Spatial simulation and LCA evaluation on the plastic waste recycling system in Tianjin

Abstract

With the rapid economic development in China, the amount of plastic waste (PW) generated has greatly increased and much of the waste is currently not treated. To reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from recycling of PW, we estimated the PW flow and considered methods to improve the household PW recycling system in Tianjin by adjusting processes during transportation and establishing a PW recycling factory in Zi’ya Industrial Park. The goal of the study was to identify reasonable improvements for the recycling system and clarify the environmental load. Geographic information system (GIS) technology was used to simulate transport processes for comparing GHG emissions from the transport processes between the present case and an improved case. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare GHG emissions between a projected scenario and a baseline scenario. Estimated GHG emissions during transport processes in the improved case were reduced by about 12,197 t CO2 eq per year compared to the present case, equivalent to about 65.9 % of the total emissions in the present case. GHG emissions in the projected scenario were about 101,738 t CO2 eq less per year than the baseline scenario, equivalent to about 75.5 % of the total emissions in the baseline scenario.