Plastic Litter collection App and Smart-fuel Technology In a Community (PLASTIC)

The threat of plastic waste is a challenge faced by society. A sustainable, economical, and user-friendly method of disposing of plastic waste is a necessity of the hour. This paper investigates the possibility of a smart methodology to convert plastic waste into fuel. The proposed methodology aims to solve the issues related to the handling of plastic waste, empower the rural community on the safe disposal of plastic waste, provide an alternate fuel to rural households, and introduce a scheme that adds a financial benefit to the users. The major elements of the proposed methodology are an affordable methodology to convert plastic waste-to-fuel with minimum environmental impact and a smartphone application to locate, segregate, and collect the plastic waste from the selected community with a user interface. The proposed methodology is titled PLASTIC (Plastic Litter collection Application and Smart-fuel Technology In a Community). In this paper, an indigenous method is developed for the pyrolysis process with minimum cost and simple operation. The energy source required for the pyrolysis process can be obtained from renewable energy sources such as solar power. The proposed method is well aligned with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UNSDG), such as SDG 11: Sustainability Cities and Communities Target by reducing the impact of plastic waste on the environment through proper waste management at the source, and SDG 7: the Affordable and Clean Energy Aim by providing a greener alternative form of the fuels used by households.