Industrial symbiosis and the policy instruments of sustainable consumption and production

Industrial symbioses (ISs) and eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are key concepts of industrial ecology (IE). The aim of ISs and EIPs is to minimise inefficient material and energy use by utilising local by-product and energy flows. Industrial symbioses tend to develop through spontaneous action of economic actors, for gaining of economic benefit, but these systems can be designed and promoted via policy instruments as well. A literature review showed that national programmes for eco-industrial parks can be found in different parts of the world. In the action programmes and other sustainable consumption and production (SCP) policy documents of the EU, on the other hand, industrial symbioses gain less recognition as a path to enhanced sustainable production. In this article, we consider this and also analyse how the evolution and environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis system centred on a Finnish pulp and paper mill have been affected by SCP policy instruments. With regard to the system forming the subject of the case study, and Finnish industrial systems in general, policy instruments have succeeded in reducing emissions but not in systematically encouraging operators toward symbiosis-like activities. All in all, few studies exist on the overall impact of policy instruments promoting design of eco-industrial parks. It is not self-evident that symbiosis-like production systems would be sustainable in every case, as the background assumptions for political promotion of EIPs suggest. We concluded that industrial symbioses should be analysed and developed on a life cycle basis, with documentation of the real environmental benefits due to efficient resource use and decreased emissions in comparison to standalone production. ISs can then bring eco-competitiveness to companies in relation to SCP tools, such as environmental permits, ecolabels, and future product regulation based on the Ecodesign Directive in Europe. Indirect encouragement of symbiosis through land-use regulation and planning, in such a way that material fluxes between companies are possible both in operations and in financial terms, may prove effective. The same holds for waste policies that encourage increased reuse of a company’s waste by other enterprises.     

Effects of introducing energy recovery processes to the municipal solid waste management system in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Currently, most developing countries have not set up municipal solid waste management systemswith a viewof recovering energy fromwaste or reducing greenhouse gasemissions. In this article, we have studied the possible effects of introducing three energy recovery processes either as a single or combination approach, refuse derived fuel production, incineration and waste power generation, and methane gas recovery from landfill and power generation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a case study. We concluded that incineration process is the most suitable as first introduction of energy recovery. To operate it efficiently, 3Rs strategies need to be promoted. And then, RDF production which is made of waste papers and plastics in high level of sortingmay be considered as the second step of energy recovery. However, safety control and marketability of RDF will be required at that moment.     

Effects of introducing energy recovery processes to the municipal solid waste management system in Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia

Currently, most developing countries have not set up municipal solid waste management systems with a view of recovering energy from waste or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this article, we have studied the possible effects of introducing three energy recovery processes either as a single or combination approach, refuse derived fuel production, incineration and waste power generation, and methane gas recovery from landfill and power generation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a case study. We concluded that incineration process is the most suitable as first introduction of energy recovery. To operate it efficiently, 3Rs strategies need to be promoted. And then, RDF production which is made of waste papers and plastics in high level of sorting may be considered as the second step of energy recovery. However, safety control and marketability of RDF will be required at that moment.     

Effects of introducing energy recovery processes to the municipal solid waste management system in Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia

Currently, most developing countries have not set up municipal solid waste management systems with a view of recovering energy from waste or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this article, we have studied the possible effects of introducing three energy recovery processes either as a single or combination approach, refuse derived fuel production,incineration and waste power generation, and methane gas recovery from landfill and power generation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a case study. We concluded that incineration process is the most suitable as first introduction of energy recovery. To operate it efficiently,3Rs strategies need to be promoted. And then, RDF production which is made of waste papers and plastics in high level of sorting may be considered as the second step of energy recovery.However, safety control and marketability of RDF will be required at that moment.     

An investigation into the energy use in relation to yield of rice (Oryza sativa) in Assam, India

Energy use scenario and resulting rice yield of 576 farms belonging to six agroclimatic zones of Assam, India were investigated. Input energy from eight distinct sources, viz., human, animal, diesel, commercial chemical fertilizer, farm yard manure (FYM), seed, pesticide chemical and machinery were determined on the basis of collected data and using standard procedure. Based on the power sources used and application of commercial chemical fertilizer, four categories of farms were delineated: (i) animal power without commercial fertilizer (APNF), (ii) animal power with commercial fertilizer (APF), (iii) mechanical power without commercial fertilizer (MPNF) and (iv) mechanical power with commercial fertilizer (MPF). The best-fit curve of energy versus yield indicated that use of commercial chemical fertilizer and mechanical power resulted in higher rice yield at higher level of input energy. Moreover, as the use of energy increased the yield increased up to maxima and then declined at higher levels of energy. This was observed in all four categories of farms with variation in yield–energy values. The average values of energy input (MJ ha⁻¹) and corresponding yield (kg ha⁻¹) for the APNF, APF, MPNF and MPF type of farms were (5220, 1980); (9050, 3170); (5100, 2360) and (8320, 3800), respectively. Renewable energy dominated the rice cultivation in Assam contributing more than 50% of the total input energy with the exception of MPF category of farm where share of renewable and non-renewable were found to be almost equal. Among the farm operations, tillage was the highest energy consuming operation followed by threshing, harvesting and transplanting for all four categories of farms. However, it was observed that rice yield was not positively correlated with tillage energy.