Affiliations: [a] Department of Management Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, WahCantt, Pakistan | [b] Interdisciplinary Research Center, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, WahCantt, Pakistan
Abstract: The global trade economy is worth $12 trillion per annum with $3 trillion dedicated to materials only. A significant amount of almost 75% of global waste is produced during materials processing and after their use. While considering materials, plastic in specific did modernize the way product manufacturing was done in earlier times. Keeping in view the significance of plastic and its ever embryonic trend in terms of its end-user demand, results of a detailed study based on extensive surveys from six different industrial estates are presented highlighting economy practices adopted at industry and societal level, sources of raw material, manufacturing practices, organizational size, demographical product distribution, variety of plastic types and products, plastic waste reprocessing and management, analysis of plastic production in Pakistan in addition to the global trends. It is concluded that in Pakistan plastic industry still mostly follow the linear economy practices at large. However, a need for circular economy practices implementations is recommended based on its existence at some scales to address the challenges ahead.
