End-of-Life Options for Plastics

Cnd-of-life options for plastics are important factors that influence the life cycle assessment (LCA) of plastics. Disposal options for plastics are to mechanically recycle the plastic, chemically recycle the plastic, compost the biobased plastic, burn the plastic into energy, or bury the plastic in a landfill. 

---

Plastics can be discarded and sent to local landfills for disposal. The landfill process is fhe most common end-of-life option for plastics and most solid waste. 

Q.6.6 US EPA WARM provides useful information about end-of-life options for plastics that include recycling, waste-to-energy conversion, and landfill processes. T or F ... 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a Waste Reduction Model (WARM) to calculate the environmental impacts of end-of-life options for products, including plastics. The US EPA WARM calculates GHG emissions for source reduction, recycling, waste-to-energy, and landfill end-of-life options. The US EPA WARM provides information about recycling, sources reduction, waste-to-energy, and landfill processes. WARM calculations are available in web-based calculator and as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. WARM has databases for over 45 material types and GHG emissions are provided in metric tons of C02eq or metric tons of carbon equivalent (EPA Waste Reduction Model 2013). 

Industrial compost is a viable end-of-life option for compostable plastics but not traditional plastics. Compostable plastics biodegrade under industrial composting conditions (Greene 2007b Greene 2008 Greene 2009). 

E.6.1 Determine the end-of-life options for the plastics made into your cell phone. Can they be recycled What type of plastic is used for the cell phone What is the recycling rate of that plastic Where can you take the cell phone at the end of its useful life ... 

This paper explores the use of plastics in cars to make them more environmentally friendly. It lists major environmental issues. It then discusses in detail the positive role of plastics during the lifetime of a car (more plastics means less fuel consumption), the fact that automotive plastic parts are user-friendly and safe, the current and future uses of plastics in cars, recovery options for plastics in end-of-life vehicles, mechanical recycling (which is the best recovery option for many large automotive parts), energy recovery (the solution for small plastic parts), and feedstock (or chemical) recycling. Lastly, the way forward is considered. 

Jenseit, W., Stahl, H., Wollny, V., and Wittlinger, R. (2003) Recovery Options For Plastic Parts from End-of-Life Vehicles An Eco-efficiency Assessment, APME Brussels May 2003 http //www.oeko.de/oekodoc/151/2003-039-en.pdf (last accessed June 2013). 

---