Future solutions for the treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes in China

The current status of the treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes in China is summarized on the basis of the results of the Declaring and Registration Project initiated nationally in 1995. A principle framework for the sound management of hazardous wastes is proposed, which includes three levels of technical solutions. Large-scale enterprises are encouraged to recycle, to treat, and to dispose of wastes by means of constructing facilities, and to have their extra capacities available to the public for a reasonable fee. Municipal governments, provincial governments, and the Central Government are to plan and construct centralized facilities to recycle, treat, and dispose of wastes. For a solution at the manufacturing level, recycling is identified as the main approach. Centralized facilities at the municipal level will mainly focus on special wastes that are unsuitable to transport and store, such as hospital waste, and for the technical solution at this level, incineration and recycling are identified as the main approaches. For the technical solution at the provincial and national levels, landfill and incineration are identified as the main approaches. Based on this principle and the current available data on hazardous wastes, a preliminary plan for the spatial distribution of cross-provincial centralized treatment and disposal facilities of hazardous wastes is presented. The construction of approximately nine cross-provincial comprehensive facilities is proposed. A priority list for the construction of these planned facilities is also presented.     

Modelling of the location of vehicle recycling facilities: A case study in Poland

The technical progress causes that increasing number of used devices presents a threat for environment, particularly in the rural areas. It can be prevented by organizing a proper system of waste disposal. Currently, the most important problem to solve is recycling of vehicles. The key element for the improvement of the functioning of the recycling network in Poland is to redesign the system so that it will allow for a reduction of the total cost related to the vehicle recycling. This paper presents a modelling approach that could be used to establish one important part of the reverse logistics (RL) network for end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) by defining the optimum locations for dismantling facilities. The proposed modelling approach is illustrated using Mazovia province in Poland as an example. The optimization criteria for the location of the elements of the recycling network are the components of the total cost of the ELV's recycling. Due to high complexity of the model a genetic algorithm has been adapted for solving the model and getting a good solution in a reasonable run time. The criteria of optimization was cost of the following processes: transportation, storage, and dismantling of ELVs. The results of simulation proved that the transportation costs of parts and materials may amount to about 70%, and that the cost of dismantling may exceed 25% of the total cost of recycling. The obtained results confirmed that genetic algorithm method can be used effectively to location the ELV's dismantling facilities. The effect of changing the location of processing facilities on the location of dismantling stations was also studied. The developed model is universal and may be used to determine the locations of different kinds of facilities organized in a reverse recycling network.     

Environmentally Friendly Disposal Behaviour and Local Support Systems: lessons from a metropolitan area

The amount of household refuse has steadily increased in Sweden. Strategies for household waste reduction include sorting, recycling, re-use and repair. Two categories of motivational factors determine disposal behaviour, external and internal. The external factors include administrative, economic, information and physical measures. The internal factors include knowledge, values and attitudes of individuals. Environmentally friendly disposal behaviour is best achieved when both external and internal motivational factors argue for performing activities benign to the environment. The data were collected by interviewing households and stakeholders in a metropolitan area and by studying the facilities for recycling and re-use there. The results show that over 80% of the inhabitants sorted most paper and glass; they were satisfied with the facilities and considered the behaviour important for the environment. The external motivational factors for this behaviour were very strong, with numerous bins and ample information. National policy, formulated in the eco-cycle bill with specified achievement levels, local responsibilities for organising waste management, supporting citizens with physical facilities, information and moti vational arguments, seems to be a successful combination when implementing environmental policy in this sector.     

Computer and mobile phone waste in urban India: an analysis from the perspectives of public perception,consumption and disposal behaviour

Sustainable management of Electronic waste (E-waste) is a major challenge for contemporary India, an emerging economy burdened with both the domestic generation and illegal import of E-waste. Considering the ever-increasing complexities of E-waste in Indian cities, this paper aims to evaluate the current trends, opportunities and challenges associated with consumption of electronic items (with respect to computers and mobile phones) and disposal of E-waste in urban India. Bangalore, a city popularly known as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, is considered as a case study in order to evaluate public awareness, household consumption and E-waste disposal behaviours. The city profile of Bangalore indicates that it has a rapidly emerging market for electronics and thus, has the potential to act as a ‘model’ for evaluating the issues concerning E-waste in metropolitan India. Questionnaires were distributed originally among 300 households with an effective response rate of 63.3%. The results indicate that the majority of households (59.3%) still retain their obsolete electronics due to lack of knowledge about proper E-waste management. High awareness about E-waste and high willingness to recycle/repair their E-waste (above 80% in both cases) are yet to be translated into responsible disposal/recycling behaviour as 95.8% of households have no knowledge about the presence of any formal recycling centre. Income, education, age and gender dimensions associated with E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness were also evaluated. Although we found no gender differences for most of the parameters, there have been some interesting correlations in age and income-wise segregation of disposal behaviour. We noted that the city of Bangalore still possesses some typical Indian socio-cultural characteristics, such as considering E-waste as ‘valuables’, changing several hands before final disposal, defying ‘brand’ or ‘looks’ consciousness, etc., which could be directed towards responsible E-waste disposal behaviours. We suggest that establishing appropriate and convenient E-waste collection/recycling facilities, ensuring responsible household disposal behaviour, implementing effective laws and legislation, and organizing mass E-waste awareness campaigns would aid in addressing the current E-waste concerns in the city.     

Medical waste management in Korea

The management of medical waste is of great importance due to its potential environmental hazards and public health risks. In the past medical waste was often mixed with municipal solid waste and disposed of in residential waste landfills or improper treatment facilities (e.g. inadequately controlled incinerators) in Korea. In recent years, many efforts have been made by environmental regulatory agencies and waste generators to better manage the waste from healthcare facilities. This paper presents an overview of the current management practices of medical waste in Korea. Information regarding generation, composition, segregation, transportation, and disposal of medical wastes is provided and discussed. Medical waste incineration is identified as the most preferred disposal method and will be the only available treatment option in late 2005. Faced with increased regulations over toxic air emissions (e.g. dioxins and furans), all existing small incineration facilities that do not have air pollution control devices will cease operation in the next few years. Large-scale medical waste incinerators would be responsible for the treatment of medical waste generated by most healthcare facilities in Korea. It is important to point out that there is a great potential to emit air toxic pollutants from such incinerators if improperly operated and managed, because medical waste typically contains a variety of plastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Waste minimization and recycling, control of toxic air emissions at medical waste incinerators, and alternative treatment methods to incineration are regarded to be the major challenges in the future.     

A Paradigm of International Environmental Law: The Case for Controlling the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

The production of large quantities of wastes globally has created a commercial activity involving the transfrontier shipments of hazardous wastes, intended to be managed at economically attractive waste-handling facilities located elsewhere. In fact, huge quantities of hazardous wastes apparently travel the world in search of “acceptable” waste management facilities. For instance, within the industrialized countries alone, millions of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste cross national frontiers each year on their way for recycling or to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) because there is no local disposal capacity for these wastes, or because legal disposal or reuse in a foreign country may be more environmentally sound, or managing the wastes in the foreign country may be less expensive than at home. The cross-boundary traffic in hazardous wastes has lately been under close public scrutiny, however, resulting in the accession of several international agreements and laws to regulate such activities. This paper discusses and analyzes the most significant control measures and major agreements in this new commercial activity involving hazardous wastes. In particular, the discussion recognizes the difficulties with trying to implement the relevant international agreements among countries of vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it is also noted that global environmental agreements will generally be a necessary component of ensuring adequate environmental protection for the world community—and thus a need for the careful implementation of such agreements and regulations.     

The effect of recycling price uncertainty on municipal waste management choices

This paper analyzes the effect of price uncertainty and irreversible investment on the decision of municipalities to switch from landfill waste disposal to recycling by developing a model to predict recycling adoption behavior and applying it to empirical data. It is shown that uncertainty regarding the price of recycled materials may induce a risk neutral municipality to prefer landfill disposal, even when recycling is less expensive. A model is developed to describe the switching process and estimate its parameters using empirical data from 79 municipalities in Israel. The model is then used to predict municipalities' recycling adoption decisions under various assumptions regarding price uncertainty. The results support the hypothesis that price uncertainty is a major obstacle for recycling. Finally, several options for price stabilization are sketched and it is argued that these policies may be effective in establishing viable recycling markets.     

Recycling inorganic domestic solid wastes: results from a pilot study in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

Solid waste recycling and recovery approach can be a sustainable and effective waste management system in many growing cities of the least developed countries. In the course of achieving proper solid waste management, a lot of efforts in these countries have, however, been focused more on collection and disposal and ignored waste recycling which can result into income generation, employment creation and reduction of the waste quantities that will finally require disposal in the existing municipal landfills or disposal sites. This paper reports the findings of a study on solid waste recycling in a selected semi-planned settlement in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. The objective of the study was to describe the existing solid waste management in the study area with a view to identifying the waste generation rates, types of the wastes and determine the amount of waste from the settlement that can be recycled for the purpose of income generation and reduction of the total amount of waste to be disposed of. Findings from this study revealed that waste generation rate in the study area was 0.36 kg per person per day, and that out of the 14 600 kg of recyclable waste generated per year, 8030 kg or 55% can be recycled and generate a per capita income of Tsh 834 000 for waste recyclists which is more than twice the official minimum annual wage (Tsh 360 000) in Tanzania at the time of the study. The study also revealed that effective waste recycling in the study area would result in the reduction of the total waste that need to be transported for final disposal by 11%.     

Environmental and economic impact assessment of construction and demolition waste disposal using system dynamics

Construction and demolition wastes (CDW) have increasingly serious problems in environmental, social, and economic realms. There is no coherent framework for utilization of these wastes which are disposed both legally and illegally. This harms the environment, contributes to the increase of energy consumption, and depletes finite landfills resources. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of two alternatives for the management of CDW, recycling and disposing. The evaluation is carried out through developing a dynamic model with aid STELLA software by conducting the following steps: (1) quantifying the total cost incurred to mitigate the impacts of CDW landfills and uncollected waste on the environment and human health; (2) quantifying the total avoided emissions and saved energy by recycling waste; (3) estimating total external cost saved by recycling waste and; (4) providing a decision support tool that helps in re-thinking about waste disposal. The proposed evaluation methodology allows activating the stringent regulations that restrict waste disposal and developing incentives to encourage constructors to recycle their wastes. The research findings show that recycling CDW leads to significant reductions in emissions, energy use, global warming potential (GWP), and conserves landfills space when compared to disposal of wastes in landfills. Furthermore, the cost of mitigating the impact of disposal is extremely high. Therefore, it is necessary to recycle construction and demolition wastes.     

Transitions of municipal solid waste management. Part II: Hybrid life cycle assessment of Swiss glass-packaging disposal

In policy support of municipal solid waste (MSW) management, life cycle assessment (LCA) can serve to compare the environmental or economic impacts of two or more options for waste processing. The scope of waste management LCAs generally focuses less attention on future developments, e.g., where will recycling take place, and more on the environmental performance of prototypes, e.g., the incineration of all waste compared to recycling. To provide more robust support for Swiss waste glass-packaging disposal, scenarios of Swiss waste glass-packaging are assessed from a life cycle perspective. The scenarios consist in schemes for the disposal of the total amount of Swiss waste glass-packaging, i.e., different combinations of recycling and downcycling in Switzerland or abroad developed in Part I, Meylan et al. (2013). In this article (Part II), the disposal schemes are assessed with respect to eco-efficiency, an indicator that combines total environmental impacts and gross value added in Switzerland. Results show that no policy alternative guarantees environmental impact reductions and gross value added gains under all developments of exogenous constraints. Downcycling to foam glass in Switzerland is not only an environmentally sound disposal option, but it also buffers gross value added losses in case domestic recycling (and thus glass-packaging production in Switzerland) ceases in the future. The substitution of products based on raw materials other than Swiss cullet is the main responsible for change in environmental and economic impacts. Hence, an eco-efficiency maximizing policy should consider the products of disposal schemes. The combination of scenario analysis and eco-efficiency assessment as presented in this paper can be applied to other contexts (i.e., countries, waste fractions).     

Ramifications of solid waste disposal site relocation in urban areas of developing countries: a case study in Tanzania

Sanitary landfilling is considered to be the most appropriate means of final disposal of solid wastes. Currently in Tanzania, the cheapest method of developing a landfill is by making use of natural depressions or former borrow pits and mine pits. This paper examines the impacts associated with the relocation of a waste disposal site from a crude disposal site at Vingunguti to a new landfill site at New MECCO quarry in Kunduchi area, both in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The paper focuses on the fate of scavenging and solid waste recycling which are currently taking place at Vingunguti site and mining as well as food vending activities at the proposed new landfill site. Scavenging and waste recycling were found to be important sources of income for some individuals in the city. Various items collected for recycling were found to be an important source of raw materials for some industries in Dar es Salaam. A total of 94% of all the miners were entirely dependent on stone mining and crushing as a sole means of income generation, and 68% of the miners had practised this activity for between 1 and 9 years. Finally the paper recommends that, selection of a waste disposal site should favour abandoned mines or borrow pits rather than operational ones. It also recommends that, waste recycling and scavenging be accommodated in other stages of the waste stream since they can not be practised at a sanitary landfill.     

Industrial symbiosis and waste recovery in an Indian industrial area

Recovery, reuse and recycling of industrial residuals, often dismissed as wastes, are common in India and other industrializing countries largely due to lower associated costs. Some wastes are reused within the facility where they are generated, others are reused directly by nearby industrial facilities, and some are recycled via the formal and informal recycling markets. Direct inter-firm reuse is the cornerstone of the phenomenon termed industrial symbiosis, where firms cooperate in the exchange of material and energy resources. This study applies material flow analysis to an economically diverse industrial area in South India to characterize the recovery, reuse and recycling of industrial residuals. It quantifies the generation of waste materials from 42 companies as well as the materials that are directly traded across facilities and those that are recycled or disposed. This study encompasses a business cluster in Mysore in the State of Karnataka, and is the first in India to thoroughly quantify material flows to identify existing symbiotic connections in an industrial area. Examined industries in this industrial area generate 897,210 metric tons of waste residuals annually, and recovered 99.5% of these, 81% with reused by the companies that generated them, with one company, a sugar refinery, processing most of this amount. Geographic data show that operations within 20 km of the industrial area receive over 90% of residuals exiting facility gates. Two-thirds of this amount goes directly to other economic actors for reuse. This study makes key contributions to the literature in distinguishing how particular types of materials are reused in different ways, the geographic extent of symbiotic activities and the important role of the informal sector in industrial waste management in industrializing regions.     

宁夏地区餐厨废弃物管理现状及发展对策——以银川保绿特生物技术有限公司为例

为进一步探索宁夏地区餐厨废弃物管理模式,解决管理过程中存在的政策倾斜不足、产业链缺失、人才短缺等问题,在宁夏地区开展了餐厨废弃物产生现状及管理方式调研。以银川保绿特生物技术有限公司为例,讨论宁夏地区餐厨废弃物回收处置企业发展瓶颈,提出了建立健全长效机制、引导餐厨废弃物处置端口前移、引进全产业链回收利用项目及增加科研经费投入等方式,以改善宁夏地区餐厨废弃物收运、处置及资源化利用管理模式。     

废旧电脑拆解工艺与资源化案例研究

以某再生资源公司的废旧电脑拆解为案例进行研究,介绍了工艺技术、拆解回收各种资源的数据。研究结果表明,我国废旧电脑人工拆解-破碎-冶炼相结合的工艺,是电子废弃物循环利用、资源高效回收、减少环境风险的较好工艺技术,符合固废处理的3R(替代、减少、优化)原则。     

A model recycling program for Alabama

Solid waste disposal is becoming a difficult problem for many states. Since 1960, the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been increasing at a rate of 1% per year. More than 75% of the waste is comprised of recyclable materials. Several states have mandated recycling to decrease the volume of waste intended for disposal. Those mandated programs are very popular, but depend on many political, social, and economic factors for success. While Alabama has the manufacturing infrastructure to support a mandated recycling program, no recycling legislation has been promulgated. At this time recycling is only being done on a voluntary basis. A mandatory program with the proper support, education and funding could allow Alabama to recycle much of the 5.2 million tons of waste that are generated within its borders each year.     

The influence of collection facility attributes on household collection rates of electronic waste: The case of televisions and computer monitors

In the US, household electronic waste collected for recycling is primarily by voluntary drop-off at designated collection facilities. This study examines the influence of specific collection facility attributes (recycling fees charged, number of days open, and driving distance) on the household collection rate of e-waste in the US state of Maine. Data were collected for household computer monitor and television collection for 92 municipal waste transfer facilities representing 30% of the state's population for one year. Results suggest that recycling fees are negatively correlated with the number of televisions and computer monitors collected; furthermore, the more frequently facilities were open, the more televisions and computer monitors were collected per capita. The distance from the facility had no correlation, which prompted an analysis of whether the existence of a curbside collection system in the municipality was influential. Results show a negative correlation between computer monitor and television collection and a municipality having recycling (but not e-waste) curbside collection. Based on the results of this study, policymakers may be able to increase the collection rate of household e-waste by eliminating or lowering recycling fees, expanding collection days and hours to increase convenience, and/or considering curbside collection of e-waste.     

Botswana's environmental policy on recycling

Recycling operations have become one of the primary strategies for waste management, worldwide. Especially, recycling operations are viewed as among the most effective techniques for reducing the amount of municipal solid waste disposed at landfill sites. Botswana's environmental policy on recycling stipulates, among others, that all waste management authorities should provide information on the classification and quantities of controlled waste targeted for recycling. This paper, therefore, examines the extent to which recycling operations in Botswana have either been conducted in compliance with or in violation of some major environmental requirements as enunciated on statutory guidelines. Compatibility between environmental policies on recycling and actual practice is evaluated focusing on two companies (Dumatau trading and Botswana Tissue) involved in recycling operation. Data from the two companies is complemented by one collected from the Gaborone landfill site. Finally, this study discusses on the role played by various stakeholders in policy formulation and implementation with particular emphasis being placed on a select number of non-governmental organisations (NGO).     

Determining the socially optimal recycling rate

What municipal recycling rate is socially optimal? One credible answer would consider the recycling rate that minimizes the overall social costs of managing municipal waste. Such social costs are comprised of all budgetary costs and revenues associated with operating municipal waste and recycling programs, all costs to recycling households associated with preparing and storing recyclable materials for collection, all external disposal costs associated with waste disposed at landfills or incinerators, and all external benefits associated with the provision of recycled materials that foster environmentally efficient production processes. This paper discusses how to estimate these four components of social cost to then estimate the optimal recycling rate.     

基于PPP模式的城市污水处理工程投融资研究

针对我国城市污水处理资金短缺与城市污水处理设施及管网建设严重不足的现状,探讨了近几年在公共基础设施建设领域中兴起的PPP融资模式在城市污水处理工程项目中的应用,通过分析我国的具体情况,并结合国内外成功实例,阐述了PPP模式在城市污水处理工程中的可行性,找到了民间资本在城市污水处理工程中发挥作用的途径。     

生产者责任延伸制度在电子废弃物管理中的探讨

电子废弃物的污染问题日益引起人们的关注，而我国传统废弃物的处理和管理制度的不完善使大量的有用资源没有得到有效回收，不符合全民节约和循环经济原则。本文从环境经济学角度，结合其它国家和地区的生产者责任延伸制的颁布和运行情况，对我国电子废弃物的管理中施行生产责任延伸制（EPR）进行初步探讨。