Comparative environmental and socioeconomic assessment on mixed plastic waste management: A Singapore case study

Proper end-of-life (EOL) management of mixed plastic waste remains a global challenge in both developed and developing countries as disposed plastic circulating within the ecosystem continues to increase at unprecedented rates. Presently, plastic EOL pathways are largely designed based on prevailing geographical conditions and environmental regulations across different regions. Till date, no work has been reported on the environmental and socioeconomic assessment on EOL pathway focusing on mechanical recycling of mixed plastic waste into raw ingredients for construction materials. This paper presents a life cycle assessment to characterize the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of four different plastic EOL pathways using Singapore as a case study. The present study describes how Singapore can redesign its current waste-to-resource taxonomy and reiterates the need to maximize mechanical recycling throughput of mixed plastic waste so to alleviate the reliance on thermal energies for waste valorisation and improve the overall performance of current plastic EOL pathway.