University at Buffalo (UB)
A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation supported center
Research
In addition to developing secondary recyclable markets and streamlining the recycling process, our researchers are focused on the following tasks:
The recycling industry for plastics is fragmented and there is a gap in knowledge on the flow of plastic recyclables after they leave the Material Recovery Facility (MRF). A better understanding of the plastics recycling industry through data collection/analysis/data envelopment analysis could pave the way for increased recycling rates.
The supply chain is fragmented with several waste management companies, public and private MRFs, reclaimers, brokers, manufacturers, etc. There is an opportunity to collaborate with industry professionals to identify and resolve critical supply chain management issues.
Microplastics in NYS impact tourism (e.g., lakes, rivers) and agriculture/food. UB has expertise in environmental engineering, water resources, and analytical chemistry which, together with polymer and separations/ membrane expertise, can make a real impact.
This task aims to generate reliable and current information on the status of plastic usage and disposal by the agriculture/food and medical industries, and provide recommendations to help these industries manage plastics more sustainably.
In order to design and test a communication campaign that will increase recycling knowledge and minimize contamination in recycling, we need to learn how New Yorkers feel about recycling and better understand their recycling behaviors.
The overall goal is to increase the sorting speed while decreasing the overall cost and complexity while being extremely amenable for easy integration into plastic sorting facilities.
The goal and objectives of this task are developing a multimodal handheld device that can test the percentage of recycled plastics in the products.