There are three key options for handling plastic waste: recycling, incineration or disposal in landfill. What should we choose? What seems like a simple question can sometimes be complex. Opinions differ depending on what particular environmental, health or economic issues someone cares about. Impact of different methods can be assessed across multiple factors including greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, local pollution, and cost of processing. Reference Material/application Global warming potential (GWP) best-mid-worst Total energy use (TEU) best-mid-worst Arena et al. 2003 PE and PET liquid containers R-L-I R-I-L Beigl and Salhofer 2004 Plastic packaging R-I - Chilton et al. 2010 PET R-I - Craighill and Powell 1996 PET, HDPE and PVC R-L - Dodbiba et al. 2008 Plastics (PE, PS and PVC) R-I - Eriksson and Finnveden 2009 Non-recyclable plastic I-L - Eriksson et al. 2005 PE PE, PP, PS, and PET R-I-L R-I-L R-I-L R-I-L Finnveden et al. 2005 PVC PE, PP, PS, PET...