Recycling of Polymers and Multiphase Polymer-Based Systems

Dear Colleagues,

The wide use of polymers and polymer-based materials in several applications is meeting the ever-growing needs of consumers and the commercial expectations of producers; but, at the same time, it is generating serious problems related to the disposal of plastic items at the end of their lives. Indeed, in countries with an advanced economy, a significant part of municipal solid waste consists of polymeric materials, most of them derived from their use in the packaging sector. Therefore, the proper management of post-consumer plastics represents a fundamental societal challenge. In this framework, the need to find alternative processes and technologies aimed at developing low-impact end-of-life solutions for polymeric materials has become increasingly stringent. To this aim, plastic recycling still represents one of the most efficient end of life option for polymer-based materials. In fact, recycling allows reducing the use of resources and recovering the value of plastic waste. The aim of this Special Issue is to presents a focused collection of original research and reviews on technical solutions able to improve the end-of-life sustainability of polymer-based materials.

Selected example topics include:

• strategies and processes for the recovery, the recycling and the reuse of polymer-based materials;
• design and processing of recyclable polymer blends and composites;
• synthesis and characterization of intrinsically recyclable polymer-based materials;
• challenges and opportunities of post-consumer plastic recycling;
• life cycle and social life cycle assessment of recycling processes of polymer-based materials.

Dr. Maurizio Avella
Dr. Maria Emanuela Errico
Dr. Gennaro Gentile
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.