Designing an optimised supply network for sustainable conversion of waste agricultural plastics into higher value products

Abstract

Agricultural plastics are currently characterised by a predominantly linear take-make-dispose value chain, thus being a major stream of waste that contributes to significant environmental and economic issues. Therefore, policy makers have recently indicated the adoption of circular economy approaches as the way forward for plastics. This study addresses the problem of agricultural plastic waste as a major stream of landfilled waste by assessing the potential for recycling the plastic into higher value products through pyrolysis and by optimally designing the respective supply network to support this process. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is developed to optimise the end-to-end supply network design, from the waste generation stage up to the end consumer of the produced material. The model is supported by experimental results on the pyrolysis performance for contaminated plastic samples. The model is applied in a case study of the Scottish agricultural sector to showcase its potential in assessing the feasibility and financial viability in addition to the positive environmental impact on agricultural plastic waste supply networks. The results demonstrate the potential of using the pyrolysis technology for agricultural plastic waste recycling as an example of a circular economy approach and the benefits of using the developed model for decision making purposes, as well as the potential for waste reduction and the implications for farmers' operations.

Bibliographic mapping of post-consumer plastic waste based on hierarchical circular principles across the system perspective

“…Refuse (R0) strategy is covered in three articles relating to the production chain level with the following focus: designing for Recycling (DfR) to address bio-based polymers and recycling infrastructure system constraints [ 95 ]; a collaborative value chain for circular business models [ 111 ]; investigations into the structure of potential Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) supply chains to identify bottlenecks (bioplastic) [ 178 ], the role of Reduce (R2) strategy in the optimization of end-to-end supply network design to reduce waste in Scottish agriculture [ 190 ]; and Reuse (R3) strategy in relation to the legacy additives in the plastic waste stream resulting from improper disposal, treatment option and regulation [ 244 ]. Table 10 shown the distribution of literature of circular strategy at the production chain level.…”

“… [ 165 ] X Distributed plastic recycling using 3D printer using closed supply chain network. [ 178 ] X X Investigate the structure of potential supply chain of OFMSW to identify bottlenecks (bioplastic) [ 190 ] X X Optimization on end-to-end supply network design to reduce waste in Scotland agriculture. [ 233 ] X Islamabad and Rawalpindi industrial circular plastic consumption cycle.…”

“…The frequent appearance of the macro-system in the published literature is due to the increasing adoption of 3R framework as the form of national waste management in such countries as Thailand [ 247 ] and globally to reduce ocean-borne microplastics [ 106 ]. The Reduce strategy can also be implemented through production efficiency which reduces resource consumption [ 213 , 255 ]; enhances process efficiency at EoL [ 2 , 193 ]; optimizes supply network design [ 190 ]; and innovative plastic packaging design [ 210 ]. Several pieces of research focus on the behaviorial aspects of waste reduction with a focus on waste prevention activities during flights [ 227 ]; socio-demographic characteristics that affect waste generation [ 201 ]; and farmer attitudes to plastic waste reduction policies in agriculture [ 43 ].…”

Redesigning a food supply chain for environmental sustainability – An analysis of resource use and recovery

“…Results showed that high investment cost is required for minimising the environmental impact and risk. Rentizelas et al, (2018) optimised the end-to-end supply chain of agricultural plastic waste recycling. Zhang and Jiang, (2017) developed a model to find the optimal design of the supply chain which is focusing on extraction of biodiesel from waste cooking oil.…”

The EU policy for a plastic economy: Reflections on a sectoral implementation strategy

“…As a result of the EU norm, in various member countries, producers are required to organise nonprofit PROs to run the collection of waste derived from goods they produce and trade as a first step for their recycling phase (European Commission, 2014;Lifset & Lindhqvist, 2008). The ability of EPR mechanisms to move the management of waste towards recycling attitudes allowing waste reduction from end-live products is already reported in various works (e.g., Fischer, 2011;Rentizelas, Shpakova, & Mašek, 2018). At present, the use of this specific tool in the EU area refers to a variety of contexts and covers several products such as end-of-life vehicles, batteries, packaging, oils, graphic paper, and waste electrical and electronic equipment (European Commission, 2014).…”