Industrial demand for biosourced and/or biodegradable plastics is
increasing as awareness grows of the need to develop a society that is less
dependent on fossil fuels. New products are being developed to meet demand for
the production of consumer goods and equipment, while satisfying regulatory and
societal requirements. But this diversification of plastics materials must go
hand in hand with consideration of their end-of-life, and therefore their
integration into current waste treatment and recycling processes: mechanical
and soon chemical recycling for processes that currently treat conventional
petroleum-based plastics, and organic recovery (composting and methanisation)
for processes that treat biodegradable waste.
Based on a detailed review of the
scientific and technical literature and feedback from industrial experience,
the aim of this work is to identify the consequences of the presence of
biosourced plastics in the above-mentioned waste treatment processes. It also
identifies the research and technological development challenges involved in
effectively integrating biobased plastics into current and future circular
resource recovery processes.
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