2.4.6 Plastic Waste Management
Plastics have become an essential part of our lives, but the marine plastic pollution
are now slowly taking its toll with great potential for the global ecological, social,
and economic disaster, if not handled properly (Beaumont et al. 2019). To make the
environment free of plastic toxicity, it is necessary to use proper disposal methods
and to spread awareness regarding the toxicity and proper plastic handling. Wastes
of anthropogenic origin, especially plastics, dumped into the water bodies, directly
and indirectly, disturbs the marine organisms and marine ecosystem. The first step
towards remediation and control measures is the knowledge and understanding of
the impacts and damage caused by the marine litter (Barboza et al. 2019). Most of the
household organic waste and plastic wastes may be buried in landfills or incinerated,
and recycling constitutes only a small percentage, or probably better in the developed world. Landfilling is no longer practical as some facilities can no longer cope
with the high volume to weight ratio of the wastes generated on the daily basis. There
are associated hazards with the production of greenhouse gases and methane
released into the atmosphere, unpleasing odour, and the leachates that may seep into
the groundwater and small rivers. The facilities as shown in Fig. 2.20, for the
disposal of municipal and industrial plastic debris based on energy recovery, chemical recovery, and reprocessing (Panda et al. 2010), should be developed to replace
landfilling, taking into account plastic sorting and recycling.
Simple and immediate daily practices on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) concept
should be promoted and popularized. These include avoiding food items and
beverages that are available in plastic bottles/packing; using products having minimum or recyclable packing; purchasing in whole sum to lessen the nessity for
extra packaging; purchasing recycled products and using recyclable shopping bags;
and bringing own mug and container, instead of using disposable items (Wabnitz
and Nichols 2010). There is a significant scope for plastic recycling, especially for
Plastic Waste
Management
Land Filling
Mechanical
Recycling
Isolated or
Segregated plastic
Primary product
(Primary
recycling)
Mixed plastic
Secondary product
(Secondary
recycling)
Biological
Recycling
Biomass + Methane
Thermochemical
Recycling
Thermal recycling
or Incineration
Heat Energy
(Quaternary
recycling)
Pyrolysis / Feed
stock recycling
Fuel and Chemical
(Tertiary
recycling)
Fig. 2.20 Different paths for the management of plastic litter such as landfilling, mechanical
recycling, biological recycling, and thermochemical recycling (Modified from Panda et al. 2010).
2 Identification and Remediation of Plastics as Water Contaminant
81
Plastics have become an essential part of our lives, but the marine plastic pollution
are now slowly taking its toll with great potential for the global ecological, social,
and economic disaster, if not handled properly (Beaumont et al. 2019). To make the
environment free of plastic toxicity, it is necessary to use proper disposal methods
and to spread awareness regarding the toxicity and proper plastic handling. Wastes
of anthropogenic origin, especially plastics, dumped into the water bodies, directly
and indirectly, disturbs the marine organisms and marine ecosystem. The first step
towards remediation and control measures is the knowledge and understanding of
the impacts and damage caused by the marine litter (Barboza et al. 2019). Most of the
household organic waste and plastic wastes may be buried in landfills or incinerated,
and recycling constitutes only a small percentage, or probably better in the developed world. Landfilling is no longer practical as some facilities can no longer cope
with the high volume to weight ratio of the wastes generated on the daily basis. There
are associated hazards with the production of greenhouse gases and methane
released into the atmosphere, unpleasing odour, and the leachates that may seep into
the groundwater and small rivers. The facilities as shown in Fig. 2.20, for the
disposal of municipal and industrial plastic debris based on energy recovery, chemical recovery, and reprocessing (Panda et al. 2010), should be developed to replace
landfilling, taking into account plastic sorting and recycling.
Simple and immediate daily practices on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) concept
should be promoted and popularized. These include avoiding food items and
beverages that are available in plastic bottles/packing; using products having minimum or recyclable packing; purchasing in whole sum to lessen the nessity for
extra packaging; purchasing recycled products and using recyclable shopping bags;
and bringing own mug and container, instead of using disposable items (Wabnitz
and Nichols 2010). There is a significant scope for plastic recycling, especially for
Plastic Waste
Management
Land Filling
Mechanical
Recycling
Isolated or
Segregated plastic
Primary product
(Primary
recycling)
Mixed plastic
Secondary product
(Secondary
recycling)
Biological
Recycling
Biomass + Methane
Thermochemical
Recycling
Thermal recycling
or Incineration
Heat Energy
(Quaternary
recycling)
Pyrolysis / Feed
stock recycling
Fuel and Chemical
(Tertiary
recycling)
Fig. 2.20 Different paths for the management of plastic litter such as landfilling, mechanical
recycling, biological recycling, and thermochemical recycling (Modified from Panda et al. 2010).
2 Identification and Remediation of Plastics as Water Contaminant
81