Modern methods of waste recycling: advantages and disadvantages

In today’s realities, when the amount of waste on the planet is rapidly growing, waste recycling is becoming a critically important task. Modern technologies allow not only to reduce the volume of waste, but also to obtain secondary raw materials, energy and useful materials from them. However, each recycling method has its advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will consider the main methods of waste disposal and recycling, their effectiveness and impact on the environment.

1. Mechanical processing (recycling)

The essence of the method

Mechanical recycling involves sorting, cleaning, and shredding waste and then using it to make new products. The most common materials for recycling are plastic, glass, metal, paper, and cardboard.

Advantages:

• Reducing the need for primary natural resources.
• Reducing environmental pollution.
• Possibility of multiple use of some materials (glass, metal).
• Reducing the amount of waste going to landfills.

Disadvantages:

• High costs for sorting and cleaning.
• Not all types of plastic are recyclable.
• Loss of quality in some materials when reused (for example, paper becomes less durable).

2. Thermal processing (combustion with energy production, pyrolysis, gasification)

The essence of the method

Thermal processing involves burning waste or decomposing it at high temperatures to produce thermal energy, gas, or liquid fuel.

• Waste-to-Energy (WtE) is the burning of waste in specialized facilities to produce electricity and heat.
• Pyrolysis is the heating of waste without access to oxygen, resulting in the formation of pyrolysis oil, gas, and a solid residue.
• Gasification is the decomposition of organic waste to produce synthetic gas, which can be used as fuel.

Advantages:

• Waste reduction up to 90%.
• Electricity and heat production.
• Possibility of recycling waste that cannot be processed mechanically.

Disadvantages:

• High cost of construction and maintenance of installations.
• Emission of CO₂ and potentially harmful substances (if modern filtration systems are not installed).
• Some methods require complex purification of the resulting products before their use.

3. Biological processing (composting, anaerobic digestion, biogas)

The essence of the method

Biological processing is applied to organic waste (food residues, agricultural waste, sewage sludge).

• Composting is the natural decomposition of organic waste to form fertilizer.
• Anaerobic digestion is the processing of organic matter into biogas in the absence of oxygen.
• Biogas plants — the conversion of organic waste into gas that can be used to produce energy.

Advantages:

• Environmentally friendly, as it does not require incineration.
• Obtaining valuable products (biogas, compost).
• Reducing methane emissions with proper process management.

Disadvantages:

• Waste sorting is required, as not all organic materials are suitable.
• Long processing process.
• Not suitable for large cities where there is little space for composting.

4. Chemical processing (depolymerization, dissolution, catalytic decomposition)

The essence of the method

Chemical recycling involves breaking down waste at the molecular level to create new materials or fuels.

• Depolymerization is the decomposition of plastics and complex organic materials to produce synthetic fuels.
• Catalytic decomposition — the decomposition of polymers using catalysts to produce raw materials for new products.

Advantages:

• Allows processing of waste that cannot be mechanically processed.
• Obtaining raw materials for the chemical industry and fuel.
• Possibility of recycling complex plastics and rubber.

Disadvantages:

• High cost and complexity of the technology.
• Energy consumption of some processes.
• Requires preliminary waste sorting.

Conclusion.

Each waste treatment method has its pros and cons. The optimal approach is a combined approach, in which mechanical treatment is combined with biological and chemical disposal, and incineration is used only for waste that cannot be recycled.

The future lies in closed-loop economies, where waste is not thrown away but becomes a resource for new production. Investing in recycling and developing new technologies will help reduce the environmental burden and create a more sustainable waste management system.