Abstract: - This article aims at describing both the studies and results implemented in the framework of the
H2020-EU research project “RECOVER: New bio-recycling routes for food packaging and agricultural plastic
waste” which deals with the sustainability of innovative biodegradation processes for plastic waste and
production, in any environmental, social, economic and safety matters. In such a framework, the POLOG
University Centre (Livorno, Italy), reconstructed and analyzed the actual farm plastic waste supply chain, as
described in the following sections. The first section is introductive and it has been intended as a primer to the
most common different types of plastic materials. The second section has deserved to be a state of the art on the
most relevant issues raised in plastic waste management. The third section deals with suitable approaches to
address the environmental side effects of rapidly growing plastics production, use, and disposal. Some of these
approaches were listed, such as physical treatment of the polymeric components, plastic reduction use and
employment as much as mechanical and/or chemical recycling and energy recovery. The fourth section shows
how some of the above main issues, which raise coping with plastic reduction and recycling, are suited to be
coped with from a logistics perspective. Such logistics belong to the basic needs due to tackling any plastic waste
supply chain, i.e. collection and transport to intermediate stock and final delivery to recycling plants and/or
brownfields, applying the set of methodologies and techniques drawn from the well-known field of pick-up-and-
delivery models. These last tasks become crucial when the main effort has addressed the enforcement of any
feasible changes from the use of items made in old high environmental intrusive to their replacement with new
agricultural and biodegradable plastics. The paper goes to end presenting shortly of a few suitable solutions that
could be proposed and applied to the entire plastic waste supply chain. Finally, some concrete aspects of each
phase of the supply chain were discussed and it was highlighted how much each of these can be best used in
addressing the problem known throughout the world as the problem of the emergency of old plastic waste.
Keywords: - Plastic pollution and sustainability, Plastic waste recycling, management and collection logistics,
Agriculture field, plastic waste biodegradability.
Received: December 15, 2022. Revised: September 8, 2023. Accepted: October 4, 2023. Published: November 7, 2023.
1 Introduction
As well known, the global production of petroleum-
based plastics keeps increasing in particular for low-
cost, single-use applications, due to plastic strength,
lightweight, and versatility, [1]. Petroleum-based
plastic is diffused in a wide range of applications
from the medical, and industrial fields, to domestic,
packaging and agriculture, becoming an
indispensable presence in our lives. In 2020 global
plastic production was estimated at 367 million tons
of plastics, of which 40.5% was used for packaging
applications. In spite of most plastic used in
packaging, being potentially recyclable, just about
34% of plastic waste was recycled, while over 23%
was still released into landfills or natural
environments, especially in the oceans, where 13
million tons of plastic have been estimated, [2]. Thus
the undiscussed industrial and social benefits of
plastics conflict with the concern for accumulation
into the land and seas inducing very negative impacts
on wildlife and human health, [3], [4], [5]. This
article analyses the environmental sustainability of
plastics in food packaging and agriculture, focusing
on the main non-biodegradable plastic materials used
on farms as plastic covers and mulching film.
It was estimated that about 40,000 km2 of
European farmlands are covered by plastic films. The
agricultural plastics are mainly produced using
synthetic petroleum-based non compostable
polymers, while the supply of bio-based plastics
remained low, due to the relative high cost of these
last materials, [6]. The main plastics used in
Agricultural Plastic Waste Management
ANTONIO PRATELLI, PATRIZIA CINELLI, MAURIZIA SEGGIANI, GIOVANNA STRANGIS,
MASSIMILIANO PETRI
Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Pisa
Largo Lucio Lazzarino 2, 56122 PISA, ITALY
International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
E-ISSN: 2945-1159
198
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agriculture are low-density polyethylene (LDPE),
linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polyvinyl
chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene
(PET). The disadvantage of these materials is their
production process, which generates significant
amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere causing global
warming. Plastic recycling is currently the most
widely used technique to minimize these impacts
since it allows saving resources and consequently
reducing carbon emissions and the amount of waste
to be disposed of, [7] , [8]. In the life cycle of a
plastic, including production, use and disposal we
can identify several steps. Firstly, each supplier
provides the raw material. Then the supplier
processes the raw materials until they are ready for
use. The supplier then provides to not only the
plastics industry but also other industries that use
plastic as raw materials for their products such as for
example farms. Considering the process of plastic
production from upstream to downstream, the whole
system consists of several interrelated subsystems,
listed below:
a) Primary raw material subsystem which is
mainly resources from petroleum.
b) Production process subsystem which is
making and processing plastics.
c) Plastic waste management subsystem which
is collecting and transporting plastic waste
and the final disposal process.
d) Plastic recycling subsystem which collects
plastic waste that can be recycled by plastic
waste collectors, sorting of plastic types,
plastic milling, plastic washing, and drying
of plastic debris which is then sent to plastic
factories as secondary raw materials.
2 Plastic waste management: a brief
state of the art
Plastic waste not treated properly refers to plastic
often disposed of directly, without being processed.
This can disrupt the environment such as the marine
ecosystem. The reasons why people dispose of plastic
waste directly are because the process to handle
plastic waste is difficult and takes time. By the way,
recycled plastic accounts for a percentage of 5% of
the total production and receives the recycled plastic
directly, from the production cycle, operating a real
reverse logistic chain.
Fig.1 Plastic Supply Chain.
Various methods have been used to deal with the
issue of plastic waste such as the implementation of
the so-called “4R” principle (Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle, as well Refuse), but there are complications
that come with each method. Many studies
investigated the difficulties for plastic recycling. For
example, Mariotti and co-workers, [9], analyzed the
material and money flows, the study of plastic
materials and the examination of the normative led to
the identification of relevant key barriers.
In the agricultural field, plastics is delivered from
the industry to farms through wholesalers and
retailers as shown in Fig.1; after use, packaging,
mulching films and other plastic products will
become a waste. The waste is picked up by plastic
waste collector devices and vehicles, then it is carried
to plastic recycling plants or stored in some waste
disposal sites. After that, the plastic can be processed
and recycled. Fig.1 also shows the RECOVER
project partners belonging to different agricultural
plastic supply chain nodes.
In order to get a better understanding of the actual
operations in farm plastic waste supply chain, the
POLOG - Logistic Center of the University of Pisa
(Livorno, It.) has implemented an on-line survey
(https://survey.tages.it/recover/) in six different
languages (English, Italian, French, German,
Portuguese, and Spanish). The questionnaire has four
different versions for different supply chain nodes
like plastic manufacturers, waste treatment
companies, distribution/warehousing companies and
farms. Fig.2 shows the first two pages of the survey.
At present, only 13 companies have completed the
survey, divided in types as indicated in Fig.3.
Starting from the manufacturers, the three
respondent companies are very different in
dimensions: one has seven hundred employees while
the other two sixty-three and ten employees. Only the
biggest one makes products containing recycled
International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
E-ISSN: 2945-1159
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plastic for a percentage of 5% on the total production
and receive the recycled plastic directly from the
production cycle, operating a real reverse logistic
chain.
An important feature regarding manufacturers is
that all of them address as limiting parameters to
recycle AWP (Agricultural Waste Plastic) are
production cost, price inflation of bio-based raw
materials and the presence of mixed fractions. It is
clear that manufacturing companies must have
incentives to use recycled plastics in their
manufacturing processes. In this way, they can create
both marketing and advertising advantages and can
even allow a small surcharge if the final product can
be sold as "green". Nevertheless, many
manufacturers continue to rely solely on virgin
plastic inputs, both because of their lower cost, but
also due to inertia and uncertainty about the
properties of recycled plastics, [10].
Fig.2 First two pages of on-line survey.
Farms underline that AWPs are generally not
mixed with other products and they are sent to
mechanical/chemical recycling or incineration. The
AWP production capacity goes from 100 to 1000
kg/year. They also said that there is no financial
compensation for farmers who remove and manage
their plastic waste. Of the three companies
interviewed, only one recycles plastic waste with the
following order of costs (highlow): LLDPE,
LDPE, PS, PET.
Moreover, for farms, the use of biodegradation
systems, creating spaces for plastic recycling by
microorganisms, has a higher cost than transporting
AWP to a landfill or petrochemical plant (also if they
know it decreases environmental footprint). Usually,
in each farm AWP are collected in dedicated
containers and the farm does not use their trucks but
third-party transport services, with a mean shipping
of a container between 1/week to 1/quarter.
Production of AWP increases in summer, especially
for the citrus harvest phase.
Usually, in each farm AWP are collected in
dedicated containers and the farm does not use their
trucks but third-party transport services, with a mean
shipping of a container between 1/week to 1/quarter.
Production of AWP increases in summer, especially
for the citrus harvest phase.
Fig.3 Survey respondents by company type.
3 Possible solutions
Several approaches have been proposed and are
under consideration to address the environmental
side effects of rapidly growing plastics production,
use, and disposal, [12]. They include modifying the
product design, lowering plastic amount such as
through product light-weighting, and introducing
alternative materials in the place of plastics, this
could reduce the production, use, and disposal of
plastics. The adverse environmental impacts derived
from petro-plastic may be reduced even shifting to
International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
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biobased or biodegradable plastics thus reducing
their environmental footprint, [13].
Improved management of the waste
systems, by facilitating waste collection and
increasing the recycling rates, would allow
waste plastics being captured before they
may be directed to the natural environment.
Clean up and remediation activities, such as
beach cleaning and technology to collect
plastic from the oceans, would allow the
removal of plastic already present in the
natural environment, and get people more
aware of plastic pollution
Improvement of the plastic waste treatment,
improving quality of recycled plastic, and
consequently increasing recycling rate.
The most used solution is the waste treatment
process, based on the physical properties of the
polymeric material of the plastic. Indeed, polymeric
materials can be classified as thermoplastics and
thermosets. Thermoplastic is a type of plastic that
can be processed, and thus even recycled by re-
melting process. Plastics that are classified into
thermoplastics include polyethylene (PE),
polystyrene (PS), poly vinyl chloride (PVC),
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and
polycarbonate (PC). While thermoset is a type of
plastic that cannot be remolded because during
overheating, thermosets tend to degrade without
melting. Table 1 displays some of the most common
usage thermosets items including epoxy resins,
Bakelite, melamine resins, and urea-formaldehyde
resins. Reduction of plastic waste can be achieved in
four different ways:
1) Reduction in use.
2) Disposal and degradation by
landfilling/incineration.
3) Reuse.
4) Recycle.
Reduction in use means limiting the use of plastic
either by replacing plastic with other materials or
changing material design in order to have a lighter
product. Degradation is the process of damaging
plastic structure that can be done by incineration
with energy recovery, or by disposal in landfills
where some plastic may incur in degradation,
eventually by anaerobic digestion with production of
biogas.
Reuse is the approach of reusing plastic that has used
before. Recycling may be chemical, mechanical,
etc.; in this process the plastic waste can be
processed to be used again, or chemically treated to
go back to monomers or other chemical blocks that
can be used for producing the same plastic, but even
different chemicals. In terms of plastic waste, the
recycling process for solid plastics waste types is
generally done in three ways: mechanical recycling,
chemical recycling, and energy recovery.
Table 1 Manufacturer product types, characteristics
and dimensions.
Company Product type Weight Dimensions
LCI Italy
Pot
0.1 kg 14 x 20 x
20 cm
TIPA
Corp.
Compostable
Films
100 tons
per year
180-250
cm
Bio-Mi
d.o.o
Biodegradable
mulch films
25-30
kg
100-120
cm
Castellani
s.p.a.
Packaging
10 kg 100 x 120 x
170 cm
Mechanical recycling consists in separating, sorting,
baling, washing, grinding, compounding, and
pelletizing, [14]. This recycling process can be
configured using closed and open loops where the
application can provide a different final version of
the recycled product. The closed-loop process will
produce products that have properties similar to the
original material, so they can be used as raw
materials with high-additional value. A common
problem associated with mechanical recycling is the
degradation and mixing of polymers leading to loss
of the characteristics that made the initial pre-
recycled polymer desirable [11]. As the plastic
qualities are degraded through the recycling process,
some may not be able to be returned as input to new
plastics, and are used to create less valuable, limited
application, plastic products, [15]. Some of the
current instances are:
- Park benches.
- Plastic lumber poles for gardens.
- Drainage pipes.
- Carpets.
International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
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- Railroad ties.
- Truck bed liners.
- Plastic roads.
The chemical recycling consists in the following
steps:
Step 1) Chemical depolymerization: it is a chemical
process by which the plastic waste is chemically
reduced to its original monomers or other chemicals.
It is suitable only for homogenous pre-sorted plastic
waste streams such as PET, PU, PA, PLA, PC, PHA,
and PEF. Chemical recycling can be done by
chemolysis, pyrolysis, fluid catalytic cracking
(FCC), hydrogen technologies, Katalytische
Drucklose Verölung (KDV) process or Catalytic
Pressureless Depolymerization process, and
gasification combined with methanol production.
Step 2) Solvent-based regeneration: it is a
purification process based on dissolving polymers in
proprietary solvents, separating contaminants and
reconstituting the target polymer. The process can be
applied to several polymers.
Step 3) Thermal depolymerization and cracking
(gasification and pyrolysis): These processes heat
plastic waste in a low-oxygen environment to
produce molecules from mixed streams of
monomers that then form the basis of feedstock for
new plastic without degradation. The main output is
syngas or synthesis gas, [16]. Both gasification and
pyrolysis have been considered for decades to create
energy (syngas burned to drive steam turbines) from
municipal waste that didn’t get a commercial
success due to a combination of poor economics,
high energy consumption requiring supplemental
fuel, fires, explosions, emissions, and residues.
These processes are also used to create ‘plastic to
fuels’ (fossil fuels), as oils and diesel can be
generated in addition to syngas. Most recently
biotechnology has been considered for plastic
degradation and waste management, thus the
depolymerization using enzymes, or bacteria is a
technique still at an experimental and research stage.
One if the studied techniques for example uses a
bacterial hydrolase enzyme to reduce PET to its
monomer, [17]. The bacterial enzyme is based on a
naturally occurring bacteria that has subsequently
been modified by scientists to degrade PET more
efficiently, claiming a 90% depolymerization within
10 hours. More and more examples of use of
enzymes, bacteria but even worms, insects and
larvae for degradation of plastic can be found in the
literature evidencing the trend for looking to natural,
green chemistry, biotechnological approaches for
the plastic waste treatment.
The last approach, we address is valorizing the
plastic waste for energy recovery, this is conducted
by burning plastic waste for electricity production,
this process reports an efficiency above 90%, [18].
The process is proposed for plastic waste that cannot
be recycled, but considering the need for energy is
widely applied even to recyclable plastic. Main
concern for incineration is the management of ashes
and air emissions making it difficult to get
population acceptance of an incineration plant
nearby. Most recent treatments consider the
transformation of plastic to fuels that might
‘substitute’ fossil fuels and offset oil, gas, and coal.
By the way the process still needs investigation and
upgrades, not to result in just compressed post
consuming plastic. One promising approach of this
process is the conversion of plastic waste to
hydrogen, which is a clean burning fuel. However,
to date, hydrogen production may require energy-
intensive processes that could even compromise the
benefits of reducing the carbon footprint.
3.1 Logistic and distribution solutions
Solutions must be studied starting from the entire
plastic waste production chain and researching how
each node in the supply chain can give its own help
to solve the problem. For example, industries are
expected to work together by creating and
implementing a plastic waste management system
using a reverse logistics system where plastic waste
is returned to the factories that produce it.
Afterwards, factories will manage the plastic waste
by recycling and reusing them. Reverse logistics is
the process of planning, implementing, and
controlling the flow of raw materials, work in
process, finished goods, and related information,
which flows from the point of consumption to the
point of origin efficiently, [19]. Logistics generally
bring products to customers.
Reverse logistics is the opposite of the previous
process, where the product or goods are brought
from the customer to the distributor, or to the
manufacturer, which includes reprocessing or
disposal. The transfer of the product or item is
carried out through a supply chain network, like the
one shown in previous Fig. 2. Another way to
manage plastic waste is to optimize the plastics
packaging supply chain. The plastics packaging
value chain starts along with the production and
continues with the distribution and utilization. On
the left side, indeed, there is the Plastics Packaging
Recovering Chain i.e., the packaging producers, the
product companies, and the retailers who produce
the packaging, the products and sell them to the
International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
E-ISSN: 2945-1159
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Volume 1, 2023
consumers. On the right side, instead, the Plastic
Waste Recovering Chain is represented. The
recycling process takes place in different phases: (i)
the separate collection of waste (citizen); (ii) the
collection of separated waste from a company
(public or private) and the pre-sorting and cleaning
of plastics; (iii) the sorting of different plastics and,
(iv) the recycling, i.e., the sorted plastics are
processed in order to have materials suitable for a
new use. Appropriate handling, treatment, and
disposal of waste by type reduces costs and
contributes significantly to protecting public health
[20]. Segregation is another important element of the
waste management supply chain, and it should
always be the responsibility of the waste producer,
should take place as close as possible to where the
waste is generated, and should be maintained in
storage areas. The same system of segregation
should be in force throughout the country. From the
segregation it starts the waste logistic and transport
phase. Segregation is followed by the Collection/
Storage phase that can be linked also to new ways to
optimize distribution. For example, waste containers
can be implemented with volumetric or weight
sensors so as to be able to have a clear
communication to distribution companies about
available capacity so as to optimize waste recovery
according to vehicle capacity. Moreover, the storage
can be followed by a Special Packaging phase,
depending on the measure and volume of the waste.
It can be useful to package waste following the
standard dimensions used in transportation like
pallet dimensions or other systems, so also to
optimize the following Transportation/Distribution
phase. For this last part it can be useful to have a
Routing optimization system to decrease the
transportation distance and time (especially for
perishable products). This system can be linked to
the municipal road management system in order to
avoid road congestion and other critical features.
3.2 GIS models and optimal management of
large bioplastic waste collection
Distribution logistics is a cost element that should
not be underrated in any process chain. For this
reason, its optimization becomes an indispensable
element to reduce the costs of the supply chain itself.
In this regard, a series of heuristic algorithms have
been able to solve the so-called Traveling Salesman
Problem-TSP, or better Vehicle Routing Problem
due to capacity and time constraints, elaborated and
solved by a set of programming procedures
belonging to Branch & Bound, Greedy or Patching
methods. These algorithms can be applied both in
the ex-post phase, i.e., on-time distribution of
constraints and customers, as much as in real time
by receiving reservations for deliveries/collections
that vary over time. Compared to the latter example,
the case of plastic recycling introduces an extension
based on the use of radio frequency communication-
active RFID. In practice, it is a question of equipping
each container or bin, deriving from the sorting of
recycled plastic with an activated/sensor, possibly
connected to a volumetric filling and/or weight
sensor. The RFID sensor communicates exposure
data of web cloud volume and/or weight value via
web to allow the operator in charge of its withdrawal
to know the places of real exposure of the plastic
materials and their volumetric characteristics and/or
weight. Such a result has been offered by some
commercial packages. For instance, one among
others is ArcGISTM, which belongs to the popular
real-time software engine of ESRI's ArcGISTM
software, [21]. ArcGISTM operates in real time by
setting up the corresponding Vehicle Routing
problem, together with all path and capacity
constraints, as much as time windows constraints, if
any, or any other kind of constraints that must be
included into the model representation of real world
operational conditions in order to allow for effective
optimization. The result is an optimized vehicle
delivery tour, in respect to its costs and delivery
times, which is to be followed by the vehicle driver,
or sent directly to an autonomous vehicle driving
control device, [22].
Fig.4 Volvo autonomous refuse truck automated
vehicle (courtesy by [20]).
As a practical example in such a direction, a few
years ago, Volvo Automotive Group presented an
autonomous refuse truck (Fig. 4) which is an
automated vehicle and it is equipped with sensors
that continuously monitor the vehicle’s path. This
last is pre-set up and the truck drives itself from one
wheelie-bin to the next. Then the driver walks ahead
of the reversing vehicle, and he is only focused on
refuse collection. This way, the driver does not have
International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
E-ISSN: 2945-1159
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to climb into and out of the cab every time the truck
moves to a new bin.
Fig.5 The waste collection process through GIS
coupled with RFID sensor technologies, [21].
From the point of view of methodology, the
application of a GIS has addressed the core of the
control and management system of the vehicle fleet.
The main tasks are rooted in the optimal definition
of the transport of plastic and solid waste from the
individual collection points (pick-up nodes) to the
plant, or more, for delivery and storage, allowing
you to identify, vehicle by vehicle, the path of
minimum cost/distance. The GIS model considers
the capacity of the vehicles used, gets information
on the road network available, dynamically updates
the storage availability of the treatment plant, and at
the same time interrogates the sensors at the
collection points to plan collection trips based on
actual needs. For this last aspect, in the specific case
of plastic collection from large users, it is possible to
place in each of them a removable instrumented
container with volumetric measurement of the filling
level. When the sensor requests collection, the
equipped vehicle picks it up leaving an empty one in
its place: one trip and two services. Fig.5 depicts the
waste collection process. In the past decade, the
applications of GIS systems in the waste collection
sector have reached, almost all over the world,
compared to the cost of the previous traditional
methods of managing the collection and storage
service. Roughly speaking, the expected savings
range from 25% up to 50%. More in detail, the
technical literature report estimations are about 20%
less than the annual mileage, and 30% and above for
the collection times. These savings also translate
into environmental benefits, such as corresponding
in mileage shortages and then reduced tons of CO2
emissions per year.
Acknowledgements:
This research work has been developed under the
project RECOVER "New bio-recycling routes for
food packaging and agricultural plastic waste". The
project was founded by Bio Based Industries Joint
Undertaking and framed into the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation program
under grant agreement No. 887648.
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International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Development
DOI: 10.37394/232033.2023.1.20
Antonio Pratelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Maurizia Seggiani, Giovanna Strangis,
Massimiliano Petri
E-ISSN: 2945-1159
205
Volume 1, 2023
Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
The authors equally contributed in the present
research, at all stages from the formulation of the
problem to the final findings and solution.
Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare
that are relevant to the content of this article.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
_US
This research work has been developed under the
project RECOVER "New bio-recycling routes for
food packaging and agricultural plastic waste". The
project was founded by Bio Based Industries Joint
Undertaking and framed into the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation program
under grant agreement No. 887648.
