Plastic Recycling in Ghana

The presented research focuses on repurposing the large amounts of plastic bag waste present in Ghana. Much of this waste originates from water sachets, made from non-biodegradable plastic. The water sachets allow for potable water to be easily stored, accessed and transported. Ghana creates approximately 270 tons of plastic waste per day, with 85% of that plastic waste due solely to water. Less than 2% of this waste is currently being recycled. Water sachets have been the main supply of drinking water in Ghana for a decade, leading to an immense build-up of discarded plastic throughout the nation. Professor Chris Martin of the Iowa State University College of Design proposed recycling waste plastic from Ghana into chairs for schools in the area. This project was initially started by a senior design team in Materials Engineering and then continued by this research team in multidisciplinary senior design. The work over the semester focused on developing a simple and appropriate molding process for desk sized pieces in Ghana. Further work will focus on a heating implement and finalizing a desk design or similar application for the molding process

Plastic recycling technology in Tanzania

Tanzania, officially known as the United Republic of Tanzania, is a mid-sized country in Eastern Africa bordering the Indian Ocean. It is home to a population of about 46.1 million people. Tanzania has a tropical climate, temperature range between 10°C and 32°C. Currently, With more than 10 bottled water companies, high supply competition in commercial cities and consumption of water bottles have significantly increased, moreover, majority of entrepreneurs in Tanzania own small shops and retail business, door to door and moving shops, the amount of plastic bags and plastic material waste have been a considerable threat toward environment protection. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3627

Occupational health impact of plastic recycling

The present paper is based on the preliminary observations on the plastic reprocessing industry in Bangalore, a Southern Indian city. Bangalore has approximately 300 plastic reprocessing units. Each unit employs on an average 5 people. An average recycling capacity of a reprocessing unit is a quarter ton a day. This amounts to 75 tons of plastic waste reprocessed in a day. Nearly, 60 per cent of the waste reprocessed in a day is directly procured from plastic processing and manufacturing industries and other institutions and rest, roughly 27 to 30 tons per day, is post consumer plastic waste

Resistance to Opportunities of Plastic Recycling

Plastics present a vast and pressing issue in modern society. Currently recycling efforts fall dangerously short of dealing with even a small percent of the millions of tons of plastic waste produced yearly across the globe. This article investigates resistance toward plastic recycling in three areas from both a contemporary and a historical context, highlighting the magnitude of the problem and the insufficient nature of current solutions. The three primary areas covered are the plastics problem from (1) a design perspective, (2) a material science perspective, and (3) a systems perspective. Solutions are proposed that emphasize a synergistic collaboration across disciplines and research modes. Ultimately, the conclusions point to a need for stronger engagement at the level of people (both consumers and decision makers) and reintegrating reused and recycled plastics into everyday life to build a solid foundation for success

Plastic Recycling Using Waxworms: Biotechnology Solutions

As small particles that do not degrade, microplastics harm the environment. Plastics are physically broken down rather than chemically during the traditional recycling process. An insect naturally found in honeybee hives known as the waxworm can break down the most common plastic: polyethylene. A literature review was conducted on a new method to recycle plastics involving the waxworm Galleria mellonella. Literary review studies suggest that recycling using waxworms is more efficient and faster than traditional methods due to oxidation by enzymes. After conducting a literature review, a bioinformatics study was carried out using published DNA and protein sequences. Two promising enzymes named Ceres and Demetra were identified from literature and compared to others using multiple sequence alignment. This data was then combined with the 3D model of the enzyme to infer properties and a potential mechanism of biodegradation. By identifying enzymes common to insect and bacterial species, microorganisms may be selected for use in plastic recycling and grown on commercial scales. Soil remediation using this method is possible, reducing harmful microplastics from agriculture and streamlining the recycling process. These findings reveal that in the aerospace domain, production of fuel is possible from products of plastic recycling. Food may also be sustainably grown in artificial habitats on a crewed Lunar or Mars mission by reusing materials in situ

Strategies Small Business Owners Use to Improve Profitability in the Plastic Recycling

Low plastic recycling levels impact the profitability of plastic recycling businesses. Business owners of small plastic recycling businesses have limited resources, and the plastic recycling industry is still in its developmental stages. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies used by owners of small plastic recycling businesses to improve their profitability. The participants were nine small business owners of the plastic recycling sector of southwest Nigeria who successfully improved their business profitability. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Through thematic analysis, three themes were identified: (a) develop strategies for sourcing quality plastic waste, (b) manage workers to improve profitability, and (c) establish an effective business strategy. A key recommendation is that business owners locate their plastic recycling business close to sources of plastic waste, process their waste, and increase their transformational leadership style with workers. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide employment opportunities with improved wages, undertake social projects, create communal wealth, and conserve the environment from plastic waste dumping

Agro-materials : a bibliographic review

Facing the problems of plastic recycling and fossil resources exhaustion, the use of biomass to conceive new materials appears like a reasonable solution. Two axes of research are nowadays developed : on the one hand the synthesis of biodegradable plastics, whichever the methods may be, on the other hand the utilization of raw biopolymers, which is the object of this paper. From this perspective, the “plastic” properties of natural polymers, the caracteristics of the different classes of polymers, the use of charge in vegetable matrix and the possible means of improving the durability of these agro-materials are reviewed

Development of a Transparent Thermal Reflective Thin Film Coating for Accurate Separation of Food-Grade Plastics in Recycling Process via AI-Based Thermal Image Processing

This paper presents the development of a specific thin film coating designed to address the challenge of accurately separating food-grade plastics in the recycling process. The coating, created using a plasma sputtering process, is transparent to the visible spectrum of light while effectively reflecting infrared emissions above 1500 nm. Composed of a safe metal oxide formulation with a proprietary composition, the coating is applied to packaging labels. By employing thermal imaging and a computer vision AI model, the coated labels enable precise differentiation of plastics associated with food packaging in the initial stage of plastic recycling. The proposed system achieved a remarkable 100% accuracy in separating food-grade plastics from other types of plastics. This innovative approach holds great potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of plastic recycling processes, ensuring the recovery of food-grade plastics for future use

An analisis of the CO2 emission abatement in plastic recycling system using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology: a case study of Bandung city, Indonesia

Global warming issue becomes a main issue in sustainable development planning for every country in the world. Indonesia as developing country has commitment to contribute in CO2 abatement with proper development policies. Since May 2008 Indonesia has introduced new law of Solid Waste Management (UU No. 18/2008), the basis of waste management under this law is waste reduction to a landfill as the first priority. The highest waste material compositions in general are organic (50%) and plastic (15%) such as PET, PP, etc. In Indonesia, plastic is common to use as container/packaging. Plastic in Indonesia still using petroleum-based container/packaging and it contributes CO2 emission in the life cycle. Thus, the recycling system on the plastic is significant in order to mitigate CO2 emissions. That is, in this paper, we find the optimal system so as to reduce CO2 emission in the plastic recycling system. The new scenarios on the recycling plastic in transportation sector and manufacturing sector will introduce in this study. In transportation sector, higher truck capacity will introduce to see the effect on CO2 emissions abatement. In manufacturing sector, environmental friendly energy from new renewable energy will introduce to replace conventional energy sector. System Blue Tower (BT) technology through which the environmentally friendly electricity is supplied from municipal organic waste was argued. The proposal of a concrete system would be a CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) project in the near future. This study will model plastic recycling life cycle in Bandung City as a case study.Keywords: Plastic Recycling, LCA, CO abatement, Bandung Ci