A Parameter Selection Framework for Sustainability Assessment

Sustainability assessment of resource recovery from waste is an important prerequisite for informed and sound decision-making. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) has been developed to support this process, yet its use is still constrained by the difficulty of identifying the most relevant impact parameters. This paper, seeks to inform LCSA for resource recovery from waste based on a parameter identification approach that uses the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) analysis. The novelty of this approach lies in the structured conceptualisation of the resource recovery system and the context within which decisions are made. The anaerobic digestion of source-separated food waste in the UK is used as a case study to trial and demonstrate the approach. Findings suggest that a conceptual, qualitative analysis, although limited in its scope due to the lack of quantitative components, is suitable in integrating different parameters, allowing for a holistic conceptualisation of the system and capturing important issues that could be easily overlooked. This type of analysis can summarise the key interdependencies, contrast the trade-offs and provide a wider understanding of the political and legal context within which the system operates, all important in extending the implementation of LCSA towards the right direction

Improved isolation of cadmium from paddy soil by novel technology based on pore water drainage with graphite-contained electro-kinetic geosynthetics

Novel soil remediation equipment based on electro-kinetic geosynthetics (EKG) was developed for in situ isolation of metals from paddy soil. Two mutually independent field plot experiments A and B (with and without electric current applied) were conducted. After saturation using ferric chloride (FeCl3) and calcium chloride (CaCl2), soil water drainage capacity, soil cadmium (Cd) removal performance, energy consumption as well as soil residual of iron (Fe) and chloride (Cl) were assessed. Cadmium dissolved in the soil matrix and resulted in a 100% increase of diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extracted phyto-available Cd. The total soil Cd content reductions were 15.20% and 26.58% for groups A and B, respectively, and electric field applications resulted in a 74.87% increase of soil total Cd removal. The electric energy consumption was only 2.17 kWh/m3 for group B. Drainage by gravity contributed to > 90% of the overall soil dewatering capacity. Compared to conventional electro-kinetic technology, excellent and fast soil water drainage resulted in negligible hydrogen ion (H+) and hydroxide ion (OH−) accumulation at nearby electrode zones, which addressed the challenge of anode corrosion and cathode precipitation of soil metals. External addition of FeCl3 and CaCl2 caused soil Fe and Cl residuals and led to 4.33–7.59% and 139–172% acceptable augments in soil total Fe and Cl content, correspondingly, if compared to original untreated soils. Therefore, the novel soil remediation equipment developed based on EKG can be regarded as a promising new in situ technology for thoroughly isolating metals from large-scale paddy soil fields

An overview of the challenges and trade-offs in closing the loop of post-consumer plastic waste (PCPW): Focus on recycling

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Recycling of post-consumer plastic waste (PCPW) is increasingly promoted as the means to achieving circular economy (CE). It converts plastic waste into a secondary material that can be fed back into the system, for use in the same or new components and products, with similar or lower functionality; hence “closing the loop”. Up until today, research on examining the environmental impacts, economic implications and technicalities of plastic waste recycling deals with one particular aspect, or stage on the plastic value chain, lacking coherence and structure. To move this research forward, understanding the challenges and trade-offs in scaling up plastic waste recycling is necessary. Here, we bring together existing literature on the multi-faceted aspects of closing the plastic loop, critically debating on the multi-stakeholder endeavours of promoting circularity in the plastics value chain. We present an overview of how the design, production, collection and sorting of PCPW present challenges for plastic waste recycling, which in turn result to a number of trade-offs. We explain that the evaluation of the multi-dimensional implications of trade-offs arising from the PCPW recycling, is essential in measuring the long-term sustainability of resource recovery from waste systems. This work scrutinises the sustainability of closing the plastic waste loops and sets a future research agenda

An overview on the occurrence, fate and human risks of Bisphenol‐A (BPA) present in plastic materials, components and products (MCPs)

John Hahladakis ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8776-6345; Eleni Iacovidou ORCID: 0000-0001-6841-0995; Spyridoula Gerassimidou ORCID: 0000-0003-3529-5761. Data availability statement: Data, associated metadata, and calculation tools are available from corresponding author John N. Hahladakis ([email protected], [email protected]).There are no funders to report for this submission

Assessing the role and use of recycled aggregates in the sustainable management of construction and demolition waste via a mini-review and a case study

Rapid industrial development, mega construction projects and increased immigration are some of the reasons that the State of Qatar has recently generated an unprecedented amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the country. The State is racing towards the Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup 2022, a fact that requires additional construction, for which it is expected to increase its rate of waste generation. Compared to other regions, there are relatively few studies in the literature that report on the C&D waste management issues of Qatar. The present work begins to address this gap by providing insights into the current state of C&D waste management practices in Qatar and by providing a mini-review on the benefits of using recycled aggregates which have only recently been allowed locally by Qatar Construction Standards. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis has been implemented, using data and information from various sources including governmental reports, industries, local waste management companies, as well as reported interviews with relevant stakeholders. Finally, several strategies were proposed and developed that could potentially be implemented by stakeholders and decision-makers, so as to improve the current status by encouraging more sustainable and viable practices

Impact of dry recyclables collection schemes on plastics recycling in the UK: Circular economy highly depends on collection logistics

European Commission (EC) recently introduced a ‘Circular economy package’, setting ambitious recycling targets and identifying waste plastics as a key area where major improvements and focus is necessary. The importance of plastics as a landmark case for the circular economy is denoted by the significant report on ‘New plastics economy’ released by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The multiple array of challenges faced up for used plastics has been vividly exemplified in a recent International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) report looking at the polypropylene (PP) case (‘Closing the loops’). Here, we take a closer look at collection modalities, a crucial aspect affecting the quantity and quality of recycling, using recent empirical serial data from household (HH) dry recyclables collection in the UK, and specifically within the devolved administration of England

Unpacking the complexity of the polyethylene food contact articles value chain: A chemicals perspective

Data Availability: Data is provided in the supplementary material available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389423007057?via%3Dihub#sec0110 .Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Polyethylene (PE) is the most widely used type of plastic food packaging, in which chemicals can potentially migrate into packaged foods. The implications of using and recycling PE from a chemical perspective remain underexplored. This study is a systematic evidence map of 116 studies looking at the migration of food contact chemicals (FCCs) across the lifecycle of PE food packaging. It identified a total of 377 FCCs, of which 211 were detected to migrate from PE articles into food or food simulants at least once. These 211 FCCs were checked against the inventory FCCs databases and EU regulatory lists. Only 25% of the detected FCCs are authorized by EU regulation for the manufacture of food contact materials. Furthermore, a quarter of authorized FCCs exceeded the specific migration limit (SML) at least once, while one-third (53) of non-authorised FCCs exceeded the threshold value of 10 μg/kg. Overall, evidence on FCCs migration across the PE food packaging lifecycle is incomplete, especially at the reprocessing stage. Considering the EU’s commitment to increase packaging recycling, a better understanding and monitoring of PE food packaging quality from a chemical perspective across the entire lifecycle will enable the transition towards a sustainable plastics value chain.Brunel University London as part of the Brunel Research Initiative & Enterprise Fund (BRIEF) award No.11683100, in the context of the ‘Closing the Plastic Food Packaging Loop’ project; Food Packaging Forum (FPF)

Unpacking the complexity of the PET drink bottles value chain: A chemicals perspective

Appendix A. Supplementary material: Download Word document (https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0304389422001984-mmc1.docx, 20KB)Brunel University London (Brunel Research Initiative & Enterprise Fund (BRIEF) award No.11683100, ‘Closing the Plastic Food Packaging Loop’ project).https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0304389422001984-mmc1.doc