12 - Emissions and Environmental Burdens Associated With Plastic Solid Waste Management

Abstract

Plastics are part and parcel of the life of human beings. Plastic waste production has increased exponentially over the years with increased use of plastics in every field possible, but its management techniques are yet developing. The statistics indicate the shift of global leaders of plastic production industry from Europe to China in the last decade. Although the plastic waste production per capita is high in the developed countries, so is the efficiency in the management. Countries like China, India, and other low and middle-income countries produce waste in large quantities pertaining to their huge population and are very inefficient in its management. Plastic waste management can be primarily categorized into mechanical recycling, feedstock recycling (FR), incineration, and landfilling. Mechanical recycling involves the recovery of products without significant changeover of its molecular structure or its physical properties and to be reused for a similar purpose. It can be applied to all the types of plastics. FR involves structural and molecular level changes to the plastic and conversion to its raw material or feed material to be used in a different application. Depending on the process and its parameters, it can be pyrolysis, gasification that can be modified according to the product properties and proportion required. Waste to energy involves the conversion of matter to energy and can be done with minimal presorting and cleaning. The problems of air pollution and residual ash management are to be dealt with separately. Landfilling is the least preferable option and is only better than unsanitary disposal in the waste dumps. It consumes land and environmentally is not sustainable. This chapter deals with the types of plastics and their properties, plastic production industry, plastic waste generation statistics, compares the different types of plastic waste management techniques economically and environmentally, and global prospects of plastic in the future.