Recycling and Application of Plastics

Plastic applications are everywhere, but at the same time, they also generate a large amount of waste and emissions, which urgently need to be recycled and reused. Currently, the tightening of sustainable development goals and the introduction of new technologies are vigorously promoting the development of plastic recycling, encouraging plastic waste to be turned into treasure. How can plastic industry enterprises effectively grasp new trends and get a share of the market under new business opportunities?
Plastic emits approximately 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (greenhouse gas, GHG) annually, accounting for about 4% of global carbon emissions. As a major producer and processor of plastics, the European Union accounts for 9% of global emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions run through the entire plastic value chain, and only 10% of plastic waste is recycled. At the same time, plastic demand is expected to maintain strong growth, and plastic waste is also increasing.
Recently, Bobby G. Sumpter from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, the team led by Liu Guoliang from Virginia Tech University, and the team led by George W. Huber from the University of Wisconsin Madison published papers in the same journal Science, discussing the issue of plastic recycling from different perspectives and achieving the reuse of plastic waste. Kevin M. Van Geem from Ghent University in Belgium also commented on the above two works in the journal Science and proposed the concept of a circular plastic economy [2]: raw materials extracted from fossil fuels are continuously produced and processed (orange), used, collected, and classified (blue), and then recycled and regenerated (green) to form a closed loop, where the so-called “waste” is also considered a resource for further production of chemicals.
Since the large-scale production of plastic began in 1950 (with a production capacity of approximately 2 million tons at the time), the compound annual growth rate of plastic production has been 8.4%, reaching around 348 million tons in 2017. It is estimated that 8.3 billion tons have been produced so far. It can be further divided into 7.3 billion tons of resin and additives (resin plastics contain an average of 7% additives), as well as 1 billion tons of fiber. If this continues, the blue Earth may become a “plastic planet”. Currently, approximately 400 million tons of plastic waste are generated worldwide each year. But the more serious problem is that plastic has penetrated into some of the most remote and primitive areas on Earth. The relevant research was published in Nature on July 12, 2023, and was selected as the cover paper.
Therefore, strengthening the research on plastic recycling and upgrading has become an important topic in the field of polymers. Here, the editorial department has compiled the latest developments in plastic upgrading and recycling published in Nature and Science over the past year for the benefit of readers.
Under the “dual carbon target” and “plastic ban”, upgrading plastic recycling is imperative! Currently, more and more end markets (such as the automotive, consumer electronics, and communication industries) are using recycled plastics for production applications in order to reduce emissions, lower costs, and increase efficiency.
Plastic regulations: Goal setting is an effective way to promote plastic recycling
Since the 1990s, mandatory regulations on the disposal of plastic waste have been introduced globally, especially in Europe. Currently, about 70% of plastic waste is included in the regulatory scope of EU sustainability regulations, covering various plastic application scenarios such as consumer goods and transportation packaging, textiles, electronic products, etc. However, this also means that 30% of plastic waste in the European region is still not regulated, mainly from the construction, automotive, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. Therefore, the world still has a long way to go before fully realizing a circular economy, and there are many gaps in the current regulatory framework.
In 2020, 24% of plastic waste in the EU region was recycled, while the rest was landfilled or incinerated. In terms of plastic packaging, the recycling rate is even higher at 30%, as almost all plastic regulations in the EU are currently focused on packaging. However, there is still a significant gap between the 30% recycling rate and the target set in the 2018 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The target is to achieve a recycling rate of 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030
Plastic pollution has always been one of the important environmental challenges facing the world today, causing serious impacts on marine ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. According to statistics, global sales of plastic bottled mineral water or beverages exceed one million bottles per minute, and it is expected that sales will double again by 2030. Effective plastic recycling can greatly reduce the impact of plastic pollution and solve the pollution problem from the source, which has attracted extensive research from numerous scientists and scholars.