Plastic Recycling in Household Waste in the Sultanate of Oman - Case Study Example

Introduction The chapter looks to present the manner in which plastic recycling is done in Oman and is based on previously published research and journal articles. This will help to provide details regarding the manner in which plastic recycling is carried out in Oman and will lay down the path based on which future research can be carried out. This will signify the research areas and will help to develop the required directions and areas based on which future research has to be carried out. Plastic Recycling in the Sultanate of Oman Plastic Recycling in the Sultanate of Oman is in its nascent phase and is being slowly being adopted. Continuous land filling and burning of plastics has already impacted the economy which has made the government aware about the riding concerns and looks at adopting different ways so that plastics can be recycled. The government of Oman relies on traditional method for recycling of the plastics (APC, 2006). The government is slowly moving towards setting up industries which looks at plastic recycling and has looked towards reducing the impact on environmental pollution by setting more and more industries in this direction (Kaminsky, 2006). The Sultanate of Oman is facing issues with continuous rise in plastic waste and needs to find out a mechanism through which they will be able to reduce the overall waste (Ludlow-Palafox and Chase, 2011). The Sultanate of Oman is slowly adopting practices which are aimed at recycling of household plastic as increasing pressure from world communities and continuous rise in combustible waste has forced the economy to work in that direction (Marano & Ciferno, 2011). The economy is witnessing a continuous rise in plastic waste and with continuous rise in the oil prices has forced the economy to recycle plastics so that it can be used further. The movement along this direction is slow but the manner in which importance is being given towards recycling of plastics has made it mandatory that the economy looks at improving the process of using plastic waste (Marano & Ciferno, 2011) Usage of Plastic Waste Plastic waste has its usage in different areas as it can be recycled and used for different objects which are made from plastics (Olmstead and Brodwin, 2007). The most important aspect here is that it limits the usage of virgin pellets and provides an opportunity through which the plastic can be recycled to be used for the same purpose (Olmstead and Brodwin, 2007). This thereby helps to preserve oil and ensures that a process is developed through which plastic waste can be reduced (Olmstead and Brodwin, 2007). Plastic waste further has its usage in different fields as it helps to manufacture different plastic products like bucket, household appliances, agriculture pipes, stools, chairs and so on (Thostenson and Chou, 2009). The fact that plastic waste when recycled can be used for multipurpose objects it thereby helps to multiply the opportunities through which different things can be made. This has its usage as it reduce environmental harm and ensures that the same substance or product is being used again and again (Thostenson and Chou, 2009). Disposal Method of Plastic Waste in Oman The method of disposal of plastic waste is old and outdated which has resulted in increasing challenged for land availability (Conesa, 2014). Oman which has a population of 3.9 million people generates solid waste of around 1.9 million tons. The average per capital of solid waste is over 1.2 kg every day and has impacted the availability of land severely. The solid waste mainly comprises of a very high percentage of recyclables, primarily paper and cardboard (15%), plastics (20.9%), metals (1.8%) and glass (4%). This has thereby resulted in increasing the landfills which has resulted in land pollution and is impacting the economy in a negative manner. Since, plastics don’t decompose it results in impacting the environment and has made it difficult for the economy to sustain such an environment (Meredith, 2008) Oman has around 350 landfills which are managed by municipalities which is further seen by having many non authorised municipalities thereby increasing the number to a significant one (Krause, 2007). Al Amerat landfill is the first engineered sanitary landfill in Oman which was started in the year 2011. The project is a part of the government initiative but is very small and needs to be developed so that the manner in which the landfills are increasing can be controlled. Awareness and knowledge of the Omani public's about recycling and reuse plastic There is lack of awareness among the people of Oman regarding the recycling of plastic waste which has thereby resulted in people disposing plastic waste either through the process of combustion or land filling (Katz, 2002). The ministry of Municipal in Oman looks to use both the process of combustion and land filling to deal with the issue associated with plastic recycling. The educated society on a large has good knowledge about the recycling of plastics in comparison to the uneducated (Chen, 2013). Lack of knowledge and awareness in this arena has made people caught unaware about the different gains and benefits which can be garnered from the usage of recycled plastics and has thereby limited their overall reach and opportunities to improve their business environment (Cointreau, 2014). The educated people are aware about the importance of having a properly shaped and determined process which looks at recycling of plastic waste. This is in comparison to the uneducated people who litter the plastic waste and don’t have knowledge regarding the recycling process of plastic (Schouten and Van der Vegt, 2011). The initiative taken by the Ministry of Municipal has helped to bring forward those points in front of the uneducated as well and would lead towards improving their knowledge regarding the manner in which plastic waste has to be recycled. Types of Plastic can be Recycled Plastics of all form can be recycled but the composition and the strength which the plastic has determines its future usage. In all economies like developed and developing countries mainly four type of plastics can be recycled and reused which are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The different plastics which have been recycled can be further divided based on their densities, the different process which needs to be carried out for recycling those plastics and the different additives which the plastics contains. The details of the different type of plastics are as Polyethylene (PE): It contains of mainly two type of plastics i.e. low density polyethylene (LDPE) which is thin, soft, transparent, flexible and can be cut easily and is used to make objects like bottles, food box, buckets, toys and so on (Buekens, 2006). The other type of plastic is high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is strong, stiffer and is sued for making soft drink bottles, detergent containers, and household appliances and so on. Polypropylene (PP): This plastic is more rigid as compared to PE and can be easily bend and is therefore used to make objects like stools, chairs, rope, suitcase, and so on (Buekens, 2006) Polystyrene (PS): This type of plastic is brittle and transparent and can be blended with other materials so that it becomes stronger and absorbs the property of other objects and is used for making objects like kitchen ware, toys, food containers and so on (Buekens, 2006) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): This form of plastic is hard and rigid and needs to be added with plasticizers to make it soft and in reusable form and is used for different objects like irrigation pipes, window frames, building panels and so on (Buekens, 2006) Importance of Recycling of Plastic Recycling of plastics is an important aspect as it leads towards different negative impact on the society which needs to be watched out so that actions can be taken against those. Some of the importance of recycling plastic waste is as It helps to conserve the environment as recycling and using the same materials which has been extracted from the environment helps to preserve raw materials like energy and oil. This reduces the impact on the environment as it will reduce the activities like oil drilling, quarrying, mining, gas drilling and deforestation. This will thereby help to protect the environment. It helps to reduce pollution in different areas and ways as it fosters a process through which overall effectiveness and efficiency is improved (Beyler & Hirschler, 2001). In addition to it both the surface and ground water will be protected as plastics don’t degrade easily and will help to check land and water pollution as well. Reusing plastics helps to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel (Duncan, 2000). This will help to protect the valuable resources for the future and will act as an important determinant through which resources will be available in the future. Recycling plastics have a social impact as it reduces filth and dirt and then can be used as a process to attract more people to visit the country as tourist. This helps to create a positive social impact and will determine the manner in which the different needs and demand will be easily met and satisfy the different social needs of the economy and the society on the whole. Plastic Waste Recycling in Gulf Cooperation Countries The Gulf Countries Cooperation has to act in this direction so that they are able to deal with the process of recycling plastic waste. Qatar is the only country in the Gulf Countries Cooperation which has adopted plastic recycling and needs to be adopted by others as well so that the environment is protected (Yankson and Gough, 2013). Qatar looks towards the following way Qatar uses landfill deposits as the main way through which solid waste can be recycled and UmAlAfai is the only landfill which the country has. This landfill absorbs around 18% of the plastic waste generated in the economy. More and more landfills are required to deal with solid waste and is an aspect where the economy needs to work on (Arena and Mastellone, 2006). There are different techniques like source reduction, incineration, composting, and recycling but landfill is the only mechanism which is used for solid waste and needs to be improved. More and more landfills like UmAlAfai needs to be developed for ensuring that solid waste can be easily recycled. Plastic Recycling in UK UK has advanced in the field of recycled plastics and has many industries which look towards using plastics so that environmental harm can be reduced. UK uses different measures and policies which are fully developed and ensure that plastic can be recycled from it so that the long term prospect improves. (Aguado and Serrano, 2009). UK has recycled and developed its recycling plant as compared to 1990’s. UK has now collected over two million tonnes of plastic bottles and half million tonnes of pots, tubs and trays for recycling. The number of plastic bottles which were being collected from UK household was 464,443 tonnes which is an increase of 24,000 tonnes from the previous year (Plastic Survey, 2014). The country has 406 collection authorities who undergo the process of recycling the different plastics. The different campaigns have resulted in gaining momentum among the people regarding the importance of recycling. An example like setting up a recycling plant in the name of Nempak Plastics, Europe will help to recycle the plastic waste arising due to use of milk bottle. The launch of Plastic 4 Pledge has also helped to gain popularity among people and has provided the opportunity through which people look at using the process of recycling for improving their products. The mechanism which has thereby been adopted by UK has looked towards ensuring that more and more people are aware about the rising concerns towards environment and based on it uses different recycling plant for plastics. The awareness that people have with regard to the use of recycled plastic has helped to develop the industry and has acted as one of the major component through which the development of the industry has become possible (Cozzani, 2007). The fact that both the government and the society is aware about their roles and have come in cooperation with one another has helped to develop the industry and has created the required dimensions through which the recycled plastic industry has grown. Public Attitude and Understanding of Recycling of Plastic There is lack of awareness among the people regarding the recycling of plastic waste which has thereby resulted in people disposing plastic waste either through the process of combustion or land filling. The society on a large is unaware about the manner in which plastic harms them and the environment which has thereby limited the different steps which are taken by people to deal with the issue (Tall, 2002). Public consciousness is an aspect which needs to be focussed on so that people attitude, behaviour and different motivators are better understood and changed to improve the overall mechanism through which landfills are controlled (Ehrig, 2012). It is important that to bring about a control on waste change in the attitude of people is important. Not only making aware about what they will do, the mechanism in which they will do and the result which will be achieve from it; creating awareness and understanding the attitude based on the characteristics, behaviours and motivations of recyclers is important. It was analyzed that the awareness of the recyclability of materials could be compared with the recycling behaviour of respondents. This will help to develop the required attitude towards landfill and will give the required impetus which will help to control solid waste (Huber, Iborra & Corma, 2006) The process has to be such that it looks towards identifying the manner in which the society will look at treating the manner in which people look at using plastic. Better knowledge and understanding and ensuring better steps in the regard will help to bring about the required changes and will foster an environment through which plastic waste can be controlled and the environment on a large can be protected. 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