Browsing by Subject "Plastic"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    BIO-BASED PLASTIC PACKAGING: A TOOL TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS ANALYZE THE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN BIO-BASED AND CONVENTIONAL PLASTICS
    (2007-09-18T19:55:21Z) Bellucci, Nina
    An increasing number of companies are exploring ways to improve their environmental footprint. Some environmental benefits are offered by bio-based plastic packaging; however, this approach requires trade-offs. For example, plastic bottles made with polylactic acid (PLA), a bio-based plastic resin, lack the impact strength offered by plastic bottles made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Other trade-offs include diminished shelf life capabilities, increased cost, and recycling infrastructure. In particular, displacement of recyclable plastic packaging with plastics made from renewable resources has created controversy among environmental advocates. Despite its performance, cost, and recycling shortcomings, PLA offers an attractive choice to some because it represents the transition towards use of renewable resources. In an attempt to address trade-offs, I developed an analytical framework with assistance from key stakeholders. After identifying the fundamental objective of the best choice of resin for the manufacture of plastic bottles, I surveyed stakeholders to create a list of essential packaging criteria, with the three major criteria being performance as a bottle material, cost, and environmental impact. I relied on private interviews with industry experts and conference presentations to gather bottle data for four resins: PLA, PET, high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). The framework for comparison was Multiattribute Utility Theory (MAUT), a methodology designed to address trade-offs among multiple objectives to achieve an overall objective. Based on the survey results and best available data as input for MAUT, PET was the best choice of resin for the beverage bottle. This non-bio-based plastic emerged as the top choice largely due to its superior performance on criteria such as strength and shelf life. Further analysis of the characteristics of the four plastics showed that even if all environmental and cost characteristics of the bio-based plastic, PLA, were as favorable as any of the other plastics I analyzed, PLA still would not come to the top. Only if PLA’s performance as a bottle material (strength, etc.) increased several fold would PLA become the top choice among the four I analyzed. Similarly, analysis of the weighting of the criteria showed that increasing the weights on environmental criteria, compared to performance and cost criteria, cannot elevate PLA to the top choice, mainly because HDPE has desirable environmental characteristics such as recyclability. Only increasing the weight on environmental criteria such as greenhouse gas emissions while decreasing the weight on all other environmental criteria would allow PLA to become the top choice among the four bottle materials I analyzed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Exploring the Social Costs of Plastics: Global Review of Impacts and Economic Damages
    (2024-04-26) Baker, Anne-Elisabeth; Ekberg, Jon; Sutaria, Sadaf Sadruddin; Moreno Ramos, Juan Camilo
    The world currently has a unique opportunity to address pressing issues with plastic pollution in our global environment with an international legally binding agreement. It is imperative that we understand the impacts and harms – economic and social – of plastic pollution so the resulting treaty can rely upon robust scientific evidence. This project focuses on evaluating the social costs of plastics by assessing the state of science available on the impacts of plastic throughout its life cycle. This study aims to help the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University in understanding the knowledge gaps that exist on impacts of plastic pollution and how these are being evaluated to account for economic externalities In collaboration with a climate research grant team at the Nicholas Institute, we developed a system of categories for impacts of plastic throughout the entirety of its life cycle. Prior to this Master’s Project, the research team at the Nicholas Institute had consulted with experts of multiple disciplines on best approaches for the feasibility and utility of the social costs of plastics. Experts suggested a similar approach to the one used in the Social Cost of Carbon framework and the development of the system of categories (typology matrix for the purposes of this research). Using foundational literature, we developed definitions for the typologies and economic damages to then obtain search terms to be used in the literature review. We developed a semi-systematic methodology for conducting a global literature review, which is informed by the foundational literature and a typology matrix of plastic’s impacts and economic damages previously mentioned. We complement the resulting framework with outcomes and comments from a multidisciplinary expert workshop held in January 2024 in Washington, D.C. We presented preliminary results of the literature review and received guidance from the experts at the workshop in identifying the gaps. Based on 1,841 data points from 300 unique sources identified in our literature review, this report offers insights on the knowledge gaps in the plastics domain and a discussion on the state of science regarding the social costs of plastic. This study can help inform future research agendas and considerations to account for when measuring the social costs of plastics. The subsequent goal of this study is to inform policy discussions at a global scale with a preliminary understanding of the social cost of plastic with the available scientific data. Policies such as EPR schemes are discussed as solutions to this global plastic issue and they can be set more effectively by understanding the social costs. We delivered a database of impacts of plastic pollution at different geographical levels around the world. Overall, this report aims to inform future researchers and policymakers on three key areas: 1) The state of knowledge on the impacts of plastic pollution; 2) Provide preliminary considerations for a framework on the social costs of plastics; and 3) Initiate discussion amongst the multiple disciplines and policymakers working on the wide array of plastic impacts through its lifecycle. The main results of our literature review point to a huge gap at the mid-stream stage of the plastics lifecycle, skewed distribution and valuation of impacts towards the marine environment and the need for consistency in units and methodologies in quantifying impacts and valuing damages from plastics. We highlight the importance of the latter in going forward on the plastic pollution research domain as a need for fostering collaboration and actions between multiple stakeholders and researchers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most recent literature review investigating the current state of knowledge of the social costs of plastics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Integrating Circular Economy for PET Plastic at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
    (2019-04-24) Bales, Caroline; Hull, Emilia
    Plastic has become an integral part of our economy as a core material. However, current waste systems are proving insufficient to address the increasing rise of plastic waste, which paired with consumer challenges, has led to a worldwide crisis regarding plastic waste. Premirr Plastics, a North Carolina-based start-up company, has invented a new process to recycle waste PET plastic back to virgin quality monomers, which allows for the continuous reuse of the material – a drastic change from current technology. Premirr is various exploring business models and is interested in creating a small-scale, closed-loop system for individual institutions, such as universities. This paper evaluates part of their proposed plan by testing its feasibility at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business to explore (1) consumer interest, and (2) institutional interest. This study concludes that, while there is strong consumer interest and institutional support at Fuqua, certain barriers make this a challenging business plan. However, due to the plan’s marketing appeal, we recommend launching a pilot as a marketing plan while relying on another business plan as the primary revenue generator.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    PHTHALATE EXPOSURE AND CONSUMER PRODUCT USE AMONG CHILDREN IN A NORTH CAROLINA COHORT
    (2017-04-28) Killius, Allison
    Phthalates, chemicals found in plastics and personal care products, are a ubiquitous class of chemical compounds that have been associated with adverse health effects. Mothers and their toddlers were recruited from a pregnancy cohort and completed a questionnaire that included demographic information and reports of children’s product use habits. Pooled urine samples (3 over 48 hours) were collected from 180 toddlers and analyzed for five major phthalate metabolites: mEHP, mEP2, mBP, miBP, and mBzP2. Statistical analysis compared the urinary metabolite concentrations with the children’s demographic information and average product use. Maternal education was inversely associated with urinary concentrations of all metabolites. After controlling for confounding by demographic variables, plastic bag, lotion, and nail polish use were significant predictors of urinary mEP2 levels. This study suggests plastic and personal care product use in toddlers influences phthalate exposure.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Research Methodology to Public Policy: Designing an Analysis of Plastic Chemical Leaching in Water
    (2023-04-28) Gedney, Marisa
    Plastic pollution is a ubiquitous concern throughout the world’s oceans and presents a complexity of issues for environmental health on all scales. Most research and public policy in the United States regarding the subject is focused on the prevention, distribution, and collection of physical micro- and macro-plastics, while the ecological impacts due to chemical leaching of additives from plastics are currently less acknowledged and understood. This project utilizes a three-tiered approach to analyze additive leaching at the intersection of both regulation and research. First, the current landscape of law and policy regarding plastic pollution was examined through a scientific lens to proactively identify areas of concern requiring additional research. This focused on both plastic pollution and chemical regulations internationally and within the United States at the state and national level. Findings suggested that policies regarding plastic chemical additives were nonexistent, but their need was starting to gain recognition at an international level. For the second part, an experimental procedure was designed to analyze the significance of chemical leaching determined from the mass change of plastic pre-production pellets in fresh water. Polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polypropylene, polystyrene, high-density polyethylene, and low-density polyethylene were used for a series of testing periods up to seven days. A significant reduction of mass due to leaching was measured in all plastic types except polycarbonate. Salinity, temperature, and length of the soaking period were highlighted as method design limitations to be considered for future experimental designs. In the third section of this project, the final conclusions from part two are then projected back to plastic pollution policy to provide further suggestions for impactful pathways of incorporating the research findings in support of monitoring ocean health. Suggestions include the development of a chemical additive database, mapping of chemical uptake in ecological food webs, and an expansion of regulation efforts to include chemical additive monitoring in plastic pollution response.