Task 1

Map the reverse supply for plastics in NYS and conduct a deep dive into the structure of the collection, disposal, and recycling industries

Goals/Objectives

  • 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). 
  • China’s National Sword restrictions significantly impacted the plastic recycling industry and lead to a glut of plastic scrap. We seek to assess the disposition of scrap plastic in the U.S and volumes recovered in NYS.
  • A better understanding of the plastics recycling industry through data collection and analysis could pave the way for increased recycling rates.

Methodology

  • We also conduct an econometric analysis utilizing a panel dataset comprising 91 MRFs operating in New York State (NYS) during the years 2016–2020, resulting in 361 records was used
  • We are using case study methodology to understand the drivers of profitability and degree of recycling efficiency. 
  • Case study research is a qualitative research method developed by social scientists, which involves systematic development of an interview protocol, driven by theory and a priori hypotheses, careful selection of diverse range of companies/supply chains, selection of interviewees, transcribing and coding information elicited, performing within-case and cross-case analysis, and drawing robust insights into industry situations, and for making cautions generalizations/propositions.
  • Based on the interviews, and analysis of the interview transcripts, we then conduct within-reverse supply chain (RSC) and cross-case (cross-RSC) analyses, following established methods of case study research.
Zoom image: Figure 1: Impact of China's National Sword Figure 1: Impact of China's National Sword

Figure 1: Impact of China's National Sword

Zoom image: Figure 2: Methodology for conducting case study interviews Figure 2: Methodology for conducting case study interviews

Figure 2: Methodology for conducting case study interviews

Task Team Members

  • Aditya Vedantam, Associate of Operations Management, School of Management, University at Buffalo
  • Nallan Suresh, Associate Dean for Faculty, Research and Centers, UB Distinguished Professor, School of Management, University at Buffalo
  • Azadeh Arjmanddavarani, PhD student, School of Management, University at Buffalo

Results/Preliminary Results

  • The onset of China’s National Sword policy was shown to significantly reduce the volume of materials recovered by MRFs in NYS and an increase in landfilling of scrap plastic in the U.S. by approximately 20%.
  • To map the reverse supply chain for plastics, interviews with eight different companies/organizations playing diverse roles in the plastic recycling supply chain encompassing both post-consumer and post-commercial types of plastic recycling were conducted.  
  • Figure 1 and Figure 2 display the constructed map of the entities interviewed in the plastic reverse supply chain across a broad range of roles associated with post-consumer and post-commercial recycling, respectively.
  • Preliminary results indicate significant barriers to plastic recycling including:
    • Lack of markets for low value plastics leading to some MRFs accepting PP + LDPE mixture but not LDPE only
    • Many companies have sole suppliers of PP located out-of-state; it is more difficult to make packaging design changes an incurs a high transport cost
    • Lack of a closed-loop supply chain in plastic packaging due in part to strict packaging requirements around food safety limits the recycled content in packaging.
Zoom image: Figure 3: Map of the reverse supply chain of plastic. Figure 3: Map of the reverse supply chain of plastic.

Figure 3: Map of the reverse supply chain of plastic.

Zoom image: Figure 4: Post-consumer and post-commercial segmentation of the cases. Figure 4: Post-consumer and post-commercial segmentation of the cases.

Figure 4: Post-consumer and post-commercial segmentation of the cases.

Publications and Presentations

Publications

  • Vedantam, N.C. Suresh, K. Ajmal and M. Shelly. “Impact of China’s National Sword Policy on the U.S. Landfill and Plastics Recycling Industry,” Sustainability, 2022, Vol. 14(4): 2456 (Impact factor: 3.9, Citations: 20)
  • One more manuscript based on this task in under development titled “Reverse Supply Chains for Plastics Recovery and Recycling: A Case-study Investigation”

Conference Presentations

  • Assessing the impact of China’s import restrictions on plastic recycling in the U.S. School of Management PhD Poster Competition, University at Buffalo. Awarded First Place, 2020
  • Evolving Plastic Recycling Markets: A Holistic Academic Research Approach., Association of Plastic Recyclers Meeting (Virtual), 2020
  • Improving Plastic Recycling in New York State: Insights from case-study research interviews, New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling (NYSAR3), November 14-16, 2022
  • Insights from case-study research interviews in Plastic Recycling, 2024 Midwest Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference, April 12–13, 2024 

Ongoing/Future Work

  • As part of future work, we will investigate the segregation procedures in other countries with high recovery and sortation rates to find best practices.  
  • We will conduct structured interviews with purchasing managers in businesses that use plastics to identify barriers to recycling and solutions to greater recycled content usage.

Task Alumni

  • Dr. Khadija Ajmal, Assistant Professor of Transportation & Logistics, University of Wisconsin Superior
  • Srikant Jayasankaran, a full-time position at Beacon Industries and started working as a Manufacturing Engineer