Polymer Waste Management

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers are materials associated with energy intensive processes of production as well as environmental degradation and significant loss of valuable materials, due to excessive amounts of waste production. Moreover, polymer products are particularly sensitive to intensively fluctuating environmental conditions. In this regard, the negative perception of polymer byproducts necessitates the development of dedicated and refined methods for treating such types of waste in a sustainable manner. Major challenges are relevant to the design, analysis, maintenance, and decommissioning phase of polymer waste under the expected lifetime. In addition, the mitigation or retrofitting of existing polymeric structures should be examined in accordance with the optimal and safe design of innovative materials and/or systems. The key features of the imposed design load are driven by the following managerial constraints:

• Polymer waste is not always a cost- or benefit-appreciated material, being discarded i landfills.
• Polymer waste occasionally follows deficient management, leading to environmental degradation and significant material loss.
• The identification and extraction of valuable compounds from polymer waste could allow them to undergo a second round or lifetime.

This Special Issue aims to provide a wide range of viable models and alternative methods that address the technical, economic, societal, industrial, and commercial dimensions, either in isolation or in joint/multidisciplinary approaches. Reports examining the managerial prospects of efficient valorization strategies for waste and byproducts, minimization of energy consumption, and environmental protection are also welcome. Hence, both original research articles as well as relevant state-of-the-art reviews are warmly invited for submission to this Special Issue of Sustainability.  

Dr. Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos
Prof. Dr. Dalia Streimikiene
Prof. Dr. Tomas Baležentis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.