Plastic pollution has been identified as one of the most pressing environmental issues of the 21st century, driven by excessive consumption and inadequate plastic waste management. This issue is particularly reflected in short lifespan of plastic products, particularly plastic packaging within the food and beverage (F&B) industry. Urgent and relevant policy actions are needed to promote plastic circularity and improve waste management practices. Developing countries such as Montenegro face significant challenges in managing plastic waste flows due to legal, institutional and infrastructural gaps. This research addresses these challenges by employing material flow analysis (MFA) and advanced techniques like artificial neural networks to estimate the quantities and types of plastic packaging used in the F&B sector in Montenegro. The findings reveal that over 21,300 tonnes of F&B plastic packaging were placed on the market in Montenegro in 2018. Approximately 11% of this amount ends up directly littered in the environment or dumpsites, whereas the remaining 89% is predominantly collected and deposited in controlled landfills. Detailed MFA models were developed separately for the eight most common polymer types used in the F&B sector, along with specific models for plastic bags and polyethene terephthalate bottles to explore closed-loop recycling systems. It was found that only a small fraction of all analysed types of plastic packaging placed on the market can be effectively treated and recycled. This research contributes to the understanding of plastic waste management in Montenegro and facilitates the formulation of effective strategies to mitigate plastic pollution in the F&B industry.
Keywords: Plastic pollution; artificial neural networks; circularity; food and beverage sector; material flow analysis; plastic packaging; waste management.