Solid Waste Management Assignment Sample

Plastic Waste Management

Abstract on Plastic Waste Management

This report deals with the literature review of plastic waste management. Plastic waste is considered as deadly for living beings. There are various sources of plastics which comprise of bottled water, straws, plastic plates and other items made up of plastic. There are numerous types of plastics which cannot be recycled. An enormous amount of plastics are accumulated over the coastal areas and on the beaches. The plastic waste if not managed properly can create pollution in the water resources and block the drains. Steps should be taken to reduce the usage of plastics in routine life. Also, volunteers should come forward for starting campaigns to clean the beaches.

Introduction to Plastics Waste

Plastics waste can be explained as the collection of plastic substances like bottles, caps, glasses etc. in the surrounding which has an adverse impact on the wildlife habitat, wildlife and humans. The major source of the plastic is the bottled water, cutlery, straws, food vessels and other products of plastic. The straws are single used plastic items. Plastic waste should be managed carefully since it clogs up the landfills, pollute the water resources, block the drains and support in the loss of the biodiversity (Jnr et al. 2018). There are different forms of plastics which are polluting the water and land. The pollution generated due to plastic harms the animals, humans and plants with the help of poisonous pollutants. Plastic requires about hundreds or thousands of years to break down therefore it creates long-lasting environmental damage.

Plastic waste also has an adverse effect of the food chain from small species up to the largest species. The recycling of plastic is the procedure of recuperating waste plastic or scrap and processing again the substance into valuable products. There are 2 mostly used plastics which are polyethylene and polypropylene (Mandal et al. 2017). These 2 plastics restrict the ability to recycle them. The system of collection and segregation is not proper due to which it creates a problem in disposing of the plastics. It is known that around 60 per cent of the plastic can be recycled only. Remaining plastic is left unattended in the atmosphere and surrounding which causes air, land, and water contamination. The solutions for reducing plastic pollution include decreasing the use of solitary used plastics, declining the usage of polythene, supporting bans for plastic and organizing a clean-up at the beach. It is very important to manage plastic waste as it is very dangerous for living creatures.The report deals with the literature review of plastic waste management.

Literature Review of Plastic Waste Management

According to Lavers et al.(2019), since last 60 years, the oceans are treated as a reservoir for collecting the plastic waste. Plastic has been recognized everywhere in the marine life which includes the deepest ocean drains to the most widespread beaches. The paper provided data about the occurrence of amounts of plastic on the isolated Cocos (Keeling) Island group which is situated around 2100 km from the northwest shore of Australia. With the help of the survey, it was estimated that there were 414 million anthropogenic buried and beach-back vegetation remains which were about 238 tonnes present on the island. Out of this, around 25 per cent were the disposable plastics which included bags, straws and toothbrushes. Slowly, the remains will accumulate quickly on the world’s coasts. These buried products impose various challenges for wildlife and the persons who clean up the beaches. There is a requirement to prevent these novel items from entering the oceans (Lavers et al. 2019).

As indicated by Horodytska et al. (2019)there are weaknesses in the plastics waste management system due to which it leads to contamination in the natural environment. As per the research paper, about 75 per cent of the litter comes from the countries which are developing. About 25 per cent is produced in western nations since there are low recycling rates. The worldwide production of plastic has been doubled and it will increase more. The paper gives a review of the plastic waste management, present recycling and recovery decisions. The paper regards mainly 2 kinds of plastics which are flexible and rigid. These plastics depict dissimilar behaviour and are generally treated distinctly. Plastic waste resources are varied in nature which is grouped in to post-consumer and post-industrial. The paper places more focus on the post-customer plastics because this kind of plastic is produced in high quantity and it is challenging to treat it (Horodytska et al. 2019).

According to Lamb et al. (2018)due to the plastic waste there is a risk of bacterialsettlement by pathogens which results in the outbursts of the sickness in the ocean. The paper evaluated the risk of heart disease due to plastic waste in around 124,000 reef-building corals. It was observed that the disease increased from 4 per cent to 89 per cent when the corals came in touch with plastic. The corals which are structurally complex are 8 times more influenced by the plastic. This shows that the fishes will be affected more. The plastic level indicates the terrestrial mishandled plastic waste which is inflowing into the ocean. It is estimated that 11.1 billion plastic products are tangled on the coral reefs and this number will increase 40 per cent by the year 2025. As per the paper, it can be said that plastic waste management is vital for decreasing diseases which threatens bio-network health and humans (Lamb et al. 2018).

According to Ragaert et al. (2017) the paper gives an inclusive explanation of the present ways for reprocessing of polymers, with the help of chemical and mechanical reprocessing. These ways are formed with the help of industrialized skills, design plans and reprocessing particular waste streams. The paper begins with an impression of solid plastic waste and its origin. Also, the paper discusses different valorisation options for solid plastic waste.Mechanical reprocessing comprises of an overview of present sorting techniques and particular challenges like thermo-mechanical or lifespandeprivation and the immiscibility of blends. The waste comprises of industrial instances like polyethylene terephthalate reprocessing and the solid plastic waste which comes from post-customers packaging. There is a distinct segment for designs and reprocessing. The chemical reprocessing segment comprises of techniques like fluid catalytic cracking, pyrolysis, hydrogen techniques and gasification. Also, the paper explains the major challenges of the recycling plans (Ragaert et al. 2017).

Bernardo et al. (2016)stated that there is an increased use of plastic which leads to an increased amount of plastic waste and therefore there is a requirement of its management. The paper defines how Life Cycle Assessment and financial valuation practices can be utilised for assessing the ecological and financial influences of other plastic waste managing systems. It is observed that there are numerous sources in the literature on the topic LCA of plastic waste managing systems and the outcomes of those sources are usually constant which shows that reprocessing has the lowermost ecological influence on Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Total Energy Use (TEU) influences. Also, there are limited sources in the literature about the problem of economic assessment of plastic waste. Some method which combines Life Cycle Costing and LCA of plastic items are not addressed. It can be concluded from the paper that plastic resources generally have ecological and financial benefits over traditional resources through their Life Cycle(Bernardo et al. 2016).

According to Mewes(2018) numerous plastic industries have grown and therefore there is a need for the managing of plastic waste. This is one of the main challenges of the world. It is observed that more than 8 million tons of plastics were assessed to come into the oceans till the year 2010 and a larger quantity is residual on the land. There are numerous environmental and health effects of plastic waste disposal. The present solutions can handle smaller segments of the waste. The countries like Indonesia and China are the major contributors to the contamination of the oceans. It has been noted that China is the world's pioneer in plastic production. It can be seen that the plastic waste of the islands of Indonesia is from the residential area and not the industrial area. The paper examines the melting point of the plastic which are below 200°C. It lies in the range of low-temperature parabolic solar thermal systems. The paper also discusses the role of micro-projects which are helpful in the decrease of plastic waste at its source within emerging nations(Mewes2018).

According to Mastellone (2019) the construction of engineered polymers and multiple-layered compounds, and the enhancedquantity of thermoplastic resources, bring about in a breakamong the actualmarketplacerequest for subordinate polymer-based resources and the quantity presented by the current waste managing systems. The plastic waste discarding can be combined through different ways for its recycling. A method of scenario comparison is used with the help of which the viability of combination among the current system and feedstock recycling procedure has been evaluated. The plastic waste which is coming from the city and business sources is collected by packing resources. Three situations have been evaluated based on the performances which compare the ability to get novel goods of virgin resources and energy other than the requirements of landfilling. The first situation is mostly used in Europe. The third situation deals with how the viability of the entire network is affected. As per the results, it became known that the third situation is the finest one because it maximizes the reprocessing and recovery with a very little land filling index (Mastellone 2019).

According to Singh and Sharma (2016) plastics have a major role in society and have numerous applications. Plastics are formed by a molecular monomer network which is bound together to form macromolecules. There are numerous worries which are rising because of the non-degradability and production of poisonous gases on ignition through burning. Plastics are fabricated in a desired colour, shape and as per the requirement of the consumers due to which its utility has increased in agriculture, packing, biomedical and automobiles. There are many smart and intelligent packing systems, since there are numerous information technology-related advancements, due to which plastics are important for the modern culture. There are many efforts for the transformation of the renewable raw resources into a novel polymeric product with the help of latest technologies.

These technologies are higher with regards to ecological and cost perspectives and performance. In the coastal region, there is an increase in marine pollution at a quicker rate due to unselective disposal by the customers. Research is focussed on the fact that whether the intake of plastic remains by aquatic creatures convert into poisonous exposures for consumers who eat seafood. The specific significance is given to stabilizers, plasticisers, heavy metals, lead methyl mercury and cadmium. Organic effects from contamination are related to subsequent financial effects and harms. A keystone of sustainable growth is the forming of actual, reasonable, and sustainable waste management policies in emerging nations. Plastic waste management is a serious concern. Around 300 million tons of plastic is generated in the globe in a year and around 50 per cent of this is for discarding applications. It is the advantage and misery of our times. Though there are numerous usages, its leftover and the subsequent contamination blocks up the oceans, lands, rivers and if has an adverse effect on the biodiversity. It is required to propose an idea for discarding then over artificial product that has finished their shelf life. In this paper, it is found that the land and groundwater quality can be influenced in dumpsite parts (Singh and Sharma 2016).

According to Mwanza and Mbohwa (2017), water recycling is very important in the civilization in the emerging markets and also community solid waste is recycled. Plastic waste is included in the community solid waste and there are a number of issues in such type of wastes. The paper conducts a literature review which was directed to recognise the main drivers to the sustainable growth of post-consumer packing and plastic waste recycling systems in industrialized and emerging economies. There were numerous research papers which emphasized on the factors having an impact on the sustainable organization and recycling of solid waste and community solid waste. Additional examination of the outcomes showed a number of drivers from the ecological, economic, and communal aspect as drivers to the sustainable growth of recycling systems for post-consumer packing plastic solid waste (Mwanzaand Mbohwa 2017).

According to Awasthi et al. (2017) plastics have become an important part of the routine life of the individuals and is utilised in a number of global applications. The individuals use these plastics as carry bags in purchasing vegetables. Other use of plastics includes bottled water, the plastic used in the kitchen, the plastic used in the furniture, storing chemicals for the use in industries, packing of plastic drums and so on. Once the plastics it utilised, it becomes portion of the waste which leads to the contamination. This contamination is due to the presence of toxic chemicals which increases diseases and gives rise to unrestrained problems in a communal society. Nowadays, the utilization of plastic has been increased and it has become very problematic to handle the plastic waste. The methods for the reuse of plastic are limited. These methods include incineration, landfill, gasification, recycling, and hydrogenation. The paper reviews the present methods of using plastics waste in this situation (Awasthi et al. 2017).

Lebreton and Andrady (2019) depicted that the chief concern is the collection of mismanaged plastic waste in the surrounding. If it is known about the placement of litter then the place can be targeted for the application of extenuation policies. The paper explains the use of country-level data on the management of waste. It also combines high-resolution circulations and long-term forecasts of residents and the GDP. It helps to forecast the generation of plastic waste from now to the year 2060. IT was estimated that among 60 and 99 million tons of plastics were generated in the year 2015 in the world. The upcoming plastic waste load will be higher in the African and Asian continents. For reducing this growth there is a requirement of the developing economies to meaningfully invest in waste management substructures according to the GDP growth in the future. Efforts should be made to decrease plastic waste in the world. The paper also shows that the major portion of the plastics waste is sent thorough watersheds using the forecasts (Lebreton, L. and Andrady, A., 2019).

According to Chow et al.(2017) due to the economic growth and the individuals changing the way of living has increased in the usage of plastic which leads to the plastic waste all over the world. The plastics waste is harmful and harms the ecological surroundings and imposes a risk to human health. Therefore there is a higher wish to decrease the plastic waste. For the reduction of the use of plastics, there is a requirement of educating people to change their attitude, belief, knowledge, behaviour towards plastic waste management. This paper explains about 3 teaching plans which include simulation game-based teaching, direct teaching and hands-on teaching. These teachings help to change the attitude, knowledge and behaviour in the students in the direction of plastic waste management. The paper discusses the outcomes in-depth (Chow et al. 2017).

Drzyzga and Prieto (2019) stated that the plastic manufacture in the world has risen in the last 50 years. In the year 2016, it has reached up to 335 million tonnes in a year. In the upcoming years, it is expected to become double. For the purpose of packing plastic is very important. The producers and transformers of plastics highlight the profits which are derived from the packing of plastics. It provides some direct economic benefits and assists to stop food waste and pollution. It also lessens the weight of the packing and helps to decrease the fuel utilised for the transportation of products. Of the plastics is reused then it will become waste at a certain level. If there is a requirement to close the circle of the circular economy, this waste should be considered as a resource which can be worked again into the lifespan of plastics (Drzyzga and Prieto 2019).

Conclusion on Plastic Waste Management

It can be concluded from the above report that it is very significant to manage the plastic waste as it has numerous adverse effects on the living creatures. Plastic waste ought to be overseen cautiously since it blocks the landfills, contaminates the water assets, obstructs the channels which result in the loss of the biodiversity. Plastic can be explained as a non-biodegradable and poisonous waste. If the plastic waste is discharged into the water resources it can lead to the death of fishes. This act of humans is very common for a very long time. Stray animals sometimes eat the thrown out plastic bags which is harmful to their health. There are various types of plastics which are dirtying the water and land. The contamination created because of plastic damages the creatures, people and plants with the assistance of toxic poisons. However, plastic is very convenient in modern society and offers us numerous valuable carry bags but it can be a serious threat to the environment.

Therefore, it is required to try our level best to decrease the use of plastic items. Also, recycling and reusing plastic can decrease the level of pollution from plastic waste. Plastic waste requires hundreds or thousands of years to get disposed which produces extended ecological harm. The use of plastic bags should be banned as it not only affects the environment but also humans. The pollution which is caused by plastic bags is litter. The plastic bags affect humans more since the bags are disposed of in a wrong manner because the individuals are not aware of the outcomes of plastic bags. Plastic waste has an unfavourable impact of the natural way of life from little species up to the biggest species. In this way, this report provides a literature review about the plastic waste management.

References for Plastic Waste Management

Awasthi, A.K., Shivashankar, M. and Majumder, S. 2017. Plastic solid waste utilization technologies: A Review. In Materials Science and Engineering Conference Series (Vol. 263, No. 2, p. 022024).

Bernardo, C.A., Simões, C.L. and Pinto, L.M.C. 2016.Environmental and economic life cycle analysis of plastic waste management options.A review.In AIP conference proceedings (Vol. 1779, No. 1, p. 140001).United States: AIP Publishing LLC.

Chow, C.F., So, W.M.W., Cheung, T.Y. and Yeung, S.K.D. 2017.Plastic waste problem and education for plastic waste management.Emerging practices in the scholarship of learning and teaching in a digital era (pp. 125-140). Springer, Singapore.

Drzyzga, O. and Prieto, A. 2019.Plastic waste management, a matter for the ‘community’. Microbial biotechnology, 12(1), p.66.

Horodytska, O., Cabanes, A. and Fullana, A. 2019. Plastic Waste Management: Current Status and Weaknesses.

Jnr, A.K.L., Yunana, D., Kamsouloum, P., Webster, M., Wilson, D.C. and Cheeseman, C., 2018. Recycling waste plastics in developing countries: Use of low-density polyethylene water sachets to form plastic bonded sand blocks. Waste management, 80, pp.112-118.

Lamb, J.B., Willis, B.L., Fiorenza, E.A., Couch, C.S., Howard, R., Rader, D.N., True, J.D., Kelly, L.A., Ahmad, A., Jompa, J. and Harvell, C.D. 2018. Plastic waste associated with disease on coral reefs. Science, 359(6374), pp.460-462.

Lavers, J.L., Dicks, L., Dicks, M.R. and Finger, A. 2019.Significant plastic accumulation on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia. Scientific reports, 9(1), pp.1-9.

Lebreton, L. and Andrady, A. 2019.Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal. Palgrave Communications, 5(1), pp.1-11.

Mandal, T., Srivastava, R.K. and Singh, T.B., 2017. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of plastic waste management at a household level among secondary school students: An intervention study. Indian Journal of Preventive & Social Medicine, 48(1-2), pp.7-7.

Mastellone, M.L. 2019. The integrated plastic waste management: a technical-economical assessment of an integrated sorting–feedstock recycling system. In 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT,1(2).

Mewes, D. 2018. Applications of Solar Thermal Technology for Plastic Waste Management in Developing Communities, pp. 20-21.

Mwanza, B.G. and Mbohwa, C. 2017. Drivers to sustainable plastic solid waste recycling: a review. Procedia Manufacturing, 8, pp.649-656.

Ragaert, K., Delva, L. and Van Geem, K. 2017. Mechanical and chemical recycling of solid plastic waste. Waste Management, 69, pp.24-58.

Singh, P. and Sharma, V.P. 2016. Integrated plastic waste management: environmental and improved health approaches. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 35, pp.692-700.

Remember, at the center of any academic work, lies clarity and evidence. Should you need further assistance, do look up to our Waste Management Assignment Help