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Barriers to the Circular Economy in the Plastics Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

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Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing: Establishing Bridges for More Sustainable Manufacturing Systems (FAIM 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

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Abstract

Despite the high economic importance of the plastic industry worldwide and the capacity of plastic to be recycled multiple times due to its ability to preserve its value and properties, the plastic recycling sector still needs to be developed and more cohesive. Thus, there is a need to understand what is hindering plastic recycling. To that end, this paper presents a systematic literature review of the barriers to implementing the circular economy principles in plastic industries, investigating 30 articles retrieved from the SCOPUS database and published between 2008 and 2022. The systematic literature review identified forty-one barriers clustered into seven categories: social, organisational, economic, supply chain, technological and informational, institutional, and market barriers. This study aids practitioners and managers in identifying the main barriers that may be hindering the adoption of circular economy practices within their businesses.

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Acknowledgements

This research is sponsored by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the project UIDB/00285/2020 and LA/P/0112/2020.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Mariana F. Pinheiro

  2. Univ Coimbra, CEMMPRE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbra, Portugal

    Luís M. D. F. Ferreira & Vanessa S. M. Magalhães

  3. CeBER, Faculty of Economics, University Coimbra, Av Dias da Silva 165, 3004-512, Coimbra, Portugal

    Susana G. Azevedo

Authors
  1. Mariana F. Pinheiro
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  2. Luís M. D. F. Ferreira
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  3. Susana G. Azevedo
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  4. Vanessa S. M. Magalhães
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luís M. D. F. Ferreira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Francisco J. G. Silva

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Pinto Ferreira

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    José Carlos Sá

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Maria Teresa Pereira

  5. Department of Mathematics, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Carla M. A. Pinto

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Pinheiro, M.F., Ferreira, L.M.D.F., Azevedo, S.G., Magalhães, V.S.M. (2024). Barriers to the Circular Economy in the Plastics Industry: A Systematic Literature Review. In: Silva, F.J.G., Ferreira, L.P., Sá, J.C., Pereira, M.T., Pinto, C.M.A. (eds) Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing: Establishing Bridges for More Sustainable Manufacturing Systems. FAIM 2023. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38165-2_98

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38165-2_98

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-38164-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-38165-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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