Waste Management & Research最新文献

This article aims to identify how project management can enable the introduction of circular economy (CE) in agribusiness. The methodological strategy used was the systematic literature review. The research corpus consisted of 70 articles selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. For screening, the Rayyan platform was used, and the analysis process was carried out by categorization and grouping of terms and concepts with the help of Excel software. The evidence shown the efforts to reduce agro-waste and how to transform them into by-products. Barriers, challenges, benefits and opportunities for making the CE viable in agribusiness are presented. Three ways of projecting the CE in agribusiness are identified: (1) project management processes in the integration of the CE in agribusiness, (2) innovative projects and new business models as drivers of the CE in agribusiness and (3) 4.0 technologies integrating the CE in agribusiness based on project management methodologies. Results are limited to terms used in search mechanisms. This research contributes towards identifying project management processes that can enable the CE in agribusiness, particularly by identifying the impacts of the CE in different business areas. The research also contributes in a practical way by providing insights on ways to make the CE viable in agribusiness through project management.

Iron ore tailings (IOTs) need to be properly managed to mitigate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of mining activities. To cope with this issue, we use data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate alternatives for using IOT in the construction sector. The classical and weight restriction output-oriented DEA models were used in this analysis. The results show that the ranking of alternatives depends on the aspect being evaluated. Concrete block is the most environmentally friendly alternative when analysing both models. For both social and economic aspects, ceramics produced better results in the classical model, whereas Portland cement showed better outcomes in the weight restriction model. In this sense, the results suggest great potential for the use of IOT in the construction sector, enabling the reduction of risks and social and environmental impacts of tailings dams.

Waste management has been developing in response to needs. The need to get rid of unwanted materials has always been a motivation but using the resource value of waste has also been a driver from the stone age and forwards. In affluent times not so much. Sanitation became a motivation with the discovery of pathogenic microorganisms in the mid-19th century, and after World War 2 (WW2) a strong focus on environmental protection developed, and in recent times, the resource aspect has received an interest despite material affluence. Legislation has been one of the drivers for recent developments, in the case of Sweden, the environmental protection legislation came in the late 1960s, and a few years later, the municipalities got the exclusive right to collect and manage household waste. Many local and regional waste management companies were established, owned by the municipalities. These organizations became agents of development, due to the increased scope and capacity. Adding to the environmental protection agenda, a renewed interest in waste as a resource was initiated by the oil crises of the 1970s, resulting in new waste incineration plants, with energy recovery, connected to already existing district heating networks. Mistakes, failures and alarms in the 1970s and the 1980s resulted in treatment method improvements and the establishment of source separation as an integral part of waste management. The waste management community stands strong today and is taking a more proactive role than before, which includes a stronger focus on communication with other stakeholders.

In order to protect human health and the environment, several regulations have been introduced in recent years to reduce or even eliminate the use of some brominated flame retardants (BFRs) due to their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. Dispersions of these BFRs in polymers are widely used for various applications. In this report, four different brominated molecules, decabromodiphenyl ether (DBDE), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and tris(tribromophenoxy)triazine (TTBPT), were dispersed in the solid matrix of an industrial polymer, high impact polystyrene (HIPS). The possibility of degradation of these BFRs within HIPS under UV-visible irradiation in ambient air was investigated. The degradation kinetics of DBDE and HBCDD were followed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and high-resolution two-step laser mass spectrometry (L2MS). The thermal properties of the pristine and irradiated polymer matrix were monitored by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which showed that these properties were globally preserved. Volatile photoproducts from the degradation of DBDE, DBDPE and TTBPT were identified by headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. Under the chosen experimental conditions, BFRs underwent rapid degradation after a few seconds of irradiation, with conversions exceeding 50% for HIPS/DBDE and HIPS/HBCDD systems.

This study collected data on waste generation and management in China between 1979 and 2020 from government statistics and literature and reviewed the development of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in China. The extended stochastic impact by regression on population, affluence and technology (STIRPAT) model was employed to identify the driving forces of MSW generation, and the cointegration analysis showed that economy (0.35, t = -3.47), industrial structure (3.34, t = -20.77) and urbanization (-1.5, t = 5.678) were the significant socioeconomic driving forces in the long run. By employing the framework of evolutionary economics, this study then investigated the internal rules of long-term interaction between socioeconomic factors and MSW management. The results indicate that, in the long run, MSW management development can be viewed as an evolutionary process that includes a continuous adaptation to external socioeconomic factors and the co-evolution of internal institutions and technologies. Adaptation and diversity of institutions and technologies play an important role in achieving sustainable waste management and circular economy (CE). This study offers a novel evolutionary perspective for explaining dynamic changes of MSW management in China, as well as recommendations for emerging economies to achieve sustainable waste management and CE goals.

Residents' food waste is a key part of environmental sustainability and food security. This study investigates influencing factors in reducing food waste by constructing a conceptual model examining the relationship between network embeddedness (NE) and food waste behaviour (FWB), using questionnaire data from 853 urban residents in eastern China, as well as the moderating role of incentive measures (IMs). We find that NE consists of three dimensions: structural embeddedness, relational embeddedness and functional embeddedness. There is an inverted-U-shaped relationship between structural embeddedness and food waste reduction behaviour, whereas relational embeddedness and functional embeddedness positively correlate with food waste reduction behaviour. Furthermore, IMs significantly strengthen the inverted-U-shaped relationship between NE and food waste reduction behaviour. This article reveals the significance of NE and IMs in influencing FWB, expands the application fields of NE and provides valuable guidance for policymakers to better utilize policy interventions.

In recent years, the concept of landfill mining has gained a lot of traction in India, and tonnes of plastic waste is being excavated. The present shift towards a circular economy necessitates to explore the use of excavated plastic waste as a source of valuable materials and energy. However, the physicochemical characteristics of plastic waste change due to the degradation and weathering process in landfills, making its valorization difficult. The current study investigates the change in physicochemical characteristics of plastic waste with age from an Indian dumpsite to identify the potential valorization options. In addition, a material and energy flow analysis was performed considering incineration treatment of plastic waste. The plastic waste ranged between 3.6 and 21% in the dumpsite and has almost doubled in recent decades, owing to the increase in plastic waste generation in India. Polyethylene (high- and low-density) accounted for approximately 66% of the excavated plastic waste and had a lot of adhered surface impurities. Mechanical pre-treatment using a shredder was effective in the removal of the adhered impurities with a recovery rate of 50-70% for polyethylene and a higher recovery of 70-90% for other types of plastic. Changes in the surface morphology of plastic waste with aging were observed through Scanning Electron Microscopy. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy results confirmed low degradation levels for aged plastic waste, which is also confirmed through the high level of oxygen detected. The material and energy flow analysis revealed that incinerating one tonne of excavated plastic waste could produce approximately 1410 kWh of electricity.

The production and consumption of electronic goods have experienced a significant increase over the years, leading to a substantial surge in the global volume of electronic waste, commonly referred to as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The selection of a sustainable location for WEEE recycling plants plays a crucial role in mitigating environmental concerns, preserving resources and promoting economic development. It signifies a proactive and responsible approach to electronic waste management in the contemporary world. To tackle the challenge of selecting sustainable locations for WEEE recycling plants, this study employed the Entropy and Entropy and Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) methodologies, evaluating 10 alternative cities in Turkey based on 13 criteria. The selected criteria include land cost, personnel cost, energy cost, availability of labour, government support degree, tax preferences, road network accessibility, number of electronic equipment producers, existence of recycling plants, suitability of land use, population and availability of renewable resources (wind power and solar energy). The Entropy method was employed to calculate the weights assigned to each criterion, whereas the EDAS method was utilized to evaluate the decision alternatives. The results provide region-specific recommendations, such as Antalya for the Mediterranean region and Samsun for the Black Sea region. The literature lacks sufficient research on the selection of sustainable locations for WEEE recycling plants. Furthermore, the utilization of real data enhances the study's credibility and provides practical insights for decision-making. The selection of a sustainable location for a WEEE recycling plant in Turkey not only demonstrates the country's environmental commitment but also sets a global example for responsible waste management.

Implementation of municipal solid waste (MSW) source segregation leads to a more convenient recycle of combustible MSW components. Textiles, plastics and papers are commonly available combustible components in MSW. Their shredding is conducive to resources recovery. But these components usually have high tensile strengths and are difficult to shred. To understand their mechanical strength changes in their early pyrolysis stage will help to address this problem. In this study, a universal electronic testing machine was used to determine the breaking strengths of the materials including cotton towel, polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET), ivory board (IB), kraft paper (KP) and wool scarf in the temperature range of 30-250°C under N₂ atmosphere, and the mechanisms of their strength changes were explored. The reaction force field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulation was used to explain the decomposition behaviours of different sugar groups of hemicellulose in cotton and paper and the change of van der Waals energy of wool during their early pyrolysis stages. The results showed that breaking strengths of all the combustible MSW components reduced as the temperature increased. The breaking strength of PET was found to have the highest descent rate with increasing temperature, then the descent rates of wool and cotton came as the second and third, respectively. Compared with cotton, the breaking strengths of KP and IB decreased more slowly. As the temperature increased, the breaking strength of cotton reduced mainly due to the decomposition of the glucuronic acid in hemicellulose, and the reduction was characterized by CO₂ release. The breaking strength reduction of PET was caused by its molecular chain being relaxed. The breaking strength reduction of wool was firstly caused by the decrease in the van der Waals energy between its molecules, and then caused by molecular chain breaking. In addition, in order to understand the influence of material size on the breaking strength change during thermal treatment, the breaking strengths of cotton yarn bundles were correlated with their yarn number and temperature. This study lays the foundation for understanding changes in mechanical strengths of combustible MSW components during their early pyrolysis stage.