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Waste Management in Aviation– Recycling Is Not Enough
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This paper argues that recycling alone is insufficient to address plastic waste in the aviation sector, examining the waste streams generated and calling for more fundamental redesign and reduction strategies. The analysis applies circular economy principles to aviation plastic waste, which is generated in large quantities but rarely recycled effectively.
Due to the environmental challenges associated with the strong growth of plastic waste worldwide new grounds have to be broken. In public belief plastic is considered a practical, hygienic material that could be recycled into new plastic after use. However, disposed plastic is not recycled for the most part but is landfilled or used for waste-to-energy. Especially, the outcome of landfill is pollution and marine litter. Based on the plastic waste in the ocean, the problem of microplastic gains in importance. Through tourism – a critical factor – a growth of plastic waste can be registered, e. g. especially air traffic is highly dependent on efficient and easily disposed material. Plastic is the product of choice. Exemplified on a closer examination of one airline makes already almost 45 millions passengers, whose meals and beverages come with plastic. So, aviation includes substantial waste-saving potential throughout different alternatives to avoid plastic. The authors show the actual situation and demonstrate ways to reduce plastic waste in the context of economic efficiency. The conclusion bears the most eco-friendly alternative for air traffic and gives an outlook on further research.
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Plastic Waste Recycling is Insufficient to Mitigate Plastic Pollution: the Need for a Paradigm Shift
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This review argues that plastic waste recycling is fundamentally insufficient to address global plastic pollution and calls for a paradigm shift away from end-of-pipe solutions toward upstream production reduction. The authors examine the structural limitations of current recycling strategies and the economic and policy barriers that prevent meaningful plastic pollution mitigation.
Air-crafted Artefacts: Additive upcycling plastics within the Aviation Tourism Industry
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This design research project explored ways to upcycle single-use plastics from New Zealand's aviation tourism industry rather than sending them to landfill. The research highlights the challenge of managing specialty plastic waste streams that currently lack recycling infrastructure.
System innovation and life cycle thinking in packaging value chain: the circularity of plastics.
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This paper examines the role of circular economy principles in reducing plastic packaging waste, noting that despite existing recycling systems, plastics remain pervasive environmental contaminants. The authors argue that redesigning packaging systems for recyclability and reducing over-packaging are essential steps to address microplastic pollution at its source.
Plastic circularity: Challenges, opportunities, and future pathways
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This review examines the barriers to a circular plastic economy, concluding that mechanical recycling alone is insufficient and nearing its technical limits, while advanced methods such as chemical depolymerization and dissolution recycling face high costs and market underdevelopment, requiring coordinated regulatory, design, and infrastructure changes to close the recycling gap.
Influence of Plastic Waste Management on the Environment: A review
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This review examined how different plastic waste management practices influence environmental outcomes, discussing the limitations of landfilling, incineration, and recycling for fossil-based plastics that persist in the environment for hundreds of years. The paper argued that transitioning to a circular economy is essential to reduce the environmental burden of plastic waste.
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.