Role of Wind, Ground Surface, and Slope in Plastic Waste Movement on Terrestrial Environments

Abstract

Abstract Trajectory of waste on land is a strategy for preventing and mitigating plastic pollution in the environment and a component of its management strategy. However, basic data related to the dynamics of the movement of plastic waste on land as the main data in the model design process has been limited. This research was conducted to meet this need by reviewing the influence of environmental factors such as wind, air runoff, soil surface, and slope on the movement of plastic waste on land. In this study, primary data collection of plastic movement was simulated in experimental scenarios for different categories of plastic based on wind-propelling factors and physical environmental factors represented by ground surface characteristic and slope variation. The results indicated that (1) the windspeed threshold through all the explanatory variables were significantly different, (2) wind speed shows a strong positive relation with the flux of plastics rate where plastic moves according to wind direction, (3) vegetated areas have become potential accumulation locations, and (4) the plastic rate through the slope variable were not significantly different. In constructing land-based plastic waste trajectory models, plastic type, ground surface, and slope variations can be regarded as the primary variables.