Reuse Activities Research Articles

Adaptive reuse to concept of land use planning and design. Case study: Independent integrated city in Morowali, Central Sulawesi

Re-adaptation is a method of controlling the use of space, it is also related to and applies to regional regulations regarding the spatial plan of Morowali Regency which is determined as an independent integrated City area in Bungku. The trend of land use at the independent integrated city, Bungku Central Zone, until now functionally has experienced many developments. The main function of the region since its inception was developed as a Regional Government Centre. Sustainability as an important concept in the 20th century has defined “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations” by the World Commission on Environment and Development. In architecture sustainability is characterized as a system which investigates the relationships between the built environment and human being, economical usage of sources and reuse activities, contributes to form liveable environments, improve life quality and provide continuity. Adaptive reuse is one of the sustainable architecture components is seen as an issue to be handled as sustainable resource usage. The sustainability understanding – which has a goal considering the balance of economic growth with conservation – aims to prevent the destruction and disappearance of cultural assets and improve by conserving.

Kinetic and thermodynamic properties of purified alkaline protease from Bacillus pumilus Y7 and non-covalent immobilization to poly(vinylimidazole)/clay hydrogel.

The characterization of the hydrogel was performed using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Purified Bacillus pumilus Y7‐derived alkaline protease was immobilized in Poly (vinylimidazole)/clay (PVI/SEP) hydrogel with 95% yield of immobilization. Immobilization decreased the pH optimum from 9 to 6 for free and immobilized enzyme, respectively. Temperature optimum 3°C decreased for immobilized enzyme. The K m, V m, and k cat of immobilized enzyme were 4.4, 1.7, and 7.5‐fold increased over its free counterpart. Immobilized protease retained about 65% residual activity for 16th reuse. The immobilized protease endured its 35% residual activity in the material after six cycle's batch applications. The results of thermodynamic analysis for casein hydrolysis showed that the ΔG≠ (activation free energy) and ΔG≠ E‐T (activation free energy of transition state formation) obtained for the immobilized enzyme decreased in comparison to those obtained for the free enzyme. On the other hand, the value of ΔG≠ ES (free energy of substrate binding) was observed to have increased. These results indicate an increase in the spontaneity of the biochemical reaction post immobilization. Enthalpy value of immobilized enzyme that was 2.2‐fold increased over the free enzyme indicated lower energy for the formation of the transition state, and increased ΔS≠ value implied that the immobilized form of the enzyme was more ordered than its free form.

Wastewater reuse in Turkey: from present status to future potential

Abstract The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization (MoEU) initiated an important project, ‘Reuse of Treated Wastewater in Turkey’, in 2017. With this project, all wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated to determine wastewater reuse purposes for the first time. The results obtained from this project were that although there are 1,015 existing WWTPs, only 15 of them realized wastewater reuse. In 2017, the total volume of reused treated wastewater in Turkey amounted to 29.6 million m3/year, accounting for 0.78% of the treated urban wastewater. With the present water potential and sectoral water use rates, Turkey should make key administrative and technical regulations in the coming years for water reuse. This paper aims to give an overview of wastewater reuse activities from present status to future potential in Turkey and the opportunities and challenges in expanding water reuse. The status of WWTPs, treatment processes and their compliance with the WWTPs where reuse is carried out in Turkey are evaluated in this study. The realization of the planned goals and challenges are discussed after regulatory changes in Turkey for reclaimed wastewater and reuse targets for 2023.

Gleaning around the globe: Reframing urban thrift via practices and economies of hard rubbish reuse

This article examines the practice of gleaning or waste picking, that is, retrieving, reusing and exchanging disposed consumer goods collected from kerbsides and rubbish sites. While the literature has tended to be divided along geographic lines with waste picking either associated with poor communities in the Global South or understood as anti-consumerism activism in the North, this article reframes gleaning as a set of shared global practices conventionally positioned outside of market-based conceptions of economy, value and labour. Discussing a wide array of gleaning activities from around the world, the key argument made is that the alternative economies and practices associated with hard waste reuse activities can be seen as modelling different ways of living (with waste), consuming and disposing that offer potential environmental, economic and social benefits. The article argues that waste reuse activities should be viewed as a set of practices or routines that offer a critique of narrow neoliberal conceptions of economics, enacting instead broader models of value and labour that speak to notions of the public, social and (within limits) planetary good. Furthermore, these post-consumption practices challenge traditional conceptions of passive commodity consumption and disposal, extending the global value chain of goods to incorporate practices of sorting, disassemblage, repair and repurposing. In so doing, it suggests a need (particularly in the Global North) to reconfigure our relationship with and understanding of the life cycles of goods and materials in our lives and to re-materialise our everyday engagements with things as they shift from commodities to waste and back again.

Minimization of household hazardous solid waste (HHSW) with 4R concepts (reduce, reuse, recycle and recovery) in Padang City, Indonesia

Improper management of hazardous waste originating from household activities will potentially pose a threat to health and the environment. Management of hazardous waste includes minimization activities and hazardous waste treatment. This study aims to analyze the existing conditions and potential minimization of Household Hazardous Solid Waste (HHSW) with the 4R concept, namely Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recovery in Padang City. HHSW minimization data was obtained through the analysis of questionnaire data distributed to several HHSW generation sources in Padang City, while the minimization potential was obtained from the existing literature review. The minimization of the existing HHSW was 17.4% (2,067 kg/day) from the total HHSW generation in Padang City. This minimization activity consisted of 11.6% reduce activities, 2.2% reuse activities and 3.6% recycle activities. From the calculation and literature study, the potential of minimizing HHSW was 51.2% (6,081 kg/day) which consists of 11.6% reduce potential in the form of large volumes of HHSW packaging purchases, 18.7% reuse potential through the return of product packaging to producers in the Environmental Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, 13.2% recycle potential in the form of oil can recycling, bulbs and cartridges, and 7.7% recovery potential by recovering metal content in batteries and car battery.

Serendipitous conservation: faith-to-faith conversion of historic churches in Buffalo

ABSTRACTUS cities with shrinking populations have faced tremendous challenges in conserving their built heritage. Often, conservation work involves adaptively reusing existing buildings. Most reuse activity is fuelled by the developer and market-driven rehabilitation of historic properties through tax credits and other incentives. Places of worship like churches, however, are difficult to rehabilitate, and cities lose this urban heritage after years of vacancy and neglect, and eventual demolition. In many shrinking cities, particularly those now welcoming new immigrants and refugees, serendipitous conservation of vacant churches through faith-to-faith conversion can be an asset to local planners and preservationists in their fight to save urban heritage from demolition. This paper examines two former Roman Catholic Churches in the City of Buffalo: one converted into an Islamic mosque, and another into a Buddhist temple, to argue that faith-to-faith conversions can be a viable tool for other US cities experiencing similar threats to their urban heritage.

Contributions of social entrepreneurship to textile waste prevention in Romania

Abstract The current system for producing, distributing, and using clothing is putting pressure on resources, pollutes and degrades ecosystems. Nowadays, when disposed of, clothing still has at least 70% of its useful life left. A different approach to the way clothes are made, distributed and disposed of is needed. Prevention of textile waste is one angle to address these challenges and is being taken into consideration by the European public bodies. Reuse is increasingly recognized as a waste prevention measure, specifically addressed in 25 of the 33 waste prevention programs of European countries but national approaches to encourage reuse are, so far weak. Though in Romania it is estimated that textile waste will be produced mainly by households by 2025, knowledge about clothing reuse stakeholders and the mechanisms of exchange is scarce. Some activity is however developed by charities, acting as social enterprises. The primary goal of this research was to understand the role of social entrepreneurship in textile waste prevention by identifying clothing reuse practices and stakeholders in Bucharest, the Romanian city with the largest number of households in Romania (10% of the total of households). By gaining concrete knowledge related to the clothing reuse initiatives, in terms of number and characteristics, moving from identifying current clothing reuse practices and mechanisms of exchange to the type of stakeholders involved, either public or private, the research contributed to modeling the circular business ecosystem in Romania. The main research question concerned the degree of involvement of social enterprises in the development of clothing reuse activities, and therefore textile waste prevention. The findings revealed a high disproportion between the number of private and public clothing reuse initiatives, most of the activities being developed by charities which to some extent act as social enterprises. The results were intended to provide information to support decision-making bodies and communities in building up a functional clothing waste prevention plan through benefiting of existing knowledge from stakeholders in the field. These results also open the pathway to public-private dialogue for highlighting and scaling up existing textile waste prevention activities.

Preparation for reuse activity of waste electrical and electronic equipment: Environmental performance, cost externality and job creation

The European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment system introduced measures to encourage both the reduction of the amount of electronic waste and its separation to prepare for reuse. The aim of this study is compare the environmental performance, cost externality and job creation of the whole life cycle of new and reconditioned electrical and electronic equipment by adopting Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Five electrical and electronic equipment categories were investigated and the data collection was made on an Italian context. The refurbishing of breakdown electrical and electronic equipment was assessed by considering different sets of faulty components (Scenario A and B) and a total of 25 scenarios were studied. Moreover, both attributional and consequential life cycle inventory modelling framework were adopted to represent the investigated scenarios. The outcomes highlighted that the preparation for reuse process leads to obtaining a sustainable electronic device than the new one, depending on which set of components are replaced. Adopting Scenario B with the attributional model, the environmental damage of reconditioned electrical and electronic equipment decreases compared to the new one. Conversely, the consequential approach determines an environmental credit for all repaired electronic devices except for one category; in particular, Scenario A produced the largest environmental advantage. The analyses of external costs and social aspects confirm that the preparation for reuse activity allows to obtain a more sustainable product than a new one. For these two latter aspects, the results showed a turnaround passing from attributional model to consequential one. Noting the variability in results adopting both different life cycle inventory modelling framework and set of replaced components, the Life Cycle Assessment practitioner, that conducted the study, should help the decision-makers to determine which scenario is more sustainable accomplishing an adequate choice.

Managing high-end ex-demonstration product returns

Some manufacturers demonstrate their products so that customers can gain experience before making a purchase. We present a novel application of a closed-loop supply chain where product returns from demonstrations of high-end IT equipment are substantial and the major delay in the system is due to the long demonstration time at the client sites. In addition, the product lifecycle is short and the value erodes rapidly over time, with steep drops in the resale revenue when new product generations are introduced. We present a finite lifecycle model that captures the key trade-offs in this environment, that is, either to reuse a collected ex-demo product for a next demonstration or to salvage its residual value in the secondary market and use a new product to satisfy the next demo request. We derive two cost/revenue signals that enable us to distinguish between fast and slow value erosion. We show that the fast/slow erosion decision is dynamic and depends on the rate of value erosion and the length of the demonstration time. We analyze the optimal demo pool strategies and show that in the case of fast erosion it may be better to postpone reuse activities until later in the lifecycle. We illustrate our model using empirical data from a large IT manufacturer and formulate several guidelines so as to better manage high value ex-demonstration product returns.

‘It will Keep Circulating’: Loving and Letting Go of Things in Swedish Second-hand Markets

Using the case of Sweden, this article examines the growing sector of reuse and second-hand activities from the perspective of how people express and practice their relationships to objects that they acquire from second-hand markets. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork in flea markets, second-hand shops, homes and recycling depots, it explores how people relate to and handle goods which, instead of becoming waste, enter new life cycles through reuse. It suggests that buying, using and passing on certain kinds of second-hand things involves particular forms of affection and ‘serial’ care for the objects as things-in-motion. At the same time, part of the attraction of these objects is how they enable the practising of a particular kind of subjectivity: that of an informed, moral and caring consumer. Part of such reuse subjectivity is the capacity to form close bonds with, and care for objects, but also to untie these bonds in order to carefully and responsibly let go of them. The article suggests that paying attention to the affective orientation and disposition that form part of such consumer subjectivity may provide keys to understanding what drives second-hand consumption and the accelerated circulation of goods it may entail. Offering an opportunity to examine assumptions of reuse and circulation as inherently ‘sustainable’, it also provides perspectives on practices of care.

The behaviour and attitudes of Kempton Park communities with reference to reusing domestic waste

The reuse of domestic waste is an integral part of the domestic waste minimisation process to remove waste from the waste stream. The main objectives of this study were: to determine whether or not households participate in domestic waste reuse activities and the type of activities involved; where they receive information on waste reuse; the behaviour and attitude towards reuse and recommendations based on the findings of the study. This study adopted a quantitative approach describing suburban communities' attitudes and behaviour towards waste reuse. The investigation was non-experimental, cross-sectional and descriptive. Structured questions were used through a simple random sampling method. Results indicated that respondents reused domestic waste, their domestic reuse information was obtained from the media and internet, reusing of waste was a positive activity that would help future generations and it could help save money. Recommendations were made that formal programmes would assist residents to reuse waste efficiently and that government departments and environmental health practitioners should be better sources of information for reuse.

FROM COLLISION TO COLLABORATION - INTEGRATING INFORMAL RECYCLERS AND RE-USE OPERATORS IN EUROPE: A REVIEW

THE European Union (EU) hosts some of the world’s most developed waste management systems and an ambitious policy commitment to the Circular Economy. The existence of informal recycling and re-use activities in Europe has been vigorously denied until quite recently, and remains a very challenging subject for the European solid waste management sector, as well as for European government and private institutions. In countries ranging from Malta to Macedonia and from France to Turkey, informal recyclers excluded from legal recycling niches increasingly collide with formalised and controlled EU approaches to urban waste management, packaging recovery schemes, formal re-use enterprises, and extended producer responsibility systems.This review focuses on the period from 2004 through the first half of 2016. The 78 sources on European (and neighbouring) informal recycling and re-use are contextualised with global sources and experience. The articles focus on informal recovery in and at the borders of the European Union, document the conflicts and collisions, and elaborate some constructive approaches towards legalisation, integration, and reconciliation. The overarching recommendation, to locate the issue of informal recovery and integration in the framework of the European Circular Economy Package, is supported by four specific pillars of an integration strategy: documentation, legalisation, occupational and enterprise recognition, and preparation for structural integration.

New York City's Reuse Impact Calculator: Quantifying the zero waste impact of materials reuse.

In 2015, the city of New York (NYC) introduced a plan to reduce the volume of collected solid waste by 90% by 2030 and envisioned the expansion of reuse opportunities as one of its main drivers. The assessment of the contributions from reuse initiatives to the advancement of waste prevention and waste reduction goals requires a quantitative understanding of the scope of reuse activities. The high population density in NYC and well-organised collection efforts by The City of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) (DSNY) have resulted in a structure that enables the informal sector to readily contribute and access the reuse market. Importantly, the scale of the operations in NYC enable the results found to be a model for other municipalities of similar size. This article presents the Reuse Impact Calculator, developed from the need to automate and quantify the environmental impact of product reuse by nonprofit enterprises in NYC. Specifically, we will explain the development process, show the novel characteristics of this calculator, describe the software in terms of data input, auto mapping functionality and calculations and present a case study to demonstrate the implementation of the Reuse Impact Calculator. This calculator is a dynamic and easily modifiable tool that converts diverse datasets to comparable conditions and allows the assessment of the impact of reuse organisations to waste prevention in NYC.

Estimating the concentration of viral pathogens and indicator organisms in the final effluent of wastewater treatment processes using stochastic modelling

The presence of waterborne microbial (including viral) pathogens, in wastewater poses a potential risk to human health when wastewaters are reused either directly or indirectly. Therefore, reuse activities need to be regulated in such a way as to protect human health and to this end, quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has been successfully used to formulate evidence-based reuse regulations. The QMRA approach depends, however, on reliable information about the various elements of the system, including the wastewater treatment component. One point of major concern is the determination of pathogen concentrations, especially viral pathogens, in treated wastewater, as a consequence of their low levels and problems associated with the detection limit of enumeration methods. Therefore, the research described here aimed to develop stochastic simulations from empirical data to estimate likely concentrations of specified enteric microorganisms in final effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants based on either activated sludge (AS) or trickling filter (TF) as the secondary biological treatment stage and thereby support the construction of functional QMRA models. Wastewater samples were collected every fortnight, during a twelve-month period, at each stage of four full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in southern England (two AS and two TF plants) (n = 360 samples) in order to build a robust dataset. Probability density functions (PDF) were then fitted to empirical data and used as input variables in the proposed model, which considered the concentration of the assessed micro-organisms in the raw wastewater and the removal rates in primary, secondary and tertiary treatment stages. Final concentrations of pathogenic and indicator organisms were then estimated using stochastic simulations. The proposed stochastic model was able to predict both accurately and reliably the likely concentration of microorganisms in the final effluent of both systems. Moreover, sensitivity analysis revealed that the concentrations of the microorganisms in raw wastewater and their removal rates in the secondary treatment stages had the greatest influence on the predictive output. It was therefore concluded that, provided due attention is paid to the quality of the specific input variables of the model, stochastic modelling may represent a valuable tool to support integrated water and sanitation safety planning approaches to human health risk management of wastewater reuse systems, based on the use of QMRA models. The approach may also support better design and operation of wastewater treatment processes so as to maximise pathogen removal in support of Sustainable Development Goal 6 Target 3 of the United Nations.

Exploring waste prevention behaviour through empirical research

Waste prevention is currently a critical issue, and our research aims to provide a more nuanced view by examining the determinants of individual behaviour when deciding to either purchase a certain item or to extend the life of an owned item through repair or reuse activities. Our research has two main aims: (1) to examine the importance that being aware of consequences and personal norms have in shaping positive attitudes towards waste prevention behaviour; and (2) to explore the relationship between attitudes and perceived behavioural control on waste prevention by testing the mediation effects of perceived behavioural control and waste prevention behaviour. The research is based on 375 questionnaires collected in Pietra Ligure, a municipality located in Northwest Italy. Data were modelled using a structural equation model to test the hypotheses. The findings show that awareness of the consequences is a fundamental driver of waste prevention attitudes while personal norms are not. The findings also confirm a positive relationship between attitudes and perceived behavioural control. Finally, a positive significant relationship was found between perceived behavioural control and waste prevention behaviour, and between social norms and waste prevention behaviour. The results of our investigation are contextualised in theoretical, political and managerial frameworks and suggest several avenues for further research.

Promoting towel reuse behaviour in guests: A water conservation management and environmental policy in the hotel industry

AbstractThis research was designed to identify and uncover the role of critical factors that elicit towel reuse behaviour in hotel guests. An empirical approach with a survey methodology was employed. The findings suggest that practising towel reuse activities depends on an internally derived sense of obligation to take eco‐friendly action, attitude, overall image, and environmental awareness. The salient role of moral obligation in building the towel reuse intention was also uncovered. Moreover, towel reuse behaviour in everyday life had a significant moderating role in the proposed theoretical framework. Overall, towel reuse intentions in guests were sufficiently accounted for by research variables. This study adds to the extant literature in hospitality and environmental behaviour by offering meaningful insights into how normative, volitional, habitual, and cognitive processes relate to eco‐friendly decisions while guests are staying at a hotel.

Assessing the role of preparation for reuse in waste-prevention strategies by analytical hierarchical process: suggestions for an optimal implementation in waste management supply chain

Reuse is one of the most important waste-prevention strategies. Although the importance of preparation for reuse is clear, preparation centres for reuse are not common in the traditional waste management supply chain. An analysis of their contribution in waste-prevention strategies is therefore needed. Our research evaluates three preparations for reuse scenarios in municipal solid waste management with an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). These alternatives were assessed with three criteria: economic, social and environmental. Sensitivity analyses were performed to study the impact on the final ranking of changes in various parameters. Results highlight that the best alternative is to include the preparation for reuse in the waste management supply chain, with a moderate recourse to it. The study sheds light on how managers can better plan preparation for reuse activities and provides new trajectories for future research.

A educação ambiental como instrumento de sensibilização para reutilização de resíduos sólidos

A inserção da educação ambiental no recinto escolar tem grande relevância nas mobilizações efetivas para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Dessa forma, objetivou-se desenvolver estratégias de sensibilização para disseminação dos princípios da educação ambiental junto a discentes do ensino médio de uma escola estadual situada em Pombal, Paraíba. Os procedimentos metodológicos pautaram-se em três etapas: a observação não participante; a realização de rodas de conversas com elementos estruturados visando à quantificação; e a inserção de atividades de reutilização de resíduos sólidos, objetivando iniciar um processo de sensibilização dos estudantes a partir da prática. Os resultados da análise revelaram que a Educação Ambiental no ambiente escolar se dá de maneira sucinta, contribuindo com uma lacuna que dificulta a compreensão de integração entre a natureza e a sociedade, ressaltando apenas a ideia de que as questões ambientais resumem-se apenas às noções do conservadorismo e da natureza como algo intocável, desenraizando a responsabilidade de cada indivíduo na construção de uma identidade planetária.

Ru/ZrO2 Catalysts for Transfer Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid with Formic Acid/Formate Mixtures: Importance of Support Stability

AbstractThe transfer hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ‐valerolactone using an equimolar mixture of formate/formic acid in water was investigated using Ru/ZrO2 catalysts. Ru/ZrO2 with < 3 wt. % loading were more active than those with higher loadings. The stability of the catalysts is of concern as the reaction occurs under acidic and hydrothermal conditions. To minimize metal leaching, the Ru/ZrO2 catalysts were prepared by a sol‐gel process to entrap the ruthenium nanoparticles within the support. Despite insignificant leaching of Ru, the used catalyst was deactivated after the first run. No agglomeration of Ru particles could be observed by TEM and XRD. However, the zirconia support had transformed from a predominantly tetragonal crystal phase to the monoclinic form. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the surface Ru/Zr ratio. Doping with 0.1 wt. % SiO2 successfully stabilized the tetragonal phase of zirconia and the recycled catalyst maintained its high activity in reuse.

Maintenance Optimization: Application of Remanufacturing and Repair Strategies

Power plant facilities located in remote and difficult to access regions often experience significant production losses due to failures, inaccurate remanufacturing, maintenance activities in addition to prolonged lead time delays while procuring critical spares. This is especially the case given unanticipated power plant failures which could portend significant power generation losses besides outages that could lead to significant societal disruptions, for instance, off grid hospital facilities. This study uses a discrete event simulation model to analyze the effect of remanufacturing and maintenance as part of circular economy strategies, on power plant availability and maintenance time. The proposed study is demonstrated through the use case of a thermal power plant located in a remote region, where findings suggest replacing components upon failure has the most significant impact and effect on system availability as well as maintenance time. Moreover, a reduction of mean time before Overhaul (MTBO) seems to lengthen the component's usage-life, hence reduces the maintenance time, and at the same time, increases the system availability. Reuse activity also yields a better mean time to recovery (MTTR), while repair has the highest amongst the evaluated recovery strategies. The study adds value by developing a framework, further applying a simulation modelling approach for evaluating the effects of remanufacturing and maintenance strategies on plant availability.