Page 62 - Plastics News Issue December 2024
P. 62
IN THE NEWS
consumer recycled plastic as the input for 3D ♦ Consumer Awareness: Currently, few people
printers, firms or individuals can design unique know about plastic upcycling and its positive
products, models or novelties, as well as sub- impact.
stitutes. It helps decrease the amount of plastic
used, and, at the same time, offers fresh oppor- Through consumer awareness and sensitization
tunities to embrace the concept of on-demand and highlighting the need to embrace upcycled
economy. products and alerting industries and consumers
to embrace upcycled products, more people will
New products can be made by turning used plas- embrace upcycling.
tics into filaments for 3D printing through melt-
ing the plastics from discarded bottles, packs, Nevertheless, the future of this type of recycling
and more. It makes it possible to manufacture a is rather bright. These factors give insight that,
very wide range of products from simple home with improved technology and scale economies
decoration accessories to complex industrial the upcycling process will be cheaper and hence
components within a competitively low environ- widely accepted. Both governments and con-
mental impact. sumers, as well as all the businesses and produc-
ers in-between, have a part to play in minimizing
Challenges and the Future of Plastic Upcycling the use of plastics and making use of products
created from upcycled materials instead.
Although, the idea to turn plastics into some-
thing more useful can be seen as a viable solu- Conclusion
tion for the problem, there are several obstacles
here. Some of these include: Upcycling of plastics therefore can be consid-
ered as a major shift in management of plastics
♦ Scalability: At the same time, the majority especially in the aspects below. Through trans-
of upcycling technologies are still in the ex- forming waste into resource by using chemical
perimental or at the beginning of the com- recycling, enzymatic recycling or manufacturing
mercial stage. Sustaining all these processes new valuable products, innovative technologies
to accommodate the heaps of plastic waste one of the solutions to the plastic pollution prob-
produced, globally, would call for a lot of lem. However, it is still in a progressing phase
investment in research, infrastructure en- and future can see, it as a revolution in how we
hancement as well as technology. consider plastic waste in economy and society.
♦ Economic Viability: Sometimes upcycling Considering necessary resources and funding,
approaches may be costly than plastic pro- upcycling plastic has a great potential to be-
duction or conventional plastic recycling come one of the powerful tools against exces-
strategies. As a way to take upcycling to sive use of plastics and promote the idea of the
the commercial level, it will be crucial to find cleaner planet.
cheaper ways of upcycling as well as create Source – Plastics Technology
the reason to use upcycled material.
62 PLASTICS NEWS December 2024
