5 research outputs found
Car dependent practices: findings from a sequence pattern mining study of UK time use data
This paper identifies three main understandings of the notion of 'car dependence' in transport research: a micro-social understanding (dependence as an attribute of individuals), a macro approach (attribute of societies or local areas as whole), and a meso-level understanding, where it refers to trips – or rather to the activities that people travel to undertake. While the first two approaches have been dominant, this paper further develops the third, addressing questions as to whether and why certain activities are inherently more difficult to switch away from the car. At the theoretical level, it builds on theories of social practice to put forward the notion of ‘car dependent practices’. At the empirical level, it demonstrates that the application of sequence pattern mining techniques to time use data allows the identification of car and mobility intensive activities, arguably representing the trace of car dependent practices. Overall, the findings of this mining exercise suggest that the emphasis of existing literature on escorting children, shopping and carrying heavy goods as car dependent trip purposes is not misplaced. Our analysis adds to this knowledge by contextualising the information by providing detailed quantitative analysis of a larger, richer set of activities hitherto overlooked in transport policy. The article concludes by illustrating the policy implications of the approach adopted and the findings generated, discussing possible strategies to steer practices in a more sustainable direction by creating material alternatives to the 'cargo function' of car travel
Bayesian Analysis of Air Emission Violations from Waste Incineration and Coincineration Plants
Towards closed-loop recycling of multilayer and coloured PET plastic waste by alkaline hydrolysis
Municipal solid waste management and waste-to-energy in the context of a circular economy and energy recycling in Europe
This paper proposes an overarching review of national municipal waste management systems and waste-
to-energy as an important part of it in the context of circular economy in the selected countries in
Europe. The growth of population and rising standards of living means that the consumption of goods
and energy is increasing. On the one hand, consumption leads to an increase in the generation of waste.
On the other hand, the correlation between increased wealth and increased energy consumption is very
strong as well. Given that the average heating value of municipal solid waste (MSW) is approximately
10 MJ/kg, it seems logical to use waste as a source of energy. Traditionally, waste-to-energy (WtE) has
been associated with incineration. Yet, the term is much broader, embracing various waste treatment
processes generating energy (for instance, in the form of electricity and/or heat or producing a waste-
derived fuel). Turning waste into energy can be one key to a circular economy enabling the value of
products, materials, and resources to be maintained on the market for as long as possible, minimising
waste and resource use. As the circular economy is at the top of the EU agenda, all Member States of the
EU (including the EEA countries) should move away from the old-fashioned disposal of waste to a more
intelligent waste treatment encompassing the circular economy approach in their waste policies.
Therefore, the article examines how these EU policies are implemented in practice. Given that WtE
traditionally is attached to the MSW management and organisation, the focus of this article is twofold.
Firstly, it aims to identify the different practices of municipal waste management employed in selected
countries and their approaches in embracing the circular economy and, secondly, the extent to which
WtE technologies play any role in this context. The following countries, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK were chosen to depict a broad European context