Abstract
The problem of diminishing resources on our plant is now getting due attention from the governments as well as scientists around the world. The transition from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE) is now among the top priorities. This article discusses the implementation of the circular economy paradigm in Poland through the analysis of the existing and planned mechanisms, and actions taken by the Polish government which can be replicated by other young European countries. Further, the article discusses the direction of change and projected measures planned by the Polish government to improve the quality of municipal solid waste management. In this context, profitability analysis is carried out for two methods of waste processing (incineration and torrefaction) intended for small municipalities and settlements in which district heating and trading of generated electricity are not feasible. The results of the analysis shows that torrefaction is clearly a more desirable waste processing option as a step towards the implementation of CE for civic society in the urban context, as well as profitability, in comparison to incineration. The analysis accounts for several scenarios before the lockdown caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic and after it was lifted.
Highlights
The rapidly rising social awareness appeals for changes in the approach towards the use of resources in the widely understood economy and industry
Wide Fund For Nature [3], assuming that all people on the planet have the same lifestyle as in the European Union (EU), human beings would consume ecosystem resources intended for the whole year by May 10th [4]
As stated in the roadmap: “The concept of sustainable production is based, on the principle of increasing the resource productivity that is decreasing the volume of raw materials consumed for a unit of produced goods, and on anticipating the reduction of negative environmental impact of the production processes, including, in particular, the context of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and volume of produced waste” [23]. This is why we focus in this article on waste management, in particular, municipal waste management
Summary
The rapidly rising social awareness appeals for changes in the approach towards the use of resources in the widely understood economy and industry. Concern for the resources on our planet is undoubtedly a serious matter, as their volume continues to shrink while the demand continues to grow, due to a constantly increasing population and modernization of lifestyle. Projections by the United Nations (UN) show that the current global population stands at around 7.7 billion and that it will continue to grow to nearly 10 billion by the year 2050 [1,2]. Wide Fund For Nature [3], assuming that all people on the planet have the same lifestyle as in the European Union (EU), human beings would consume ecosystem resources intended for the whole year by May 10th [4]. The exact numbers, due to the increase in volume of waste generated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remains to be seen. Waste volume per capita (immigrants) 0.2 mg/person/a
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