Plastic Management and Sustainability: A Data-Driven Study

Nesreen El-Rayes; Aichih (Jasmine) Chang; Jim Shi

doi:10.3390/su15097181

journal article Open Access Apr 25, 2023

Plastic Management and Sustainability: A Data-Driven Study

Nesreen El-Rayes

Aichih (Jasmine) Chang Jim Shi

Sustainability Vol. 15 No. 9 pp. 7181 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/su15097181

Abstract

The world is experiencing a rapidly increasing plastic production and consumption trend. The exacerbating plastic crisis has attracted various initiatives and actions across numerous organizations to foster stakeholder collaboration. In particular, academic researchers have paid considerable attention to the inherent supply chain sustainability. This study aims to (1) examine the status quo of plastic management research and provide recommendations and directions gleaned from the literature survey using text mining; and (2) perform descriptive and predictive analysis based on datasets collected from governmental, public, private, and not-for-profit institutions in the United States between 2016 and 2021 to quantify the size and severity of the crisis on various levels. Echoing the same global plastic production trend, our study reveals that the plastic debris that ends up in the ocean is growing exponentially, and global plastic production is expected to fluctuate between 500 and 600 million metric tons by 2025. From a research perspective, there is a remarkable shortage of publications empowering Blockchain technology (BCT) to address the plastic crisis. Little research is related to scaling up the plastic waste collection and re-thinking or re-designing products. There is no significant connection between ‘re-purpose’ and ‘innovation’. The industry and not-for-profit organizations are typically the forerunners of the campaign compared to academia in terms of investigating the adoption of technology to address the plastic crisis. This study features rich data-driven results and interpretation.

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Details

Published: Apr 25, 2023
Vol/Issue: 15(9)
Pages: 7181
License: View

Authors

N

Nesreen El-Rayes

Martin Tuchman School of Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA

A

Aichih (Jasmine) Chang

Martin Tuchman School of Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA

J

Jim Shi

Martin Tuchman School of Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA

Funding

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Award: AM21TMATRD00C003

Leir Foundation and Leir Chair endowment at NJIT Award: AM21TMATRD00C003

Cite This Article

Nesreen El-Rayes, Aichih (Jasmine) Chang, Jim Shi (2023). Plastic Management and Sustainability: A Data-Driven Study. Sustainability, 15(9), 7181. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097181

Plastic Management and Sustainability: A Data-Driven Study

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