The main objective of this project is to understand and present the big picture of the global plastic waste problem and to identify related innovation opportunities. The project focuses on the current situation as for February to May 2020 and has a very wide scope focusing mainly on plastic reuse. The goal is to present final recommendations and follow-up actions to serve as orientation or inspiration for further researchers, organizations, entrepreneurs or any interested readers. The recommendations are drawn from a deep research and understanding of the current situation and near future of the huge problem that supposes plastic, which sums up to over 8.300 million tons generated since 1950, out of which 91% has not been recycled yet and that takes around 500 years in average to decompose naturally. Such research carried out includes over 130 consulted sources, a Boolean search through the IIT Library online portal to identify researchers’ interest, and the deployment of a Survey with over 120 participants from different nationalities for social awareness evaluation. Throughout the project, special focus was set on the identified 3 steps within plastic reuse and a forth driving force; Collection, Separation, Conversion and Social Awareness. From this thorough research, the extracted results and the acquired expertise on the matter, trends and challenges for innovation were identified to serve as basis for the development of the final innovative recommendations and follow-up actions; outputs of the project itself.
