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Chemical recycling, a potential solution for Sweden's plastic recycling industry in the transition to a circular economy?

Lundmark, Olivia LU (2022) EKHS35 20221
Department of Economic History
Abstract
Although Sweden collects and sorts a large share of plastic waste, a significant part of the separately collected plastic packaging waste is being incinerated and only 8 % of the plastic waste is being recycled into new products. As plastic is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration, a systematic shift is needed to decrease incineration. Currently, Chemical recycling (CR) is being developed to break down plastic waste to smaller molecules, which can be built up to new plastics and/ or chemicals depending on technology. However, there are no-full scale CR projects in Sweden but a few demonstration projects covering depolymerisation of PET bottles, gasification and pyrolysis in Stenungsund. This study uses the... (More)
Although Sweden collects and sorts a large share of plastic waste, a significant part of the separately collected plastic packaging waste is being incinerated and only 8 % of the plastic waste is being recycled into new products. As plastic is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration, a systematic shift is needed to decrease incineration. Currently, Chemical recycling (CR) is being developed to break down plastic waste to smaller molecules, which can be built up to new plastics and/ or chemicals depending on technology. However, there are no-full scale CR projects in Sweden but a few demonstration projects covering depolymerisation of PET bottles, gasification and pyrolysis in Stenungsund. This study uses the multilevel perspective (MLP) framework to understand and contextualize Sweden's plastic recycling industry and the chemical recycling sector ́s opportunities and obstacles. The results show that the current industry is facing multiple obstacles related to both economical, technical and regulatory aspects. Sweden's recycling industry is characterized by having an overcapacity of incineration, a malfunctioned market for recycled plastic, a resistance to change and a policy framework and infrastructure that does not facilitate the development of CR. How a transition to a circular economy of plastic will look like and which transition pathway Sweden will take will highly depend on whether the recycling industry can overcome the identified challenges within the current industry. (Less)
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author
Lundmark, Olivia LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHS35 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Plastic recycling, Chemical recycling, Circular economy, Transition, Multilevel framework
language
English
id
9087661
date added to LUP
2022-06-28 10:11:44
date last changed
2022-06-28 10:11:44
@misc{9087661,
  abstract     = {{Although Sweden collects and sorts a large share of plastic waste, a significant part of the separately collected plastic packaging waste is being incinerated and only 8 % of the plastic waste is being recycled into new products. As plastic is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration, a systematic shift is needed to decrease incineration. Currently, Chemical recycling (CR) is being developed to break down plastic waste to smaller molecules, which can be built up to new plastics and/ or chemicals depending on technology. However, there are no-full scale CR projects in Sweden but a few demonstration projects covering depolymerisation of PET bottles, gasification and pyrolysis in Stenungsund. This study uses the multilevel perspective (MLP) framework to understand and contextualize Sweden's plastic recycling industry and the chemical recycling sector ́s opportunities and obstacles. The results show that the current industry is facing multiple obstacles related to both economical, technical and regulatory aspects. Sweden's recycling industry is characterized by having an overcapacity of incineration, a malfunctioned market for recycled plastic, a resistance to change and a policy framework and infrastructure that does not facilitate the development of CR. How a transition to a circular economy of plastic will look like and which transition pathway Sweden will take will highly depend on whether the recycling industry can overcome the identified challenges within the current industry.}},
  author       = {{Lundmark, Olivia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Chemical recycling, a potential solution for Sweden's plastic recycling industry in the transition to a circular economy?}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}