Preface

The problem of waste recycling remains more urgent than ever. The societal value of plastics is demonstrated in its many applications, from manufactured durability to single-use applications. As the production and consumption of materials are constantly increasing, so too are the quantities that end up in waste streams. Disposing of waste to landfills is undesirable due to legislation pressures and the poor biodegradability of commonly used materials. Therefore, recycling is the best solution. Nowadays, more specialized recycling methods are required to manage a wide variety of wastes.

The challenge in today's recycling projects, in line with the principles of the circular economy, is not only to reuse the materials but also to produce secondary valueadded products, reducing the consumption of natural resources and the amount of energy needed, while lowering CO2 emissions in the environment. In this context, this book suggests solutions to specific contemporary issues such as the removal of contaminants from plastic packaging, delamination of multilayer structures, advanced techniques for the mechanical and chemical recycling of polymer-based materials, the fate of single-use plastics, separation of microplastics, and more. It targets professionals and recycling companies, as well as researchers, academics, and graduate students in the fields of waste management and polymer recycling in addition to chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and physics.

This book includes fourteen chapters written by forty-four authors from Europe (Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Poland, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom), Asia (India, United Arab Emirates), America, and Africa (Nigeria). The chapters are organized loosely into three sections. The first section consists of nine chapters dealing with polymer recycling. The second section includes three chapters on the recycling and valorization of waste materials. The third section includes two chapters that examine the role of society in recycling and the circular economy.
