Abstract
The article presents a comparative analysis of the flow and utilisation of biodegradable polymer waste in relation to the waste of petroleum-based thermoplastic polymers. It compares energy expenditures and the costs of the reutilisation of both types of plastics in industrial applications. The performed studies and an analysis of the yielded results enabled the acquisition of real data involving the subject of managing petroleum-based plastic waste after the end of its life cycle, as well as biodegradable plastic waste, over the recent years, which is the main purpose of the study. So far, this subject has not been analysed very frequently, and, considering climate change, the predatory economy and the growing population of our planet, it is becoming an important topic, within the scope of which it is necessary to develop a new approach and new solutions regarding legal regulations and social awareness, as well as the technological possibilities of their implementation. The authors’ own research will indicate factual results related to managing various types of waste, based on the example of data acquired from a company involved in the retreatment of plastics and give answers to bothering questions such as: Is there an impact of retreatment on technological indicators defined by means of the mass flow rate? Is the retreatment of biodegradable plastics justified in terms of economy, energy and ecology? Is the retreatment of biodegradable plastics efficient?
Highlights
Accepted: 21 March 2021Nowadays, the plastic industry is facing the challenge of efficient waste management aimed at minimising the degradation of the natural environment
Plastics are still more economical than metals, wood and glass in terms of the costs of their production, the weight to strength ratio and the amount of required energy and water; on the other hand, they are produced from petroleum, which is a non-renewable material whose resources may be depleted in the near future, which generates a number of problems and causes the polymer waste management to be an urgent matter that requires the rapid development of newer and newer environmentally friendly solutions at a long-term scale [18]
The managing the flow of a waste stream consisting of biodegradable plastics and petroleumfollowing research questions were asked in relation to the abovementioned performance of based plastics
Summary
The plastic industry is facing the challenge of efficient waste management aimed at minimising the degradation of the natural environment. Its environmental policy helps to make the EU’s economy more environmentally friendly; it protects the natural resources of Europe and guarantees the health and well-being of the EU’s inhabitants (articles 11 and 191–193) [2]; in spite of this, the statistical data presented in the following part of the paper indicates that the effects of waste management are still quite controversial and require even more radical actions for more efficient waste management in Europe. These actions must lead to the offering of solutions favouring sustainable management of Published: 26 March 2021.
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