A realistic material flow analysis for end-of-life plastic packaging management in Spain: Data gaps and suggestions for improvements towards effective recyclability

Role of Citizen Scientists in Environmental Plastic Litter Research—A Systematic Review

“…People's perception on how and what plastic could be recycled is also important. Huge gaps were determined between what is expected, reported and actually recycled [103]. Most of the plastic items sent for recycling are rejected at the plant, mainly due to improper selective collection [103].…”

Material flow analysis and recycling performance of an improved mechanical recycling process for post-consumer flexible plastics

“…However, up to now most of the waste management infrastructure is developed to process rigid plastics (e.g., HDPE and PET bottles). In many countries, PCFP is still not correctly source separated and is usually sent to landfill or incineration, or is exported ( Lopez-Aguilar et al, 2022 ). In Europe, only in a limited number of countries, for example in The Netherlands, Germany, and recently Belgium, PCFP is source separated typically together with rigid plastics packaging, metals, and beverage carton.…”

How Much Can Chemical Recycling Contribute to Plastic Waste Recycling in Europe? An Assessment Using Material Flow Analysis Modeling

“…Studies from Maury et al (2022), Cardamone et al (2022), and Williams et al (2020) suggest that plastic from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are treated with less attention to polymer recovery and the 'reuse and recycling' target from ELV (i.e., 85%) stated in the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive (ELVD) is mainly achieved by recycling aluminum and metals from ELVs, leaving a substantial amount of plastic to be landfilled or incinerated. Similarly, a significant amount of plastics packaging waste is not separately collected, correctly sorted or recycled, while substantial improvements are needed to meet the 55% recycling target by 2030 stated in the PPWD (Picuno et al, 2021;Antonopoulos et al, 2021;Lopez-Aguilar et al, 2022;Van Eygen et al, 2018). It is thus clear that the circular economy for plastic needs an urgent boost.…”