So, our plastic bottle could:

End up in a landfill

Accumulate in the ocean

Be properly recycled

OR, it could be turned into new ENERGY!

How does this happen? And why is this NOT the best solution for plastic pollution?

There are different types of waste-to-energy systems, such as incineration (just burning plastic waste), gasification (turning plastic waste into gas that can be burned), or pyrolysis (turning plastic waste into petroleum fuel products). 

The most common is incineration. Let’s look at its pros:

• It works with all types of plastic (and other) waste, regardless of composition or shape.
• It can dispose of high volumes of waste, at low scaling-up costs.

That being said, there are also crucial downsides when it comes to incineration:

• They require high investment costs and must operate for several years before they become profitable.
• If proper environmental standards are not met, they can create toxic pollutants as byproducts.
• It can divert efforts and investments away from recycling, which is a better long-term solution.

Out of all the life scenarios, the lowest environmental impact is achieved through recycling. Hence, it becomes clear the importance of promoting it!