Valuation of Plastic Waste as a Community Circular Economy Strategy in the Municipality of Choco–Colombia
, Miriam Reyes Tovar 2,*, Nelly del Carmen Elmira Castro 1 and Oscar Silva-Marrufo 3
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript entitled "Valuation of Plastic Waste as a community circular economy strategy in the Municipality of Choco - Colombia" was adequately written.
However, I recommend the authors review the abstract and conclusion part for better understanding and clarity of the actual work done. More references should be added in the related study areas.
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Reviewer 2 Report
Silva-Marrufo and coworkers have presented a very exciting case study on waste management in the Quibdo municipality as a way to tackle the plastic waste crisis. According to the proposed plan, solid plastic waste would be converted to a higher value material plastic wood, which is a versatile material used for construction applications. Socio-economic aspects and challenges of the project have been discussed, and financial analyses of the models have been conducted.
Comments:
1. Figure 3. The caption says, “Recycling activities in Quibdo”. Are these activities currently being done, or are proposed? Please clarify in the text.
2. Table 3. Units of COD, Total Phosphorous and Dissolved Oxygen are ‘Mg’, should be changed to ‘mg’ to avoid confusion.
3. Table 4. Please include a detailed process flow diagram of both the plans, including the equipment, transportation and materials of construction used for the models. The plant layout and design would also be helpful. This would help to make comparisons between models.
4. Table 4. Are transportation costs (of raw materials/solid waste) included in the investment plans? If so, please clarify in the table.
5. Table 4. In the “Total Buildings” section, please specify the total area of the grounds (plan 1) and leases (plan 2) in the table.
6. Table 4. It would also be helpful if a breakdown of the “Initial Inventory” is provided to help make comparisons between the two plans.
7. Table 4. What is the total duration of the models considered? Please specify in the table or caption. It would be helpful to conduct a break-even analysis in this regard. Over long times, purchasing the land might be more profitable than leasing land.
Typos need to be fixed throughout the paper.
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Reviewer 3 Report
The manuscript is well-structured and well-written. Here are my few suggestions/comments
1. The purpose of choosing plastic wood as a recycling product should be clearly mentioned in the introduction section. The definition and importance of plastic wood should also be stated.
2. Reference needs to be added for Figures 1, 2, 5, 6, if these figures are taken from some other sources.
3. In Figure 3, explain what do you mean by "D. Other" and "F. NR"?
4. Figure 4, spelling correction of "Recollection"
5. Section 2.4, what is the TIR indicator? Add 1-2 lines with a full abbreviation of TIR.
6. In Table 4, write "Useful" as one word.
7. Building section of Table 4 lists as "Grounds" whereas "Lease" is listed in Table 5. Please explain the difference.
8. Improve quality of Figure 6.
Author Response
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Reviewer 4 Report
The authors conducted a literature review on use of plastic waste in Colombia. Overall it is good for readers to know more about the market of waste plastics. However, the authors may further add some content for better knowledge. The comments are listed as follows:
1. More comprehensive and scientific conclusions need to be summarized.
2. The market analysis may include some techno-economic analysis.
3. The authors may also add some life cycle cost analysis or life cycle assessment study of using waste plastics
The English needs to be improved.
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