Waste Hierarchy Research Articles

Environmental policies for drinks packaging in Georgia: A mini-review of EPR policies with a focus on incentive compatibility.

The paper investigates various approaches to an environmental policy regarding drinks containers in Georgia. Currently, most of the waste containers are landfilled or pollute the environment through littering, and separate collection and recycling of drinks containers are almost nonexistent. The Association Agreement with the EU, which entered into force in July 2016, stipulates the development of up-to-date waste management activities in this transition country. In accordance with the legal framework, this mini-review proposes an EPR policy for Georgia, based on the waste hierarchy. Various approaches for such an EPR policy are reviewed as regards their feasibility for a transition country, but in particular with regard to incentive compatibility: the policy should guide producers and consumers to comply with the regulations. Some cost estimates demonstrate the financial feasibility of the recommended solution. Practical experiences from Austria, Bulgaria, France and Germany provide a European context.

Multi-objective Waste Network Flow Identification Model Based on Economic and Environmental Aspects

Waste management demands continuous enhancement of existing infrastructure in terms of newly designed facilities which have a lesser impact on the environment. The transportation of waste and its further treatment in the facility should be optimised according to the cost and environment policy. The future planning of new facilities and transportation routes require complex information about current state of the waste operation activities. The legislation of the Czech Republic (also other countries with well-developed waste management) forces waste operators to register production, treatment and handling of waste. Such an information, stored in large databases, provide authorities with at least basic knowledge about the waste flows in the area. Additionally, the annual data reporting decreases the information about producers’ waste flow due to the aggregation, inconsistency and/or inaccuracy (low quality of reported data). This paper presents an approach for flow and treatment identification based on the combination of data reconciliation with economic and environmental aspects. The approach uses mathematical programming techniques for identifying errors in the database with regards to the network flow preserving continuity and balances between and in the nodes. The objective is to make the amount of produced and delivered waste to each node equal to the amount that was there processed or removed. This is required with the minimum modification of the input data. Weights are introduced to distinguish high and low-quality data by assigning bigger values to arcs where sent amount correspond with quantity received. The results of this analysis provide an assessment of current waste handling for the particular node, which forms an essential information for future planning of processing facilities and their technologies. The multi-objective model considers environmental aspects as relations between treatment options and transportation distances (cost). Longer transportation distances are tolerated for higher treatment options in the waste hierarchy. The presented model has been tested through a case study on the database of waste management in the Czech Republic. The network was considered on the regional level. However, any commodity, which is included in supply chain models and has a reporting obligation, can be handled in a similar way. Further research might be focused on possible extensions such as influence from stakeholders in decision-making which provides proved flow inputs.

European Plastics Strategy: What promise for global marine litter?

This note explores the EU's Plastics Strategy as a policy document by considering its implications for the environment, with a particular focus on marine ecosystems. The strategy anticipates a set of concrete, mostly regulatory, measures across multiple economic sectors. By shifting from a linear model, with its constant leakages of waste into natural systems, to the circular one, the EU demonstrates a decisive ambition in changing the course of the plastics treatment around the world and addressing global marine litter. Despite being an EU internal document, the strategy is likely to stimulate more rigorous approaches of individual countries, influence the global policy processes that address marine litter and create a transformation across supply chains. The challenge in the circular model is to not divert from the legal commitment to the waste hierarchy.

Identification and modelling of risk factors for food waste generation in school and pre-school catering units

Public sector food service is a major contributor to food waste generation in Sweden, with schools, pre-schools, elderly care homes, hospitals etc., producing approximately 70,000 tons of food waste each year. Sweden has appropriate infrastructure for handling food waste in place, recycling nutrients and energy, but there is still great potential to move upwards in the waste hierarchy and prevent waste. An important step in designing waste reduction measures is to identify and quantify the importance of different risk factors, in order to start by solving the problems with the greatest potential benefit and the lowest cost. This study sought to identify and quantify risk factors for food waste generation in public sector canteens by correlation analyses and statistical modelling. The empirical material comprised food waste quantification data for 177 kitchens in the Swedish municipalities of Falun, Malmö, Sala, Uppsala and Örebro, supplemented with quantifiable information about the kitchens obtained using a questionnaire. According to the findings, plate waste in schools and pre-schools increases with children's age. Schools with older children could potentially reduce plate waste by introducing more structured lunch breaks. Plate waste also increases with dining hall capacity, potentially due to rising stress and noise levels. Both plate waste and serving waste increase with greater overproduction, as indicated by calculated portion size, and could be reduced by schools and pre-schools estimating their daily number of diners and their diners’ food intake more accurately. As serving waste was significantly higher in satellite units (which bring in cooked food), due to lack of cooling and storage possibilities, than in production units (which cook, serve and sometimes deliver hot food), satellite units in particular would benefit from more accurate quantification of the food required on a daily basis. These findings were confirmed by multiple linear regression models, which explained >85% of the variation in plate, serving and total waste per portion. When used for quantification after changing the value of different factors, these models confirmed that the main factors influencing serving waste and total waste per portion were type of kitchen and rate of overproduction, while plate waste was mainly influenced by children’s age and factors indicating a stressful dining environment.

A Systems Approach To Secure Food, Good Health And A Healthy Environment

Urban areas are hot spots of consumption of products and disposal of waste. Societies have focused on access to food and goods, but today urbanisation forces them to engage in managing waste flows. In particular, to allow safe recovery and recycling of nutrients for agricultural usage in order to feed us all. Recycling presupposes reduction of harmful chemical substances and pathogens in waste in order to secure public and environmental health. Here, a five-step extended waste hierarchy is introduced to guide measures to be taken to reduce waste generation and to increase reuse and recycling. For instance, by substituting the mined phosphorus (P) in detergents and P in food and feed additives and reduce food waste over 40 % of currently used mined P can be saved. Another 15 to 30% can be recovered through reuse and recycling of solid and liquid organic waste. Such measures will make P almost limitless. Simultaneously, the secured food production will lead to reduced malnutrition and, together with a cleaner environment, to improved public health.

A Systems Approach To Secure Food, Good Health And A Healthy Environment

Urban areas are hot spots of consumption of products and disposal of waste. Societies have focused on access to food and goods, but today urbanisation forces them to engage in managing waste flows. In particular, to allow safe recovery and recycling of nutrients for agricultural usage in order to feed us all. Recycling presupposes reduction of harmful chemical substances and pathogens in waste in order to secure public and environmental health. Here, a five-step extended waste hierarchy is introduced to guide measures to be taken to reduce waste generation and to increase reuse and recycling. For instance, by substituting the mined phosphorus (P) in detergents and P in food and feed additives and reduce food waste over 40 % of currently used mined P can be saved. Another 15 to 30% can be recovered through reuse and recycling of solid and liquid organic waste. Such measures will make P almost limitless. Simultaneously, the secured food production will lead to reduced malnutrition and, together with a cleaner environment, to improved public health.

Novel approach to quantify municipal solid waste management hierarchy based on analytical hierarchy process

A novel approach to quantify and apply the municipal solid waste management hierarchy is presented in this study. In this study, weights were assigned to the treatment methods using the analytical hierarchy process. The consistency ratio was found to be within the allowable range (0.10), indicating that weights assigned met the requirements of the analytical hierarchy process. The assigned weights for the municipal solid waste hierarchy treatment methods were prevention = 0.44, reduction/minimization = 0.27, reuse = 0.12, recycle = 0.08, incineration = 0.05, and landfilling = 0.04. The highest benefits were derived when all the treatment methods in the municipal solid waste hierarchy were applied based on the optimum weights generated by the analytical hierarchy process. It was, however, observed that a combination of reduction/minimization, reuse and recycling, was more effective and beneficial. Also, selecting only one treatment method gave the least benefits except for reduction/minimization. Also, applying up to two treatment methods yielded much benefit in some instances compared to a combination of three. When the proposed model was applied to data obtained from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly in Ghana on population and total municipal solid waste received at selected landfill sites over a period of 7 years, it proved to be ultimately effective. The developed municipal solid waste hierarchy model equations, when properly applied will ensure sustainable treatment and provide for the exploitation of municipal solid waste resources. It is therefore a new promising module for effective planning, decision making, and sustainable municipal solid waste management.

Waste policies gone soft: An analysis of European and Swedish waste prevention plans

This paper presents an analysis of European and Swedish national and municipal waste prevention plans to determine their capability of preventing the generation of waste. An analysis of the stated objectives in these waste prevention plans and the measures they propose to realize them exposes six problematic features: (1) These plans ignore what drives waste generation, such as consumption, and (2) rely as much on conventional waste management goals as they do on goals with the aim of preventing the generation of waste at the source. The Swedish national and local plans (3) focus on small waste streams, such as food waste, rather than large ones, such as industrial and commercial waste. Suggested waste prevention measures at all levels are (4) soft rather than constraining, for example, these plans focus on information campaigns rather than taxes and bans, and (5) not clearly connected to incentives and consequences for the actors involved. The responsibility for waste prevention has been (6) entrusted to non-governmental actors in the market such as companies that are then free to define which proposals suit them best rather than their being guided by planners. For improved waste prevention regulation, two strategies are proposed. First, focus primarily not on household-related waste, but on consumption and production of products with high environmental impact and toxicity as waste. Second, remove waste prevention from the waste hierarchy to make clear that, by definition, waste prevention is not about the management of waste.

Is there an environmentally optimal separate collection rate?

Material recycling often leads to environmental benefits when compared to thermal treatments or landfilling and is therefore positioned in the waste hierarchy as the third priority after waste prevention and reuse. To assess the environmental impacts of recycling and the related substitution of primary material, linear steady-state models of physical flows are typically used. In reality, the environmental burdens of collection and recycling are likely to be a non-linear function of the collection rate. This short communication aims at raising awareness of the non-linear effects in separate collection systems and presents the first non-linear quantitative model for PET bottle recycling. The influence of collection rates on the material quality and the transport network is analyzed based on the data collected from industrial partners. The results highlight that in the present Swiss recycling system a very high collection rate close to 100% yields optimum environmental benefits with respect to global warming. The empirical data, however, provided indications for a decrease in the marginal environmental benefit of recycling. This can be seen as an indication that tipping points may exist for other recycling systems, in which the environmental benefits from substituting primary materials are less pronounced than they are for PET.

Extending the European Union Waste Hierarchy to Guide Nutrient-Effective Urban Sanitation toward Global Food Security—Opportunities for Phosphorus Recovery

With growing urbanization cities become hotspots for nutrients. Food items are imported and food residues, including excreta and not-eaten food, are often exported to landfill sites and water bodies. However, urban sanitation systems can be designed to achieve a high degree of nutrient recovery and food security while counteracting current nutrient resources depletion, environmental degradation and wasteful energy use. This article illustrates how an extended solid waste hierarchy also including human excreta and wastewater can guide actions to save and recover phosphorus (P) by the three sectors: food industry, households, and waste utilities. P use in diets and agricultural production is not part of the analysis, despite the potential to save P. Novel systems thinking and material flow analysis show that waste prevention can replace over 40 % of mined P presently used for making fertilisers. Reuse and recycling of P in excreta and food waste can replace another 15 – 30%, depending on P-efficiency from mine to plate. Keeping excreta separated from other wastewater facilitates such measure. Incineration and land filling are deemed the least appropriate measures since mainly P is recovered in the ashes. The European Union waste management policy is analysed for real barriers and opportunities for this approach. The EU Parliament policy guidelines were watered down in the EU Commission’s Directives and today most bio waste is still being landfilled or incinerated instead of recovered. An anticipated overcapacity of incineration plants in Europe threatens to attract all combustible material and therefore, irrevocably, reduce nutrient recovery. On the other hand, reduced generation and enhanced recovery can delay exhaustion of P resources by several centuries and, simultaneously reduce environmental degradation.

No zero burden assumption in a circular economy

Abstract A majority of previous studies on environmental problems caused by waste generation have focused on waste disposal issues without fully highlighting the primary reasons behind the problems. As a consequence, efforts to reduce these problems are usually directed towards the stakeholders that provide waste treatment and disposal instead of the stakeholders that contribute to waste generation. In order to detect connections between different problems of sustainability and to suggest measures which may contribute to their solutions, this study provides a simplified overview of the mechanisms behind waste generation and management. The results from the study show that the only way to eliminate problems of sustainability is to apply an upstream approach by dealing with the primary problems which occur in the early stages of the system (e.g. overconsumption of products, as well as use of finite resources, toxic materials, and non-recyclable materials). By dealing with these problems, the emergence of secondary problems would be prevented. Thereby, stakeholders who have the highest possibility to contribute to the sustainable development of the waste generation and management are the stakeholders from the origin of the product's life cycles, such as product developers, manufacturing companies, product users and policy makers. Different trade-off situations such as contradictions between economics, recyclability, energy efficiency, make it even harder to deal with issues of sustainability related to the system and to detect the stakeholders who may contribute to the development. One of the main conclusions from this study is that when transforming society towards a circular economy, the traditional view of separate systems for production and waste management must be changed. In order to refer to all problems of sustainability and also cover the top steps of the waste hierarchy, life cycle assessment of waste management should include manufacture and use of products ending up as waste. Waste entering the waste management system with “zero burden”, by releasing the previous actors of the waste life cycle from any responsibility related to the environment (i.e. by shifting the total environmental burden into the waste management system), does not capture the problems with waste generation.

Briefing: Waste management techniques and environmental solutions – a significant association

This briefing article presents the waste issues and concerns from a broader environmental perspective. In doing so, the briefing demonstrates a significant and complex relationship between environmental solutions and waste management techniques. Shedding light on such an association enables the author to argue about current dominant waste management solutions (recycling and recovery) and other technological solutions – rethinking problems rather than solving them. Simultaneously, the reader is directed towards the importance of reuse, which is currently overshadowed in the waste hierarchy by the term ‘preparing-for-reuse’.

Profit, reputation and ‘doing the right thing’: Convention theory and the problem of food waste in the UK retail sector

In 2014, Tesco – one of the world’s largest food retailers – revealed that it had generated almost 57,000 tonnes of food waste in its UK operations over the previous twelve-month period. This shocking statistic added to existing evidence of a significant environmental and social problem in the UK and across the world. This paper utilises convention theory to examine the role of major retailers in the context of this global problem and assesses their motivations for acting on food waste. Drawing on interviews with key stakeholders (including major retailers), the analysis investigates their main justifications for action on food waste. It finds that retailers mostly appealed to three conventions or ‘orders of worth’ (civic, market and opinion) and used these as a basis for their commitment to food waste reduction. We argue that the combination of these different justifications is feasible and necessary in the context of the retail sector but that they may also lead to some unintended consequences (in the retail sector and beyond). Crucially, we demonstrate how the dilution of civic justifications (by their financial and reputational counterparts) might produce negative outcomes and inaction as retailers attempt to adhere to the so-called ‘food waste hierarchy’. The paper highlights the continuing significance of convention theory as a framework for analysing possible responses to the social and environmental challenges confronting global agro-food systems.

From Waste Management to Component Management in the Construction Industry

The construction industry uses more resources and produces more waste than any other industrial sector; sustainable development depends on the reduction of both, while providing for a growing global population. The reuse of existing building components could support this goal. However, it is difficult to reclaim components from demolition, and materials remain cheap compared with labour, so new approaches are needed for reuse to be implemented beyond niche projects. This study therefore reviews waste interventions. Multiple case studies, spanning new builds and refurbishment, were undertaken to examine systemic mechanisms that lead to components being discarded. Evidence from fieldwork observations, waste documentation, and interviews indicates that the generators of unwanted components effectively decide their fate, and a failure to identify components in advance, uncertainty over usefulness, the perception of cost and programme risk in reclamation, and the preferential order of the waste hierarchy mean that the decision to discard to waste management goes unchallenged. A triage process is proposed to capture timely information about existing building components to be discarded, make this information visible to a wide community, and determine usefulness by focusing creativity already present in the industry on an exhaustive examination of component reusability and upcyclability.

The application of biomass ashes in sewage sludge management – a SWOT analysis

Biomass plays an important role amongst renewable energy sources and for this reason, it is sometimes called as “future fuel”. According to different statistics, the share of biomass in renewable energy production is in excess of 50% and rising. The main disadvantage of biomass combustion in power plants is the production of combustion by-products, namely fly and bottom ash. In line with the sustainable development and waste hierarchy, biomass combustion by-products should be managed in different sectors of economy. Due to the specific properties, biomass ash might be applied as an effective reagent in sewage sludge management. This article shows the SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) associated with the use of biomass combustion by-products in sewage sludge treatment. The presented analysis could constitute the initial stage in implementation of new method in a big way in treatment plants.

IN THE SEARCH FOR EFFECTIVE WASTE POLICY: ALIGNMENT OF UK WASTE STRATEGY WITH THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Over-consumption within a linear economy has been recognised internationally as a barrier to sustainability and a major cause of environmental degradation and economic disparity. To address these issues, the transition towards a circular economy (CE) has been advocated. A broad resource efficiency concept, the CE seeks to reduce consumption, encourages the reuse and recycling of materials and products, and encompasses the three pillars of sustainable development; economic prosperity, environmental protection, and social equity. Efforts to implement the CE have seen the introduction of various hierarchies that prioritise the implementation of R-imperatives (such as the ‘3Rs’ of reduce, reuse, recycle). One such example is the waste hierarchy, originally introduced to encourage sustainable waste management and more recently reiterated by the EU Circular Economy Package as a means to stimulate the transition to the CE. Following the development of a CE Framework, this study presents a content analysis of the waste strategies of the four devolved nations of the United Kingdom. Key differences and similarities in the strategies of the four devolved nations are identified and discussed in light of CE aims, core concepts and principles (with particular focus on promotion of the waste hierarchy), enablers, and stakeholder engagement, where Scotland and Wales were found to have the most progressive strategies. This study also considers the potential impact of Brexit, where it is recommended an overarching UK-wide strategy that provides consistent and collaborative long-term objectives is required to replace the overarching objectives previously supplied by the EU policy.

Perspectives for application of the internet of things and big data analytics on end of life aircraft treatment

Recycling and advanced management of the aircraft at the end of life (EoL) is a novel challenge in the aviation industry. The new paradigm of the internet of things (IoT), Industry 4.0 and big data analytics in the logistics and operation management have a considerable impact on the sustainability of EoL aircraft treatment. This paper aims to highlight the role of IoT and big data analytics in the future of EoL aircraft management based on the waste hierarchy approach. Strategy, architecture, and infrastructure of IoT enabled EoL treatment is proposed, and an empirical study based on secondary data is provided to show the application. This study confirms the merits of using IoT and big data analytics to improve EoL aircraft treatment process in sustainability and performance.

What a waste [recycling

Most primary school children know all about the waste hierarchy: reduce, reuse, recycle, says Dr Christine Cole, an academic from Nottingham Trent University who researches what happens to the stuff the UK throws may However, we've been misled into thinking recycling is the most important part. We shouldn't just be focusing on recycling, because that's just midway down the waste hierarchy. We should really be focusing on prevention at source.

Prioritizing and optimizing sustainable measures for food waste prevention and management

Food waste has gained prominence in the European political debate thanks to the recent Circular Economy package. Currently the waste hierarchy, introduced by the Waste Framework Directive, has been the rule followed to prioritize food waste prevention and management measures according to the environmental criteria. But when considering other criteria along with the environmental one, such as the economic, other tools are needed for the prioritization and optimization. This paper addresses the situation in which a decision-maker has to design a food waste prevention programme considering the limited economic resources in order to achieve the highest environmental impact prevention along the whole food life cycle. A methodology using Life Cycle Assessment and mathematical programing is proposed and its capabilities are shown through a case study. Results show that the order established in the waste hierarchy is generally followed. The proposed methodology revealed to be especially helpful in identifying “quick wins” – measures that should be always prioritized since they avoid a high environmental impact at a low cost. Besides, in order to aggregate the environmental scores related to a variety of impact categories, different weighting sets were proposed. In general, results show that the relevance of the weighting set in the prioritization of the measures appears to be limited. Finally, the correlation between reducing food waste generation and reducing environmental impact along the Food Supply Chain has been studied. Results highlight that when planning food waste prevention strategies, it is important to set the targets at the level of environmental impact instead of setting the targets at the level of avoided food waste generation (in mass).

Contribution of ‘Real Nappies for London’ to local authority waste prevention – 2012–2016

To help prevent disposable nappy (DN) solid waste, the ‘Women's Environmental Network’ (WEN) developed the 'Real Nappies for London' (RNfL) scheme. In partnership with Local Authorities (LA), RNfL promotes the use of real nappies (RN) within 9 Boroughs of London, preventing the use of 4,290 DNs per child, from new born to 2.5 years of age. The scheme issued a voucher to residents who registered, redeemable for the average value of £45 against the purchase of RN products. Over a period of 4 years from 2012 to 2016 RNfL issued 4,192 vouchers, of which 3,188 were redeemed, resulting in 3,145 tonnes of DN waste prevention. The 2012-2016 performance equated to a combined LA saving of £320,791 based on an average landfill tax of £84/t and disposal cost of £18/t across LAs in England. Cost to Las for RNfL voucher processing is £28,690(£9/voucher), achieving a cost effective ratio of 1:11. RNs are a valuable waste prevention tool working at the top of the waste hierarchy, in LAs. The resident network, built by the RNfL scheme, also provides a channel for LAs to communicate important waste messages to residents at low to no cost.