Waste Arisings Research Articles

A review of radioactive waste processing and disposal from a life cycle environmental perspective

AbstractThe role of nuclear power in a more sustainable, ‘net zero’ energy sector is an important focal point of research. Given the large volume of existing legacy wastes and the future waste arisings that nuclear expansion would entail, attention is needed in the ‘back-end’ of the nuclear fuel cycle: processing (including treatment and conditioning) and disposal of radioactive waste. The range of waste processing techniques already in operation is broad and complex, and many novel technologies are under development. However, whilst prior work only focused on technology development and direct emissions, particularly in post-processing and disposal, a life cycle perspective is underutilised. This review analyses the landscape of life cycle assessment (LCA) within the nuclear sector, focusing on radioactive waste management, decommissioning and disposal. A literature search yielded 225 journal articles plus additional grey literature, yet only eight relevant LCAs were identified. Most studies identified adopted power generation as a functional unit and focused on nuclear power plants currently in operation. The major research gap identified in this review is the lack of holistic life cycle thinking surrounding radioactive waste management caused by poor granularity of published data related to waste treatment, conditioning and disposal, making strategic analysis challenging from the perspective of sustainability. Future LCA work should focus on technologies and processes in the back-end nuclear fuel cycle with considerable granularity to allow system ‘hotspots’ to be identified and strategic research and policy decisions to be taken. Efforts should also be made to incorporate recent developments in radiological impact assessment methodologies such as UCrad. Graphical abstract

Fusion decommissioning and regulation (UK-STEP perspectives)

A Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) is submitted to the secretary of state for approval as a requirement for a nuclear site licensee to install or operate a nuclear power station. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) reactor will not require a nuclear site licence and therefore a FDP is currently not a legal requirement under Section 45 of the Energy Act 2008, (HMG 2008 Energy act 2008). However, it is expected that in line with the UK energy sector the UKAEA STEP programme needs to understand what is required both technically and financially to decommission the STEP reactor and associated facilities. This considers the initial summary level documents to support the FDP, which sets out the steps to decommission STEP at the end of its operational life. These documents are not fully developed as the STEP programme is currently in the concept design stage and is expected to be revised as more information becomes available and the Funding Arrangements Plan (FAP) and Decommissioning and Waste Management Plan (DWMP) are developed further along with the Detailed DWMP (DDWMP) which underpins the DWMP is also developed. Ultimately the DWMP, DDWMP and references should demonstrate UKAEA’s plans for the decommissioning of the West Burton site and for the management and disposal of waste 3 3Waste in this paper includes both primary and secondary waste arisings. arisings are realistic, clearly defined and achievable. Although this work has been done within the context of the UK and for a spherical tokamak a lot of the designated technical matters and technical matter that are not designated will be applicable to decommissioning outside of the UK as the work for decommissioning is still required, irrespective of the legal framework for funding of the decommissioning. This work is also applicable for other forms of fusion devices, especially as they develop into commercial scale for energy production, as the drivers are associated with the hazards from ionising radiation.

Sustainable valorisation of agri-food waste from open-air markets in Kampala, Uganda via standalone and integrated waste conversion technologies

Though the magnitude of organic-rich agri-food waste arisings from open-air agri-food markets in many sub-Saharan Africa cities such as Kampala, Uganda are largely unknown, the predominant approaches to managing them, i.e., open burning and unsanitary landfilling, are unsustainable, emitting greenhouse gases, and represent an inefficient use of their intrinsic compositional and energy value. This study combined waste-to-energy (WtE) process modelling/simulation, material flow analysis and life cycle assessment to comparatively evaluate the bioenergy production, value-added material recycling opportunities and associated environmental impacts of characterised agri-food waste from three major open-air agri-food markets in Kampala City under three agri-food waste management scenarios: conventional landfilling, standalone (anaerobic digestion, AD) and integrated (hydrothermal carbonisation, HTC & anaerobic digestion; i.e., HTC-AD) technologies. Results reveal that an estimated 14.1 kt (eq. 34.8 TJ) of agri-food waste aggregated from the focus open-air markets is disposed of in an unsanitary landfill annually. Intrinsic agri-food waste compositional analyses evidence suitability for technology-based valorisation scenarios. Further, integrated HTC-AD performed better than standalone AD, marked by higher diversion of input agri-food waste from landfill (91% vs 75% for AD), recovery of diversified fuels (hydrochar and biogas) with higher energy efficiency (ηeff = 69% vs 45% for AD) and minimal environmental impacts. When benchmarked against landfilling, both technology-based valorisation scenarios significantly reduce (∼96%) adverse environmental responses for most life cycle analysis impact assessment categories. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of addressing the interlinked challenges of agri-food waste management and associated environmental pollution whilst promoting energy/value-added resource recovery from open-air agri-food markets. This is critical and timely to support near-term decision-making on selecting appropriate decentralised WtE technology-based agri-food waste valorisation systems that can realise economic, environmental, and technical (operational and strategic) goals in the city and other similar contexts.

Leading the World: A Review of Household Recycling in Wales

Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rate of ~65%. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) set a statutory target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2024/25. We reviewed historical trends in waste management in Wales from 2006 to 2020, with a focus on recycling. Authoritative, official data were obtained from WasteDataFlow, an Internet system for municipal waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government. Data are collected quarterly allowing the generation of time series plots, trendlines and like-for-like comparisons between groupings of various characteristics, such as number of separate kerbside collections, income, political preference, and impact of policy changes. Results showed that the approach taken by the WAG to politically prioritise and encourage participation in household recycling has achieved impressive results that contrast starkly with the recycling performance of other UK countries. In Wales, household waste disposed annually per person via landfill decreased from ~410 kg to <50 kg and household waste recycled increased from to ~150 kg to ~310 kg, with a recent increase in incineration with energy recovery to ~135 kg as infrastructure has come online. Recycling rates show a seasonal variation due to increases in garden waste sent for composting in the summer. There are variations in local authority performance across Wales, mainly caused by variations in the number of separate collections. Co-mingled collections tend to lead to higher contamination of recyclates that are then not able to be sold for recycling. Deprivation, as indicated by differences in income, also influences total waste arisings and recycling rates. A plateau of ~65% recycling rate was reached in 2020, with incineration reaching a rate of >25%. The recycling rate plateaus at exactly the same time as incineration comes on stream. Evidence demonstrates that improvements to recycling rates can become more difficult when incineration becomes available. Whilst further reductions and improvements to recycling in Wales will be more challenging, the WAG’s track record of focused proactive political and policy support shows what can be achieved when there is suitable political will. The WAG has demonstrated that it tends to deliver on its waste-related plans, and it clearly has the best chance of any of the UK’s four countries of achieving its aims.

A Review of Environmental and Economic Implications of Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle—Part One: Wastes and Environmental Impacts

Globally, around half a million tonnes of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) will be in dry or wet storage by around 2050. Continued storage is not sustainable, and this SNF must eventually either be disposed (the open nuclear fuel cycle) or recycled (the closed fuel cycle). Many international studies have addressed the advantages and disadvantages of these options. To inform this debate, a detailed survey of the available literature related to environmental assessments of closed and open cycles has been undertaken. Environmental impacts are one of the three pillars that, alongside economic and societal impacts, must be considered for sustainable development. The aims are to provide a critical review of the open literature in order to determine what generic conclusions can be drawn from the broad base of international studies. This review covers the results of life cycle assessments and studies on waste arisings, showing how the management of spent fuels in the open and closed cycles impact the environment, including the use of natural resources, radioactive waste characteristics (heat loading, radiotoxicity and volume) and the size of the geological repository. In the framework of sustainable development, the next part of this review will consider economic impacts.

Radioactive waste management in the UAE: Proposal for an inventory management system

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently heavily reliant on the burning of fossil-fuels to generate most of its electric power needs. Owing to the newly set 2050 vision in combating climate change, the UAE has set an objective to considerably reduce its carbon footprint associated with power generation facilities. This vision materialized in the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) project, marking the first peaceful civil nuclear power plant in the Arab world. Nuclear power generates radioactive waste. In the UAE, the government's policy is to institute a safe and permanent geological disposal facility (GDF) for the final disposal of higher activity radioactive wastes (HAW). Currently, the UAE does not have a comprehensive radioactive waste inventory database on which an effective management strategy can be built on. Having a comprehensive radioactive waste data collection system will enable the UAE to not only address international reporting commitments, but also provide a transparent record of radioactive waste, which might assist in providing further public assurances. Additionally, the database will provide essential data that will support strategy development, and early waste management planning. It is not possible for the UAE to have an effective radioactive waste management strategy without implementing a system that correctly and accurately defines, records and presents radioactive waste arisings from its nuclear energy program. This paper reviews the overall radioactive waste scene in the UAE and provides a suggestion with regards to a new radioactive waste inventory management system that is based on international best practices.

Re-assessing global municipal solid waste generation.

This study contributes to estimate the total waste generated at global level. A few studies have provided an efficient and comprehensive global estimate. However, data reporting is globally inconsistent due to varying interpretation of terminology, lacking standardised categories and varying methodologies used to observe and measure waste amounts. This study employs regression analysis and material flow analysis approaches to ensure a cross-comparability of waste generation data. The result implies that total global waste arisings are around 20 billion tonnes in 2017. This corresponds to 2.63 tonnes of total waste per capita (cap) per year. The total global waste generated is expected to grow to 46 billion tonnes by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a much smaller amount, ranging from 2.3 to 3.1 billion tonnes (average of 2.7 billion tonnes) in 2019. This figure reflects an increase of between 30% and 50% in MSW generated during the last 15 years (2004-2019). MSW generated is expected to grow to 2.89-4.54 billion tonnes by 2050, depending on which assumptions are used. This represents a 26%-45% increase compared to 2019. The overall assessment in this study reveals that almost one-third of the total MSW generated is not collected, and most of what is collected is not treated accordingly to current ideas of sound management. Moreover, almost 42% of MSW goes to open dumping or uncontrolled burning. The finding provides valuable insight for policymakers to design and assess circular economy policy instruments towards achieving sustainable development goals.

Managed pathways for CO2 mineralisation: analogy with nature and potential contribution to CCUS-led reduction targets.

The managed mineralisation of CO2 on mineral substrates has significant potential to mitigate CO2 emissions to atmosphere, using processes that are analogous to the formation of limestone in nature. High-temperatures and pressures or ambient conditions can be applied in processes that compare with the natural chemical, hydrothermal or biological formation of limestone. In the UK, recent policy developments recognise the potential of carbon utilisation and a reduction target of 40 Mt by 2030 has been set. In the present work, the analogies between natural and managed carbonate-production are briefly reviewed and the potential gains for mineralisation technology employing flue-gas as a direct source of CO2 are presented. With reference to selected UK solid waste arisings, our high-level analysis indicates mineralisation is capable of permanently sequestrating 1.2 Mt per year of CO2 in carbonated construction products. At a European level, nearly 7.8 Mt of CO2 can be managed in the same way. If indicative indirect CO2 savings are also considered, maximum total CO2 reductions of up to 3 and 30 Mt per year are possible in the UK and Europe, respectively. In respect of the UK's CCUS-led CO2 reductions for the 8 years to 2030, our high-level assessment suggests that up to 24 Mt, representing 60% of the 'target', may be met by the mineralisation of selected industrial process residues.

How circular are plastics in the EU?: MFA of plastics in the EU and pathways to circularity

Plastic is valued for its versatility, but concerns have been raised over the environmental impacts of mismanaged plastic waste. A better understanding of plastic flows can help to identify areas of inefficiency and potential leakage to natural systems. This research provides an overview of plastic flows in the EU and discusses options to increase plastic circularity. The study conducted a comprehensive stationary material flow analysis covering over 400 categories of plastic-containing products with detailed analysis of the final destination of waste. The results show the relevance of the EU plastic sector with production of over 66 MT of plastic polymers/fibres and an estimated consumption for plastic products of 73 MT in 2016. Plastic waste arisings amounted to over 37 MT and, though increasing plastic recycling rates have been reported, the analysis shows that a significant amount of plastic waste was not returned to production in the EU. The uncertainty analysis highlights important data quality issues that need to be addressed, particularly: data on the plastic fraction in plastic-containing products, and data on the final destination of plastic waste. Building on the analysis, the paper discusses a number of strategies for re-directing the plastic system to more circular pathways.

Strategic Study of Thermal Treatment of European Radioactive Wastes

Under Work Package 2 (WP2) of THERAMIN, strategic reviews of thermal treatment technologies and European radioactive waste streams for which thermal treatment could bring benefits have been undertaken. This paper presents the outcomes of an international review of inventory information concerning European wastes potentially suitable for thermal treatment, a review of thermal treatment technologies, and a strategic gap analysis to identify countries where there are significant waste arisings with potential benefits for thermal treatment, but little prospect of these countries developing thermal treatment facilities independently.

An evaluation of the management of offensive waste from the National Health Service in England: A case study approach.

In the UK, the majority of offensive waste is disposed of at landfills. However, producers have a duty of care under the Waste Hierarchy to divert waste away from landfill. Using case studies from the East of England, the East Midlands and West Midlands in England, this study sought to quantify the waste arisings disposed of to landfill and to understand the reasons why. The findings show that offensive waste arisings, treatment method and costs varied by region, only a fraction of the waste disposed of to landfill in the East of England, compared with the majority being disposed of to landfill in the East Midlands and West Midlands. Despite the financial implications of landfilling being the lowest cost per tonne option, the key barriers to moving away from disposal to landfill was a lack of available alternatives, and it being the only option offered by the waste contractor.

Estimating the Generation of Garden Waste in England and the Differences between Rural and Urban Areas

Garden waste arising from private households represents a major component of the biodegradable municipal waste stream. To design effective waste valorisation schemes, detailed information about garden waste is a prerequisite. While the biochemical composition of this material is well documented, there is a lack of knowledge regarding both the quantities arising, and quantities entering the services operated by waste management authorities. This work studied the quantities of garden waste arisings at urban and rural households along with the disposal methods used. A door-to-door interview survey, an analysis of kerbside collections of garden waste, and an assessment of materials brought by citizens to a waste recycling site were carried out in Hampshire, UK. If extrapolated nationally, the results indicate that households in England produce an average of 0.79 kg of garden waste per day, or 288 kg per year. On a per capita basis, this corresponds to an annual arising of 120 kg per person, out of which around 70% enters the collection schemes of the waste management authorities. The quantity generated by rural and urban households differed substantially, with rural households producing 1.96 ± 1.35 kg per day and urban households 0.64 ± 0.46 kg per day. Rural households adopted self-sufficient methods of garden waste management such as home composting or backyard burning to a much greater extent compared with urban households. Less than half of the generated rural garden waste entered services operated by the waste collection authorities, while urban households strongly relied on these services. A detailed breakdown of the disposal routes chosen by urban and rural householders can support authorities in tailoring more effective waste management schemes.

Evaluating 22 EU member states’ ‘waste culture’ using Hofstede’s and Schwartz’s cultural dimensions

ABSTRACTThe issue of municipal solid waste (MSW) arisings has received great attention recently since it is not only a by-product of economic activity but also serves as an input to the economy through material or energy recovery. The main focus of this study is cultural formation and especially the current picture of waste culture and public perception across European Union (EU) member states. Thus, this study will first evaluate environmental efficiency with data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on five parameters: waste, gross domestic product (GDP), labour, capital, and population density for 22 EU Member States and for the years 2005, 2010 and 2015 in order to evaluate which Member States are more efficient. Then the efficiency results are contrasted to Hofstede’s and Schwartz’s cultural dimensions on STATA with the use of regression modelling. Results show that for year 2005 no significant relationship is noticed for both cultural models, whereas for years 2010 and 2015 there appears to be a significant connection. The above-mentioned findings can be associated with the financial crisis that has hit Europe after 2008 making people more sceptical, while EU legislations have laid out some important directives in the field of waste management. Finally, along with the factors above, EU has faced severe environmental challenges due to waste arisings, as well as accidents and injuries for people working in this sector, which in turn have widely modified EU’s waste culture as supported by this study’s results.

A waste generation input output analysis: The case of Spain

In December 2015 the European Commission adopted the Circular Economy Package that includes legislative proposals on waste as well as long-term targets to reduce landfilling and increase recycling and reuse. A detailed and comprehensive accounting of waste arisings forms the quantitative basis for designing adequate policy instruments for a Circular Economy. The aim of this paper is to estimate total waste generation throughout the supply chain in Spain by applying an input-output based hybrid Life Cycle Assessment model. Both the waste generated by direct suppliers and indirect suppliers (that is, suppliers to suppliers) are estimated. The results show that there is high concentrations in total waste generation both in terms of sectors and waste types so the government should concentrate its waste prevention strategy on those sectors and types of waste that have a higher impact on total waste generation.

SWIMS: A dynamic life cycle-based optimisation and decision support tool for solid waste management

Abstract Solid waste management (SWM) decision makers are under increasing pressure to implement strategies that are both cost effective and environmentally sound. Consequently, SWM has developed into a highly complex systemic planning problem and analytical tools are needed to assist in the development of more sustainable SWM strategies. Here, we present the Solid Waste Infrastructure Modelling System (SWIMS) software, which is the first non-linear dynamic, LCA-based optimisation tool for SWM that optimises for both economic and environmental performance. The environmental and economic costs of treating generated wastes at available treatment facilities are calculated through a series of life cycle process models, based on non-linear expressions defined for each waste material and each treatment process type. Possible treatment paths for waste streams are identified using a depth first search algorithm and a sequential evolutionary genetic algorithm is used to prioritise the order of these paths, in lieu of user defined optimisation criteria and constraints. SWIMS calculates waste arisings into the future and determines if it is possible to treat generated waste, while considering present and future constraints (e.g. capacity). If additional capacity is required, SWIMS will identify the optimum infrastructure solution to meet this capacity demand. A demonstrative case study of MSW management in GB from 2010 to 2050 is presented. Results suggest that sufficient capacity is available in existing and planned infrastructure to cope with future demand for SWM and meet national regulatory and legislative requirements with relatively little capital investment beyond 2020. SWIMS can be used to provide valuable information for SWM decision makers, particularly when used to analyse the effects of possible future national or regional policies.

Costs associated with the management of waste from healthcare facilities: An analysis at national and site level.

Given rising spend on the provision of healthcare services, the sustainable management of waste from healthcare facilities is increasingly becoming a focus as a means of reducing public health risks and financial costs. Using data on per capita healthcare spend at the national level, as well as a case study of a hospital in Italy, this study examined the relationship between trends in waste generation and the associated costs of managing the waste. At the national level, healthcare spend as a percentage of gross domestic product positively correlated with waste arisings. At the site level, waste generation and type were linked to department type and clinical performance, with the top three highest generating departments of hazardous healthcare waste being anaesthetics (5.96 kg day-1 bed-1), paediatric and intensive care (3.37 kg day-1 bed-1) and gastroenterology-digestive endoscopy (3.09 kg day-1 bed-1). Annual overall waste management costs were $US5,079,191, or approximately $US2.36 kg-1, with the management of the hazardous fraction of the waste being highest at $US3,707,939. In Italy, reduction in both waste arisings and the associated costs could be realised through various means, including improved waste segregation, and linking the TARI tax to waste generation.

In Situ Resource Recovery from Waste Repositories: Exploring the Potential for Mobilization and Capture of Metals from Anthropogenic Ores

Wastes and the waste repositories in which they reside are becoming targets for resource recovery, both for legacy wastes and for future waste arisings as part of a desire to move toward a circular economy. There is an urgent requirement to explore concepts for practicable technologies that can be applied to these ends. This paper presents a synthesis of concepts concerning in situ technologies (developed from mining and contaminated land remediation industries) that have enormous potential for application to technospheric mining. Furthermore, potential target waste streams and their mineralogy and character are presented along with a discussion concerning lixiviant and metal capture systems that could be applied. Issues of preferential flow (critical to the success of in situ techniques) and how to control it with engineering measures are discussed in detail. It is clear that in situ recovery of metals from anthropogenic ores is a novel technology area that links new sustainable remediation approaches for contaminated materials and technospheric mining for closing material loops, and warrants the further research and development of technologies applicable to major waste streams.

Assessment of health-care waste management in a humanitarian crisis: A case study of the Gaza Strip

Health-care waste management requires technical, financial and human resources, and it is a challenge for low- and middle income countries, while it is often neglected in protracted crisis or emergency situations. Indeed, when health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community is threatened, solid waste management usually receives limited attention.Using the Gaza Strip as the case study region, this manuscript reports on health-care waste management within the context of a humanitarian crisis. The study employed a range of methods including content analyses of policies and legislation, audits of waste arisings, field visits, stakeholder interviews and evaluation of treatment systems. The study estimated a production from clinics and hospitals of 683kg/day of hazardous waste in the Gaza Strip, while the total health-care waste production was 3357 kg/day. A number of challenges was identified including lack of clear definitions and regulations, limited accurate data on which to base decisions and strategies and poor coordination amongst key stakeholders. Hazardous and non-hazardous waste was partially segregated and treatment facilities hardly used, and 75% of the hazardous waste was left untreated. Recommendations for mitigating these challenges posed to patients, staff and the community in general are suggested. The outputs are particularly useful to support decision makers, and re-organize the system according to reliable data and sound assumptions. The methodology can be replicated in other humanitarian settings, also to other waste flows, and other sectors of environmental sanitation.

The UK waste input-output table: Linking waste generation to the UK economy.

In order to achieve a circular economy, there must be a greater understanding of the links between economic activity and waste generation. This study introduces the first version of the UK waste input-output table that could be used to quantify both direct and indirect waste arisings across the supply chain. The proposed waste input-output table features 21 industrial sectors and 34 waste types and is for the 2010 time-period. Using the waste input-output table, the study results quantitatively confirm that sectors with a long supply chain (i.e. manufacturing and services sectors) have higher indirect waste generation rates compared with industrial primary sectors (e.g. mining and quarrying) and sectors with a shorter supply chain (e.g. construction). Results also reveal that the construction, mining and quarrying sectors have the highest waste generation rates, 742 and 694 tonne per £1m of final demand, respectively. Owing to the aggregated format of the first version of the waste input-output, the model does not address the relationship between waste generation and recycling activities. Therefore, an updated version of the waste input-output table is expected be developed considering this issue. Consequently, the expanded model would lead to a better understanding of waste and resource flows in the supply chain.

Towards recycling and waste reduction in Mohammedia, Morocco

Like all municipalities, the city of Mohammedia has to bear a significant cost for the treatment of its waste. In all, €2·72 million has been spent on the collection and processing of 78 608 t of household and similar waste produced in 2013. The urban commune of Mohammedia, which has a daily waste production of 0·807 kg per capita, has been trying to reduce waste production by upstream sorting and recovery; whereas waste reduction is only possible at the source. Treatment processes only could reduce the amount of waste that has to be disposed of. A study of the waste arisings through characterisation of the household waste produced by the city of Mohammedia enabled to know how much waste is generated, how much waste is recyclable, the percentage of fermentable organic materials, the percentage of non-recyclable materials and the estimated cost of disposal of such waste.