Solving the Plastic Waste Crisis with the participation of People in Developing Countries, Case Study of Iran
Authors
-
Aliakbar Roudbari
Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health Research Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9672-3646
-
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
-
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
-
Nafiseh Ghanbarabadi
MSc of Environmental engineering, Kashan Municipality, Kahsan, Iran.
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6664-6074
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22100/ijhs.v10i1.1102Keywords:
Plastic, Crisis, Iran, Management, RecyclingAbstract
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.
References
- Smith, O., & Brisman, A. (2021). Plastic waste and the environmental crisis industry. Critical Criminology, 29, 289-309.
- Peng, Y., Prabhu, A., & Rinke, C. (2023). Facing our plastic waste crisis: biorecycling as a promising solution. Microbiology Australia, 44(1), 52-56.
- Khoo, K.S., Ho, L.Y., Lim, H.R., Leong, H.Y., & Chew, K.W. (2021). Plastic waste associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: Crisis or opportunity?. Journal of hazardous materials, 417, 126108.
- Nielsen, T.D., Hasselbalch, J., Holmberg, K., & Stripple, J. (2020). Politics and the plastic crisis: A review throughout the plastic life cycle. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, 9(1), e360.
- Truong, T.H., & Vu, H.N. (2019). The Crisis of Plastic Waste in Vietnam is Real. European Journal of Engineering and Technology Research, 4(9), 107-111.
- Shen, M., Huang, W., Chen, M., Song, B., Zeng, G., & Zhang, Y. (2020). (Micro) plastic crisis: un-ignorable contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Journal of Cleaner Production, 254, 120138.
- Alabi, A., Ologbonjaye, K., Awosolu, O., Alalade, O. Public and Environmental Health Effects of Plastic Wastes Disposal: A Review. Journal of Toxicology and Risk Assessment. 2019. 5: 021 http://dx.doi.org/10.23937/2572-4061.1510021
- Jambeck, JR., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., et al. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science. 2015. 347:768-771. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352
- Geyer, R., Jambeck, J.R., Law, K.L. Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Sciences Advances. 2017. 3: e1700782. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782
- Qiyong, X., Jingya, X., Jae, H.K. Municipal plastic recycling at two areas in China and heavy metal leachability of plastic in municipal solid waste. Environmental Pollution. 2020. 260: 114074
- De Blasio, N., & Fallon, P. (2022). The Plastic Waste Challenge in a Post-COVID-19 World: A Circular Approach to Sustainability. Journal of Self-Governance & Management Economics, 10(1).
- Chow, C.F., So, W.M.W., Cheung, T.Y., & Yeung, S.K.D. (2017). Plastic waste problem and education for plastic waste management. Emerging practices in scholarship of learning and teaching in a digital era, 125-140.
- Wilcox, C., Van Sebille, E., Hardesty, B.D. Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, seabirds, pervasive and increasing. PNAS. 2015. 38:11899-11904. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502108112
- Namlis, K.G., & Komilis, D. (2019). Influence of four socioeconomic indices and the impact of economic crisis on solid waste generation in Europe. Waste management, 89, 190-200.
- Rupani, P.F., Delarestaghi, R.M., Abbaspour, M., Rupani, M.M., El-Mesery, H.S., & Shao, W. (2019). Current status and future perspectives of solid waste management in Iran: a critical overview of Iranian metropolitan cities. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 32777-32789.
- Kamarehie, B., Jafari, A., Ghaderpoori, M., Azimi, F., Faridan, M., Sharafi, K., & Karami, M. A. (2020). Qualitative and quantitative analysis of municipal solid waste in Iran for implementation of best waste management practice: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 37514-37526.
- Jalalipour, H., Jaafarzadeh, N., Morscheck, G., Narra, S., & Nelles, M. (2021). Adoption of sustainable solid waste management and treatment approaches: A case study of Iran. Waste Management & Research, 39(7), 975-984.
- Scarlat, N., Fahl, F., & Dallemand, J.F. (2019). Status and opportunities for energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Europe. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 10(9), 2425-2444.
- Mukherjee, C., Denney, J., Mbonimpa, E. G., Slagley, J., & Bhowmik, R. (2020). A review on municipal solid waste-to-energy trends in the USA. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 119, 109512.
- Nanda, S., & Berruti, F. (2021). Municipal solid waste management and landfilling technologies: a review. Environmental chemistry letters, 19(2), 1433-1456.
- Yildiz, S., Yaman, C., Demir, G., Ozcan, H.K., Coban, A., Okten, H.E., & Goren, S. (2013). Characterization of municipal solid waste in Istanbul, Turkey. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 32(3), 734-739.
- Beylot, A., Hochar, A., Michel, P., Descat, M., Ménard, Y., & Villeneuve, J. (2018). Municipal solid waste incineration in France: An overview of air pollution control techniques, emissions, and energy efficiency. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 22(5), 1016-1026.
Published
Issue
Section
License
The Copyright Form should be downloaded and signed by corresponding author in the fourth step "upload supplementary files" during submission process.
After acceptance, copyright form should be downloaded and signed by all authors one by one ( "summery --> supp. file" part and click on "add a supplementary file" link).
