TECHNICAL-ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVE TO EXTINGUISH PLASTIC POLLUTION

Abstract

Current technologies aim at plastic recycling as polymers (PRP) reaching 2% in Brazil and 10% in developed countries. For non-recyclable plastics (NRP) we developed the technology for its use as a substitute for crushed stone in high performance concrete, called CADLEVE. The destination of the NRP for this new application is characterized by twelve symmetries, organized in the form of a network and identifying a percolation route. Without an almost inexhaustible market for CADLEVE, the route is interrupted and there is no percolation for the extinction of plastic pollution (EPP). We analytically calculate each symmetry, identifying the cost of collection as the critical point, whose solution is education and environmental awareness. Once the critical point is resolved, CADLEVE is applied in level curves for the recovery of degraded hills for cultivation of elephant grass and its use in livestock feedlots, thermal, electrical and vehicular energy generation. We propose that the three identified wealth generators contribute financially to the solution of the critical point. The proposed route based on the new technology has no critical dependence on public authorities, although its political and infrastructure support are useful. The proposed technological route will coexist with landfills until their complete extinction, when techniques similar to those of the NRP are applied to other fractions of the domestic solid residues. A first implementation is underway in the municipality of Lorena, SP, led by the Materials Engineering Department of the Lorena Engineering School at USP, with the participation of some companies.