Barriers and opportunities for reverse logistic in plastics' sector SMEs :A multiple case study

Abstract

It is well known that plastic is one of the most versatile man-made materials created out of the fossil fuel resources (Andrady & Neal, 2009). However, as many of them are not biodegradable, they end up accumulating in the landfills or nature, mainly in the seas and oceans. In fact, every year, nearly 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans, so it is estimated that by 2025 the oceans will contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish (Harris et al., 2021). According to Geyer, Jambeck, and Law (2017) of all the virgin plastics that the man has ever produced, around 8300 million metric tons (Mt), less than 10% have been recycled. So, if we continue with a similar trend of production and waste management it is estimated that in 2050 around 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in the natural environment or landfills worldwide. Japan and the European Union are the largest producers of plastic waste per capita (88 Kg), with a recycling rate of 84% and 23% respectively. The recycling rate of South America is still low (between 1-20%) with a production per capita of 40 -50 kg/per year (Harris et al., 2021; Valerio Proyecto de grado Cindy Katherine Mora Rodriguez Maestría en Gerencia Internacional, Universidad de La Sabana 3 et al., 2020). Even more, the Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2021) has established that due to many plastics packaging have only a short first use, 95% of their material value is lost to the economy, which represents losses that range from $80 to $120 billion annually.