Plastic is one of the most widely used and cheapest materials in the world today and plastic waste recycling is no longer optional. Virtually everything we use is either made from or wrapped in plastic. Most plastic is not biodegradable, meaning that left untreated, it will be here for millions of years. Plastic waste is an ever-growing problem and recycling is vital to the survival of the planet. As a frame of reference for this problem considers this: In 1950, there were 2 million metric tons of plastics around the globe. From 1950 to 2018, an estimated 6.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide with projections that it will be at 34 billion by 2050! Only about 9% of our plastic waste is recycled – and only about 12% is incinerated. This leaves almost 80% to pollute! Consider the issue in our oceans. It is estimated that about 8 million tons of waste plastic enter the Earth’s ocean every year, with studies showing that the bodies of 90% of seabirds contain plastic debris. In fact, some researchers suggest that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight. The harsh truth is that plastic waste is taking over and something needs to be done. Plastic recycling is the process of recovering these waste plastics or scraps of plastic, and reprocessing them into useful products.
Large renewable energy and biochemical consulting firms have plastic waste consultants and experts to assist with recycling and to work with relatively new technologies in turning these plastics back into something useful. These large consulting firms have experts in plastic recycling (as well as many other experts in biofuels/renewable fuels, biomaterials, biomass and biomass power, feedstocks, bio-technologies like agitation systems, anaerobic digestion, bio-oil extraction, bioreactors, carbon capture, carbon storage, carbonization, catalysis, cellulosic ethanol, clean-tech, direct combustion, enzyme technologies, fermentation, Fischer-Tropsch, gasification, genetic engineering, hydrothermal, nanotechnology, organosynthesis, power generation, pyrolysis, renewable technology due diligence, synthetic biology, thermochemical conversion, torrefaction, water treatment, and waste management).
Lee Enterprises Consulting is the world’s premier bioeconomy consulting group, with over 150 highly qualified experts, including several highly qualified plastic waste consultants and experts available to assist with any plastic or waste to energy related matter. Visit our website and see our experts and the services we provide and you will find that we have just the right expert for any clean energy project. Most of our experts are also available to advise and serve as expert witnesses in bioeconomy litigation matters. We specialize in putting together full-service, interdisciplinary teams with one point of contact for larger projects. Call us at 1+ (501) 833-8511 or email us for more information.