Design of sustainable supply chains for managing plastic waste: The case of low density polyethylene

Abstract

Plastic waste management presents a significant challenge that requires the integration of supply chain and sustainability principles. This study proposes a comprehensive supply chain model for plastic waste and management, specifically low-density polyethylene (LDPE), focusing on economic and environmental considerations. A model based on Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) is developed to address the type of plastic waste management technology, their location through the United States East Coast and the effect of transitioning to an electrified transportation. The model determines plastic waste pyrolysis as the preferred technology to maximize profitability, and mechanical recycling combined with hydrogenolysis and hydrocracking to minimize the global warming potential (GWP). The mix of technologies for minimizing the GWP is highly correlated with the type of transportation, being desired to remove hydrogenolysis when electric trucks are introduced. This electrification of the transportation reduces the emissions by 23 %, but with an increase in the costs by 4 %.