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Carbon Footprint and Total Cost Evaluation of Different Bio-Plastics Waste Treatment Strategies

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  • Giovanni Gadaleta

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry (DICATECh), Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona n.4, 70125 Bari, Italy)

  • Sabino De Gisi

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry (DICATECh), Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona n.4, 70125 Bari, Italy)

  • Francesco Todaro

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry (DICATECh), Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona n.4, 70125 Bari, Italy)

  • Michele Notarnicola

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry (DICATECh), Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona n.4, 70125 Bari, Italy)

Abstract

To address the problem of fossil-based pollution, bio-plastics have risen in use in a wide range of applications. The current waste management system still has some weakness for bio-plastics waste (BPW) treatment, and quantitative data is lacking. This study combines environmental and economic assessments in order to indicate the most sustainable and suitable BPW management treatment between organic, plastic and mixed wastes. For the scope, the carbon footprint of each scenario was calculated by life cycle assessment (LCA), while the total cost of the waste management system was used as an economic parameter. The economic evaluation revealed that the organic, plastic and mixed waste treatment routes reached a total cost of 120.35, 112.21 and 109.43 EUR, respectively. The LCA results showed that the incomplete degradation of BPW during anaerobic digestion and composting led to the disposal of the compost produced, creating an environmental burden of 324.64 kgCO 2 -Eq. for the organic waste treatment route, while the mixed and plastic treatment routes obtained a benefit of −87.16 and −89.17 kgCO 2 -Eq. respectively. This study showed that, although the current amount of BPW does not affect the treatment process of organic, plastic and mixed wastes, it can strongly affect the quality of the output, compromising its further reuse. Therefore, specific improvement of waste treatment should be pursued, particularly with regard to the anaerobic digestion of organic waste, which remains a promising technology for BPW treatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Gadaleta & Sabino De Gisi & Francesco Todaro & Michele Notarnicola, 2022. "Carbon Footprint and Total Cost Evaluation of Different Bio-Plastics Waste Treatment Strategies," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:4:y:2022:i:2:p:35-583:d:840669
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zvanaka S. Mazhandu & Edison Muzenda & Tirivaviri A. Mamvura & Mohamed Belaid & Trust Nhubu, 2020. "Integrated and Consolidated Review of Plastic Waste Management and Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastics: Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-57, October.
    2. Luc Alaerts & Michael Augustinus & Karel Van Acker, 2018. "Impact of Bio-Based Plastics on Current Recycling of Plastics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Jingkuang Liu & Zhengjie Huang & Xuetong Wang, 2020. "Economic and Environmental Assessment of Carbon Emissions from Demolition Waste Based on LCA and LCC," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Giovanni Gadaleta & Sabino De Gisi & Michele Notarnicola, 2021. "Feasibility Analysis on the Adoption of Decentralized Anaerobic Co-Digestion for the Treatment of Municipal Organic Waste with Energy Recovery in Urban Districts of Metropolitan Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Sohoo, Ihsanullah & Ritzkowski, Marco & Heerenklage, Jörn & Kuchta, Kerstin, 2021. "Biochemical methane potential assessment of municipal solid waste generated in Asian cities: A case study of Karachi, Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
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