Martínez Urreaga, JoaquínBeltrán González, Freddys R.Acosta García, JessicaAguinaco Castro, María TeresaFonseca Valero, CarmenOchoa Mendoza, AlmudenaOliet-Palá, JuanGonzalez Sánchez, CarlosOrden Hernández, María Ulagares De La2025-01-212025-01-212020-09-20Martínez Urreaga J, Beltrán FR, Acosta J, Aguinaco T, Fonseca C, Ochoa A, et al. Tube shelters from agricultural plastic waste: An example of circular economy. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020;268:122401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122401.0959-652610.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122401https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/115282Received 25 May 2019, Revised 25 November 2019, Accepted 19 May 2020, Available online 20 May 2020, Version of Record 26 May 2020. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 860407 BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE, as well as from MINECO-Spain (project CTM2017-88989-P). The authors also acknowledge the financial support of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (project UPM RP 160543006).The use of recycled plastics in applications similar to those of the original plastic is of great interest for the fulfillment of the circular economy policies objectives. In this work, the feasibility of using recycled agricultural plastics in the manufacture of tube shelters for plant seedlings, which can be used in forest restoration and other plantations, has been investigated. The recycled plastics and their blends with a virgin polyethylene were characterized using spectroscopic techniques and thermal analysis. The effects of the recycled plastics on the optical and mechanical properties of the blends, which are key properties in the selection of materials for tube shelters, were measured using UVeVis spectroscopy and tensile testing. Thermal stability and degradation during an accelerated aging test were also investigated. The use of recycled plastics did not alter the stability of the blends, but there were decreases in elongation at break and UV and blue light transmission, with small decreases in red light transmission and without significant changes in the red-far red ratio. Blends with less than 50 wt% of recycled plastics show only small decreases in the elongation and provide an adequate light transmission for seedlings. Therefore, the results indicate that significant amounts of recycled agricultural plastics can be used in the manufacture of tube shelters, with both economic and environmental advantages.engjournal articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122401www.elsevier.com/ locate/jcleproopen access628.477332.142.6:678.5544.16547Agricultural plastic wasteMechanical recyclingCircular economyTube sheltersLight transmissionMedio ambienteIndustria del plásticoQuímica orgánica (Química)2206.10 Polímeros3312 Tecnología de Materiales3312.10 Plásticos2304 Química Macromolecular3308 Ingeniería y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente