The main challenge in the recycling and upcycling of post-consumer recovered plastics (PCR) is the variation in compositional fluctuations due to a mixture of different types of plastics present in municipal solid waste (MSW). The mixed plastics lead to recovered plastics having different chemical and physical properties. The presence of these different types of plastics makes it very difficult for them to be recycled and upcycled. The mixed plastics show varying melt flow indexes during processing, making it difficult to process them effectively. Melt rheology can be used as a simple and cost-effective tool to establish a consistent melt flow index in mixed waste plastics.

Tanyaradzwa S. Muzata completed his PhD in Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science and then was a Post-Doctoral researcher in the School of Packaging at Michigan State University under Dr. Muhammed Rabnawaz and Dr. Laurent Matuana. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Hampton University, teaching and conducting research in polymeric materials. He has published over 10 papers in reputed journals and has three patents. Dr. Muzata has presented at several conferences, both nationally and internationally.