Solving the Plastic Waste Crisis with the participation of People in Developing Countries, Case Study of Iran
Authors
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Aliakbar Roudbari
Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health Research Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9672-3646
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Elnaz Zarezadeh
Ph.D. Student of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9394-8189
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Atefeh Zahedi
MSc of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9311-4331
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Nafiseh Ghanbarabadi
MSc of Environmental engineering, Kashan Municipality, Kahsan, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6664-6074
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Amir Arabesmaili
Deputy of Municipal Services, Shahroud Municipality, Shahroud, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9845-2146
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Hossein Karimi
Deputy of management development and resources, Shahroud Municipality, Shahroud, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4048-793X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22100/ijhs.v10i1.1102Keywords:
Plastic, Crisis, Management, Recycling, IranAbstract
Background: Iran is one of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of plastic consumption. This study aimed to solving the plastic waste crisis with the participation of people in Iran.
Methods: The study is a descriptive-analytical one that has been done from 2019 to 2022. The plastic waste produced in 9 provinces (out of 31 provinces) was sampled once a week for 12 months to determine the total weight and per capita per day. Also, the method of collecting and disposing of plastic waste was determined in different cities of the provinces. After that, a training program regarding the in-source separation of plastic and other municipal wastes was implemented in Semnan city to teach people how to reduce and separate their plastic wastes. Finally, a plastic recycling factory was designed and constructed in Semnan.
Results: The study indicates that the plastic waste per capita per day is about 56gr in the studied provinces. Also, currently, only 5% of the total plastic waste is collected separately and more than 95% of it is disposed of as mixed with other wastes. By carrying out an in-source separation and reduction program, the amount of plastic waste produced in this province decreased by 10% in two years, and also a plastic recycling plant with a capacity of 30 tons per day was constructed in Semnan city (the capital of Semnan province) which prevents disposing of 1050 Ton of plastic annually, resulting in environmental pollution preventing.
Conclusions: Based on the results, the implementation of a training program to reduce plastic production and the construction of plastic recycling factories can greatly decrease the plastic crisis in developing countries such as Iran.
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