Concept of sustainable waste management in the city of Zagreb: Towards the implementation of circular economy approach

Improvement of the current waste management is one of the main challenges for most municipalities in Croatia, mainly due to legal obligations set in different European Union (EU) directives regarding waste management, such as reduction of waste generation and landfilling, or increase of separately collected waste and recycling rates. This paper highlights the current waste management in the city of Zagreb by analyzing the waste generation, collection, and disposal scenario along with the regulatory and institutional framework. Since the present waste management system mainly depends upon landfilling, with the rate of separate waste collection and recycling far from being adequate, it is necessary to introduce a new system that will take into account the current situation in the city as well as the obligations imposed by the EU. Namely, in the coming years, the Waste Framework and Landfill Directives of the European Union will be a significant driver of change in waste management practices and governance of the city of Zagreb. At present, the yearly separate waste collection makes somewhat less than 5 kg per capita of various waste fractions, i.e., far below the average value for the (28) capital cities of the EU, which is 108 kg per capita. This is possible to achieve only by better and sustainable planning of future activities and facilities, taking into account of environmental, economic, and social aspects of waste management. This means that the city of Zagreb not only will have to invest in new infrastructure to meet the targets, but also will have to enhance public awareness in diverting this waste at the household level. The solution for the new waste management proposed in this paper will certainly be a way of implementing circular economy approach to current waste management practice in the city of Zagreb.

Implications: Municipal waste management in the developing countries in the EU (new eastern EU members) is often characterized by its limited utilization of recycling activities, inadequate management of nonindustrial hazardous waste, and inadequate landfill disposal. Many cities in Eastern Europe and Zagreb as well are facing serious problems in managing municipal wastes due to the existing solid waste management system that is found to be highly inefficient. The proposed scenario for city of Zagreb in the paper is an innovative upgrading of municipal waste management based on the waste management hierarchy and circular economy approach.     

Application of life cycle assessment for hospital solid waste management: A case study

This study was meant to determine environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios using a life cycle analysis approach. The survey for this study was conducted at the largest hospital in a major city of Pakistan. The hospital was thoroughly analyzed from November 2014 to January 2015 to quantify its wastes by category. The functional unit of the study was selected as 1 tonne of disposable solid hospital waste. System boundaries included transportation of hospital solid waste and its treatment and disposal by landfilling, incineration, composting, and material recycling methods. These methods were evaluated based on their greenhouse gas emissions. Landfilling and incineration turned out to be the worst final disposal alternatives, whereas composting and material recovery displayed savings in emissions. An integrated system (composting, incineration, and material recycling) was found as the best solution among the evaluated scenarios. This study can be used by policymakers for the formulation of an integrated hospital waste management plan.

Implications: This study deals with environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios. It is an increasing area of concern in many developing and resource-constrained countries of the world. The life cycle analysis (LCA) approach is a useful tool for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from different waste management activities. There is a shortage of information in existing literature regarding LCA of hospital wastes. To the best knowledge of the authors this work is the first attempt at quantifying the environmental footprint of hospital waste in Pakistan.     

“无废城市”试点建设与碳减排效益分析：以徐州市为例

“无废城市”建设是深化固体废物综合管理改革,实施减污降碳协同增效,助力实现碳达峰、碳中和战略的重要抓手。针对徐州市“无废城市”试点建设期间城乡生活、农业及工业等领域各类固体废物,参考WARM模型并采用排放因子法从源头减量至中端和末端处置环节的碳排放情况进行了全面核算,系统评估了徐州市“无废城市”试点建设与碳排放效益。结果表明,试点建设期间通过源头减量各类固体废物产生量,实现碳减排量1 531.3×10⁴ t CO₂eq,其中工业领域固体废物源头减量贡献最大。各领域固体废物处置环节中,通过提高资源再生利用率、控制城市固体废物的填埋量、减少畜禽粪便的堆肥以及提升工业固体废物的资源回收利用是徐州市碳减排的重要措施。全市在试点建设期间实现碳减排效益1 606.6×10⁴ t CO₂eq,总体上获得了较好的减污降碳协同效益。本研究结果可为推进“无废城市”建设与减污降碳协同增效提供参考。     

Applying waste management scenarios in the Peloponnese region in Greece: a critical analysis in the frame of life cycle assessment

The aim of this paper is to apply life cycle assessment in the waste management sector, in order to compare the environmental performance of different waste management methods. The methods that are studied are: landfilling, aerobic and anaerobic biological treatment, incineration and recycling, focusing on mass and energy balances and the environmental performance of each applied scenario. The Peloponnese Region in Greece was selected as a case for the application of this methodology and more specifically its largest municipalities, where a significant amount of waste is presented. The conducted LCA study proves the necessity of the adoption of an integrated waste management system and indicates its principal objectives by measuring environmental impacts. Thermal scenario contributes significant to the mitigation on the Greenhouse Gases. On the other hand, separation at source and recycling practices provides significant benefits to the abiotic depletion impact.     

危险废物城市环境风险评估方法及案例研究

在不同经济社会发展情况下,危险废物的风险源危险性和风险受体脆弱性存在很大差异。因此,城市对危险废物采取的风险防控和应急措施应该因城市而异。然而,目前我国大部分城市对危险废物的管理仍然是全过程从严管理,并未建立基于风险评估的环境管理体系。本研究以城市为边界,从危险废物的风险源危险性、风险受体脆弱性和风险防控与应急能力3个维度构建评估指标体系,然后在层次分析法的基础上,采用等比例分配法对指标进行赋权,并运用线性加权法合成经过正向化处理的指标评分值,从而得出危险废物城市环境风险评估结果。通过计算3个维度评分值的耦合度,可以确定风险防控与应急能力维度与风险源危险性维度和风险受体脆弱性维度的匹配程度。运用该方法对深圳市开展案例研究,结果表明,深圳市在“无废城市”建设试点期间,主要通过提升风险防控与应急能力,将危险废物城市环境风险值降低了20.7%;并且风险防控与应急能力维度与风险源危险性维度和风险受体脆弱性维度的匹配度较高,属于高风险高能力城市。因此,建议深圳市在下一步工作中,继续完善涉危险废物项目环境准入审查,严格评估危险废物再利用安全,不断加强信息化手段在环境监管中的应用,避免涉危险废物突发环境事件的发生,全面降低危险废物对城市造成的环境风险。     

The impact of municipal solid waste management on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States

Technological advancements, environmental regulations, and emphasis on resource conservation and recovery have greatly reduced the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste (MSW) management, including emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study was conducted using a life-cycle methodology to track changes in GHG emissions during the past 25 years from the management of MSW in the United States. For the baseline year of 1974, MSW management consisted of limited recycling, combustion without energy recovery, and landfilling without gas collection or control. This was compared with data for 1980, 1990, and 1997, accounting for changes in MSW quantity, composition, management practices, and technology. Over time, the United States has moved toward increased recycling, composting, combustion (with energy recovery) and landfilling with gas recovery, control, and utilization. These changes were accounted for with historical data on MSW composition, quantities, management practices, and technological changes. Included in the analysis were the benefits of materials recycling and energy recovery to the extent that these displace virgin raw materials and fossil fuel electricity production, respectively. Carbon sinks associated with MSW management also were addressed. The results indicate that the MSW management actions taken by U.S. communities have significantly reduced potential GHG emissions despite an almost 2-fold increase in waste generation. GHG emissions from MSW management were estimated to be 36 million metric tons carbon equivalents (MMTCE) in 1974 and 8 MMTCE in 1997. If MSW were being managed today as it was in 1974, GHG emissions would be approximately 60 MMTCE.     

绿色“一带一路”视角下“无废城市”建设思路

“无废城市”是强调固体废物减量化、资源化、无害化的城市发展模式,在全球范围内已开展广泛实践。在绿色“一带一路”视角下推进“无废城市”建设,对推动全球环境治理与区域协调发展,引领“一带一路”共建国家实现可持续发展目标,助力中国构建“双循环”新发展格局具有重要意义。针对“一带一路”共建国家固体废物激增、管理体系不健全、处置设施不足、处置技术落后、资金短缺等现实问题,提出将“无废城市”建设融入“一带一路”政策沟通、基础设施互联互通、贸易畅通、资金融通、民心相通的五通任务中,并提出了具体政策建议。     

Management, disposal and recycling of waste industrial organic solvents in Hong Kong.

An attempt has been made to establish a mass balance of industrial organic solvents in Hong Kong. It is estimated that only a small portion, less than 4%, of all the organic solvents consumed in Hong Kong are collected as waste solvents and properly treated, while the remainder are used either in the formulation of solvent containing products, or are lost to the environment through vapour emissions, leaks and spills, or dumped illegally. It was found that solvent recycling has been a common practice in some industries but the existing level of solvent recycling in Hong Kong is difficult to estimate. About 87.4% of all the waste organic solvents disposed of at the licensed facilities are potentially recyclable although whether they can be recycled in practice depends on many factors. Examples of existing waste organic solvent management and recycling practices from selected industries in Hong Kong are presented. The economic feasibility of current and future potential recycling systems is evaluated for a few selected cases. An integrated waste organic solvent management strategy is proposed to minimize adverse impacts of organic solvents to the environment and human health.     

A factor analysis of residents’ performance in municipal solid waste source-separated collection: A case study of pilot cities in China

To explore the potential effectiveness of a localized waste recycling system in Chinese cities, several rounds of a municipal solid waste source-separated collection (MSWSC) program were implemented throughout China from 2000 to 2017. In our study, to evaluate the achievements of the MSWSC program, a structured questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews were conducted in eight representative cities from the MSWSC pilot cities. Influencing factors were examined via a Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) on both the individual level and the city level. The differences in MSWSC performance among the eight research cities were investigated through a comparative analysis. The results suggested that gender, age, knowledge of MSWSC, satisfaction with sanitation and satisfaction with publicity had significant impacts on MSWSC, and we further found that the city-level factors influenced the relationship between MSWSC performance and the individual-level variables. Differences among the eight research sites indicated that Nanjing and Hangzhou exhibited relatively high achievements in the implementation of MSWSC program, while Yichun and Guiyang showed poor performance. The experiences of these advanced pilot cities suggest that specific containers for designated waste types, widespread public education, and sufficient MSWSC incentives must be provided and publicized to promote municipal solid waste recycling behaviors. Given the unique status of municipal solid waste management in China and its regional heterogeneity, the MSWSC system should be further discussed with regard to local conditions in a wider range of city settings.

Implications: This study attempts to discuss the factors affecting performance on municipal solid waste source-separated collection (MSWSC) by considering the nested data of two levels of individual and city from a structured questionnaire survey. Therefore, a Hierarchical Linear Model is established which can analyze the intra-group and inter-group effects of two-level variables. The proposed method can be expanded to other cities to determine the main factors affecting MSWSC or to evaluate the residents’ performance on MSWSC.     

Greenhouse gas emission from small clinics solid waste management scenarios in an urban area of an underdeveloping country: A life cycle perspective

This study aimed to investigate the effects on the environment of small clinics solid waste management by applying a life cycle analysis approach. Samples were collected from 371 private clinics situated in densely populated areas of Hyderabad, Pakistan. The solid waste from surveyed clinics was categorically quantified on daily basis for 30 consecutive days. The functional unit for waste was defined as 1 tonne. System limitations were defined as landfilling, incineration, composting, material recovery, and transportation of solid waste. The treatment and disposal methods were assessed according to their greenhouse gas emission rate. For the evaluation, three different scenarios were designed. The second scenario resulted in the highest emission value of 1491.78 kg CO₂ eq/tonne of solid waste due to mixed waste incineration, whereas the first scenario could not offer any saving because of uncovered landfilling and 67.5% higher transport fuel consumption than the proposed network. The proposed third scenario was found to be a better solution for urban clinics solid waste management, as it resulted in savings of 951.38 kg CO₂ eq/tonne of solid waste. This integrated design is practicable by resource-constrained economy. This system consists of composting, material recovery, and incineration of hazardous waste. The proposed system also includes a feasible transportation method for urban area collection networks. The findings of the present study can play a vital role in documenting evidence and for policymakers to plan the solid waste management of clinics, as previously no studies have been conducted on this particular case.

Implications: This study aims to highlight the impact of small clinics solid waste management scenarios on the environment in a developing country’s urban area. Life cycle analysis is used for comparison of greenhouse gase emission from different scenarios, including the purposed integrated method. Small clinics play a very important role in health care, and their waste management is a very serious issue; however, there are no previous studies on this particular case to the best knowledge of the authors. This study can be considered as forerunner effort to quantify the environmental footprint of small clinics solid waste in urban areas of a developing country.     

我国“无废城市”建设成效评价体系的构建方法研究

“十四五”时期,我国“无废城市”建设进入全面推进阶段,构建一套科学规范、简便易行的成效评价体系尤为重要。全面分析我国不同层级固体废物领域成效评价经验,研究提出“确定评价重点内容—筛选评价指标—明确评分标准”三步法成效评价技术路径。根据我国“十四五”时期“无废城市”建设重要任务,提出评价重点内容：工作推进机制建设、重点领域建设成效、保障能力提升、经验模式及宣传教育及公众满意度5个部分;根据《“无废城市”建设指标体系 (2021年版) 》及国家各部门重点工作筛选评价指标;结合近几年环境统计数据及各部门已有评价体系明确评分标准。“无废城市”建设成效评价体系可为国家科学评价城市“无废城市”建设成效和固体废物综合治理水平提供重要参考。此外,本研究选取10个典型城市进行测算分析,由结果可知,该套“无废城市”建设成效评价体系可实现对城市“无废城市”建设成效的有效评价,协助城市识别工作短板问题,充分调动和发挥地方工作积极性、主动性和创造性;同时,还可协助国家从整体层面识别重点工作落实情况,及时做出反应和工作调整,加强顶层设计,进一步提升我国固体废物综合治理水平。     

“无废城市”建设期间工业固体废物管理体系构建

我国工业固体废物产生量大、种类繁多、风险具有隐蔽性,亟需构建规范化管理体系。“无废城市”建设可充分调动社会资源,统筹推动工业固体废物全过程管理工作,在此期间构建我国工业固体废物管理体系具有重要意义。从我国工业固体废物产生与管理现状出发,剖析工业固体废物管理存在的短板,针对性地提出我国工业固体废物管理体系构建原则、方法和主要内容,以期为提升工业固体废物管理工作提供参考。     

Systematic Evaluation and Uncertainty Analysis of the Refuse-Derived Fuel Process in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

In the last few years, Taiwan has set a bold agenda in solid waste recycling and incineration programs. Not only were the recycling activities and incineration projects promoted by government agencies, but the related laws and regulations were continuously promulgated by the Legislative Yen. The solid waste presorting process that is to be considered prior to the existing incineration facilities has received wide attention. This paper illustrates a thorough evaluation for the first refuse-derived fuel pilot process from both quantitative and qualitative aspects. The process is to be installed and integrated with a large-scale municipal incinerator. This pilot process, developed by an engineering firm in Tainan County, consists of standard unit operations of shredding, magnetic separation, trommel screening, and air classification. A series of sampling and analyses were initialized in order to characterize its potentials in the solid waste management system. The probabilistic modeling for various types o f waste pro perties derived in this analysis may provide a basic understanding of system reliability.     

Solid Waste Disposal in the Netherlands

In The Netherlands, a small and densely populated country, the disposal of solid waste requires strict precautions. Because the landscape is flat and the watertable just under groundlevel, landfilling and dumping must be avoided as much as possible. Incineration of municipal and industrial waste are presently under consideration. But even when excellent flue gas cleaning systems are used, air pollution can present a problem, for instance, by dioxines produced during the process. For these reasons the government has published a waste disposal policy plan in which recycling, composting and prevention of waste production play a major role. Eventually about one third of the solid waste production will be incinerated or dumped. No solid waste will be exported.     

A comprehensive study on landfill site selection for Kolkata City,India

Kolkata is one of the four major metropolitan cities in India and the capital city of the state of West Bengal. With an area of 187.33 km² and a population of about 10 million (including a floating population of about 6 million), the city generates about 3500 Metric Ton (MT) of solid waste per day. Currently, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) disposes its waste at Dhapa (21.47 ha), where the disposal rate exceeds 3000 MT/day, and at Garden Reach (3.52 ha), where the disposal rate is 100 MT/day. Considering the exhaustion of Dhapa land space, city planners are urgently searching for an alternate disposal ground. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), under the sponsorship of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), has brought out literature developing the site selection criteria for municipal solid waste disposal ground to suit Indian conditions. The developed criteria encompass environmental conditions, accessibility, geological and hydrogeological conditions, and ecological and societal effects. This paper attempts to locate the most suitable site for disposal of KMC area solid waste using the multicriterion decision analysis as stipulated in CPCB 2003 guidelines and the overlay analysis of geographic information system (GIS).

Implications:The paper is based on landfill site selection for dumping of solid waste generated within Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area. The methodology uses GIS/remote sensing, Site Sensitivity Index (an offshoot of pairwise comparison technique developed in CPCB 2003 guidelines, Government of India), and the Delphi technique. Dhapa landfill site, where solid waste of KMC area is currently being disposed, is exhausted; the authors of this article thus found it relevant to carry out a research on the selection of an alternative landfill site. The study undertaken was comprehensive, yet presented in a lucid way so that policymakers will find easy to comprehend.     

固体废弃物资源化利用评价体系及研究方法

从经济、社会政策和环境影响三个角度,运用层次分析法、模糊决策理论和多目标分析3种评价方法以及矩阵、德尔斐法和混合优序图等数学工具,分别对上海市固体废弃物资源化利用所采用的不同方案进行全面综合评价,不同评价方法的研究结果具有一致性,均表明环境影响是相对最重要的影响因素,固体废弃物双向分离系统的建立是最优化的固体废弃物资源化利用方案,也是今后上海固体废弃物资源化利用研究的重点以及努力发展的方向.     

绿色实验室环境安全体系构建：以实验室废液、废水安全管理为例

我国高等院校和科研院所实验室产生的危险废弃物日益增加,对环境的影响不容忽视。为解决目前存在的实验室危险废弃物管理制度不健全、落实不到位,产废量与处理能力矛盾日益凸显以及实验危险废弃物对环境的影响未得到妥善解决等问题,在分析和整理部分国家先进管理经验的基础上,以实验室废液、废水安全管理为例,提出了构建合理的实验室环境安全体系,开展实验室废液减量化、降危化研究以及加强实验室废水回用研究和应用的对策和建议,为形成资源节约型、环境友好型的绿色实验室提供参考。     

The impact of an open waste disposal site on soil and groundwater pollution

A study has been carried out of a waste disposal site, located in the valley of a small creek, 3 km south of Canakkale city centre. The surface area of the site was around 101000 square metres, and the total amount of waste deposited at the site since 1990 was approximately 1001000 tons. The major risks of the dump are its closeness to the university campus area to the south, the airport to the north, and residential areas encroaching towards the dump site. The nuisance caused by odour is high. The waste pile emplaced at the head of the tributary stream has caused channelling of the leachate to the creek, which is eventually washed towards the agricultural fields. The field investigation included surface geological, hydrogeochemical and geochemical studies. Water samples were collected at 11 points. Three observation wells were dug in front of the open waste disposal site. Soil samples from these observation wells were collected at 30, 70 and 150 cm depths, and some heavy metals were analysed. The concentrations of lead, copper and zinc in soil at the depth of 150 cm decreased with distance from the waste disposal site. Hydrogeochemical data analysis gave similar results.     

Modeling Municipal Solid Waste Management System under Uncertainty

Abstract

In this study, a dynamic inexact waste management (DIWM) model is developed for identifying optimal waste-flow-allocation and facility-capacity-expansion strategies under uncertainty and is based on an inexact scenario-based probabilistic programming (ISPP) approach. The DIWM model can handle uncertainties presented as interval values and probability distributions, and it can support assessing the risk of violating system constraints. Several violation levels for facility-capacity and waste-diversion constraints are examined. Solutions associated with different risks of constraint violation were generated. The modeling results are valuable for supporting the planning of the study city’s municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices, the long-term capacity expansion for waste management system, and the identification of desired policies regarding waste diversion. Sensitivity analyses are also undertaken to demonstrate that the violations of different constraints have varied effects on the planning of waste-flow allocation, facility expansion, and waste management cost.