Recycling of Plastics as a Strategy to Reduce Life Cycle GHG Emission, Microplastics and Resource Depletion

Plastic waste is the most challenging type of because its generation rate (consumption rate) high, and current recycling low. The increase in production disposal plastics has led to significant environmental problems including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, microplastic pollution, resource depletion. study aimed at quantifying potential effects reduction achieved by widely consumed polymers. One approach establishing a circular economy for recycling. as strategy reduce life cycle GHG depletion was investigated. Life assessment methodology employed, considering cradle-to-gate system boundary. results showed that can significantly emissions Replacing virgin material with recycled reduces emission −67 MtCO2e. Recycling could have saved 56.8 million per year. However, mechanical recycling, which commercialised nowadays, contributed an microplastics much 2.4 × 109 particles will also save about 50 tonnes resources from worldwide around 20 Mt plastics. present scenario not possible unless other mechanisms capture emitted are introduced or methods, such chemical employed.