Euro-trash: searching Europe for a more sustainable approach to waste management

How an economically affordable, environmentally effective and socially acceptable municipal solid waste management system can be developed is currently unclear. Considerable research has been carried out on the practical aspects of municipal waste management (i.e. transport, treatment and disposal) and how citizens feel about source separation, recycling, incineration and landfill but the perspective of the waste manager within the context of long term planning is often ignored. In this study, waste managers from 11 different leading-edge European municipal solid waste programs in nine different countries were interviewed. The economic, social, political, environmental, legal and technical factors of their specific programs were explored and analyzed. The transition of municipal solid waste management to urban resources management was observed and key ‘system drivers’ for more sustainable waste management practices were identified. Programs visited were: Brescia (I), Copenhagen (DK), Hampshire (UK), Helsinki (FI), Lahn-Dill-Kreis (D), Malmö (SE), Pamplona (E), Prato (I), Saarbrücken (D), Vienna (A), and Zürich (CH).     

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.     

城市固体废弃物管理系统温室气体排放核算研究综述

城市固体废弃物管理系统是产生温室气体的一个不可忽视的排放源。随着社会经济的快速发展和城市化水平的提高,城市固体废弃物排放量逐年增多,如何准确地核算城市固体废弃物管理系统温室气体排放已成为国内外关注的热点问题之一。本文概述了城市固体废弃物管理系统的演进与优化研究进展,重点对城市固体废弃物管理系统温室气体排放核算规范和标准及其影响因素的研究进行了综述,指出了研究中存在的问题。并进一步建议今后在城市不同类别的固体废弃物管理系统演进过程及其影响、温室气体排放的核算方法、温室气体排放的校正系数、城市固体废弃物管理系统的优化模式及温室气体减排机制等方面加强研究。     

Bioethanol from waste: Life cycle estimation of the greenhouse gas saving potential

This paper considers two alternative feedstocks for bioethanol production, both derived from household waste—Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW). Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been carried out to estimate the GHG emissions from bioethanol using these two feedstocks. An integrated waste management system has been considered, taking into account recycling of materials and production of bioethanol in a combined gasification/bio-catalytic process. For the functional unit defined as the ‘total amount of waste treated in the integrated waste management system’, the best option is to produce bioethanol from RDF—this saves up to 196 kg CO₂ equiv. per tonne of MSW, compared to the current waste management practice in the UK.However, if the functional unit is defined as ‘MJ of fuel equiv.’ and bioethanol is compared with petrol on an equivalent energy basis, the results show that bioethanol from RDF offers no saving of GHG emissions compared to petrol. For example, for a typical biogenic carbon content in RDF of around 60%, the life cycle GHG emissions from bioethanol are 87 g CO₂ equiv./MJ while for petrol they are 85 g CO₂ equiv./MJ. On the other hand, bioethanol from BMW offers a significant GHG saving potential over petrol. For a biogenic carbon content of 95%, the life cycle GHG emissions from bioethanol are 6.1 g CO₂ equiv./MJ which represents a saving of 92.5% compared to petrol. In comparison, bioethanol from UK wheat saves 28% of GHG while that from Brazilian sugar cane – the best performing bioethanol with respect to GHG emissions – saves 70%. If the biogenic carbon of the BMW feedstock exceeds 97%, the bioethanol system becomes a carbon sequester. For instance, if waste paper with the biogenic carbon content of almost 100% and a calorific value of 18 MJ/kg is converted into bioethanol, a saving of 107% compared to petrol could be achieved. Compared to paper recycling, converting waste paper into bioethanol saves 460 kg CO₂ equiv./t waste paper or eight times more than recycling.     

Effects of planned expansion of waste incineration in the Swedish district heating systems

Recent targets for reduced amounts of waste to landfills in Sweden will result in a large increase in waste incineration with recovery of energy, used primarily for district heating. The aim of this study is to investigate what changes in the usage of other fuels and technologies for district heat production would be caused by this increase. A questionnaire was sent out to the largest district heating companies, and simulations in an energy systems model were carried out. The analysis shows that increased waste incineration reduces the demand for other fuels, especially biomass, for district heat production. The effects include reductions in operating hours as well as the avoidance or postponement of investments in new plants for district heat production. Increased waste incineration will also lead to a greater use of district heating in Sweden.     

Alternative scenarios to meet the demands of sustainable waste management

This paper analyses different alternatives for solid waste management that can be implemented to enable the targets required by the European Landfill and Packaging and Packaging Waste Directives to be achieved in the Valencian Community, on the east coast of Spain. The methodology applied to evaluate the environmental performance of each alternative is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The analysis has been performed at two levels; first, the emissions accounted for in the inventory stage have been arranged into impact categories to obtain an indicator for each category; and secondly, the weighting of environmental data to a single unit has been applied. Despite quantitative differences between the results obtained with four alternative impact assessment methods, the same preference ranking has been established: scenarios with energy recovery (1v and 2v) achieve major improvements compared to baseline, with scenario 1v being better than 2v for all impact assessment methods except for the EPS'00 method, which obtains better results for scenario 2v. Sensitivity analysis has been used to test some of the assumptions used in the initial life cycle inventory model but none have a significant effect on the overall results. As a result, the best alternative to the existing waste management system can be identified.     

The UK Landfill Tax: an analysis of its contribution to sustainable waste management

The UK Government in October 1996 introduced a Landfill Tax to ensure that landfill waste disposal is properly priced so as to reflect its environmental cost and to help promote a more sustainable approach to waste management in which less waste is produced, reused or recycled. The UK Customs and Excise have recently reviewed the tax and the report indicates that there has been a modest reduction in waste going to landfill by industry but not households. It is submitted that for there to be a significant move towards a more sustainable approach to waste management to meet the targets set in the National Strategy the tax should be higher and the money raised by the tax should be invested to make alternatives to landfill cheaper and more readily available. It is also submitted that the Tax Credit Scheme, introduced as a means of enabling some of the tax to be invested to promote better waste management, is inadequately funded and the money is inappropriately focused. Following an examination of the projects and contributions made under the Scheme it is found that most of the contributions are not made towards projects which will fulfil the UK Government's perceived purposes. It is further submitted that there needs to be a more rational approach to waste management and legislation in Philadelphia forms a good case study of such an approach     

Survey of household waste composition and quantities in Abuja,Nigeria

Inadequate management of household solid waste is a serious problem in many developing cities. The study aimed to evaluate the quantities and composition of household solid waste generation in Abuja within different socioeconomic groups. The wastes from 74 households across different socioeconomic levels in Abuja were collected, weighted and classified on a daily basis for seven days in February 2012. The result showed that the average daily per capita household waste generation is 0.634 kg/capita/day. The characteristic of solid waste in Abuja are typical for the developing cities and dominated by organic waste. Households waste consisted of 63.6% organic waste, 9.7% paper, 8.7% plastics, 3.2% metal, 2.6% glass, 1.6% textile and 10.6% others (unclassified) and the bulk density was 240 kg/m³. The evaluation of relationship between income and daily per capita household waste generation showed a positive relationship. The study revealed a statistically significant difference between household size and daily per capita household waste generation in high-income group; a slight significant difference between household size and daily per capita household waste generation in medium income group and no statistically significant difference between household size and daily per capita household waste generation in low-income group.     

Solid waste management in urban areas: Development and application of a decision support system

A decision support system (DSS) developed to assist the planner in decisions concerning the overall management of solid waste at a municipal scale is described. The DSS allows to plan the optimal number of landfills and treatment plants, and to determine the optimal quantities and the characteristics of the refuse that has to be sent to treatment plants, to landfills and to recycling. The application of the DSS is based on the solution of a constrained non-linear optimization problem. Various classes of constraints have been introduced in the problem formulation, taking into account the regulations about the minimum requirements for recycling, incineration process requirements, sanitary landfill conservation, and mass balance. The cost function to be minimized includes recycling, transportation and maintenance costs. The DSS has been tested on the municipality of Genova, Italy, and the results obtained are presented.     

The impact of the European landfill directive on waste management in the United Kingdom

The European Union Landfill Directive calls on member states to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal solid waste disposed of to landfill. In addition, national waste strategies will require the constituent parts of the United Kingdom to achieve increased household waste recycling and recovery rates. Both these measures will require the development of the infrastructure to support national high-intensity recycling and composting schemes and the construction of at least 35 new municipal waste to energy incinerators. Before plans can be developed for meeting the targets several areas relating to municipal solid waste need to be clarified. Depending on the definition of municipal solid waste, its composition and likely future growth rates the number of incinerators required could be up to 170.     

The effects on waste reduction and recycling rates when different components of the waste stream are counted

States differ in the components or solid waste management activities which they include when determining solid waste reduction and recycling rates. Thus, when attempting to draw comparisons among states, confusion arises in two ways: (1) use of two types of rates; and (2) use of different components or activities when calculating a given rate. This paper presents a mathematical basis for understanding the impacts on rate calculations when variations occur in the components and activities included in those calculations. Estimates of the incremental changes occurring in the rate calculations when incineration or selected components such as yard waste, construction and demolition wastes, and junked automobiles, are added to a base of municipal solid waste constituents are found using national data. Finally, the achieved rates reported by states counting different combinations are compared.     

Options for management of municipal solid waste in New York City: a preliminary comparison of health risks and policy implications

Landfill disposal and waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration remain the two principal options for managing municipal solid waste (MSW). One critical determinant of the acceptability of these options is the different health risks associated with each. In this analysis relying on published data and exposure modeling, we have performed health risk assessments for landfill disposal versus WTE treatment options for the management of New York City's MSW. These are based on the realistic scenario of using a waste transfer station (WTS) in Brooklyn and then transporting the untreated MSW by truck to a landfill in Pennsylvania or using a WTE facility in Brooklyn and then transporting the resultant ash by truck to a landfill in Pennsylvania. The overall results indicate that the individual cancer risks for both options would be considered generally acceptable, although the risk from landfilling is approximately 5 times greater than from WTE treatment; the individual non-cancer health risks for both options would be considered generally unacceptable, although once again the risk from landfilling is approximately 5 times greater than from WTE treatment. If one considers only the population in Brooklyn that would be directly affected by the siting of either a WTS or a WTE facility in their immediate neighborhood, individual cancer and non-cancer health risks for both options would be considered generally acceptable, but risks for the former remain considerably higher than for the latter. These results should be considered preliminary due to several limitations of this study such as: consideration of risks only from inhalation exposures; assumption that only volume and not composition of the waste stream is altered by WTE treatment; reliance on data from the literature rather than actual measurements of the sites considered, assuming comparability of the sites. However, the results of studies such as this, in conjunction with ecological, socioeconomic and equity considerations, should prove useful to environmental managers, regulators, policy makers, community representatives and other stakeholders in making sound and acceptable decisions regarding the optimal handling of MSW.     

System dynamics model for analyzing effects of eco-design policy on packaging waste management system

EU's long-term objective is to become a recycling and resource effective society, where waste is utilized as a resource and waste generation is prevented. A system dynamics model was developed to analyze the policy mechanisms that promote packaging material efficiency in products through increased recycling rates. The model includes economic incentives such as packaging and landfill taxes combined with market mechanisms, behavioral aspects and ecological considerations in terms of material efficiency (the packaging material per product unit, recycled fraction in products). The paper presents the results of application of various policy instruments for increasing packaging material efficiency and recovery rate and reducing landfilled fraction. The results show that a packaging tax is an effective policy instrument for increasing the material efficiency. It ensures the decrease of the total consumption of materials and subsequent waste generation. The tax helps to counteract a rebound effect, which, as identified by the analysis, can be caused by reduced material costs due to eco-design. The model is applied to the case of Latvia. Yet, the elements and structure of the model developed are similar to waste management systems in many countries. By changing numeric values of certain parameters, the model can be applied to analyze policy mechanisms in other countries.     

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.     

Assessing instruments for mixed household solid waste collection services in the Flemish region of Belgium

Instruments to reduce waste can be divided into three groups: first, pecuniary incentives; second, service level; finally, measurements stimulating prevention and waste reduction. Also specific characteristics of the community determine the amount of waste generated. We evaluate whether findings in literature on effectiveness of policy measures are valid for Belgium, specifically for the Flemish region. The policy mix instituted by the Flemish authorities in the ‘implementation plan household waste 2003–2007’ and implemented by local authorities, is assessed. Multiple regression analysis identifies those measurements having the greatest impact on household solid waste.We found an income elasticity of 0.326. Also the provided service level has a significant impact. Pecuniary incentives are effective instruments in reducing waste, with a price elasticity of −0.139. Furthermore, a higher percentage of direct costs, directly attributable to waste services, borne by households, reduces waste. A consequent implementation of the ‘polluter pays’ principle proves to be effective.     

An inexact dynamic optimization model for municipal solid waste management in association with greenhouse gas emission control

Municipal solid waste (MSW) should be properly disposed in order to help protect environmental quality and human health, as well as to preserve natural resources. During MSW disposal processes, a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) is emitted, leading to a significant impact on climate change. In this study, an inexact dynamic optimization model (IDOM) is developed for MSW-management systems under uncertainty. It grounds upon conventional mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) approaches, and integrates GHG components into the modeling framework. Compared with the existing models, IDOM can not only deal with the complex tradeoff between system cost minimization and GHG-emission mitigation, but also provide optimal allocation strategies under various emission-control standards. A case study is then provided for demonstrating applicability of the developed model. The results indicate that desired waste-flow patterns with a minimized system cost and GHG-emission amount can be obtained. Of more importance, the IDOM solution is associated with over 5.5 million tonnes of TEC reduction, which is of significant economic implication for real implementations. Therefore, the proposed model could be regarded as a useful tool for realizing comprehensive MSW management with regard to mitigating climate-change impacts.     

Assessment of the coherence of the Swiss waste wood management

Waste wood recovery by thermal treatment with energy recovery or by recycling allows the substitution and conservation of primary resources. Swiss government notes the potential presence of tensions between policies which simultaneously encourage the cascade use of wood, the recycling or the energy recovery by thermal treatment of waste wood. The aim of the present research is to assess the coherence of waste wood management in Switzerland by a quantitative and qualitative approach. First, a material flow analysis allows to model the wood resources and waste wood metabolism over one century. The simulation results of various scenarios of waste wood management establish that the additional impacts of the immediate thermal treatment are less significant for the reduction of CO₂eq emissions but more significant for the energy production than its cascade treatments on Swiss territory. Secondly, a documentary analysis examines the determinants of the current waste wood treatments prevailing in Switzerland. Thus, the causes of the strong presence on Swiss territory of the sector of thermal treatment, the export of almost half of waste wood generated and the sub-exploitation of Swiss forest act as barriers or drivers that result in introducing a crowding-out effect where no amount of waste wood is available for recycling in Switzerland. The comparison of the results of the two approaches leads to the conclusion that the current waste wood management is coherent in relation to the various goals of the Swiss federal policies but the waste wood potential for energy production is not fully exploited. The recommendations on the waste wood management and the possibilities to use the model for other case studies are given in the conclusion.     

Municipal solid waste production and composition in Finland—Changes in the period 1960–2002 and prospects until 2020

Waste reduction was recognised as the main goal of waste management policy in the EU in the 1990s. Although knowledge of past waste generation is essential for effective waste reduction policy there are no comprehensive statistics on the past development of municipal solid waste (MSW) production. MSW management is currently under turmoil in many EU countries as the requirements of the EC landfill directive (1999/31/EC) are set into force. In this study, the production and composition of MSW in Finland between 1960 and 2002 is presented using historical data. The impact of population, affluence and technology on MSW production are analysed using the IPAT equation and three scenarios are constructed until year 2020. The results are compared with national future targets on MSW production. Production of MSW increased in Finland until 1990, declined to year 1997, increased to 2000 and then declined again. The share of organic and plastic waste increased over the study period while the share of paper and cardboard declined. The results suggest that so far national targets on MSW reduction have been set fairly low. Moreover, our scenarios depict a wide range of future MSW production, even though the time horizon is not longer than 15 years into the future. In order to narrow this range, continuous improvement of the statistics of MSW is essential.     

Towards the estimation of demand for recycling in Chile: The case of Santiago

In developing countries, the recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW) as an alternative to the traditional MSW management requires an economic sustainability valuation. From this perspective, the estimation of demand for recycling is crucial. In this paper, we study the case of recycling MSW in Santiago, Chile. We estimate the relation between the monthly amount of MSW separated voluntarily from apartments located in Santiago and the monthly price required to participate in a municipal recycling program. We consider the transference of the municipal cost savings to the owners of the apartments due to the amount of MSW separated for recycling, which is not collected and deposited in the current MSW system. For the estimation, we use concepts from environmental economics and psychology, analyzing the operation and municipal costs incurred by current MSW management and designing and applying a survey based on a contingent valuation method (CVM) approach. The results indicate that the percentage of MSW separated for recycling varies between a 27.98% and 33.18%, that only four MSW types are affected by a variation of the monthly price, and that a reduction of monthly collection trips in the current MSW system from 24 to 18 can be obtained. Additionally, we discuss a number of methodological aspects to be considered in a similar study of valuation of recycling in developing countries. Our conclusion is that Santiago has favorable conditions for the implementation of a recycling program as an alternative to the current MSW system.     

A model for cost-benefit analysis of construction and demolition waste management throughout the waste chain

Economic instrument is indubitably perceived as effective for encouraging or forcing contractors to conduct environmentally friendly construction practices. Previous studies in relation to this topic mainly put emphasis on economic analysis of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management from a static point of view, which failed to consider its dynamics nature by integrating all essential activities throughout the waste chain. This paper is thus intended to highlight the dynamics and interrelationships of C&D waste management practices and analyze the cost-benefit of this process using a system dynamics approach. Data related to concrete and aggregate of a construction project in Shenzhen was collected for the application of the proposed model. The findings reveal that net benefits from conducting C&D waste management will occur, but a higher landfill charge will lead to a higher net benefit, as well as an earlier realization of the net benefit. In addition, the general public under a higher landfill charge will suffer from a higher environmental cost caused by illegal dumping. The simulation results also suggest that current regulation in Shenzhen should be promoted to facilitate a dramatic increase in net benefit from the implementation of C&D waste management. This research is of value in facilitating better understanding on the dynamics of C&D waste management activities throughout the waste chain, as well as providing a tool for simulating the cost-benefit of C&D waste management practices over the project duration.