부산대학교 도서관

The proposition of a circular bioeconomy framework was introduced as a means of moving from a fossil-based to bio-based economy. With an emphasis on resource efficiency and waste valorisation, it has supported the development of biodegradable bioplastics (BBPs), notably in food packaging applications. Designed to be treated alongside organic waste, BBPs open new streams for plastic waste management within the food-energy-waste nexus, but their suitability in the current social, policy and sustainability landscape remains to be determined. Taking a systems-thinking approach, this thesis explores the compatibility of (certified) BBP packaging under a circular bioeconomy framework, focusing on a co-mingled food and BBP waste stream for anaerobic co-digestion. It uncovers major technical, policy and social challenges and urges for caution when deploying these novel plastic packaging materials on the consumer market. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to BBPs and their framing in the wider context of plastic sustainability and organic waste management, followed by aims and objectives in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive literature review, depicting the importance and ubiquity of plastics, their environmental impact and the role BBPs could play in a circular bioeconomy framework from a systems-thinking perspective. Chapter 4 details the anaerobic co-digestion treatment of different BBPs with food waste and the impact of BBPs on biogas and methane yields and on microbial communities. The need for consistent experimental design of co-digestion trials is also discussed. Guided by these results, Chapter 5 presents the outcomes of a stakeholder study on attitudes towards BBPs in the current waste management infrastructure and policy landscape to explore how BBPs are perceived and managed on-the-ground in the United Kingdom. Chapters 6 & 7 build on a major finding from the stakeholder study, which outlined the importance of consumers in enabling circularity in the system. Chapter 6 covers a systems framework developed to identify and structure systemic factors that influence how consumers interact with BBP packaging, with a focus on disposal routes. The framework is then applied in practice, based on a survey conducted at two academic institutions, and the role of contextual setting is explored through a comparative case study presented in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 extends the debate on the suitability of BBPs further upstream in the value chain and consumption system and addresses the functional properties of BBP packaging in the context of a shelf-life study, anchoring BBPs in the food system they are embedded within. Chapter 9 summarises key findings and suggests future research related to this thesis. The Appendix contains supplementary figures and data for Chapters 4-8.