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Plastic Material Flow and Recycling Research
Citation:
Smith, R. Plastic Material Flow and Recycling Research. Presented at SHC.407 Research Area Coordination Team Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, January 30, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation was made to the EPA’s Office of Research and Development’s Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Area Coordination Team, also known as the SHC.407 RACT for Material Flow and Life Cycle Assessment. The presentation discussed a progress update on research for material flow analysis and recycling processes for plastic packaging. Other polymer applications in addition to packaging were also discussed. This research is significant because the amount of plastic being produced is increasing dramatically and the effects of plastics (including microplastics) on human health and the environment are largely unknown. Members of the RACT and Region Partners/States as well as the general public might be interested in the results of the research.
Description:
The Office of Research and Development is conducting research on plastic material flows and recycling. This effort represents a progress update, showing the research on the recycling system and the material flow analysis on one slide. The recycling system consists of collection, separations, reclaiming, and conversion to new recycled materials. This set of processes was described in the past for the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, or plastic #1). This presentation briefly reviewed that research, and then described the processes more generally for other plastics. The presentation then went on to discuss research on material flow analysis (MFA). This is an ongoing effort on packaging plastics (#1-#7). Discussion also considered extensions to other uses of polymers, rather than only packaging, and how the MFA should be approached.