Improving plastic waste management system in the automotive industry

Abstract

The main goals of the thesis were defined as the analysis of the environmental impact of the automotive company in the field of waste management and developing proposals for improving plastic waste management system. Current study is concentrated only on plastic waste to make the study results as concrete and achievable as possible.

Today, to make lighter weight and more economical vehicles, plastics are replacing many metal components in automotive industry. In order to achieve the targets of the company`s Green Program, such as waste reduction, it is necessary to increase the plastic recycling rates.

Information in the thesis is gathered in the form of literature review. Literature review is descriptive method based on the EU experience and Finnish achievements. A company level waste management system is described according to the knowledge which was gained during the practical training of the author. In the thesis are discussed three possible scenarios for the automotive company at the mo- ment based on information synthetics. Furthermore, to make them more tangible and achievable analyzing of scenarios is conducted by technical and economic assessment. In agreement with received results, recommendations for improving waste management system were developed.

This thesis showed that there are ways by which the company can control generated plastic waste and get profit from the measures.