Abstract
It is urgent to find solutions towards a more sustainable future. Herein the objective is to study the state of the plastic recycling industry. Three different countries were selected for analysis, using primary and secondary data: Portugal, Germany, and Italy. We did an exploratory survey (93 answers from these three countries) including the calculation of three Spearman Ranked Correlation Coefficients, one for each country. We aimed to calculate the effort or motivation in each country to separate waste in view of the importance attributed to separate waste collection. Italy registered the best result and match (correlation significant at the 0.01 level), followed by Germany and, finally, Portugal. In other words, motivation is lowest in Portugal and highest in Italy, to achieve good waste separation in view of the importance attributed to it. These exploratory results point to how policy should be focused, namely in the case of Portugal towards motivating their citizens regarding waste separation. Furthermore, while Germany and Italy have been developing solutions for the plastic recycling industry, no innovations were found that originated from Portugal. The most common way of recycling plastic is mechanical recycling. From 2010 to 2019, 30% of the patents created for this purpose originated within the European Patent Office member states and 8% were created in Germany. Of these three countries, Portugal is the one that produces more plastic packaging waste per capita. The high waste recovery rates in Germany and Italy, which are above the European overall values, might be justified by their policies regarding recycling, as well as their innovations in the industry. When it comes to recycling rates, while Italy and Germany present similar rates above the European overall, Portugal is below the European panorama. Overall, our research reveals that Germany may be considered more efficient in plastic packaging recycling as it also presents more innovation and technology solutions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Zhao, X., et al.: Plastic waste upcycling toward a circular economy. Chem. Eng. J. 428, 131928 (2022)
Interessantissimo Homepage. https://interessantissimo.pt/curiosidades/vantagens-desvantagens-plastico/?fbclid=IwAR0OpsBCNNrrkIKVANBsZ7lkWCZBTO24N5ZIfUZDzGqujIJ_nZxUbDbTJAI, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
Observador Homepage. https://observador.pt/2018/06/05/mais-de-400-milhoes-de-toneladas-de-plasticos-produzidos-por-ano-so-9-saoreciclados/?fbclid=IwAR26HhTv5yXxq0zAd6abjDVt9xnm0qy0bZ50EubFqr9uHLFy2ufJAegd2_g, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
National Geographic Homepage. https://www.natgeo.pt/planeta-ou-plastico/2017/08/91-chocante-percentagem-de-plastico-que-nao-e-reciclado?fbclid=IwAR1Y4KLaz6wdAg4ouHsoDTh_7tSvRmxLpFS0ULp0mne2a70pE_YknFYToG8, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
Consumidor Moderno Homepage. https://www.consumidormoderno.com.br/2019/10/24/13-iniciativas-de-grandes-empresas-na-luta-contra-o-uso-de-plastico/?fbclid=IwAR26HhTv5yXxq0zAd6abjDVt9xnm0qy0bZ50EubFqr9uHLFy2ufJAegd2_g, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
MacRebur Homepage. https://macrebur.com/?fbclid=IwAR1wW7SGjlU5b9hkLLSta_BribeB02m9dfRWOfuykHMhDnLhbWDsu-flRvo, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
Polen Homepage. https://www.creditodelogisticareversa.com.br/post/t-economia-circular-o-que-e-e-quais-seus-beneficios?fbclid=IwAR3zfh3o3096qJQAkX2idKybXIhI_0w5fZWuP9Q2KjdDC_qEBi2U9byf63U, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
Ghisellini, P., Ulgiati, S.: Circular economy transition in Italy. Achievements, perspectives and constraints. J. Cleaner Prod. 243, 118360 (2020)
Prata, J.C., Silva, A.L.P., Duarte, A.C., Rocha-Santos, T.: The road to sustainable use and waste management of plastics in Portugal. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 16(1), 1–16 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1439-x
Ferreira, S., Cabral, M., da Cruz, N.F., Simões, P., Marques, R.C.: Life cycle assessment of a packaging waste recycling system in Portugal. Waste Manag. 34(9), 1725–1735 (2014)
Carvalho, T., Durão, F., Ferreira, C.: Separation of packaging plastics by froth flotation in a continuous pilot plant. Waste Manag. 30(11), 2209–2215 (2010)
DW Homepage. https://www.dw.com/en/patents-to-tackle-plastic-waste-on-the-rise/a-59545087, Accessed 21 Nov 2021
Nuss, P., Günther, J., Kosmol, J., Golde, M., Müller, F., Frerk, M.: Monitoring framework for the use of natural resources in Germany. Res. Cons. Recycl. 175, 105858 (2021)
Archer Relocation Homepage. https://www.archer-relocation.com/how-to-recycle-in-germany/, Accessed 21 Nov 2021
Roosen, M., et al.: Expanding the collection portfolio of plastic packaging: Impact on quantity and quality of sorted plastic waste fractions. Res. Cons. Recycl. 178, 106025 (2022)
Lee, R.P., Tschoepe, M., Voss, R.: Perception of chemical recycling and its role in the transition towards a circular carbon economy: a case study in Germany. Waste Manag. 125, 280–292 (2021)
BASF Homepage. https://www.basf.com/global/en/who-we-are/sustainability/we-drive-sustainable-solutions/circular-economy/mass-balance-approach/chemcycling.html, Accessed 21 Nov 2021
de Soares, C.T., Ek, M., Östmark, E., Gällstedt, M., Karlsson, S.: Recycling of multi-material multilayer plastic packaging: Current trends and future scenarios. Res. Cons. Recycl. 176, 105905 (2022)
Chen, X., Kroell, N., Wickel, J., Feil, A.: Determining the composition of post-consumer flexible multilayer plastic packaging with near-infrared spectroscopy. Waste Manag. 123, 33–41 (2021)
Article 182bis of Legislative Decree 152/06
Foschi, E., D’addato, F., Bonoli, A.: Plastic waste management: a comprehensive analysis of the current status to set up an after-use plastic strategy in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) (2021)
Istat. Raccolta Differenziata Dei Rifiuti 2 (2021)
Lombardi, M., Rana, R., Fellner, J.: Material flow analysis and sustainability of the Italian plastic packaging management. J. Clean. Prod. 287, 125573 (2021)
Eurostat Homepage. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do, Accessed 24 Nov 2021
Bryman, A., Bell, E.: Business Research Methods, 4th edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2015)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Errighi, G., Dinis, L., Almeida, L., Dias, P., Eduardo Walter, C., Au-Yong-Oliveira, M. (2022). An Exploratory Cross-national Analysis of the Plastic Recycling Industry. In: Rocha, A., Adeli, H., Dzemyda, G., Moreira, F. (eds) Information Systems and Technologies. WorldCIST 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 469. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04819-7_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04819-7_22
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-04818-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-04819-7
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)