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A Review of Existing Plastic Waste Management Strategies, Assessment & Tools: Towards the Development of a Plastic Offsetting Strategies
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Researchers critically examine global plastic waste management strategies — including circular economy approaches, bioplastics, and the 3Rs framework — finding that only 9–10% of plastic is effectively recycled, and propose plastic offsetting inspired by carbon credit mechanisms as a financial instrument to direct resources toward waste management in underserved regions.
The escalating global production of plastics poses significant environmental challenges, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and widespread pollution. This review critically examines contemporary research on plastic sustainability strategies, focusing particularly on the circular economy (CE), end-of-life management, and emerging concepts such as offsetting. Despite various initiatives advocating the reduce–reuse–recycle (3Rs) approach, only 9–10% of plastic is effectively recycled, with substantial volumes incinerated or landfilled, exacerbating environmental degradation. Moreover, the review highlights geographic disparities, highlighting that regions with robust infrastructure achieve more effective waste management than developing areas. The adoption of bioplastics as sustainable alternatives remains limited due to their complex life cycle and production processes. This review synthesizes the CE, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and offsetting tools in the context of plastics towards the development of plastic offsetting strategies as a waste management solution. It identifies critical literature gaps, where existing plastic waste management systems are limited to affordability and geographical restrictions. The review highlights the various plastic circularity strategies and their limitations, while addressing carbon offsetting as an inspiration for a plastic offsetting mechanism that could significantly enhance global strategies to mitigate plastic pollution, particularly in developing regions, fostering more sustainable global waste management practices. Therefore, plastic offsetting, inspired by carbon offset mechanisms, emerges as a novel strategy that offers financial incentives by sponsoring plastic waste management projects to effectively managing plastic waste in less developed regions.
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