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Can Non-Recyclable Plastic Waste Be Made Environmentally Sustainable?
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This perspective paper explores chemical strategies for making non-recyclable plastic waste environmentally inert so it can be safely stored rather than degrading into microplastics. The author draws an analogy to how natural organisms leave behind durable, environmentally stable remnants like shells and bones.
After death the fraction of living matter which is not biodegraded (shells, bones, corals, carbonaceous deposits) becomes environmentally sustainable. This is not the case for plastics so that these wastes should be either recycled or made environmentally inert and stored in secure repositories as a resource for future generations. Chemistry has offered different solutions to this problem, and each brings about advantages and disadvantages when compared to other options. One further possible route could consist in the enrichment of the plastics waste in carbon content (“carbonization”), in analogy with the production of charcoal from wood, but we hope to stimulate a debate about all the other possible routes among scientists and engineers in the involved fields.
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Approaches for Management and Valorization of Non-Homogeneous, Non-Recyclable Plastic Waste
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This review examined management and valorization strategies for non-homogeneous, non-recyclable plastic waste, evaluating chemical recycling, energy recovery, and upcycling approaches as pathways to reduce environmental plastic accumulation and recover value from difficult-to-process waste streams.
A Survey on Use of Non-Recyclable Waste in Construction
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This survey reviews strategies for incorporating non-recyclable plastic waste into construction materials, documenting the environmental threat posed by plastic waste in marine ecosystems and its effects on wildlife and human health. The authors conclude that using plastic waste as a component in cementitious composites offers the most promising avenue for improving environmental sustainability while providing a practical construction material.
Strategies and technologies for sustainable plastic waste treatment and recycling
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This review covers current and emerging methods for recycling and treating plastic waste to reduce environmental pollution. The authors emphasize that improperly managed plastics break down into microplastics that contaminate ecosystems, and they evaluate strategies including chemical recycling, biodegradation, and energy recovery as more sustainable alternatives to landfilling.
The planet in the clutches of plastic garbage: myths, reality, prospects
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This review examines the life cycle of polymeric materials to analyze sources and accumulation of plastic waste, discussing the micro- and nanoscale fragmentation problem and arguing that solutions must include ecologically safe technologies for recycling, combustion, and landfill disposal of polymeric waste.
Challenges to Solve Our Plastic Waste Problems
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This paper in an organic and medicinal chemistry journal discussed the challenges associated with solving plastic waste problems from a materials chemistry perspective. It examines chemical, technological, and policy approaches to managing the growing global plastic waste burden.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.