Article Critique Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Critique - Article Example In their article, the authors discussed the four major steps or routes in PSW treatment which are the primary (re-extrusion), secondary (mechanical), tertiary (chemical), and quaternary (energy recovery); each option is discussed in detail. The research problem was to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each treatment route and assess the viability of each route with regards to the municipal solid waste (MSW) problem. The authors noted how PSW is found in considerable amounts in the final stream of MSW due to a significant number of daily applications such as in coatings, wiring, packaging, films, covers, bags, and containers (Al-Salem, Lettieri, & Baeyens, 2009, p. 2626); the amount of PSW almost doubled from the period between 1990 to 2000, with each individual producing around 250 kgs. of MSW with a 3% annual growth rate. The increasing cost of finding suitable landfills together with increasingly strict regulatory guidelines and higher environmental awareness has compelled many researchers to focus on the issue of recycling as a viable alternative due to increased production, consumption, and waste generation rates of PSW in the last few decades. The researchers gathered data on both PSW and MSW to highlight the problem of these plastic wastes which are not biodegradable and so viable ways must be found to deal with it. The authors used a good number of credible primary and secondary data sources to support their own arguments concerning the routes now available for PSW treatment. In this regard, a continued development in the recycling and recovery technologies is necessary which requires the cooperation of the whole industry, the government, and the consumers because the solution requires investments in infrastructure and the establishment of viable markets for PSW. In this regard, the authors noted how tertiary