Landfill Diversion Research Articles

Solid Waste Management Policy Implications on Waste Process Choices and Systemwide Cost and Greenhouse Gas Performance.

Solid waste management (SWM) is a key function of local government and is critical to protecting human health and the environment. Development of effective SWM strategies should consider comprehensive SWM process choices and policy implications on system-level cost and environmental performance. This analysis evaluated cost and select environmental implications of SWM policies for Wake County, North Carolina using a life-cycle approach. A county-specific data set and scenarios were developed to evaluate alternatives for residential municipal SWM, which included combinations of a mixed waste material recovery facility (MRF), anaerobic digestion, and waste-to-energy combustion in addition to existing SWM infrastructure (composting, landfilling, single stream recycling). Multiple landfill diversion and budget levels were considered for each scenario. At maximum diversion, the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation costs ranged from 30 to 900 $/MTCO2e; the lower values were when a mixed waste MRF was used, and the higher values when anaerobic digestion was used. Utilization of the mixed waste MRF was sensitive to the efficiency of material separation and operating cost. Maintaining the current separate collection scheme limited the potential for cost and GHG reductions. Municipalities seeking to cost-effectively increase landfill diversion while reducing GHGs should consider waste-to-energy, mixed waste separation, and changes to collection.

Valuable e-waste: Implications for extended producer responsibility

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)-based product take-back regulation holds OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) of electronics responsible for the collection and recovery (e.g., recycling) of electronic waste (e-waste). This is because of the assumption that recycling these products has a net cost, and unless regulated they end up in landfills and harm the environment. However, in the last decade, advances in product design and recycling technologies have allowed for profitable recycling. This change challenges the basic assumption behind such regulation and creates a competitive marketplace for e-waste. That is, OEMs subject to EPR have to compete with Independent Recyclers (IRs) in collecting and recycling e-waste. Then a natural question is whether EPR achieves its intended goal of increased landfill diversion amid such competition and what its welfare implications are, where welfare is the sum of OEM and IR profits, environmental benefit, and waste-holder surplus. Using an economic model, we find that EPR that focuses on producer responsibility alone may reduce the total landfill diversion and welfare amid competition. A possible remedy in the form of counting IRs collection towards OEM obligations guarantees higher landfill diversion. However, EPR may continue to reduce the total welfare, particularly when OEM recycling replaces more cost-effective IR activity.

Manufacture and performance of lightweight aggregate from waste drill cuttings

This research investigated the technical feasibility of transforming waste drill cuttings into lightweight aggregate. Drill cuttings produced from the North Sea oil field were dried, ball milled, formed into pellets and fired at temperatures between 1160 and 1190 °C. Physical properties of the manufactured lightweight aggregate, including particle density, water absorption and compressive strength, were determined. The drill cuttings had a typical evaporite composition containing high concentrations of chloride salts. This limits the potential for using the as-received drill cutting samples in lightweight aggregate production as the products formed show high levels of leaching. The addition of a washing pre-treatment to reduce the leaching of chloride ions was necessary. Washing also reduced the initial sintering temperature and improved lightweight aggregate properties. Sintering at 1180 °C produced lightweight aggregate with particle density of 1.29 g/cm³, water absorption of 3.6% and compressive strengths of 4.4 MPa. The research showed that lightweight aggregate manufacturing represents a resource efficient option for the reuse of waste drill cuttings and provides significant material saving and landfill diversion.

Waste-to-energy: Coupling Waste Treatment to Highly Efficient CHP

Abstract Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) has become the most widespread Best Available Technology (BAT) to treat residual waste streams in a reliable and safe way. As such, MSWI has contributed to achieve the landfill diversion targets in many EU member states. Modern waste incinerators, also referred to as Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants, have furthermore evolved to producers of electricity, heat and steam for energy-consuming industries, agriculture and residences. However, due to the specific composition and properties of MSW and similar waste, and due to the historical development of MSWI, the exploitation of WtE plants as combined heat and power (CHP) plants is not straightforward. The aims of this paper are to develop a better understanding of these limitations, to point out possibilities for increasing the level of energy recovery and utilization in WtE plants, and to document this approach with data and experiences from selected WtE plants currently integrated in CHP schemes. Finally, some design and operational challenges for waste-fired CHP plants are further elaborated from a WtE plant supplier’s perspective.

A Case Discussion on Market‐Based Extended Producer Responsibility: The Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act

SummaryIn this article, we analyze the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act to explore the benefits and potential drawbacks of a market‐based extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation implementation with operational flexibility for manufacturers. Based on publicly available reports and stakeholder interviews, we find that the Minnesota Act attains two key goals of market‐based EPR (i.e., higher cost efficiencies and substantial landfill diversion); however, this may come at the expense of selective collection and recycling, an increased burden on local governments, and a loss of balance in contractual power between stakeholders. We observe that these concerns arise because of specific flexibility provisions afforded to manufacturers that allow them to operationalize their EPR compliance with a cost‐efficiency focus. Thus, we conclude that EPR goals must be carefully translated into operating rules in order to achieve goals while avoiding unintended consequences.

Toward integrated and sustainable waste management system in University of Malaya: UM zero waste campaign

With the escalated increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in Malaysia reaching a shocking 38,000 ton/day in 2017, a sustainable waste management system is much desired. Nationwide, there are 176 landfills but only 8 are sanitary landfill with the rest are open dumpsites. In the campus of University of Malaya, UM Zero Waste Campaign (UM ZWC) was introduced in 2011 to start a long-term campaign to achieve an integrated and sustainable waste management model and ultimately a zero-waste campus. Since year 2015, UM ZWC is fully funded by Sustainability Science Research Cluster of UM (Susci) as one of the living labs of UM as well as by JPPHB under the RMK-11 budget. UM ZWC operating projects including in house composting center, food waste segregation scheme, research composting emission and waste characterization, anaerobic digestion (AD), used clothes collection program, wood waste separate collection, e-waste collection and drop-off recycling collection were initiated under the campaign. Since the inception of the project in 2011 until December 2017, almost over 620 tons of solid waste has been diverted from disposal in landfill with composting, AD, recycling, re-use and energy recovery. A roadmap of UM ZWC was drawn up in 2013, with a goal to achieve 60% landfill diversion by year 2040. In the next 5-10 years, UM ZWC plays a vital role to formalize the recycling collection in UM and further increase the organic waste recycling with green waste shredding and composting. Besides environmental benefits (pollution prevention and carbon emission reduction), UM ZWC brings various benefits such as academic research opportunities for UM, contribute in UM LCCF (Low carbon city framework) target and serve as platform to improve students soft skills and entrepreneur skill. Multi stakeholders participation, support form top management and industrial collaboration are the key factors that are able to drive the development of a sustainable waste management model in UM campus.

Energy, Economic and Environmental Savings by Waste Recycling: A Case Study of Madinah City

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), millions of worshippers come from across the globe to perform religious rituals of Pilgrimage (Hajj) and Umrah. Madinah-tul-Munawara is one of the holiest city, where pilgrims come after performing rituals in Makkah. In this city, most of the collected municipal solid waste (MSW) is disposed of in the landfills after a partial recycling of paper, cardboard, and metals (~10-20% of total MSW). The Saudi’s government has recently launched a new policy of Vision 2030, which outlined the safeguard of local environment through increased efficiency of waste recycling and management, pollution prevention strategies and generating renewable energy from indigenous sources, including the waste. Currently, the recycling practices in KSA are mainly regulated by an informal sector through waste pickers or waste scavengers. This has led to the need of recycling schemes, especially in the holiest cities of Makkah and Madinah through a public-private partnership (PPP). Huge amounts of energy can be conserved, that would otherwise be spent on raw material extraction, transportation, and manufacturing of materials, through recycling into the same materials. Around 10,009 TJ of energy can be saved through recycling of 24.21% of MSW in Madinah city, including glass, metals, aluminum, cardboard, and paper. It is estimated that around 10,200 tons of methane (CH4) emissions and 254,600 Mt.CO2 eq. of global warming potential (GWP) can also be saved. In addition, carbon credit revenue of US $5.92 million, and landfill diversion worth of US $32.78 million can be achieved with a net revenue of US $49.01 million every year only by recycling 24.21% of MSW in Madinah city. The waste recycling doesn’t require high technical skills and labor, and complicated technologies for large-scale implementation, and therefore, can be implemented easily in the holiest cities of Makkah and Madinah to achieve multiple economic and environmental benefits.

Certification markers for empirical quantification of post-consumer recycled content in extruded polyethylene film

High-density polyethylene is an important polymer for a variety of industrial applications. The pressure for landfill diversion strategies have increased with consumer awareness of traditional end-of-life practices. It is critical to understand the influence of post-consumer recycled polymer (PCR) content on properties and consumer safety as converters blend PCR with virgin resin to increase sustainability. The ability to empirically quantify the PCR content is vital for compliance with minimum content laws. This work determined ∼380% increase in UVA absorption, increased carbonyl and terminal vinyl functional groups, a 50% reduction of fluorescence properties, a reduction of the polymer crystal quality, and a ∼4 °C increase in the degradation temperature. The extractables content of all PCR blends complied with the Code of Federal Regulations for direct food contact applications. Trends between the measured properties and PCR content identified potential certification markers for empirical quantification of PCR content and single-measurement quality control metrics.

Waste to biodiesel: A preliminary assessment for Saudi Arabia

This study presents a preliminary assessment of biodiesel production from waste sources available in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for energy generation and solution for waste disposal issues. A case study was developed under three different scenarios: (S1) KSA population only in 2017, (S2) KSA population and pilgrims in 2017, and (S3) KSA population and pilgrims by 2030 using the fat fraction of the municipal solid waste. It was estimated that S1, S2, and S3 scenarios could produce around 1.08, 1.10 and 1.41 million tons of biodiesel with the energy potential of 43423, 43949 and 56493 TJ respectively. Furthermore, annual savings of US $55.89, 56.56 and 72.71 million can be generated from landfill diversion of food waste and added to the country’s economy. However, there are challenges in commercialization of waste to biodiesel facilities in KSA, including waste collection and separation, impurities, reactor design and biodiesel quality.

Explaining the differences in household food waste collection and treatment provisions between local authorities in England and Wales

Separate household food waste collection for anaerobic digestion is one method used in the sustainable management of biodegradable municipal solid waste (MSW). Recycling of food waste contributes to the UK’s reuse, recycling and composting targets and can help local authorities boost plateauing rates whilst encouraging landfill diversion. This study explored the reasons for differences in the provision of food waste collections, using two comparable local authorities, one with a collection in Wales (Cardiff), and the other absent of such service in England (Southampton). A PESTLE analysis investigated the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental impacts of separate food waste collections. The greenhouse gas impacts of the collection and treatment systems of MSW in both cities were estimated for 2012/13. Results showed significant policy and legislative differences between devolved governments, that separate food waste collections can save local authorities significant sums of money and substantially reduce greenhouse gas impacts. A survey of one hundred respondents in each city aimed to understand attitudes and behaviours towards recycling, food waste segregation, cooking and purchasing habits. The number of frequent recyclers and levels of satisfaction were higher in the authority which provided a separate food waste collection. In the area which lacked a separate collection service, over three-quarters of respondents would participate in such a scheme if it were available.

Life cycle inventory and mass-balance of municipal food waste management systems: Decision support methods beyond the waste hierarchy

When assessing the environmental and human health impact of a municipal food waste (FW) management system waste managers typically rely on the principles of the waste hierarchy; using metrics such as the mass or rate of waste that is ‘prepared for recycling,’ ‘recovered for energy,’ or ‘sent to landfill.’ These metrics measure the collection and sorting efficiency of a waste system but are incapable of determining the efficiency of a system to turn waste into a valuable resource. In this study a life cycle approach was employed using a system boundary that includes the entire waste service provision from collection to safe end-use or disposal. A life cycle inventory of seven waste management systems was calculated, including the first service wide inventory of FW management through kitchen in-sink disposal (food waste disposer). Results describe the mass, energy and water balance of each system along with key emissions profile. It was demonstrated that the energy balance can differ significantly from its’ energy generation, exemplified by mechanical biological treatment, which was the best system for generating energy from waste but only 5th best for net-energy generation. Furthermore, the energy balance of kitchen in-sink disposal was shown to be reduced because 31% of volatile solids were lost in pre-treatment. The study also confirmed that higher FW landfill diversion rates were critical for reducing many harmful emissions to air and water. Although, mass-balance analysis showed that the alternative end-use of the FW material may still contain high impact pollutants.

Extended Producer Responsibility for waste televisions and computers: A regulatory evaluation of the Australian experience

High annual volumes of television and computer waste presents a challenge to Australian communities, resulting in the development of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation. This study aims to establish, through the use of public interest theory, whether EPR legislation in Australia was in the public interest. Using a regulatory analysis, the results show that during the first 3 years of the scheme, over 130 liable parties joined co-regulatory arrangements each year to fund upstream recycling services for television and computer waste. In program terms, the scheme has been highly successful recycling over 130,000 tonnes of metals, leaded and non-leaded glass, plastics and other materials while limiting landfill transfers to approximately 6900 tonnes, all at a cost of A$50–60 million per annum to producers. The scheme has also seen a range of upstream recycling partnerships established between the co-regulated administrators and formal technical and social enterprise waste management organizations. However, while the upstream material recovery rate is steady at approximately 95%, the results suggests that exporting waste for downstream processing will continue in the future. Analysis also points to substantial funding for ‘over target’ collections, downstream recycling infrastructure and landfill diversion strategies as critical for averting severe environmental impacts from e-Waste dumping. The study concludes by suggesting that while the successes of EPR scheme are in the public interest, its potential deficiencies could limit such benefits and therefore need to be addressed. Notably, the scheme could be enhanced through the application of improved recycling target methodologies, including the estimation and forecasting of domestic Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) stock levels.

Common and Distinctive in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Baltic States

The importance of the waste recovery issue is emphasized by the concept of circular economy being introduced into a political agenda. New policies offer stricter requirements for recovery of waste materials. This paper discusses contribution of the policy instruments and technological aspects in promoting waste recovery. To assess the impact of different factors, the analysis of experience of waste management system development in the Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia for the period 2004 to 2014 has been made. The study assessed impact of landfill tax on landfill disposal. Separate collection – recycling ratio of biodegradable waste was analysed. Analysis of the mutual effect of various waste treatment solutions and their potential in reaching recovery objectives is conducted. Key conclusions of the study indicate that landfill tax is a desirable but not compulsory tool to divert waste from landfill. The use of a source separation system for recyclables is an essential condition to increase of recycled waste volumes. Availability of waste incineration capacities is the main driver for landfill diversion, but there are concerns, that incineration treatment availability could diminish application of recycling.

Pyrolytic liquid fuel: A source of renewable electricity generation in Makkah

ABSTRACTMillions of Muslims from all over the world visit the Holy Cities of Saudi Arabia: Makkah and Madinah every year to worship in form of Pilgrimage (Hajj) and Umrah. The rapid growth in local population, urbanization, and living standards in Makkah city along with continually increasing number of visitors result in huge municipal solid waste generation every year. Most of this waste is disposed to landfills or dumpsites without material or energy recovery, thus posing substantial environmental and health risks. The municipal plastic waste is the second largest waste stream (up to 23% of total municipal waste) that is comprised of plastic bottles, water cups, food plates, and shopping bags. The sustainable disposal of plastic waste is challenging task due to its clogging effects, very slow biodegradation rates, and presence of toxic additives and dyes. Pyrolysis is one of the promising waste-to-energy technology for converting municipal plastic waste into energy (liquid fuel) and value-added products like char. The produced liquid fuel has the potential to be used in several energy-related applications such as electricity generation, transportation fuel, and heating purposes. It has been estimated that the plastic waste in Makkah city in 2016 can produce around 87.91 MW of electricity. This is projected to increase up to around 172.80 MW of electricity by 2040. A global warming potential of 199.7 thousand Mt.CO2 eq. will be achieved with savings of 7.9 thousand tons emission of CH4, if pyrolysis technology is developed in Makkah city. Furthermore, a total savings of 297.52 million SAR from landfill diversion, electricity generation, and carbon credits would be possible to achieve in 2016 from pyrolysis. These economic benefits will increase every year and will reach up to 584.83 million SAR in 2040.

Decision support for selection of food waste technologies at military installations

The selection of an appropriate technology for waste management in a way that enhances sustainability is a complex problem requiring information from multiple disciplines. This decision is made more complex for large, diverse organizations for which individual sites or components have different requirements and capacities for waste management. For U.S. Army installations, sustainable waste management is a major obstacle for resource constrained and overburdened installation personnel. The Army has prioritized landfill diversion at installations; there is a significant push for each installation to develop and implement waste management plans that follow high-level goals set by U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM). The main objective of this study is to demonstrate an excel-based dashboard tool incorporating Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for site-specific waste management technology selection. The dashboard uses the preferences of an installation and a series of weighted metrics to evaluate technologies. With this information the dashboard can rank the technologies to identify those that simultaneously meet IMCOM's objectives and are appropriate for specific sites' capabilities and resources. Fourteen different technology makes and models were compared in this version of the decision model including dehydrators, pulpers, garbage disposals, containerized in-vessel composting, windrow composting, forced-air static composting, and containerized anaerobic digestion. MCDA provides for transparent comparison of technologies for all sites, and the dashboard visualizes the level of appropriateness of each technology for each site. The approach developed here adds value in that it utilizes the priorities of the organization and identifies the best performing waste management technology given the specific capacity and capabilities of an individual site.

Systematic Evaluation of Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Food Waste Management Strategies in the United States.

New regulations and targets limiting the disposal of food waste have been recently enacted in numerous jurisdictions. This analysis evaluated selected environmental implications of food waste management policies using life-cycle assessment. Scenarios were developed to evaluate management alternatives applicable to the waste discarded at facilities where food waste is a large component of the waste (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores, and food processors). Options considered include anaerobic digestion (AD), aerobic composting, waste-to-energy combustion (WTE), and landfilling, and multiple performance levels were considered for each option. The global warming impact ranged from approximately -350 to -45 kg CO2e Mg(-1) of waste for scenarios using AD, -190 to 62 kg CO2e Mg(-1) for those using composting, -350 to -28 kg CO2e Mg(-1) when all waste was managed by WTE, and -260 to 260 kg CO2e Mg(-1) when all waste was landfilled. Landfill diversion was found to reduce emissions, and diverting food waste from WTE generally increased emissions. The analysis further found that when a 20 year GWP was used instead of a 100 year GWP, every scenario including WTE was preferable to every scenario including landfill. Jurisdictions seeking to enact food waste disposal regulations should consider regional factors and material properties before duplicating existing statutes.

Benchmarking eco-industrial park development: the case of Devens

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and update Devens eco-industrial park sustainability indicators and benchmark progress made since 2000 in the seven key areas of its sustainability vision. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examined publicly available data for Devens, Massachusetts, and obtained additional data from Devens Enterprise Commission and a survey of 29 local organizations. Findings – Of the 43 indicators adopted by Devens eco-industrial park in 2012, 29 demonstrate progress, seven show lack of progress, six point to a potential progress, and for one no information was available in 2000 to evaluate progress. Most progress has been made in the areas of transportation, business and economic sustainability, governance and natural resources. Research limitations/implications – For some proposed indicators no data were available to evaluate progress (e.g. waste generation, recycling, compositing, and landfill diversion) yet these are among the key measures for an eco-industrial park. Practical implications – Proposed framework, indicators and lessons learned are of value for researchers and practitioners at other eco-industrial parks (EIPs) interested in benchmarking progress toward sustainable local development. Social implications – The case provides insights on integrating sustainability in local economic development. Originality/value – The study is paving the way toward development of a standardized set of sustainability indicators for EIPs in the USA.

Developing waste biorefinery in Makkah: A way forward to convert urban waste into renewable energy

The city of Makkah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) hosts millions of Muslim worshippers every year. As a consequence, the municipal solid waste (MSW) quantities become enormous. City landfills receive about 2.4 thousand tons of MSW every day, whilst during the months of fasting (Ramadan) and Pilgrimage (Hajj), these quantities become 3.1 and 4.6 thousand tons per day respectively. Currently, there is no waste-based biorefinery or waste-to-energy (WTE) facility existing in KSA to treat different fractions of MSW as a source of renewable energy production and a solution to landfill waste problems. Therefore, the waste-based biorefinery, if developed in Makkah city, including WTE technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD), transesterification, pyrolysis and refuse derived fuel (RDF) can be able to treat around 87.8% of the total MSW. The remaining 12.2% of MSW fraction can be recycled. The waste-based biorefinery, along with the recycling approach, can generate savings of about 87.6 million Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR) from carbon credits. Similarly, a total net revenue of 758 million SAR can be generated from landfill diversion (530.4 million SAR) and electricity generation (288.5 million SAR). Moreover, 1.95 million barrels of oil and 11.2 million MCF of natural gas can be saved with a cost savings of 485.5 million SAR. Collectively, the waste-based biorefinery and recycling can reduce the global warming potential (GWP) of 1.15 million Mt.CO2 eq.

Valuable E-Waste: Implications for Extended Producer Responsibility

Product take-back regulation based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) holds electronics producers responsible for proper recovery, e.g., collection and recycling, of end-of-life products. This is because of the assumption that environmentally friendly treatment of these products has a net cost, hence unless the market is regulated such waste would end up in landfills. However, advances in product design and recycling technologies as well as the increase in the price of precious metals found in certain waste electronics, now allow recyclers to generate a net profit from recycling these products. This change in recycling economics challenges the basic assumption such regulation relies on (i.e., recovery has a net cost), and creates a competitive marketplace for e-waste. That is, electronics producers that are subject to EPR have to compete with independent recyclers (that are not subject to EPR) in collecting and recycling end-of-life products. Consequently, a natural question in this context is whether take-back regulation leads to better environmental or economic outcomes in a competitive market for recyclable electronics. In this paper, we show that stringent take-back regulation that does not count recycling by independent entities toward meeting the targets imposed on producers, may lead to decreased landfill diversion and mute incentives for producers to design for recovery. We identify conditions under which these unintended outcomes may take place and discuss associated policy implications.

‘Modes of governing’ and solid waste management in Maui, Hawaii, USA

Maui, Hawaii, USA is an island with sensitive ecosystems and sharply circumscribed spatial resources for waste disposal. Despite the State of Hawaii's preferences to the contrary, Maui remains heavily dependent on landfilling and to a lesser extent, landfill diversion techniques to manage its solid waste. This article examines the history of solid waste management on Maui through the lens of Bulkeley, Watson, and Hudson's (2007) ‘modes of governing’ framework for the analysis of environmental and infrastructural policy issues. This approach asks users to consider equally and simultaneously the structures, processes, technologies, and ultimately, multiplicities of governance activities. Based on an analysis of approximately 200 government, private firm, and news media documents, it is demonstrated that private firms played a very significant role in shaping solid waste management on Maui, and were able to introduce their own desired modes for governing solid waste management that supplanted the preferences of State and County entities. In making this addition to the original modes of governing framework, it is argued that differences in both legal authority over and functional proximity to the practices and processes of solid waste management on Maui spurred the deployment of and competition between multiple modes of governing solid waste management there, as well as the eventual entry of private firms into the solid waste management process. Ultimately, the fragmentation of solid waste management practices on Maui has resulted in a somewhat ambivalent outcome for the natural environment. As such, this study adds to growing literatures examining both solid waste management and environmental policy issues.