Implementation of the European Union ́s packaging and packaging waste regulation: A decision support framework combining quantitative environmental sustainability assessment methods and socio-technical approaches

The recent proposal for a European Union Regulation on packaging and packaging waste has a two-fold aims: i) to reduce the negative environmental impacts of packaging and packaging waste and ii) to improve the functioning of the internal market. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has historically been able to address the specific objectives of the proposal and is recognized as a key decision support tool in the circular economy context. In this short communication, it is argued that the new EU regulation calls for systemic changes, i.e. changes that are not simply just technological changes, but changes that might give rise to conflicts among actors and that are reliant on the active involvement of end-users. Therefore, to tackle the challenges in the implementation of the requirements of the new regulation a multi-disciplinary research approach able to address both technical aspects and social relations is needed. Accordingly, a conceptual framework combining quantitative environmental sustainability assessment tools (i.e. LCA and Material Flow Analysis) and qualitative socio-technical approaches (i.e. Actor-Network mapping and Practice Theory) is presented. The added value of such combination is illustrated in relation to two cases relevant for packaging, i.e. take-away food and food waste sorting. To exploit the full potential of LCA as a support to the decision-making process, the need to move beyond a product-centric analysis and instead adopt a socio-material perspective is outlined and the packaging sector has the potential to be a frontrunner in this context

Statistical separability and classification of land use classes using image-100

The author has identified the following significant results. The statistical separability of land use classes in the subsets of one to four spectral channels was investigated. Using ground observations and aerial photography, the MSS data of LANDSAT were analyzed with the Image-100. In the subsets of one to three spectral channels, channel 4, channel 4 & 7, and channels 4, 5, & 7 were found to be the best choices (ch.4 - 0.5 to 0.6 microns, ch. 5 - 0.6 to 0.7 microns, ch. 6 - 0.7 to 0.8 microns, and ch. 7 - 0.8 to 1.1 microns). For the single cell option of the Image-100, the errors of omission varied from 5% for the industrial class to 46% for the institutional class. The errors of commission varied from 11% for the commercial class to 39% for the industrial class. On the whole, the sample classifier gave considerably more accurate results compared to the single cell or multicell option

The use of LANDSAT data to monitor the urban growth of Sao Paulo Metropolitan area

Urban growth from 1977 to 1979 of the region between Billings and the Guarapiranga reservoir was mapped and the problematic urban areas identified using several LANDSAT products. Visual and automatic interpretation techniques were applied to the data. Computer compatible tapes of LANDSAT multispectral scanner data were analyzed through the maximum likelihood Gaussian algorithm. The feasibility of monitoring fast urban growth by remote sensing techniques for efficient urban planning and control is demonstrated

Study of the urban evolution of Brasilia with the use of LANDSAT data

The urban growth of Brasilia within the last ten years is analyzed with special emphasis on the utilization of remote sensing orbital data and automatic image processing. The urban spatial structure and the monitoring of its temporal changes were focused in a whole and dynamic way by the utilization of MSS-LANDSAT images for June 1973, 1978 and 1983. In order to aid data interpretation, a registration algorithm implemented at the Interactive Multispectral Image Analysis System (IMAGE-100) was utilized aiming at the overlap of multitemporal images. The utilization of suitable digital filters, combined with the images overlap, allowed a rapid identification of areas of possible urban growth and oriented the field work. The results obtained permitted an evaluation of the urban growth of Brasilia, taking as reference the proposed stated for the construction of the city

Utilization of orbital data from LANDSAT 1 in the classification of urban land usage of the Sao Jose grassland

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Environmental sustainability of liquid food packaging: Is there a gap between Danish consumers' perception and learnings from life cycle assessment?

The environmental impact of packaging has already been studied since the early development of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, and today an extensive amount of studies exists. LCAs inform policy makers and guide companies in developing more environmentally sustainable packaging. From both a policy and a business perspective it is also relevant to understand what citizens and consumers recognize as being an environmentally sustainable packaging. Does perceived environmental sustain ability align with the results of LCAs? And if not, where do consumers go wrong? In this study, we investigate how well-educated young consumers living in Denmark understand the environmental sustainability of five different kinds of packaging for liquid food (milk, beer, soft drink, olive oil and skinned tomatoes) based on an on-line survey and qualitative interviews. The results are compared with a streamlined LCA we performed for packaging of beer and soft drinks, and they are validated by means of comparative LCAs of these five product categories published in scientific literature. The results of the consumer research show that consumers assess the environmental sustainability of the tested types of packaging primarily based on the material type and on what they can personally do at the disposal stage. The consumers covered in this study do, in general, not consider the impacts of production and of transport. Amongst the investigated packaging types, bio-based types and glass are perceived as the most environmentally sustainable ones, and plastic in general is perceived least favourable. Laminated cartons receive a mixed perception. LCA results show that plastic - and especially laminated cartons - can be environmentally preferable solutions, even though they may be difficult to recycle. Our streamlined LCA on beer and soft drink shows that there is a significant difference in environmental performance between one-way glass and refillable glass, but consumers seem not to be aware of this difference. Our findings show i) that there is a gap between Danish consumers' perception of environmental sustainability of packaging and LCA results, and ii) that consumers have limited knowledge of sustainability-related eco-labels. In order to close these gaps, actions are needed both from producers, retailers and policy makers. The final aim of such improvement efforts should be to give to the consumers the possibility to make choices based on better information. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Feminist LCAs: Finding leverage points for wellbeing within planetary boundaries

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies are valuable tools for identifying high impact processes and redesigning supply chains. However, LCAs have limits, in the sense that they offer insight into relative sustainability and don't question whether a product, or its use, is sustainable in absolute terms. In this intentionally provocative paper, you join Emma, a fictional average American 15-year-old, as she consults an LCA researcher, a sustainable consumption expert and a sociologist to investigate the best way to reduce the environmental impact of her hair removal. This paper presents a streamlined LCA for shaving, waxing and laser and connects this to a socio-material analysis of the history of hair removal in the USA to offer intervention into leverage points beyond Emma's choice of product. Our argument is not that avoiding shaving or waxing or laser is ‘the best’ action an individual could take to lower their environmental impact, instead we highlight how even the smallest activities coalesce into billion-dollar industries globally, with attendant billion tonne emissions. Thus, we utilise some of Danielle Meadows' twelve strategic leverage points to change systems in order to identify other interventions, such as (6) shifting information flows to make LCAs more impactful and accessible; (4) self-organising to normalise hairiness; or (3) changing the goals of the system. For example, valuing wellbeing over profit would arguably lead to regulation preventing medical professionals from marketing painful non-medical procedures. This paper reflects on how individuals make sense of their environmental impact within systems and argues for an increased emphasis on global wellbeing and absolute sustainability

Classification of areas using pixel-by-pixel and sample classifiers

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Technical note: Development and validation of a new method for the quantification of soluble and micellar calcium, magnesium, and potassium in milk

Milk mineral content is a key trait for its role in dairy processes such as cheese-making, its use as source of minerals for newborns, and for all traits involving salt-protein interactions. This study investigated a new method for measuring mineral partition between soluble and micellar fractions in bovine milk after rennet coagulation. A new whey dilution step was added to correct the quantification bias due to whey trapped in curd and excluded volume. Moreover, the proposed method allowed the quantification of the diffusible volume after milk coagulation. Milk mineral content and concentration in whey, and diluted whey were quantified by acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The repeatability of the method for micellar Ca, Mg, and K was between 2.07 and 8.96%, whereas reproducibility ranged from 4.01 to 9.44%. Recovery of total milk minerals over 3 spiking levels ranged from 92 to 97%. The proposed method provided an accurate estimation of micellar and soluble minerals in milk, and curd diffusible volume