Small circles: The role of physical distance in plastics recycling

Comparing the end-of-life circularity potential of commercial fishing gear deployed in Norway by applying multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear is one of the most harmful types of marine litter globally, causing irreversible damage to ocean life and ecosystems. Therefore, global and regional policies are currently being designed and implemented to limit the influx of fishing gear into the marine environment, emphasizing the importance of circular end-of-life management of fishing gear. This study compares the end-of-life circularity potential of the six most used commercial fishing gears in Norway to identify how the heterogeneity of gears impacts their management alternatives. The main findings of the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) applied in this study are that considering the economic and environmental sustainability, as well as technological feasibility of the gears' end-of-life management, purse seines have the most significant circularity potential, followed by trawls and Danish seines, while gillnets, longlines, and traps and pots are most challenging to manage according to circularity principles. Finally, some policy implications of these findings are discussed, considering especially the role of the Extended Producer Responsibility policy in the accommodation for fishing gears' circularity.

Multi-stakeholder perspective to generate evidence and strategies for sustainable management of ropes from the fishing sector of Norway

Marine plastic pollution is a growing stressor affecting both marine and terrestrial life. Plastic polymers are widespread in oceans, including sparsely populated Nordic countries. Norway, a fishing-dominant region, faces substantial plastic pollution from fishing ropes, which often end up incinerated, landfilled, or lost in the ocean, contributing to the ghost fishing problem. This research employs a static material flow analysis (MFA) to assess plastic mass flows and the recyclability of 15 rope types used in Norway's commercial fishing sector. Findings reveal that approximately 383 tons of ropes are lost annually in Norwegian waters, endangering fish species. Furthermore, only one-third of the rope types can be efficiently recycled using available recycling technologies, highlighting the need for circularity. The MFA and inventory-based ranking approach shows significant potential as a holistic decision support tool for industry and policymakers in exercising sustainable and circular management for ropes.

Advancing Plastic Recycling: Challenges and Opportunities in the Integration of 3D Printing and Distributed Recycling for a Circular Economy

The concept of the circular economy has emerged as a promising solution to address the mounting concerns surrounding plastic waste and the urgent need for sustainable resource management. While conventional centralized recycling remains a common practice for plastic waste, centralized facilities may prove inadequate in handling the ever-increasing volumes of plastic waste generated globally. Consequently, exploring alternative recycling methods, such as distributed recycling by additive manufacturing, becomes paramount. This innovative approach encompasses actively involving communities in recycling practices and promotes a circular economy. This comprehensive review paper aims to explore the critical aspects necessary to realize the potential of distributed recycling by additive manufacturing. In this paper, our focus lies on proposing schemes that leverage existing literature to harness the potential of distributed recycling by additive manufacturing as an effective approach to plastic waste management. We explore the intricacies of the recycling process, optimize 3D printing parameters, address potential challenges, and evaluate the mechanical properties of recycled materials. Our investigation draws heavily from the literature of the last five years, as we conduct a thorough critical assessment of DRAM implementation and its influence on the properties of 3D printing structures. Through comprehensive analysis, we reveal the potential of recycled materials in delivering functional components, with insights into their performance, strengths, and weaknesses. This review serves as a comprehensive guide for those interested in embracing distributed recycling by additive manufacturing as a transformative approach to plastic recycling. By fostering community engagement, optimizing 3D printing processes, and incorporating suitable additives, it is possible to collectively contribute to a more sustainable future while combatting the plastic waste crisis. As progress is made, it becomes essential to further delve into the complexities of material behavior, recycling techniques, and the long-term durability of recycled 3D printed components. By addressing these challenges head-on, it is feasible to refine and advance distributed recycling by additive manufacturing as a viable pathway to minimize plastic waste, fostering a circular economy and cultivating a cleaner planet for generations to come.

Cleaning Up without Messing Up: Maximizing the Benefits of Plastic Clean-Up Technologies through New Regulatory Approaches

As the global plastics crisis grows, numerous technologies have been invented and implemented to recover plastic pollution from the environment. Although laudable, unregulated clean-up technologies may be inefficient and have unintended negative consequences on ecosystems, for example, through bycatch or removal of organic matter important for ecosystem functions. Despite these concerns, plastic clean-up technologies can play an important role in reducing litter in the environment. As the United Nations Environment Assembly is moving toward an international, legally binding treaty to address plastic pollution by 2024, the implementation of plastic clean-up technologies should be regulated to secure their net benefits and avoid unintended damages. Regulation can require environmental impact assessments and life cycle analysis to be conducted predeployment on a case-by-case basis to determine their effectiveness and impact and secure environmentally sound management. During operations catch-efficiency and bycatch of nonlitter items, as well as waste management of recovered litter, should be documented. Data collection for monitoring, research, and outreach to mitigate plastic pollution is recommended as added value of implementation of clean-up technologies.

Rethinking plastic recycling: A comparison between North America and Europe

In this article, we identify the problem of plastic proliferation, the consequent expansion of plastic waste in our society, the inadequacies of current attempts to recycle plastic, and the urgency to address this problem in the light of the microplastic threat. It details the problems with current efforts to recycle plastic and the particularly poor recycling rates in North America (NA) when compared to certain countries in the European Union (EU). The obstacles to plastic recycling are overlapping economic, physical and regulatory problems spanning fluctuating resale market prices, residue and polymer contamination and offshore export which often circumvents the entire process. The primary differences between the EU and NA are the costs of end-of-life disposal methods with most EU citizens paying much higher prices for both landfilling and Energy from Waste (incineration) costs compared with NA. At the time of writing, some EU states are either restricted from landfilling mixed plastic waste or the cost is significantly greater than in NA ($80 to 125 USD/t vs $55 USD/t). This makes recycling a favourable option in the EU, and, in turn, has led to more industrial processing and innovation, more recycled product uptake, and the structuring of collection and sorting methods that favour cleaner polymer streams. This is a self-re-enforcing cycle and is evident by EU technologies and industries that have emerged to process "problem plastics", such as mixed plastic film wastes, co-polymer films, thermosets, Polystyrene, (PS) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and others. This is in contrast with NA recycling infrastructure, which has been tailored to shipping low-value mixed plastic waste abroad. Circularity is far from complete in any jurisdiction as export of plastic to developing countries is an opaque, but often used disposal method in the EU as it is in NA. Proposed restrictions on off-shore shipping and regulations requiring minimum recycled plastic content in new products will potentially increase plastic recycling by increasing both supply and demand for recycled product.