Waste avoidance and reuse strategies for residential buildings in Australia

Introduction The Beyond Waste Fund is an initiative managed by Sustainability Victoria to help businesses avoid waste sent to landfill. The fund supports innovations that focus on waste avoidance, reduction and reuse, leading to improved resource management, and better environmental outcomes. As part of the Beyond Waste Fund, a partnership between Burbank Australia, the Housing Industry Association (HIA), and the Centre for Design at RMIT University was established to conduct a research study aiming at reducing the waste generated in the construction phase of building by the volume residential building sector in Australia. The major steps in this project were to: 1.    Establish a waste audit methodology 2.    Undertake and assess an initial waste audit on a typical volume-built house 3.    Develop waste avoidance strategies 4.    Assess the efficacy of waste avoidance strategies by undertaking a final waste audit on a typical volume build-house, which utilises the identified strategies. This report presents the final outcomes of this study, outlining the goal and scope of the study, the waste audit methodology and initial audit results, waste avoidance strategies, final audit results and an assessment on the efficacy and implementation of waste avoidance strategies

Behavioral thermoregulation in the American lobster Homarus americanus

It is generally accepted that water temperature has a strong influence on the behavior of the American lobster Homarus americanus. However, there is surprisingly little behavioral evidence to support this view. To haracterize the behavioral responses of lobsters to thermal gradients, three different experiments were conducted. In the first, 40 lobsters acclimated to summer water temperatures (summer-acclimated, 15.5±0.2 °C, mean ±S.E.M.) were placed individually in an experimental shelter, and the temperature in the shelter was gradually raised until the lobster moved out. Lobsters avoided water warmer than 23.5±0.4 °C, which was an increase of 8.0±0.4 °C from ambient summer temperatures. When this experiment was repeated with lobsters acclimated to winter temperatures (winter-acclimated, 4.3±0.1 °C), the lobsters (N=30) did not find temperature increases of the same magnitude (∆T=8.0±0.4 °C) aversive. The second experiment was designed to allow individual summer-acclimated lobsters (N=22) to select one of five shelters, ranging in temperature from 8.5 to 25.5 °C. After 24 h, 68 % of the lobsters occupied the 12.5 °C shelter, which was slightly above the ambient temperature (approximately 11 °C). In a similar experiment, winter-acclimated lobsters (N=30) were given a choice between two shelters, one at ambient temperature (4.6±0.2 °C) and one at a higher temperature (9.7±0.3 °C). Winter-acclimated lobsters showed a strong preference (90 %) for the heated shelter. In the final experiment, summer-acclimated lobsters (N=9) were allowed to move freely in a tank having a thermal gradient of approximately 10 °C from one end to the other. Lobsters preferred a thermal niche of 16.5±0.4 °C and avoided water that was warmer than 19 °C or colder than 13 °C. When standardized for acclimation temperature, lobsters preferred water 1.2±0.4 °C above their previous ambient temperature. Collectively, the results of these studies indicate that lobsters are capable of sensing water temperature and use this information to thermoregulate behaviorally. The implications of these findings for lobster behavior and distribution in their natural habitat are discussed

Systematic review of greenhouse gas emissions for different fresh food categories

This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review of greenhouse gas emissions for different food categories from life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, to enable streamline calculations that could inform dietary choice. The motivation for completing the paper was the inadequate synthesis of food greenhouse gas emissions available in the public domain. The paper reviewed 369 published studies that provided 1,718 global warming potential (GWP) values for 168 varieties of fresh produce. A meta-analysis of the LCA studies was completed for the following categories: fresh vegetables (root vegetables, brassica, leaves and stems); fresh fruits, (pepo, hesperidium, true berries, pomes, aggregates fruits and drupes); staples (grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and rice); dairy (almond/coconut milk, soy milk, dairy milk, butter and cheese); non-ruminant livestock (chicken, fish, pork); and ruminant livestock (lamb and beef). The meta-analysis indicates a clear greenhouse gas hierarchy emerging across the food categories, with grains, fruit and vegetables having the lowest impact and meat from ruminants having the highest impact. The meta-analysis presents the median, mean, standard deviation, upper and lower quartile, minimum and maximum results for each food category. The resultant data enables streamline calculations of the global warming potential of human diets, and is illustrated by a short case study of an Australian family’s weekly shop. The database is provided in the Appendix as a resource for practitioners. The paper concludes with recommendations for future LCA studies to focus upon with respect to content and approach

A greenhouse gas assessment of a stadium in Australia

A greenhouse gas (GHG) life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a stadium used for sporting events in a subtropical region in Australia. Inventories for the construction and operation of a stadium are presented and the GHG emissions from construction, operations and end-of-life waste management are assessed against the attendance of one person at one event. The inclusion of additional economic activities, patron travel, LCA methodology, attendance and stadium life-time assumptions are likely to affect the overall magnitude of the GHG emissions of one person's attendance. The assessment shows that the stadium operation accounted for 72.5% of GHG emissions, with the operation of baseload heating, ventilation and cooling, lighting and refrigeration systems dominating. The best opportunity to reduce GHG emissions is to reduce the need for the continual operation of these systems. Construction impacts account for 24.7% of impacts, while replacement materials, end-of-life management of materials are relatively insignificant, contributing to less than 3% of life cycle GHG emissions

Capability framework for sustainable manufacturing of sports apparel and footwear

The sporting goods sector is characterized by large volumes of production, high levels of consumption and short product life cycles resulting in high disposal rates and waste. Manufacturing of sports products is distributed globally through tier-based supply chains and complex logistics systems. Companies within such supply chains have different levels of capability in sustainable manufacturing, which impacts on the sustainability of the overall business. Reducing environmental impacts is of particular concern for companies at present, due to heightened requirements for the reduction of energy and water consumption, waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This article describes outcomes of a research project conducted in collaboration with a global sporting goods manufacturer that focused on the development of relevant capabilities across their supply chain for sustainable manufacturing of sports apparel and footwear. The article presents the developed sustainable manufacturing framework and capability assessment results obtained for selected companies within the supply chain of this global manufacturer in Asia