Efficient Plastic Recycling and Remolding Circular Economy Using the Technology of Trust–Blockchain

Abstract

Global plastic waste is increasing rapidly. In general, densely populated regions generate tons of plastic waste daily, which is sometimes disposed of on land or diverged to sea. Most of the plastics created in the form of waste have complex degradation behavior and are non-biodegradable by nature. These remain intact in the environment for a long time span and potentially originate complications within terrestrial and marine life ecosystems. The strategic management of plastic waste and recycling can preserve environmental species and associated costs. The key contribution in this work focuses on ongoing efforts to utilize plastic waste by introducing blockchain during plastic waste recycling. It is proposed that the efficiency of plastic recycling can be improved enormously by using the blockchain phenomenon. Automation for the segregation and collection of plastic waste can effectively establish a globally recognizable tool using blockchain-based applications. Collection and sorting of plastic recycling are feasible by keeping track of plastic with unique codes or digital badges throughout the supply chain. This approach can support a collaborative digital consortium for efficient plastic waste management, which can bring together multiple stakeholders, plastic manufacturers, government entities, retailers, suppliers, waste collectors, and recyclers.

Born or Grown: Enablers and Barriers to Circular Business in Europe

“…Finally, it is worth noting that developments in the field are taking place at a rapid rate. Blockchain technology, for instance, is emerging as a possible solution to overcome some of the current barriers of implementing the concept of the CE [48], and there appears to be considerable scope for research in this nascent area [49].…”

Blockchain for the circular economy: Theorizing blockchain's role in the transition to a circular economy through an empirical investigation

“…Upadhyay, Laing, et al (2021) conducted a literature review of the role of blockchain for the CE and noted on a more general level that the technology can reduce transaction costs and carbon footprints and improve performance and communication. Possible blockchain applications for the CE fall primarily under five categories: supply chain transparency (e.g., Agrawal et al, 2021;Narayan & Tidström, 2020;Saberi et al, 2019;Shojaei et al, 2021;Venkatesh et al, 2020;Vogel et al, 2019), waste management (Khadke et al, 2021;, sharing economy (e.g., , renewable energy (Andoni et al, 2019;Wu & Tran, 2018;Yildizbasi, 2021), and incentivization of sustainable behavior (Herweijer et al, 2018;Khadke et al, 2021;Saberi et al, 2019). Vogel et al (2019) highlighted several blockchain characteristics enabling these application areas: secure data records, public data transmission, immutability, and decentralization.…”

Plastic waste recycling: existing Indian scenario and future opportunities

“…For improvement in plastic recycling, a variety of techniques have been used and blockchain is one among them, and it holds promise for enhancing plastic recycling and the circular economy (CE). A distributed ledger, or blockchain, is made up of certain immutable ordered blocks which prove to be an excellent approach to commence all of their customers' transactions under the same technology (Khadke et al 2021 ). One such approach is the introduction of Swachhcoin for the management of household and industrial waste, and their conversion into usable high-value recoverable goods such as paper, steel, wood, metals, and electricity with efficient and environmentally friendly technologies (Gopalakrishnan and Ramaguru 2019 ).…”

“…The purpose of AI in this multi-sensor infrastructure purpose is to limit unpredictability and facilitate efficient and reliable separation by training the system to identify and distinguish them appropriately (Chidepatil et al 2020 ). Most businesses favor blockchain technology because of its decentralized architecture and low trading costs along with the associated benefits of accessibility, availability, and tamper-proof structures (Khadke et al 2021 ; Wong et al 2021 ).…”