Sustainable Management for Urban Plastic Waste Generation

With all its properties like inertness and rigidity, plastic is such a versatile material for packaging and storing. However, this non-biodegradable nature results in the creation of loads of plastic pollution and harm to living beings. There is, therefore, great need to recycle all that plastic in place of disposing of it, along with other sustainable approaches. This chapter discloses the secret on how to sustainably dispose of plastic waste and use it as a substrate in processes to produce waste-to-energy. Waste segregation at source is the key to better management, which is possible only through awareness in masses. The chapter scope will discuss types of plastics and some offbeat technologies that can replace landfilling and improper open dumping of plastic waste. Open dumps may give rise to severe microplastic and nanoplastic issues like breathing problems. Some of them are included in this work also, such as the government and public initiatives. The chapter intends to suggest some sustainable practices to manage plastic pollution in urban areas and their practicability in real-life scenarios based on research.