Plastic Waste Management for Climate Change Adaptation (CCA)

Plastics are lent to extremely wide applications due to toughness, water resistance, ease of fabrication, remarkable color range, light weight, and low cost. ENV.20th SET expertise has commendably handled moderate and dangerous industrial pollution compatibly. However, overspread of plastic pollution seems TBT so far. SWM without questioning plastics remained internationally persistent till 1980s and landfill used to be destination. Sanitary landfills are so expensive that only wealthy countries can afford. Till end of the 20th century sanitary landfills have undergone a lot of improvements on recovering valuable methane recovery and averting explosions. Subsequent to PA2015, sanitary landfills are considered dangerous GHG emitting factories. Accordingly, delivering plastic wastes to landfills is being discouraged due to interference with aerobic, facultative, and anaerobic digestion of biomass present in association or as contained contents in addition to leaching of micro-plastics to surroundings. 

Traditionally, only partial fractions of plastic wastes recycling has served both purposes but in climatically hostile manner. 3R Challenge of climate-smart pollution control is perhaps the severe most in the entire process industrial sector. Plastic industry and its parental petrochemical subsectors are pending CCM and need to be subjected to CCS in the first place. TWREEC has worked significantly on climate-smart PEM of the entire process industrial sector. Plastic scrap recycling is certainly not cottage scale task and must be stopped. Banning single-use plastics is neither possible nor advantageous. Such authoritarian actions can cripple NEE further. Accordingly drastic climate-smart actions need to be initiated compatible to WEF forecast on CCA. World Economic Forum estimates $2 trillion per annum international CCA market by the year 2026 irrespective of success or failure of CCM.

Due to centuries long extended life, plastic wastes tend competing with half-life of radioactive wastes and therefore should qualify for such considerations. Tunnels for plastic waste disposal got not be sophisticated and constructed deep into the ground but these may be built on surface and heaped upward through proper compaction for onward sourcing feedstock to climate-smart reprocessing facilities purposely built for;

1. CCS equipped recycling for marketable plastic products.
2. Recycled plastic usage for low carbon human settlement.
3. CCS equipped utilization as fuel to thermal power plants for steam - electricity utilities and services.
4. Climate-smart transformation back to plastic origins of fossil energy.
5. Safeguarding the rapidly devastating terrestrial and marine resources, activities, and ecosystems.

The proposed solution serves-secures the total world countries and populations.

TWREEC is well positioned to deliver solution in accordance with 17SDG2030 UN Agenda Goals of PA2015.

Practical experience of TWREEC in process industrial, environmental, and terrestrial-marine  ecology are the justifications for submitting proposal as prototype rather than a concept. 

Initially projected to serve 220 million national population.

For saving/securing the world against climate change threat CCA and CCM actions of which are strongly resisted by plastic pollution.

Checkmate to plastic pollution can hardly be achieved as advocated or pleaded internationally. Apparently taken ordinary, issue is complexly interwoven between SET, governmental, and societal spheres. Pervasion of plastic wastes has rendered the ultramodern life perishable without amicable resolution in sight. Apoplexy of terrestrial and marine ecosystems is mainly because of plastic pollution. Due to centuries long extended life, plastic wastes tend competing with half-life of radioactive wastes and therefore should qualify for such considerations. Tunnels for plastic waste disposal got not be sophisticated or constructed deep into the ground but these may be built on surface and heaped upward through proper compaction for onward sourcing feed stock to climate-smart reprocessing at relevant facilities purposely built for dedicated functions.

The proposed solution is at proto-stage while its INDCCS and NBCCS wings or perks related to items a. to d. quite advanced by TWREEC. Conjunctive impact with next year or next 5 years are hard to be specified. All depends on availability of funding.

Targets and indicators related to individual UN Agenda Goals would be respected in due interpretations to sustainable plastic pollution control. 

Theory of change - TOC for climate-smart plastic pollution control is focused on circular economy. TOC is vector dedicated in re-tailoring because process industrial technologies are dedicated to all the four under-mentioned subsectors related to climate-smart PEM, O&M LPS, HSE, and AIM. A number of considerations are influence TOC because plastic pollution is the most dangerous force imposing climate change injustice of the world due to the following reasons;

• It blocks W&WW systems.
• Inhibits decomposition of biodegradable organic matter by confiscation and fouling in contact.
• Causes depletion of dissolved oxygen in open surface bodies threatening aquatic life.
• Requires centuries’ long period for natural biodegradation and subsequently causes toxic micro-plastic pollution.
• Plastic wastes occur in wide variety ranging from single-use bags, disposable packing, various size bottles, cans, and packages.
• Chemical compositions of synthetic fabrics, flexible plastics, and thermosetting fixtures
• Plastic waste collection and sorting model is more complicated than recycling counterpart.
• Recycling process is energy intensive in crushing/grinding followed by heat intensive melting at 300o C to 400o C temperature for melting.
• Pyrolisis used for thermal de-polymerization may require 1000o C to 1500o C for converting wastes back to petroleum origin (oil or gas).
•  If recycled traditionally carbon footprint of involved process is unacceptable. Solar/wind energy in the form of electricity and hydrogen fueling is required.

Process industrial technology is the core technology powering TWREEC solution. With the advent of PA2015 process industrial knowhow got to be liberated from SED.SET/ENV.SET independence for sustainable relationship between NEE, MME, and SCE. Process industrial knowhow is extremely complex multidisciplinary SED.SET and ENV.SET challenge dominantly blamed for climate change. TWREEC has attempted climate-smart upgrading of SED.SET and ENV.SET challenge for abating/combating plastic pollution persistently defying SET capability internationally.

Approach is compatible to 17SDG2030 UN Agenda requirements.

TWREEC has so far self-financed its R&I work related to its CCA-CCM initiatives. Contrary to expected homeland supported TWREEC has been subjected to depletive mode because environmental and climate change challenges are not much valued here. Future financial assistance to TWREEC projects in any form would promote TWREEC devotion to 17SDG2030 UN Agenda Goals.

Please refer to explanation offered in the preceding section.