New SusTec publication: Look before you leap: Are increased recycling efforts accelerating microplastic pollution?
This paper examines how increasing recycled content in plastics, while addressing sustainability goals, can inadvertently amplify microplastic pollution due to material degradation during production, use, and recycling. By proposing a risk assessment framework and analyzing cases like textiles and wood–plastic composites, the study highlights critical areas for policy intervention and sets a research agenda to guide informed decision-making.
Look before you leap: Are increased recycling efforts accelerating microplastic pollution?
By Sebastian Kahlert and Catharina R. Bening
Download https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13578
Abstract: To fight plastic pollution and reach net-zero ambitions, policy and industry set goals to increase the recycling of plastics and the recycled content in products. While this ideally reduces demand for virgin material, it also increases pressure on recyclers to find suitable endmarkets for the recyclate. This may lead to two effects: a multiplication of recycled content in applications already made of plastic and a substitution of non-plastic materials with cheap, low-quality recyclate. Both areas of application may be sources of microplastic (MP) pollution. Combined with the inherent degradation of recyclate during its lifecycle, but also during recycling, we expect the increase in recycled content will subsequently lead to an increase in MP pollution. We propose a framework to investigate the risk of MP generation through plastic applications throughout their subsequent lifecycle of production, use phase, and end of life. We apply the framework to two prominent examples of recyclate endmarkets, that is, textiles and wood–plastic, and point out where the degradation effects can cause higher release. To conclude, we outline a research agenda to support policymakers in their decision making on specifying targets for recycling and recycled content.