| Title |
Analysis of factors influencing the circularity of plastic packaging waste recycling: a case study in the Baltic States / |
| Authors |
Denafas, Gintaras ; Torkelis, Artūras ; Kliučininkas, Linas |
| DOI |
10.20535/EHS2710-3315.2023.291506 |
| Full Text |
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| Is Part of |
Матеріали XХIІI міжнародної науково-практичної конференції «Екологія. Людина. Суспільство», (м. Київ, Україна, 7 грудня 2023 р.) = Handbook of the ХХІII international science conference „Ecology. Human. Society“, (December 7, 2023 Кyiv, Ukraine).. Kyiv : Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. 2023, p. 99-105.. ISSN 2710-3315 |
| Keywords [eng] |
circular economy ; plastic waste ; packaging waste ; sustainable management and use of raw material |
| Abstract [eng] |
In 2020, 29.5 million tonnes of post-consumer plastics waste were collected in the EU. Around 40% of all plastic waste consists of packaging waste, and therefore it is one of the most important components of plastic waste. According to the Eurostat data, the amount of plastic packaging waste generated in the Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in 2020 was around 86, 46.7 and 53.6 thousand tonnes or 30.8, 24.6 and 40.3 kilograms per capita respectively. In 2020, the waste management of post-consumer plastic packaging in the EU had the following trends – 46% was sent to recycling, 37% to energy recovery and 17% to landfill. The EU has set itself the goal of recycling of plastic packaging waste at the EU level by at least 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030. In this case particular attention is paid to the packaging waste management. The results of waste morphological investigations carried out in three municipalities (Kaunas, Daugavpils, and Tallinn) in 2023 showed that the plastic content of separately collected plastic waste is up to 67%, while the plastic content of mixed municipal waste is up to 40%. LD-PE, HD-PE and PP are the predominant plastic wastes. The recycling rate of plastic packaging waste in all Baltic countries is likely to be up to 45%, which leaves it out of line with the EU's recycling targets for plastic packaging. For improving the management and the recycling of plastic packaging waste, the following observations of investigation were drawn: Plastics packaging waste recycling rates are higher when collected separately compared to mixed waste collection schemes (may varied around 13-80 times). Due to the different physicochemical properties of plastic polymers, waste from different plastics should be collected separately to increase the potential recycling rate. Implementation of new recycling methods for plastic waste to improve the recycling of pure and contaminated plastic waste. Improvement of the waste sorting line in waste treatment facilities towards higher separation efficiency for plastics of different polymers. Further research is needed to improve the plastic waste management scheme and implement technical solutions. |
| Published |
Kyiv : Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute |
| Type |
Conference paper |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2023 |
| CC license |
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