Cost analysis of plastic solid waste recycling in an urban district in Turkey

The usage of plastics has exponentially increased in our daily lives over the past 50 years because of its durability, low costs and potential for diverse applications, such as widespread use as disposable items. In this study, first, the recycling cost of plastic wastes has been estimated by using actual data taken from a recycling centre, where plastic solid wastes were collected separately. The total amount of plastic wastes recycled at the centre was approximately 695 tonnes. The operating cost of plastics separation at the recycling centre, the transport of plastic wastes, labouring, maintenance, electricity, insurance and chemical costs were taken into consideration in the cost evaluation. Accordingly, the unit cost of recycling was calculated as US$0.40 kg^-1 of plastic waste. This cost was compared with the predicted plastic recycling cost in the same region using statistical values. The predicted recycling cost was estimated based on assuming segregated collection by the municipalities of all PSW in municipal solid waste. Then the resulting unit cost of recycling was found to be US$0.25 kg^-1 of plastic waste. In addition, the recycling costs were also evaluated including the revenue from the sales of recycled plastic granular. According to the evaluated total cost of plastic recycling, it can be concluded that mechanical recycling of plastics can only be an economical option if the recovery of plastics is improved.