| Comparison criterion |
Characteristics |
| Linear model |
Circular model |
| Participants in the distribution process |
Enterprises collecting and procuring raw materials; polymer processing plants; solid waste landfills, waste sorting complexes and waste transfer stations. |
Enterprises collecting and procuring raw materials; polymer processing plants; solid waste landfills, waste sorting complexes and waste transfer stations; industrial enterprises, trade enterprises and other enterprises, from the activities of which polymer waste is generated; enterprises collecting and procuring raw materials, the population. |
| Concentration of most of secondary polymers |
Most of recycled polymers are concentrated in places of accumulation - landfills, authorized and unauthorized dumps. |
Most of recycled polymers are concentrated in waste sorting, waste transfer stations and recycling sites. |
| Role and importance of processors in commodity circulation |
Secondary. Plants processing secondary polymeric materials process no more than 15-20% of all produced polymers. |
Main. All the resulting polymeric wastes are recycled. |
| Quality of raw materials involved in commodity circulation |
Low. This is due to the high degree of contamination of polymer waste. |
High. This is due to the absence of contamination from the separate collection of waste. |
| Origin of the product distribution process |
Commodity distribution originates from landfills, where procurement enterprises extract raw materials suitable for further processing. |
Commodity distribution originates from the population, where polymers undergo the first filtration with separate waste collection. |
| Collection as a stage in the distribution process |
Collection of polymeric waste starts from specialized organizations - procurement and production and procurement enterprises, dispersed across many collection points (landfills, dumps). |
Collection of polymer waste starts from the population and housing and communal services. Only a small part of polymers ends up in accumulation and disposal sites (landfills, dumps). |
| Stocking as a stage in the distribution process |
Stocking involves the separation of valuable secondary polymers from the general waste stream, which are suitable and economically interesting for processing. |
Stocking assumes inter-separation from already selected polymers. |
| Processing as a stage in the distribution process |
In processing polymeric waste, recycling enterprises receive polyethylene terephthalate flakes and granules, as a rule, used to produce other products. |
In processing polymer waste, recycling enterprises receive products suitable for use for their original purpose. |
