocking the potential of plastic recycling. We identify critical gaps associated with plastic waste recycling and its potential environmental impacts. We discuss substantial progress in recycling technology, designs-for-recyclability with controlled chemical use, and economic incentives to expand markets for recycled plastics and to curb plastic leakage into the environment. Additionally, we highlight some emerging strategies and legally binding international policy instruments, such as the Global Plastics Treaty that require further development to reduce plastic waste and improve plastic recyclability.
TEXT SAMPLE: “About 13% of plastics infiltrate water or air as microplastics from recycling facilities in the UK. A study on PET recycling facilities reveals microplastic releases range from
approximately 23–1836 mg/L in wastewater that is distributed in the effluent (8–83 mg/L) and the sludge (52,166–68,866 mg/L) as it leaves the facility. Microplastics generated during the recycling process are governed by the properties of plastics (polymer type or hardness) and environmental exposure. Ideally, plastic recycling facilities are equipped with filters to prevent and mitigate environmental contamination, but it partially mitigates microplastic release and is not a comprehensive solution.
ECONOMIC VIABILITY REQUIRES HIGHER RECYCLING RATES FOR IMPORTED PLASTIC WASTE THAN EXPECTED,
Kai Li, Hauke Ward, Hai Xiang Lin, Arnold Tukker NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, Vol. 15, Article 7578 (31 Aug 2024).
ABSTRACT: The environmental impact of traded plastic waste hinges on how it is treated. Existing studies often use domestic or scenario-based recycling rates for imported plastic waste, which is problematic due to differences in recyclability and the fact that importers pay for it. We estimate the minimum required recycling rate (RRR) needed to break even financially by analysing import prices, recycling costs, and the value of recycled plastics across 22 leading importing countries and four plastic waste types during 2013–2022. Here we show that at least 63% of imported plastic waste must be recycled, surpassing the average domestic recycling rate of 23% by 40 percentage points. This discrepancy suggests that recycled plastics volumes from the global North-to-South trade may be underestimated. The country-specific RRR provided could enhance research and policy efforts to better quantify and mitigate the environmental impact of plastic waste trade.
TEXT SAMPLE: “Our research indicates that while the average RRR of 63% is higher than the domestic average of 23% across 22 research countries, it still falls short of ideal recycling rates. This gap suggests a significant portion of traded plastics may be mismanaged29. To address this, transparent tracking systems, such as a robust prior informed consent procedure30, are essential. The OECD control system for waste recovery serves as a notable example, requiring disclosure of pre-consented recovery facilities and technologies in waste-importing countries31. Although recycling costs may be higher in developed countries, the overall environmental impact is often lower compared to that in Southeast Asia. These environmental concerns are reflected in the EU’s newly adopted waste shipment regulation, which bans plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries starting in November 2026.
LIFETIME PREDICTIONS FOR VIRGIN AND RECYCLED HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE UNDER CREEP
CONDITIONS, A.D. Drozdov, R. Hoj Jermiin, J. deClaville Christiansen. arXiv preprint
16 Apr 2024.
ABSTRACT: Recycling has become a predominant subject in industry and science due to a rising concern for the environment driven by high production volume of plastics. Replacement of virgin polymers with their recycled analogs is not always possible because recycled polymers cannot met the same property profiles as their virgin counterparts. To avoid deterioration of the mechanical properties, it is proposed to replace a virgin polymer with a recycled polymer of another grade whose characteristics (measured in tensile tests) are close to those of the virgin material. This approach opens a way for the use of recycled polymers in short-term application, but its suitability for long-term applications has not yet been assessed. A thorough experimental investigation is conducted of the mechanical response of virgin high-density polyethylene (HDPE) used for insulation of pipes and recycled HDPE manufactured from post-consumer plastic waste (their stiffness, strength and elongation to break adopt similar values). A model is presented in viscoelastoplasticity of semicrystalline polymers. Its parameters are determined by matching experimental data in short-term relaxation and creep tests. The lifetime of virgin and recycled HDPE under creep conditions is evaluated by means of numerical simulation. It is shown that the stress-time to failure diagrams for virgin and recycled HDPE practically coincide.”
TEXT SAMPLE: “To ensure comparable long-term properties of virgin and recycled plastics, it appears natural to replace a virgin HDPE with a recycled polymer (prepared from a different waste feedstock) whose mechanical properties after recycling are close to those of the virgin material. This approach has recently been proposed where its environmental and economical advantages are discussed. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that HDPE samples manufactured from virgin and recycled polymers with similar mechanical characteristics (the Young modulus, yield stress, and strain at break) have practically identical lifetimes under creep conditions.
REIMAGINING PLASTICS WASTE AS
ENERGY SOLUTIONS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES, Angie F. J. Tan, et al., NPJ MATERIALS SUSTAINABILITY Vol. 2, Article 2 (21 Feb 2024).
ABSTRACT: Recent statistics portray a stark reality, particularly highlighting the inadequate recycling measures and the consequent environmental threats, most notably in developing nations. The global ramifications of plastic pollution are elucidated, specifically focusing on the alarming accumulation in regions such as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and evolving waste management practices in Southeast Asian countries. We emphasize the significance of Waste-to-Energy (W2E) and Waste-toFuel (W2F) technologies, e.g., pyrolysis and gasification, for converting difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into a dense-energy source. However, we identify a critical gap in current research: the emission of CO2 during these processes. This perspective spotlights emergent CO2 capture and utilization technologies, underscoring their role as a robust turnkey solution in making W2E and W2F methods more sustainable and unleashing the huge potential of using waste plastics as a dense-energy source. The scientific community is urged to develop tailored solutions for reducing
CO2 emissions in plastic waste conversion processes. This approach promotes circular resource utilization and realizes the socio-economic and environmental advantages of plastic waste utilization technologies, advocating their implementation in economically disadvantaged regions.
TEXT SAMPLE: Any efforts to close the recycling loop, either by recovering or reforming the monomers, is deemed the most emission-friendly. The challenge in recycling is to recover sufficiently high-purity monomers that reproduce plastics with comparable quality as that made of virgin monomers. Chemically, this requires meticulous sorting and segregation of different waste plastics and managing their additives. … Where options for monomer recoveries are not possible, the next best options are energy recovery from incineration (i.e., W2E) or as non-monomer fuels from pyrolysis (i.e., W2F). A notable concern arises with the emission of CO2, either directly during the W2E process or predominantly from the combustion of fuels produced via W2F. While the infrastructure requires significant investment, a comparison against landfilling needs to be made regarding environmental implications, land and maintenance costs, and the associated carbon emissions.
CLOSING THE LOOP: CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRACTICES IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, PLASTICS FOR CHANGE, 27 Sept 2024.
ABSTRACT: Transforming a conventional supply chain into a closed-loop circular system is more than just a one-size-fits-all proposition. But there are some common strategies companies are already using; here are the top five:
1. Design products built to last, easy to fix, and simple to recycle.
2. Use lean manufacturing and cutting-edge technology to squeeze every drop of value from resources.
3. Set up systems and processes to breathe new life into used products and materials.
4.Collaborate across the entire supply chain to create closed-loop systems that include everyone.
5.Harness the digital power of IoT, blockchain, and AI to track materials and optimize processes.
Circular supply chains, often aligned with green supply chain practices, are a $4.5 trillion opportunity, and savvy companies are already cashing in. Circular strategies aren't just good for the planet; they're boosting bottom lines. Companies embracing circularity principles in their supply chains are seeing substantial cost savings and revenue growth.”
MATERIAL CLASSIFICATION
OF
RECYCLABLE
CONTAINERS USING 60 GHZ RADAR, Tommy Albing, Rikard Nelander. arXiv preprint 22 Dec 2023. Keywords: millimeter wave radar & machine learning, classification algorithms, waste reduction, recycling.
ABSTRACT: Rather than sending used containers and materials to the landfill, recycling can help lower the human impact on the environment. However, manually sorting the mixture of incoming material can be both costly and potentially harmful to the person carrying out the task. In many cases, manual sorting could be replaced with automation, where a container is sorted by a machine, based on a classification of the container's material. In this paper, we propose a classification algorithm, using radar data, acquired with Acconeer's A121 60 GHz pulse coherent radar, for classifying liquid containers into one of the four classes metal, glass, plastic, or paper. The solution offers a costeffective system with robust performance, able to predict the type of container with 98% accuracy.
TEXT SAMPLE: Acconeer’s A121 60GHz pulse coherent radar[1] is a low cost, low power, and high precision radar. It can be used in a wide variety of applications and is robust to environmental factors such as ambient light conditions, dirt, and dust. In this paper, we will demonstrate how radar can be employed in the realm of material classification, and more specifically classifying beverage containers. We propose a classification model, taking designed features, which can be deployed standalone, or as a compliment to other sensor modalities, such as camera and bar code readers.
RECENT BOOK RELEASES
BIOPLASTICS FOR SUSTAINABILITY: MANUFACTURE, TECHNOLOGIES, AND ENVIRONMENT, eds. Ajay Kumar Mishra and Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain, Elsevier 2024, ISBN 978-0-323-95199-9.
ABSTRACT: Bioplastics for Sustainability: Manufacture, Technologies, and Environment offers an innovative approach to bioplastics, integrating stateof-the-art materials and technologies with detailed analysis of lifecycle, recycling, circularity, and environmental impact of bioplastics, and enabling circular utilization and successful scale-up of bioplastics. The book begins by introducing the fundamentals of bioplastics – including biodegradable, compostable, and oxodegradable materials – and discusses the various factors involved in encouraging commercial uptake of these materials. The second part of the book highlights cutting-edge approaches to the production of bioplastics, covering novel sources such as microalgae and organic waste, and solutions for industrial scale manufacturing. Other sections cover the environmental impact of bioplastics and routes to environmentally-friendly usage, and more. This is a valuable resource for researchers and advanced students across polymer science, sustainable materials, plastics engineering, materials science, chemistry, environmental science, and engineering. In an industrial setting, this book supports engineers, scientists, and R&D professionals with an interest in sustainable manufacture and application of bioplastics, across a range of products, parts, and industries.
KEY FEATURES
• Presents the latest advances in novel materials and manufacture techniques for bioplastics
• Focuses on sustainable use of bioplastics, assessing biodegradability, life cycle, recycling, waste, and environmental impact
• Addresses other key considerations, such as industrial scale-up, commercialization, policies, and regulation
BEING A SUSTAINABLE FIRM: TAKEAWAYS FOR A SUSTAINABILITY-ORIENTED MANAGEMENT, Maria Cristina Longo and Eleonora Cardillo. Elsevier 2024, ISBN 978-0-443-14062-4.
ABSTRACT: Addresses the key strategic issues that firms encounter when entering the complex world of sustainability. Faced with a proliferation of approaches, regulations and procedures, the text outlines the contours of the meaning of being a sustainable firm and provides a theoretical framework within which to place the environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategic decisions. In addition, it unfolds across the broad spectrum of international standards and sustainability reporting guidelines, as relevant voluntary socio-environmental reporting systems recognized at international level. Understanding the logic of sustainability
reporting and applying sustainable reporting models to specific business areas offers critical insights and application tools for organizations committed to integrating sustainability into their business and creating new sources of value starting from a common vision of sustainable development and social responsibility. The book highlights these aspects by linking them to the firm challenges and sustainability models in sectors particularly interested in sustainable development, including fashion, tourism, and public-private partnerships for sustainable local communities.
KEY FEATURES
• Uses case studies, guidelines and sustainability reporting tools to compare different sustainability areas and understand critical issues, approaches and performance evaluation systems within the circular economy framework
• Devotes specific chapters to SDG goals 9, 11 and 12 and the related sets of indicators to outline the coordinates within which firms manage sustainability in specific business areas.
• Provides useful insights on ESG parameters and corporate sustainability to entrepreneurs, managers, practitioners, and stakeholders in the cutting-edge sectors of sustainability management
PLASTICS AND SUSTAINABILITY: PRACTICAL APPROACHES, Lee Tin Sin and Bee Soo Tueen, Elsevier 2023, ISBN 978-0-12-824489-0.
ABSTRACT: Provides a broad overview of sustainability as applied to plastics, offering a range of opportunities and solutions to be applied in an academic or industrial setting. The book begins by introducing the challenges and opportunities relating to plastics and environmental sustainability. This is followed by detailed eco-profiles organized by polymer category. Subsequent chapters explore various approaches to plastics sustainability, with in-depth coverage of incineration technology for energy recovery, pyrolysis for chemical recovery, blending technology, design, packaging, circular economy, and biopolymers. Finally, international policies are summarized. The book aims to provide a broad source of information and a range of options to readers on how to evaluate and improve the sustainability of plastics, with analyses of the advantages and drawbacks of different technologies and materials. Authored by two professional engineers with substantial experience in industry and consultancy, this is a valuable resource for all those looking for a wideranging overview of sustainability as applied to plastics, including researchers and advanced students from a range of materials science and engineering disciplines, and engineers, manufacturers, scientists, and R&D professionals from a range of industries.
KEY FEATURES:
• Offers detailed information on plastics eco-profiles, biopolymers, related challenges, and design and circular economy considerations
• Presents the latest processing technologies for plastic waste, covering incineration and energy recovery, pyrolysis and chemical recovery, and blending
• Includes practical guidance on recycling technology, supply chain management, costs, societal impact and international policy
CIRCULARITY OF PLASTICS: SUSTAINABILITY, EMERGING MATERIALS, AND VALORIZATION OF WASTE PLASTIC, ads. Zibiao Li, Jason Y.C. Lim and Chen-Gang Wang, Elsevier 2003, ISBN 978-0-323-91198-6.
Abstract: Circularity of Plastics: Sustainability, Emerging Materials, and Valorization of Waste Plastic takes an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to circularity and sustainability in plastics, with an emphasis
on plastic waste and end-of-life treatment and options for recycling, re-use, valorization and development of biomass-based polymers. The book introduces key concepts of sustainable materials, the circular economy, and lifecycle assessment, and discusses challenges in the valorization of waste. Other sections cover the upcycling of waste plastic into new materials and fuels, with dedicated chapters exploring state-of-the-art techniques for conversion to new sustainable polymers, fuel, fine chemicals and carbon nanomaterials. Emerging technologies used to produce functional polymers from renewable feedstocks, including CO2, biomass, natural polymers, polylactic acid (PLA), and polyhydroxyalkanoate-based materials (PHAs) are then explored, with a final chapter focusing on applications of sustainable materials, challenges, and future perspectives. This is a valuable resource for researchers, scientists, engineers, R&D professionals, and advanced students from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, with an interest in sustainable materials, circularity in plastics, and polymer waste and valorization.
KEY FEATURES:
• Explains the fundamental concepts of sustainable materials, circular economy, lifecycle assessment, and valorization of plastic waste
• Presents cutting-edge methods for the conversion or upcycling of waste to sustainable polymers, fuel and fine chemicals, and carbon nanomaterials
• Provides detailed coverage of the development of functional polymers from a range of sustainable and renewable resources
CONVINCING CONSUMERS
UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL POSTS: SENTIMENT AND EMOTION ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA DATA, Daniyar Amangeldi, Aida Usmanova, Pakizar Shamoi. IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 33504-33523, 2024, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3371585. “Social media is now the predominant source of information due to the availability of immediate public response. As a result, social media data has become a valuable resource for comprehending public sentiments. Studies have shown that it can amplify ideas and influence public sentiments. This study analyzes the public perception of climate change and the environment over a decade from 2014 to 2023. Using the Pointwise Mutual Information (PMI) algorithm, we identify sentiment and explore prevailing emotions expressed within environmental tweets across various social media platforms, namely Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube. Accuracy on a human-annotated dataset was 0.65, higher than Vader score but lower than that of an expert rater (0.90). Our findings suggest that negative environmental tweets are far more common than positive or neutral ones. Climate change, air quality, emissions, plastic, and recycling are the most discussed topics on all social media platforms, highlighting its huge global concern. The most common emotions in environmental tweets are fear, trust, and anticipation, demonstrating public reactions wide and complex nature. By identifying patterns and trends in opinions related to the environment, we hope to provide insights that can help raise awareness regarding environmental issues, inform the development of interventions, and adapt further actions to meet environmental challenges.”
TEXT SAMPLE: “The dataset was filtered based on the following keywords: “climate”, “global warming”, “environment”, “nature”, “pollution”, “plastic”, “green energy”, “food waste”, “water waste”, “greenhouse”, “recycling”, “air quality”, “eco-friendly”, “emission”, “renewable energy”, “sustainable”, “zero waste”, “carbon dioxide”, “ecology”, “smog”, “biodiversity”. We collected 1804 environmental tweets from a dataset of 800,000 instances, equally divided between positive and negative sentiments. The subset of filtered tweets consists of an almost equal number of tweets: 946 positive and 858 negative. Based on the Figure 2, among the keywords, nature emerges as the most prominent, dominating the conversation with 647 tweets for training, followed by “plastic” and “environment”.
BUILDING BETTER MOUSETRAPS
Marc Brooker is a an engineer at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Seattle. His October 2024 blog “THE BUILDER’S GUIDE TO BETTER MOUSETRAPS” addresses the question, “What happens to the ’Build-or-Buy’ paradigm when there isn’t anything to buy?” The key questions developers need to ask when deciding to build a new solution versus adapting an existing one are:
• Is the juice worth the squeeze? (Will I create technology advantage?)
• What is the risk/reward ratio is cost of building a new system
• Am I overcomplexing a simple problem?
• Is my problem really different? (Example: screwdrivers and chisels looks the same, but don’t work the same.)
• What’s the technical risk of poor execution?
• How will we know if we got it right? SUMMARY SUGGESTION: “No decision is a Jeff Bezos one way door. The decision to build a new system is expensive, risky, and comes with a significant chance it’ll distract you and your team from more important things. On the other hand, it could mean that you get much better performance or cost or flexibility. This is the kind of decision its easy to be wrong about. So I suggest you answer my questions, and write down your answers. Then sit down with some smart people you trust and see if they believe your conclusions.”
EVERY HOUR WE SPEND SOLVING A PROBLEM IS AN HOUR WE DON’T SPEND WORRYING ABOUT IT.
WANDERING THROUGH THE CONSUMER WEEDS
Lightspeed, SOUTHEAST ASIA: RESETTING EXPECTATIONS , 02 October 2024.
The venture capital firm Lightspeed has released a report on Southeast Asia’s startup performance entitled ‘RESETTING EXPECTATIONS’. The report evaluates the performance of IPOs following the COVID downturn in funding and subsequent economic uncertainty. “The optimism that the Southeast Asian consumer class will be the next China or India is not being reflected in IPO performance. Overly optimistic assumptions about the region led founders, operators, and investors to allocate marketing, hiring, and fundraising/investing capital that led to disappointments in the SEA tech sector.”
ED SUMMARY: While Lightspeed’s report is true of the tech sector in broad terms, it does not evaluate the garment industry’s R&D investments and resulting innovations in plastics chemistry and recycling efforts. With this caveat aside, the Lightspeed report takeaways include:
Capital Effciency: Southeast Asian tech companies have been less capital efficient than their Chinese counterparts, generating only half the value per dollar invested.
Network Challenges: Southeast Asia’s economic centers pale in comparison to India and China, making it harder to generate the network effects necessary for scaling digital businesses.
Monetizable Users: Despite significant usage increases, the majority of the population across Southeast Asia consists of modest-scale users of digital service, indicating room for growth. Ad Revenue Growth: Online advertising has become an essential high-margin business model, with digital ad spend growing upwards of 14% annually across Southeast Asia, and over 20% in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Below are four data charts from the 30 presented in the Lightspeed report:
