Cost-Normalized Circular Economy Indicator and Its Application to Post-Consumer Plastic Packaging Waste

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Circular Economy

Background:

• The Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) assesses product circularity using life cycle assessment data.
• Existing indicators often lack economic considerations, limiting a holistic view of sustainability in product lifecycles.
• Plastic waste management faces challenges in achieving true circularity, necessitating refined assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) by integrating economic factors, creating a novel "circo-economic" indicator (MCIE).
• To evaluate the circularity of Dutch post-consumer plastic packaging waste using the new MCIE, comparing separately collected and municipal solid waste streams.
• To identify key factors influencing plastic circularity and propose strategies for improvement.

Main Methods:

• Developed the "circo-economic" indicator (MCIE) by combining product MCI with cost-normalization against estimated plastic recycling costs.
• Applied the MCIE to assess Dutch post-consumer plastic packaging waste, including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), film, and mixed plastics.
• Conducted cost sensitivity analyses to explore the impact of technological and policy changes on MCIE.

Main Results:

• The MCIE for separately collected plastic waste (0.81) was higher than for municipal solid waste (0.73) across most plastic types.
• This indicates that, under cost normalization, separately collected and processed plastics align better with circular economy principles.
• Cost sensitivity analyses revealed that improved sorting technology and policy incentives could significantly enhance the MCIE of municipal solid waste plastics.

Conclusions:

• The developed MCIE provides a more comprehensive assessment of plastic circularity by incorporating economic viability.
• Separate collection of plastic waste demonstrates superior circularity performance compared to mixed municipal solid waste when economic factors are considered.
• Policy changes, industry collaboration, and greater data transparency are crucial for advancing plastic circularity, particularly addressing data restrictions and market integration challenges.