The U.S. plastics recycling economy :
Abstract
This report builds upon NIST AMS 100-48 (Thomas 2022), which examined the economics of increased circularity in the economy, focusing on the processes, forces, and decision making that result in an unsustainable economy. This report further discusses the current state of plastics recycling, manufacturing, usage, and waste handling in the United States. It discusses and compares state level recycling programs along with national recycling programs in other countries, particularly those with high plastic recycling rates. The report also examines the potential for chemical recycling to address the plastics recycling problem. Finally, it summarizes the stakeholders in the plastic recycling economy, including incentives, barriers, and challenges to increasing recycling or recycled content use.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Green Chemistry: A Framework for a Sustainable Future
- Nano/micro-plastic, an invisible threat getting into the brain
- Emerging contaminants antibiotic resistance genes and microplastics in the environment: Introduction to 21 review articles published in CREST during 2018–2022
- Water Resources and Sustainable Development
- Nano- and microplastics in the workplace
- Water Enclosure and World-Literature: New Perspectives on Hydro-Power and World-Ecology
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.