Reverse Logistics and Product Recycling

Reverse Logistics and Product Recycling

REVERSE LOGISTICS AND PRODUCT RECYCLING 2
Write your final research topic paper.
Based on the topics we have covered this session I would like for you all to pick a product and then using
a reverse logistics framework similar to the one in the article �Selection of a reverse logistic project for
end-of-life computer� devise and explain how that product would be recycled. You should come up with
your own diagram for this process and explain how you think it may be better off than the one presented
in the paper. Also do a bit of research as to the ways in which this product could be recycled and also the
best way to recycle it.

Reverse Logistics and Product Recycling

Reverse logistics is used in supply chain systems to enhance competitive
advantage, environmental sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Along the entire supply chain
logistics, consumption and production residues are regularly generated that have to be recycled
or adequately removed at the end of the useful life of products (Sheriff, Subramanian, Rahman &
Jayaram, 2017). Proper use of products at the end of their useful lives mainly involves packaging
materials, returns, empties, packaging, or materials and goods that can no longer be used.
Reverse logistics for any company should ensure that these materials and goods are clean or
repaired expertly as well as ensure defective materials and goods are correctly disposed of.
Sustainability, eco-friendly and resource-efficiency processes are essential procedures for
applying along the supply chain logistics. This paper presents a reverse logistics framework and
explanation that effectively ensures proper recycling of waste plastic bottle products returned or
processed in recyclable transportation. Plastic materials are one of the most hazardous products
released by companies and consumers that inversely affect and damage our surroundings and
eco-systems (Glock, 2017).

Recycling management controls and plans are essential in logistics management
because they ensure proper disposal and recycling processes for waste materials, recyclable
materials, and stocks of obsolete finished products as well as loading equipment, such as
containers, packaging, and pallets. A reverse logistics unit for supply Chain Company should

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ensure that they collect and separate and sort waste materials and ensure that recyclable materials
are returned into the process of recycling (Glock, 2017). The reverse logistics framework for
recyclable materials should check production and consumption residues and ensure cleaning and
repair of residues were suitable, correct and eco-friendly disposal of waste products such as
defective materials or goods as well as an appropriate return of recyclable materials into the
process of recycling. Reverse logistics services for producers and customers promote 3R
strategies which involve reducing, reusing and recycling initiatives for recycling-oriented
approaches that ensure effective use of waste products in order to enhance environmental
sustainability or sustainable society (Sheriff et al., 2017). The reverse logistic framework ensures
that recyclable products such as plastic bottles and waste plastic are sorted out from the waste in
order to promote the development of a recycling-oriented society, as raw materials or inputs in
the next production process. The reverse logistic model will ensure the integration of forwarding
logistics expertise, model shift, and compliance in order to promote proper recycling of waste
plastic or plastic bottles (Glock, 2017).

There is a growing use of plastic bottles or goods in our society, and every supply
chain logistics should focus on appropriate recycling strategies that will create a competitive
advantage for companies in the logistics sector (Ravi, Shankar & Tiwari, 2008). A proper
recycling process for plastic bottles or plastic waste will ensure an eco-friendly and sustainable
environment that will efficiently support our future generations. Therefore, integrated reverse
logistics should cover storage, loading, transport, unloading, and operation in order to contribute
to a sustainable environment or society through initiatives that will reduce cost as well as
improve recycling logistics efficiency (Matar, Jaber & Searcy, 2014). Thus, the reverse logistics
framework provides the network through which transport recyclable resources will be

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transmitted over long distances in bulk economically. This should ensure compliance with the
industrial waste regulations by performing coordination with relevant authorities and agencies in
order to acquire necessary permits and licenses as well as ensure full compliance with the law.
Studies have shown that recycling of materials, as well as reusing materials and decreasing
consumption, are the most highly used strategies for green logistics. Therefore, this leads to the
collection of waste products and total de-manufacturing or dismantling of plastic waste for
recovering the essential commodities that contribute to the end product. Designing a proper
plastic waste product management framework is a critical dimension that helps logistics
companies to efficiently recycle their waste products (Matar, Jaber & Searcy, 2014).

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Reverse Logistics Model
Raw Material Manufacturing Distribution

Consumer

Test &
Disassembly

Repair

Refurbishing

Re-Use

Service & Support

Recycling

Remanufacturing

Incineration

Disposal

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Explanation of the Model

Reverse logistics is the method of coordinating, executing and planning raw
material flows, inventory procedures and final products from distribution, production or use
point to a recovery point or ensure appropriate disposal. Therefore, returned goods often follow
procedures depending on the type of return. A logistics company retrieves the waste products
back from the market through the process of product acquisition. Thus, the quality, quantity,
timing, and compositions of the returned products should be appropriately managed in close
collaboration with other parties in the supply chain network (Matar, Jaber & Searcy, 2014). After
product acquisition, the product is taken back to the service and support unit for further analysis.
Besides, the framework ensures proper collection of waste bottles back to test and disassembly
unit by useful logistical activities such as storage, transportation, transshipment, and
consolidation in order to obtain the products back from consumers or market. Hence, the flow
allows the waste product to be transported back to facilities involved in other stages of the
recycling process. The next stage involves testing, sorting, and disposition. The waste products
are classified according to composition and quality of returns in order to determine the stage of
the channel the product will follow in the reverse logistics chain (Ravi, Shankar & Tiwari, 2008).
Moreover, the strategic and market conditions are considered in the disposition
decision process in order to ensure proper transportation and environmental protection. The
recovery stage after disposition ensures proper recovery of value from the returned or waste
product by repair, refurbishment, re-use, and recycling as well as any other effective processes of
recovery. From there, the reverse logistics framework ensures redistribution and sales are
properly coordinated to ensure efficient and effective reverse logistics network. During the
redistribution and sales process, no value recovered in materialized until the recovered waste

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bottles, components or materials are accurately integrated into the forward supply chain network
(Glock, 2017).

Plastic waste is one of the most hazardous waste products in the world. Thus, it is
crucial to for logistics companies to plan for recycling process for the waste plastic bottles in
order to enhance environmental protection and ensure adequate raw materials for plastic
companies as well as ensure proper disposal for defected products. This framework ensures that
logistics managers and effectively plan and coordinate logistics activities to enhance the process
of reverse logistics network. Proper recycling of plastic bottles will ensure environmental
sustainability and positivity of plastic products. Therefore, this analysis provides criteria for
applying in reverse logistics in order to ensure effective recycling process and disposal of non-
reusable products in the plastic sector (Senthil, Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018). The objective
is to ensure improved use of resource reduction, increased eco-efficiency, and improvement of
green products and costs of execution of programs for reverse logistics. Resource reduction
ensures that the ultimate goal of reverse logistics programs through minimization of materials
used in plastic bottles. Thus, the minimization of plastic waste is achieved by designing a
framework that is more environmentally efficient in order for the company to minimize the cost
of re-using and recycling. However, disposal must be the last option where the company can
either dispose of the waste materials through incineration of waste bottles or through the disposal
process that is adequately planned and coordinated (Matar, Jaber & Searcy, 2014).
The reverse logistics framework ensures an eco-efficiency process in order to
achieve competitively priced services delivery and goods that will meet people’s needs and
promote the quality of life as well as ensure progress in the reduction of ecological effects and
resource intensity throughout the product lifecycle. Besides, it is vital for companies that make

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plastic containers or bottles to add value with the least resources and the least pollution.
Therefore, the framework enhances eco-efficiency by combining both environmental or
ecological and economic efficiencies (Senthil, Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018). This
framework ensures that green products are produced out of the waste bottles from customer
demands with new attitudes toward values for the environment. Thus, customers expect plastic
products that are simple materials and ingredients that lead to pollution to the environment or
endanger the consumers’ well being. Green products enhance cost implementation of reverse
logistics. Logistic companies can remain sustainable and profitable (Ravi, Shankar & Tiwari,
2008).

Plastic material recycling can promote sustainable use of resources and reverse
logistics provides the concepts and framework that can be used to recover plastic solid waste in
the supply chain system. Waste plastic recycling is vital for countries, and reverse logistics helps
logistics managers to establish sustainable recoveries. Recycling of plastic solid waste is crucial
as it helps manufacturing industries to use their favorable properties. Besides, plastic solids
enhance production of diverse products from plastic waste. Conversely, manufacturing plastic
products are increasing the amount of waste released promoting the demand for improved or
suitable disposal and management of plastic waste materials. Besides, the increasing use of
plastic products in the manufacturing and packaging industries has allowed increased use of
virgin resources and reverse logistics provides interventions to diminish the continuous use of
virgin resources (Senthil, Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018).

The reverse logistics model for recycling of plastic solid waste provides the
concept to be used in recovering of “end-to-use or end-to-life” products of plastic by producing
firms. The framework will assist in performing the proper recycling and disposal of solid waste

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that will result in recovering of materials that are produced as waste as well as enhance
environmental protection and improved social impacts. The relationships of reverse logistics and
plastic waste management involve activities in the reverse logistics distribution channels in the
framework, which include recycling, re-use, and proper waste disposal (Sheriff et al., 2017). This
model takes recycling as one the options to be considered in for sustainable plastic solid waste
disposal management.

Recycling is one of the essential alternatives in the hierarchy of waste

management. Moreover, recycling ensures that returned plastic waste materials are taken into the
processing line in order to decrease the costs of the process and open up new possibilities.
Reverse logistics helps companies to promote recycling of solid waste products by recapturing
their value, which creates opportunities for firms to improve profitability and visibility, as well
as lowering costs across the supply chain. Recycling of solid waste products helps companies to
promote resource sustainability through sustainable waste management procedures. The reverse
logistics framework helps to divert solid plastic materials with the monetary value from the core
waste flow framework to the recycling process in order to reduce waste quantities to be gathered
and disposed of. The framework helps to save energy and natural resources by collecting plastic
solid waste from markets or consumers and bringing them back to the productive cycle (Senthil,
Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018). Therefore, the framework provides the development and
application of efficient and effective recycling processes or systems that ensure full tapping and
benefiting companies from increasing advantages. This is because it is essential to balance
economic resource consumption through the proper and efficient use of resources.
The application of reverse logistics in the recycling process ensures proper
recapturing of value for end-to-life plastic products. Plastic solid waste products are collected

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from various sources in markets such as informal sectors such as garbage dumpsites and trucks
delivering waste landfills (Sheriff et al., 2017). The reverse logistics ensures economic and
environmental benefits are sustainably executed. This involves encouraging source recycling
process through sorting and grading. Recycling process should establish the best ways to
recapture back the plastic solid waste for using in the manufacturing process. The reverse
logistics framework should be restructured to integrated post-consumer reverse chains and to
engage government and industrial sectors by developing public policies. Besides, the companies
should support cleaner technologies along the bottle manufacturing chain. The reverse logistics
framework should incorporate environmental, legal, social and economic factors. These
strategies have essential in waste management, and manufacturing industries as they assist in
designing an efficient and effective reverse logistics framework for plastic solid waste.
Therefore, reverse logistics companies should incorporate the aspect of sustainability dimensions
in the programs of recovering plastic solid waste products. Besides, the government should
provide secondary markets for reverse logistics products produced from plastic solid waste as
well as tapping the merits of recycling. Thus, it is vital to direct resources to achieve
environmental sustainability in recycling and reverse logistics sector through technological
innovation and increased studies in order to create markets for recycled products. This will
significantly increase the benefits of recycling such as reducing economic costs and
environmental impacts as well as creating jobs through the implementation of reverse logistics
(Sheriff et al., 2017).

The recycling of plastic solid waste is a valid alternative and components to a
reduced environmental weight as compared to landfilling or incineration of plastic solid waste
(Senthil, Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018). Therefore, recycling is a viable option in case of

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plastic materials that are not structured for re-use in order to recapture their value. Nonetheless,
the recycling of plastic solid waste is cheaper when packaging materials are structured to be
recycled and applied in the product developmental stage. The recycling of solid plastic materials
conserves natural resources and decreases waste. Besides, it saves energy that could have been
used in the conversation and the extraction of virgin raw materials into usable forms. Besides,
recycling provides manufacturers with opportunities to produce secondary raw materials, which
can sufficiently replace primary raw materials for the manufacturing of new products or
reintegrating into other logistic chains to manufacture different products. Besides, the
conversation of natural resources allows the creation of job opportunities and enhances
environmental sustainability (Sheriff et al., 2017).

Ways for Recycling Plastic Waste Products

There are different ways in which reverse logistics can help companies to recycle
products in order to recapture value and enhance economic and environmental sustainability. The
consumers’ dependence on plastic products makes recycling and re-using of plastic bottles
essential for the health of the environment. Consumers can be encouraged to use plastic bottles
for a different purpose in their homes such as creating recycled plastic bottle supply cups
(Senthil, Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018). Companies can use empty bottles as water filters as
well as turn bottle trash into a trashcan and encouraging consumers to build outdoor broom from
recycled plastic bottles. The recycling process should ensure that plastic waste from the
commercial and industrial sector as well as from domestic use is effectively recycled for post-use
plastics. Therefore, recycling of plastic waste ensures resource efficient reclamation of post-use
products and enables companies to sort and compact the reclaimed products. Besides, end use of
applications for recycled plastic materials use conditions, which are favored, by commercial

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post-use waste. The reverse logistics should apply both mechanical and feedstock recycling
(Senthil, Murugananthan & Ramesh, 2018).

The mechanical recycling ensures plastic waste materials are reformed into
molding granules for making new products. This process involves collecting, sorting and baling
materials in a substance, which can be used as raw materials for making new products. Feedstock
recycling ensures that plastic waste materials are broken down polymers into different elements
by using pressure or heat (Sheriff et al., 2017). These different parts can be utilized in making
new plastic chemicals and products. Feedstock recycling is important because it helps when
materials being recycled are contaminated or mixed. However, the alternative to recycling is to
recover plastic thermal content through energy in the process of waste incineration. This
provides an alternative source of energy. This model is essential and superior to the framework
provided by Raviy, Shankar and Tiwari (2008) because it reduces fuel use in transit to their
lightweight, decreases maintenance requirements and energy required for heating plastic,
conserves primary source, utilizes mixed recovery which enhances eco-efficiency and takes
comprehensive approach into account for all stages of the product life-cycle.

Conclusion

Plastic products make a significant contribution to healthy manufacturing sectors
and the national economy in order to ensure environmental and economic sustainability. Reverse
logistics ensures that plastic waste materials are continuously developed and improved in order
to provide whole life cost savings. This reverse logistics framework meets the demands for
ensuring effective plastic waste material recycling and promotes the idea of recycling society in
order to ensure proper plastic waste management and to use waste as raw materials in the
manufacturing sector. Therefore, companies should use the framework to recycle plastic waste

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products through mechanical and feedback recycling processes. Besides, the manufacturing
sector should strive to achieve intelligent and strategic solutions for both energy recovery and
material recycling of plastic-rich waste streams.

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References

Glock, C. H. (2017). Decision support models for managing returnable transport items in supply
chains: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Production
Economics, 183, 561-569.
Matar, N., Y. Jaber, M., & Searcy, C. (2014). A reverse logistics inventory model for plastic
bottles. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 25(2), 315-333.
Ravi, V., Shankar, R., & Tiwari, M. K. (2008). Selection of a reverse logistics project for end-of-
life computers: ANP and goal programing approach. International Journal of Production
Research, 46(17), 4849-4870.
Senthil, S., Murugananthan, K., & Ramesh, A. (2018). Analysis and prioritisation of risks in a
reverse logistics network using hybrid multi-criteria decision-making methods. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 179, 716-730.
Sheriff, K. M., Subramanian, N., Rahman, S., & Jayaram, J. (2017). Integrated optimization
model and methodology for plastics recycling: Indian empirical evidence. Journal of
cleaner production, 153, 707-717.