The long and winding road to resource efficiency – An interdisciplinary perspective on extended producer responsibility

Extended producer responsibility is advocated for its capacity to spur resource efficiency through green innovation and closing loops downstream of consumption. Its rationale is the extension of the polluter-pays principle to the post-consumption phase. This paper analyze the underlying mechanisms that are supposed to work under the EPR approach, and proposes an alternative view. The main purpose of EPR is seen as the creation of the bases for legitimizing the involvement if industry taking over the task of diverting waste from landfill. Its success rests on the superior managerial capacity of industry and the need to organize post-consumption markets that transcend the local scale and have access to the economies of scale and scope. The emphasis on producers does not add anything special, but may reinforce the bases for legitimizing the implicit delegation of power to industry. Primary and above all, we have witnessed in the last 20 years a gigantic effort of market design, and this is the main demonstration of EPR's success.     

Exploring full cost accounting approach to evaluate cost of MSW services in India

Municipal solid waste (MSW) services of developing countries often suffer due to the lack of financial and operational autonomy, scientific approach, and adequate levels of resources. The solid waste management (SWM) practices of developed countries are benefited in cost and efficiency due to the participation of private players and sound financial management. However, developing economies depend on local municipalities to own and operate SWM services amidst structural and financial inefficiency. With the demands of augmenting efficient and cost-effective SWM services to the expanding population of cities and towns of newly industrialized nations on the rise, the municipalities in these countries are under pressure to adopt ways and means that can support efficient utilization of resources and improved decision-making capabilities. This research article reflects the current state of the MSW services in India and explores full cost accounting (FCA) framework in its ability to generate information on cost-related aspects and sustainable deployment of resources. Lastly, the extensibility of FCA is tested by integrating externalities of MSW services.     

100% recycled hot mix asphalt: A review and analysis

A holistic evaluation of the feasibility of producing 100% recycled mixtures is presented. Eleven technologies readily available for producing 100% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) hot asphalt mixtures are described in the article and the complementary video (http://youtu.be/coj-e5mhHEQ). The recorded performance of 100% RAP mixtures is analyzed along with identification of typical high RAP distresses. Recommended mix design procedures and the best RAP management strategies are described. A cradle-to-gate analysis of environmental effects indicated 18 kg or 35% CO₂eq savings per t of produced 100% RAP asphalt mixture compared to virgin mix, while cost analysis showed at least 50% savings in material related expenses.     

Conversion of a Missouri River Dam and Reservoir to a Sustainable System: Sediment Management1

Abstract: A present and future challenge for water resources engineers is to extend the useful life of our dams and reservoirs. Ongoing reservoir sedimentation in impoundments must be addressed; sedimentation in many reservoirs already limits project benefits and effective project life. Sustainability requires that incoming sediment be moved downstream past the impounding dam. We use Lewis and Clark Lake, the most downstream of the six Missouri River main stem reservoirs, to demonstrate how a reservoir in advanced stages of its project life could be converted to a sustainable system with local benefits exceeding costs by a factor of 1.5. Full consideration of benefits would further enhance project justification. The proposed strategy involves four phases that will take about 50 years to complete. Cost estimates for this potential project range from the quantitative to the plausible, but it is clear that the results justify a full engineering, environmental, and economic study of this model project. If implemented, the project will create scientific knowledge and develop technologies useful for achieving sustainability at many other reservoirs in the Mississippi River basin and beyond.     

Producing biogas from agricultural residues generated during phytoremediation process: Possibility,threshold, and challenges

In the past decades, a novel strategy has arisen, as required by time, to get a rational production of biogas from contaminated biomass, which may be, on purpose, harvested from contaminated soil phytoremediation process. The present review focuses on the possibility and potential of utilizing the agricultural residues generated during phytoremediation for production of biogas. As a general result of the studies compiled in this review, the harvested biomass can subsequently be utilized for the winning of biogas, and it provides a solution of waste disposal for phytoremediation technology. According to the analysis of previous results, not more than 1 mg/L of cadmium in fermenters shows promoting or at least no inhibitory effect on cumulative biogas yields. This strategy is promising for dealing with both environmental and energy problems in spite of many challenges in the coming future.     

Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loans and Landowner Investments in Agricultural Best Management Practices in Iowa1

Arbuckle, Jr., J. Gordon, 2012. Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loans and Landowner Investments in Agricultural Best Management Practices in Iowa. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐9. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00688.x Abstract: Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan programs for water quality have traditionally funded infrastructure projects at the community, municipality, or state level. They are increasingly being used to support individual landowner adoption of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) for nonpoint source pollution abatement. In 2005, the Iowa CWSRF initiated the Local Water Protection Program (LWPP) to increase the scope, scale, and rate of agricultural BMP establishment. This research examines the effectiveness of that program through a comparison of survey data from LWPP participants and state cost‐share recipients who were eligible for loans, but did not take them. Loan recipients’ assessments of the program were overwhelmingly positive, with near‐universal satisfaction with both the loan product and process. Results of statistical analyses indicate that loan recipients invested substantially more in conservation than nonrecipients. Evidence suggests that by helping program participants to overcome financial constraints, loans are facilitating larger and accelerated investments in conservation. Although findings indicate that conservation loans can play an important role in funding conservation, loan recipients also still depend on cost‐share. Loans are not necessarily a substitute for traditional forms of conservation funding, but rather another tool that landowners and conservation professionals can employ to facilitate investments in BMPs.     

Natural gas engine driven heat pump system – a case study of an office building

ABSTRACT

An eQUEST model was developed to conduct a simulation study of a natural gas engine-driven heat pump (GEHP) for an office building in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Prior to the installation of the GEHP, the heating and cooling demands of the office building were provided by rooftop units (RTUs), comprising of natural gas heater and electric air conditioner. Energy consumption for both GEHP and RTUs were monitored for operation in alternating months. These recorded energy consumptions along with weather data were used in the regression analysis. The developed eQUEST models were validated and calibrated with the regression analysis results with respect to the ASHRAE Guideline 14–2014. The eventual models were then applied to investigate the potential annual energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and energy cost savings achieved by using the GEHP in Woodstock, and other cities in Canada, particularly in Ontario.     

COST SHARING IN TRANSITION: THE CASE OF PLAN 6, CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT1

ABSTRACT: In the past, development of Federal water resource projects depended heavily or exclusively on Federal financing of construction costs. However, pressures on the Federal budget, environmental issues, and the notion that there are economic efficiency gains when beneficiaries of Federal water resource projects increase their cost share are causing changes. The case of the Central Arizona Project Plan 6 is a noteworthy example of the transition to more non-Federal participation in water resource development. This is because the non-Federal financing is to be provided for a project already under construction. The negotiation and terms of the Plan 6 financing agreement between the Department of the Interior and multiple interests in Arizona are used as an example of how Federal water project cost sharing is in a state of transition. The negotiation process is described, a financial analysis is provided, and the terms of the agreement and policy issues that were deliberated in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government are discussed.     

RESULTS OF ACIDIZING WATER WELLS IN ARIZONA1

Two wellfields have been developed to provide water for a coal fired electric generating station in Arizona. Wellfield No. 1 penetrates the unconfined Coconino Sandstone aquifer, and wellfield No. 2 penetrates the composite Kaibab Limestone-Coconino Sandstone aquifer where ground water occurs under confined conditions. A well in each wellfield was pumped and water level drawdown data were collected before and after acidizing. The drawdown data at the various pumping rates were analyzed to determine the potential benefits of acidizing production water wells in both wellfields. After acidizing, the specific capacity of the well in wellfield No. 1 was improved about 50 percent at water production rates ranging from about 200 to 500 gallons per minute (gpm) (13 to 32 liters per second (lps)). After acidizing, the specific capacity of the well completed in wellfield No. 2 was improved about 100 percent at pumping rates ranging from about 1,250 to 2,200 gpm (79 to 139 lps). An annual saving of approximately 11 percent in pumping costs can be realized in wellfield No. 2, and savings are approximately four percent in wellfield No. 1. Acidization is beneficial for wells that can produce more than 500 gpm (32 lps), and is of marginal value for those that produce less than that amount.     

CAPITAL COST OF RURAL WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT: The cost of water service to rural residents is very high compared to urban areas. This is true even after subsidization by Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) loans and grants. Capital cost data on 44 projects financed by the Ohio office of the FmHA during the period August 1968 to January 1977 are used to derive cost equations for 26 components of rural water distribution systems. These components represent 92 percent of the capital cost of the pipeline distribution systems studied. The data can be used to economically design rural water supply systems from a capital cost viewpoint. More data are needed on operation and maintenance costs as well as central and cluster well costs before totally economic system designs can be undertaken.