Abstract
This study aims to quantify the overall environmental performances of mechanical recycling of the postconsumer high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Jordan. The life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used to assess the potential environmental impacts of recycling postconsumer PET and HDPE. It quantifies the total energy requirements, energy sources, atmospheric pollutants, waterborne pollutants, and solid waste resulting from the production of recycled PET and HDPE resin from the postconsumer plastic. System expansion and cut-off recycling allocation methods are applied. The analysis has been carried out according to the LCA standard, series UNI EN ISO 14040-14044:2006. A standard unit of output (functional unit) is defined as “one ton of PET flake” and “one ton of HDPE pellet.” The results of the production of virgin resin are compared with the “cut-off” and “system expansion” recycling results. Depending on the allocation methods applied, a nonrenewable energy saving of 40–85% and greenhouse gas emission saving of 25–75% can be achieved. Based on two allocation methods, PET and HDPE recycling offers important environmental benefits over single-use virgin PET and HDPE. LCA offers a powerful tool for assisting companies and policy-makers in the waste plastic industry. Furthermore, the “system expansion” recycling method is not easy to apply because it requires detailed data outside of the life cycle of the investigated product.
Highlights
Increasing plastic usage leads to both waste-management issues and environmental damages
The environmental impacts of recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were assessed. e life-cycle assessment (LCA) results were compared with the ecoprofile of virgin PET flakes and HDPE pellets
LCA results show that total energy requirements for the recycled PET flake are 14% to 17% of the virgin PET flake based on the “cut-off” recycling method and 57% of virgin resin based on the “system expansion” method
Summary
Increasing plastic usage leads to both waste-management issues and environmental damages. Using recycled plastics can significantly reduce the environmental impacts by limiting the exploration, mining, and transportation of natural gas and oil. Plastic recycling has a number of advantages, mainly (a) reducing fossil fuel consumption since plastic production uses 4–8% of global oil production where 4% is from using feedstock and another 4% during conversion [2, 3], (b) reducing energy and municipal solid waste (MSW), and (c) reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. The world is witnessing an increase in recycling rates for plastics despite several challenges. E world average amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) per inhabitant is about 440 kg yearly (for Jordan, the annual average is 380 kg) [4]. Advances in technologies and systems for collecting, sorting, and reprocessing of recyclable plastics are creating new opportunities for recycling, and with the combined actions of the public, industries, and governments, it may be possible to divert the majority of plastic waste from landfills to recycling over the few decades
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