Liang Hongda, Dong Huijuan, Zhang Chenyi, Geng Yong, Liu Xiao, Liu Gang, Zhong Chen
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
iScience. 2023 Aug 24;26(9):107701. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107701. eCollection 2023 Sep 15.
Characterizing material flows and environmental impacts of plastic value chain is crucial for sustainable plastic management. Here, we combine material flow analysis and life cycle assessment methods to map the flows of eight major plastics and investigate the multiple environmental impacts of China's plastic value chain. We find that packaging and textile sectors dominate plastic consumption and are responsible for the value chain environmental burdens, but with low recycling rates. Major environmental impacts are generated in plastic production and product manufacturing stages because of the consumption of coal-based feedstocks and electricity. We therefore set up six scenarios by considering carbon neutrality energy pathway, plastic recycling improvement, and technology updating, finding that the value chain environmental impact can be reduced by 14%-57% in 2060 under combined scenario. Particularly, carbon neutrality renewable energy pathway plays an important role. These findings provide valuable insights to identify key mitigation pathways for plastic value chain.
表征塑料价值链的物质流和环境影响对于可持续塑料管理至关重要。在此，我们结合物质流分析和生命周期评估方法，绘制了八种主要塑料的流动情况，并调查了中国塑料价值链的多重环境影响。我们发现，包装和纺织部门主导着塑料消费，并造成了价值链的环境负担，但回收率较低。由于煤基原料和电力的消耗，主要环境影响产生于塑料生产和产品制造阶段。因此，我们通过考虑碳中和能源途径、塑料回收改进和技术更新设定了六种情景，发现在综合情景下，到2060年价值链的环境影响可降低14%-57%。特别是，碳中和可再生能源途径发挥着重要作用。这些发现为确定塑料价值链的关键减排途径提供了有价值的见解。
