Management of Plastic Waste and a Circular Economy at the End of the Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review

Luciano Ferreira da Silva, Maria Helena Costa Resnitzkyd, Ernesto Del Rosario Santibanez Gonzalez, Diego de Melo Conti and Priscila Rezende da Costa
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Luciano Ferreira da Silva: Graduate Program in Project Management, University Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), Sao Paulo 01504-000, Brazil
Maria Helena Costa Resnitzkyd: Graduate Program in Project Management, University Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), Sao Paulo 01504-000, Brazil
Ernesto Del Rosario Santibanez Gonzalez: Industrial Engineering Department, University of Talca-Chile, Talca 3460000, Chile
Diego de Melo Conti: Graduate Program in Sustainability, Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas—PUC-Campinas, Sao Paulo 01504-000, Brazil
Priscila Rezende da Costa: Graduate Program in Administration, University Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), Sao Paulo 01504-000, Brazil

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: This article aims to describe the current state of research on plastic waste management as a circular economy practice at the end of the supply chain. The methodological strategy chosen was a systematic literature review. The articles selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases were screened, and the research corpus consisted of 201 articles published in journals between 2014 and 2021. The results present 13 study categories, showing topics such as pyrolysis, business models, Industry 4.0, and energy generation. The insertion of Industry 4.0 technologies is still in its initial stages, comprising mainly the generation of inputs to reuse waste for 3D printers’ materials. Regarding energy generation, the insertion of processes such as pyrolysis for fuel generation stands out. The proposed discussion in this article suggests a circular ecosystem in which wastes follow a reuse flow according to their properties; incineration can be an option depending on the stage and benefits generated from the removal of plastic waste from the ecosystem. The highlighted issue is the scalability of the developed processes in the research, which is only possible if the state, universities, and civil society integrate efforts in the construction of a circular ecosystem infrastructure for waste management.

Keywords: plastic waste; circular economy; supply chain; waste management; energy generation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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