Investigating the Economic Feasibility of Community-Scale Plastic Recycling Facilities

The increasing severity of global plastic waste crisis calls for the need to investigate the feasibility of alternate recycling approaches, particularly in low and middle-income countries such as the Philippines where people's livelihoods are reliant on affordable single-use goods. Low recycling rates in these countries illustrate the inability of their recycling infrastructure to handle the rate at which plastic waste is being generated. A new approach to recycling plastics, specifically community-scale plastic recycling facilities, has the potential to divert significant plastic waste from landfills and repurpose them into higher-value products that would be sold to boost the local economy. The community-scale approach investigated in this study is an attractive investment opportunity for entrepreneurs due to the short-term Return On Investment (ROI) with the potential return rate of 15.3% in one year, which is nearly double the rate a person would receive upon investing in the Philippines stock market. This study examines the economic feasibility of a community-scale recycling system in the setting of the Philippines with a focus on the manufacturing process and the scale of machinery.