Architecture Development to Incorporate Industry 4.0 Solutions to Plastics Management: Circular Economy

Abstract

The problems caused by plastic waste and the current situation of the sector make it necessary to rethink processes and business models to ensure the sustainability of the sector. The need to develop a circular economy in the plastics industry and the actions this entails have already been identified in the literature, together with analyses of how these needs might be met through the use of technologies and enablers of Industry 4.0. The objective of the research project reported here was the preliminary design of a plastic waste management network that integrates the technologies and concepts of Industry 4.0 and the principles of the circular economy. For this purpose, the Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA) methodology was used to cover all stages of the life cycle of plastic products. A model combining the use of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to optimize plastic waste management is presented here as a sustainable technological and economical alternative with the potential to improve environmental, social and corporate governance for greater sustainability of the plastics industry. The holistic methodology adopted enabled the development of a versatile, adaptable and scalable architecture that will be of interest to public and private actors in the plastics value chain.