Plastic Wastes Management and Disposal in Developing Countries: Challenges and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Plastics invention has been largely developed in modern life due to their versatile application, high strength, lightweight, and being cheaper than other alternative resources. However, because of over consumption, low biodegradability, and extensive disposal mismanagement in developing countries, plastic waste is one of the most prominent environmental issues. This chapter systematically describes the current state of production of plastic, plastic waste management, and disposal to evaluate contemporary challenges and possibilities in developing nations. Government publications, scholarly journal articles, industry survey reports, and national waste and household data were some of the sources used. The study’s findings revealed that despite the consumption of plastics growing at a rapid exponential rate, national recovery rate is only 9% while 22% waste is mismanaged. Most of the generated plastic waste is comprised of polymer types including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Majority of the waste is generating from packaging, household goods, clothing, and textiles. In the developing world, the most common waste disposal methods are open dumping and burning, while mechanical recycling is used as the main processing technology to recycle the plastic. Polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polystyrene (PS) plastic wastes are also used for energy recovery. This study also emphasizes on the need of using diversified recycling technology, regulatory and structural transformation, advancement of plastic waste management policy, and public awareness in domestic recycling for the better management of plastic waste. The study closes with the opinion, for the developing world, simply enforcing bans will not effectively address the issue of plastic waste but to replace nonbiodegradable materials with biodegradable ones and develop a system for managing plastic waste.