Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

A Revision for the Different Reuses of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Water Bottles

This review examined different strategies for reusing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles, highlighting their significant carbon footprint and waste generation while exploring sustainable recycling and repurposing approaches to reduce plastic pollution.

2022 Sustainability 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimentation of Evaporation Suppression by Various Plastic Bottles Coverage Area

Researchers tested whether covering reservoir surfaces with recycled PET drinking bottles could reduce water evaporation. The bottles provided meaningful coverage and reduced evaporation, suggesting a dual-purpose use for plastic waste that could both manage water resources and reduce plastic disposal in landfills.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Science and Development 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Management of Microplastic Pollutions from PET Bottles: Overview and Mitigation Strategies

Researchers reviewed the environmental impact of PET bottle degradation and strategies for managing the resulting microplastic pollution. The study highlights that PET bottle usage continues to grow, and its breakdown releases low-molecular-weight compounds and microplastics, while outlining mitigation approaches including improved recycling and waste management practices.

2025 Applied Sciences 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Life cycle assessment based optimization of scenarios of reusable glass bottles using context-specific key parameters

Researchers analyzed the environmental trade-offs of switching from single-use to reusable glass bottles, finding that reusable systems can cut both carbon emissions and microplastic pollution, but only when designed with context-specific factors like local energy sources and trip distances in mind.

2024 Cleaner Environmental Systems 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic as an written composition in bottled water: Implications for waste management

This study characterized microplastic contamination in bottled water, identifying common polymer types and particle sizes and discussing implications for waste management and the effectiveness of current filtration in bottling facilities.

2024 Waste Handling and Environmental Monitoring.
Article Tier 2

Morphological Assessment of Mixed Municipal Waste and Practical Solution for Petpackaging Management in Urban Area

This study looked at plastic waste, especially plastic bottles (PET), in garbage containers around a small town near schools, hospitals, and homes. Researchers found that schools generate the most plastic waste, while hospitals had more plastic bottles specifically. The findings matter because better plastic bottle recycling systems could reduce plastic pollution that can break down into tiny pieces (microplastics) that may harm our health when they get into food and water.

2026 Technologica acta
Article Tier 2

The Effect of Different Storage Conditions for Refilled Plastic Drink Bottles on the Concentration of Microplastic Release in Water

Researchers investigated microplastic release from reused plastic water bottles under different storage conditions and timeframes, finding that bottle reuse and prolonged storage increase the concentration of microplastics released into the contained water.

2022 Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Biotechnology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Reverse Logistics Activities in the Recycling of Used Plastic Bottled Water Waste Management

Researchers investigated the role of reverse logistics activities in recycling used plastic bottles and waste management in Ethiopia, finding through surveys of 258 respondents that incineration, landfilling, and roadside dumping remain dominant disposal practices while reuse and remanufacturing are rarely implemented.

2022 Sustainability 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Just One Word: Refillables

This Oceana report estimates how much PET plastic bottle pollution from 76 coastal countries enters the ocean and models the potential reduction if refillable bottles captured a larger market share. The analysis finds that a shift toward refillables could meaningfully reduce the volume of single-use plastic bottles reaching the ocean.

2020 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 13 citations
Article Tier 2

From bottle to microplastics: Can we estimate how our plastic products are breaking down?

A review of plastic fragmentation modeling found that while models predicting microplastic generation from mechanical stress, chemical degradation, and biological breakdown are developing, there remains a critical lack of empirical data on fragmentation rates needed to parameterize these models.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Advances in Polyethylene Terephthalate Beverage Bottle Optimization: A Mini Review

This review examines advances in the optimization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles across three dimensions: material formulation, structural design, and manufacturing process improvements. Researchers found that recent innovations focus on barrier enhancement, weight reduction, and recyclability while maintaining the transparency, mechanical strength, and food safety properties that make PET dominant in beverage packaging.

2022 Polymers 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimentation of Evaporation Reduction by a Use of Plastic Bottles Covering

This paper is not about microplastics; it tests the use of floating PET plastic bottles to reduce water evaporation from reservoirs, examining different opacities and coverage patterns.

2023 Water Conservation and Management 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated LCA and OPEN LCA-CML baseline analysis on environmental impact associated with the plastic packaging waste management system of Rubavu city Rwanda

Researchers used life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of different plastic bottle waste management pathways in Rwanda, where bottles currently end up in an open dumpsite. The study identifies which waste management changes would most reduce the plastic that eventually fragments into environmental microplastics.

2021 International Journal Of Scientific Advances 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Life cycle assessment of single-use and reusable plastic bottles in the city of Johannesburg

A life cycle assessment compared the environmental impact of single-use and reusable PET plastic water bottles in Johannesburg, South Africa. Reusable bottles had a lower overall environmental impact when used multiple times, but manufacturing and end-of-life disposal still carry significant costs. The study provides guidance for improving plastic bottle policies in South Africa.

2021 South African Journal of Science 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycling of Plastics as a Strategy to Reduce Life Cycle GHG Emission, Microplastics and Resource Depletion

This study quantified the environmental benefits of recycling widely consumed plastic polymers, demonstrating that increased plastic recycling significantly reduces life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, microplastic pollution, and resource depletion.

2023 Sustainability 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Global Bottled Water Industry: A Review of Impacts and Trends

This review assessed the global bottled water industry's environmental and social impacts, examining trends in consumption, plastic waste generation, and the implications for water resource management and sustainability.

2023 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Process parameter optimization for waste polyethylene terephthalate bottle depolymerization using neutral hydrolysis

Researchers optimized process parameters for the neutral hydrolysis depolymerization of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles as a chemical recycling strategy to address growing plastic waste accumulation in landfills. The study identified key conditions that improve depolymerization efficiency, offering a pathway to recover high-quality monomers from post-consumer PET.

2024 Research Square (Research Square) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and characterization of microplastics in bottled drinking water

Researchers analyzed microplastics in ten bottled water brands and found up to nine microplastic particles per liter, estimating that people who drink only bottled water may ingest over 150 microplastic particles per year — with polypropylene and polystyrene being the most common types found.

2024 Discover Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Smaller-sized micro-plastics (MPs) contamination in single-use PET-bottled water in Thailand.

This study quantified microplastics in ten brands of single-use PET-bottled water sold in Thailand, finding an average of 140 particles per liter using fluorescent staining. The results add to global evidence that bottled water is a consistent route of human microplastic exposure and suggest that plastic packaging is a likely contamination source.

2020 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Roadmap to sustainable plastic waste management: a focused study on recycling PET for triboelectric nanogenerator production in Singapore and India

Researchers compared plastic waste recycling systems in Singapore and India to evaluate the potential for turning recycled PET plastic bottles into energy-harvesting devices, finding that each recycling cycle causes a roughly 30% drop in material performance and 65% loss in economic value, underscoring the need for stronger recycling infrastructure.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Determinants of single-use plastic bottled water consumption among university students: a cross-sectional study

A survey of university students found that convenience, habit, and accessibility were the primary drivers of single-use plastic bottled water consumption, with environmental knowledge having limited influence on behavior, suggesting that structural changes rather than awareness campaigns are needed to reduce plastic bottle use.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Plastic packaging flows in Europe: A hybrid input‐output approach

Researchers modeled plastic packaging material flows across the EU using a hybrid input-output approach, mapping supply chains by polymer type, packaging form, and application category to reveal that packaging represents a major fraction of plastic consumption with significant gaps in end-of-life recycling infrastructure.

2021 Journal of Industrial Ecology 49 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comparative Study About the Amount of Microplastic in Polyethylene Terephtalate (pet) Drinking Water That Was Exposed and Not Exposed by Sun at Environmental Health Laboratory of Poltekkes Kemenkes Semarang at the Year 2020

Researchers compared the amount of microplastics released from different brands and conditions of PET water bottles, finding that UV exposure and bottle age affect how many particles leach into the water. This study highlights bottled water as a direct route of microplastic ingestion for consumers.

2020 Buletin Keslingmas 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Mitigating Microplastic Contamination: Evaluating PET Water Bottles and the Role of PLA Plant-Based Bottles in a Circular Economy for Reduced CO2 Emissions

This study examined microplastic contamination from PET water bottles and evaluated polylactic acid as a sustainable alternative, finding that PLA bottles released fewer MPs and represented a more environmentally compatible packaging option within a circular economy framework.

2025 Earth & Environmental Science Research & Reviews