Waste management and energy systems are often interlinked, either directly by waste-to-energy technologies, or indirectly as processes for recovery of resources—such as materials, oils, manure, or sludge—use energy in their processes or substitute conventional production of the commodities for which the recycling processes provide raw materials. A special issue in Energies on the topic of “Ener...

7 Additional bibliography 10 Testing the biodegradation behaviour of the materials using standard laboratory tests, including test development, circular testing Assessment of biodegradability of the materials and products under real-life conditions 28 Assessment of the (eco-)toxic effects of the materials or degradation products using standard laboratory tests 47 Studying the effect of various ...

With the purpose of assessing the environmental impacts and benefits of the current municipal solid waste management system and two modified systems, EASEWASTE, a life-cycle-based model, was used to evaluate the waste system of Hangzhou city in China. An integrated model was established, including waste generation, collection, transportation, treatment, disposal and accompanying external proces...

As waste management regulations become more stringent, yet demand for resources continues to increase, there is a pressing need for innovative management techniques and more sophisticated supporting analysis techniques. Sequential extraction (SE) analysis, a technique previously applied to soils and sediments, offers the potential to gain a better understanding of the composition of solid waste...

Although informal waste collectors are sometimes organized in cooperatives, their working conditions remain extremely precarious and unsafe. The paper discusses the findings of action oriented, participatory qualitative research with several recycling groups in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil. During workshops with the recyclers mapping, acting, and drawing methods helped reveal he...

Separating recyclables from municipal solid waste (MSW) before collection reduces not only the quantity of MSW that needs to be treated but also the depletion of resources. However, the participation of residents is essential for a successful recycling program, and the level of participation usually depends on the degree of convenience associated with accessing recycling collection points. The ...

The 3M Company incinerates chemical wastes from manufacturing operations in a 23 M kcal/hr (90 MM Btu/hr) rotary kiln incinerator which has air pollution control equipment. This paper deals with the essential features which have resulted in this successful incineration operation for industrial wastes. These features include waste materials handling considerations, design aspects, and main­ tena...

This study performed a Life Cycle Assessment of the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of source-separated municipal waste (MW) in Baronissi, a town of 17,000 inhabitants in the Campania region of Italy. Baronissi is a high-performing town in a region with scarcity of MW facilities. The environmental impacts were assessed with three different methods—IPCC 2007, Ecological Footprint a...

The issue of radioactive waste management presents a top challenge for the nuclear industry. As an alternative to recycling or disposal in repositories, many countries are proceeding successfully with the process of developing clearance guidelines that allow solids and building rubble containing traces of radioisotopes to be cleared from regulatory control and unconditionally released to the co...

This paper reports the environmental results, integrated with those arising from mass and energy balances, of a research project on the comparative analysis of strategies for material and energy recovery from waste, funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research. The project, involving the cooperation of five University research groups, was devoted to the optimisation of m...