A 'symbiosis effect' perspective to understand reverse logistics and household recycling waste systems

Paper presented at 19th ISL, 2014, Ho Chi Minh The essence of the problem with waste is that it is by definition something that is not wanted. We argue here that achieving a sustainable solution requires consideration of both regulatory responsibilities and social norms (Deutz and Frostick, 2009). Landfill costs levy a high financial impact on municipalities due to the environmental directives that compel them to collect and recycle household waste. More efficient and effective systems are therefore crucial for municipalities from both a financial and environmental perspective. Thus, householders and municipalities “symbiotically” working together in a natural system could enhance sustainable living (Fennell and Weaver, 2005; Ehrenreich, 2002). This paper reports on the first two stages of a PhD research study project conducted within the two municipalities in the North of England. This research investigates the relationship between the sustainability and effectiveness of household recycling systems and household recycling behavior, reveals how factors associated with household recycling systems affect household recycling behaviour, and how household recycling behaviour affect the provision of household recycling systems by the local authorities. The main objective is to reveal and explain the interaction and symbiosis. In fact, this study has found that a ‘symbiosis effect’ perspective appears to be a robust framework to bring together effective household waste recycling systems and sustainable development considerations to enhance both sustainability and the economy. Further, the study provides empirical evidence examining both situational and personal factors of households and their interactions, which were previously not well-understood. This study has incorporated behavioural aspects in the reverse logistics process that should help improve the municipalities’ planning processes. Also, municipalities may be more adaptive to the changing behaviour of their constituents and more willing to change their waste and recycling strategies to more sustainable methods. The paper is structured as follows. The literature reviews from multiple lenses of multiple disciplines and research design that accessible for interdisciplinary study and the current findings with discussion as well as conclusion that explain and encapsulate symbiosis effect perspective in understanding reverse logistics and household waste recycling system (HRWS)

Repairing the circular economy: Public perception and participant profile of the repair economy in Hull, UK

Repair is an essential aspect of circular economy (CE) strategies to extend the life of products and materials, and has further been suggested as a key sector to benefit from employment through CE transitions. At the same time, CE narratives around repair have been criticised as highly technocratic, neglecting the body of literature exploring repair as a relational act embedded in daily life. Hull, UK has been characterised as a structurally disadvantaged city, which might benefit from development opportunities offered through an expanded repair economy. However, a better understanding of the demographics of repair users is needed to promote its expansion. Therefore, this research aims to increase understanding of public perceptions, attitudes and behaviours relating to repair as both an option for consumers and as potential employment. The study combines literature in CE, human geography, and consumer behaviour to critically analyse a public survey (n = 740) conducted in partnership with Hull City Council. Results explore demographic associations with repair behaviour, identifying a profile of repair economy participants. Furthermore, an interdisciplinary discussion identifies a tension between repair as an act of necessity, which often carries a negative stigma, and that of choice for those privileged with skills and excess leisure time. Gender discrepancies between public perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours are identified, and policy recommendations for the development of an inclusive repair economy are made. While an opportunity for an expanded repair economy in the city is apparent, further research is needed to assess the quality of work in the sector

Investigating household recycling behaviour through the interactions between personal and situational factors

In recent years household recycling behaviour (HRB) has become a focal point in social science research to understand the concept of household waste recycling management. Household recycling systems involve two main actors: households and municipalities. This paper reports on an empirical study of the interaction between HRB and household waste recycling systems provided by municipalities. A convenience sample of 412 households was selected to complete a survey on recycling initiatives with personal and situational factors and also their interaction. Results showed that personal factors have a significant relation with situational factors (availability, accessibility, awareness and convenience) (p < 0.01) and vice versa; with a positive correlation (r (412) = +0.41). In addition, personal factors correlated positively to availability, accessibility, awareness and convenience at a p-value below 0.01. Furthermore, situational factors interact with demographical factors such that personal factors may be predicted (overall HRB). This study uses both an interdisciplinary and multi-methods approach to answer its research questions and is also accessible to both practitioner and academic domains. © 2014 WIT Press

Quality of Working Life in the Circular Economy: the Case of Self-employment in the Repair Sector

Establishing a circular economy is assumed by some definitions to include social benefits such as employment opportunities; however, research beyond quantitative job creation projections is only recently emerging. While the repair sector is well-established, it has been suggested that increasing circularity implies significantly expanded demand for this service. This article uses five case studies of repair workers, based on semi-structured interviews, to explore self-employment in the repair service sector. Findings indicate that the stresses of work in the circular economy are similar to those of other fields, with self-employment offering opportunities both for job satisfaction and additional pressures. Research needs to give more consideration to the social implications of a circular transition—work may be a necessity for a satisfactory life experience (for most people), but it is under-ambitious to assume that having work is sufficient to achieve that, or should be the limit of ambition for a sustainability transition

The bile duct ligated rat : a relevant model to study muscle mass loss in cirrhosis

Muscle mass loss and hepatic encephalopathy (complex neuropsychiatric disorder) are serious complications of chronic liver disease (cirrhosis) which impact negatively on clinical outcome and quality of life and increase mortality. Liver disease leads to hyperammonemia and ammonia toxicity is believed to play a major role in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. However, the effects of ammonia are not brain-specific and therefore may also affect other organs and tissues including muscle. The precise pathophysiological mechanisms underlying muscle wasting in chronic liver disease remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we characterized body composition as well as muscle protein synthesis in cirrhotic rats with hepatic encephalopathy using the 6-week bile duct ligation (BDL) model which recapitulates the main features of cirrhosis. Compared to sham-operated control animals, BDL rats display significant decreased gain in body weight, altered body composition, decreased gastrocnemius muscle mass and circumference as well as altered muscle morphology. Muscle protein synthesis was also significantly reduced in BDL rats compared to control animals. These findings demonstrate that the 6-week BDL experimental rat is a relevant model to study liver disease-induced muscle mass loss

New technologies - new insights into the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric syndrome which frequently accompanies acute or chronic liver disease. It is characterized by a variety of symptoms of different severity such as cognitive deficits and impaired motor functions. Currently, HE is seen as a consequence of a low grade cerebral oedema associated with the formation of cerebral oxidative stress and deranged cerebral oscillatory networks. However, the pathogenesis of HE is still incompletely understood as liver dysfunction triggers exceptionally complex metabolic derangements in the body which need to be investigated by appropriate technologies. This review summarizes technological approaches presented at the ISHEN conference 2014 in London which may help to gain new insights into the pathogenesis of HE. Dynamic in vivo13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed to analyse effects of chronic liver failure in rats on brain energy metabolism. By using a genomics approach, microRNA expression changes were identified in plasma of animals with acute liver failure which may be involved in interorgan interactions and which may serve as organ-specific biomarkers for tissue damage during acute liver failure. Genomics were also applied to analyse glutaminase gene polymorphisms in patients with liver cirrhosis indicating that haplotype-dependent glutaminase activity is an important pathogenic factor in HE. Metabonomics represents a promising approach to better understand HE, by capturing the systems level metabolic changes associated with disease in individuals, and enabling monitoring of metabolic phenotypes in real time, over a time course and in response to treatment, to better inform clinical decision making. Targeted fluxomics allow the determination of metabolic reaction rates thereby discriminating metabolite level changes in HE in terms of production, consumption and clearance

Non-collinear magnetism in Al-Mn topologically disordered systems

We have performed the first ab-initio calculations of a possible complex non-collinear magnetic structure in aluminium-rich Al-Mn liquids within the real-space tight-binding LMTO method. In our previous work we predicted the existence of large magnetic moments in Al-Mn liquids [A.M. Bratkovsky, A.V. Smirnov, D. N. Manh, and A. Pasturel, \prb {\bf 52}, 3056 (1995)] which has been very recently confirmed experimentally. Our present calculations show that there is a strong tendency for the moments on Mn to have a non-collinear (random) order retaining their large value of about 3~$\mu_B$. The d-electrons on Mn demonstrate a pronounced non-rigid band behaviour which cannot be reproduced within a simple Stoner picture. The origin of the magnetism in these systems is a topological disorder which drives the moments formation and frustrates their directions in the liquid phase.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex 3.0, 24kb. 3 PS figures available on request from [email protected] The work has been presented at ERC ``Electronic Structire of Solids'' (Lunteren, The Netherlands, 9-14 September 1995

Reverse logistics in household recycling and waste systems : a symbiosis perspective.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the proposition that there is a symbiosis effect for exchanges between household waste recycling systems (HWRSs) and household recycling behaviour (HRB) within the reverse logistics (RL) discourse. Design/methodology/approach – The paper contains empirical findings from a two phase, multi-method approach comprising consecutive inductive and deductive investigations. The qualitative and quantitative data underpin exploratory and explanatory findings which broaden and deepen the understanding of this phenomenon. Findings – Analysis identified significant interactions between situational and personal factors, specifically demographic factors, affecting HRB with key factors identified as engagement, convenience, availability and accessibility. Research limitations/implications – Findings confirm the existence of a symbiosis effect between situational and personal factors and inform current research trends in the environmental sciences, behavioural and logistics literature, particularly identifying consumers as being an important pivot point between forward and RL flows. Practical implications – Findings should inform RL-HWRSs design by municipalities looking to more effectively manage MSW and enhance recycling and sustainability. RL practitioners should introduce systems to support recovery of MSW in sympathy with communication and education initiatives to affect HRB and should also appreciate a symbiosis effect in the design of HWRSs. Social implications – The social implications of improved recycling performances in municipalities are profound. Even incremental improvements in the performance of HWRSs can lead to enhanced sustainability through higher recycling rates, reduced diversion of MSW to landfill, decreases in pollution levels, reduced carbon footprints and reduction in depletion of scarce natural resources. Originality/value – The paper marks an early contribution to the study of symbiosis in HWRSs and HRB pertaining to RL. Findings are offered that identify the key situational and personal factors that interact to affect enhanced HWRSs and also offer insights above those available in current multi-disciplinary literature that has largely examined such factors in isolation. Conclusions offer the possibility of an epistemological bridge between the social and natural sciences

A Bayesian approach to portfolios selection in multicriteria group decision making

In the a-posteriori approach to multicriteria decision making the idea is to first find a set of interesting (usually non-dominated) decision alternatives and then let the decision maker select among these. Often an additional demand is to limit the size of alternatives to a small number of solutions. In this case, it is important to state preferences on sets. In previous work it has been shown that independent normalization of objective functions (using for instance desirability functions) combined with the hypervolume indicator can be used to formulate such set-preferences. A procedure to compute and to maximize the probability that a set of solutions contains at least one satisfactory solution is established. Moreover, we extend the model to the scenario of multiple decision makers. For this we compute the probability that at least one solution in a given set satisfies all decision makers. First, the information required a-priori from the decision makers is considered. Then, a computational procedure to compute the probability for a single set to contain a solution, which is acceptable to all decision makers, is introduced. Thereafter, we discuss how the computational effort can be reduced and how the measure can be maximized. Practical examples for using this in database queries will be discussed, in order to show how this approach relates to applications