A framework to assess plastic recycling efficiency of the primary and final processors

Efficient plastic recycling depends on both collection and sorting by the primary processor as well as the processing by the final processor. This study proposes an integrated framework incorporating primary and final processors to evaluate plastic waste recycling efficiency in an industrialized nation from 2012 to 2021. Three original indicators: Primary Diversion Rate (PDR), Efficiency of the Primary Processor (EPP), and Efficiency of the Final Processor (EFP) were proposed to develop a composite efficiency indicator, Efficiency of the Plastic Recycling System (EPRS). Plastics were categorized into three groups: Low (ABS, thermosetting plastic, phenolic resins), Medium (LLDPE, PVC, PS) and High (HDPE, PET, LDPE, PP) based on their cumulative recycled amounts in Canada. The High and the Medium groups showed increasing PDR trends (+5.00