Worldwide, organic waste represents one of the most significant shares in the waste management system. Within the framework of circular bioeconomy, new and cutting-edge infrastructure has been developed at the European level to turn organic waste into valuable resources. The present paper aims to provide an exhaustive comparison between the European Union and Latin America regarding organic waste valorization. To this end, an introductive analysis about the state of the art circular bioeconomy in Latin America and Caribbean countries was developed. Subsequently, a systematic literature review in the context of South and Central America was conducted to detect differences and similarities in technologies and best practices for treating biowaste. The results show that the Latin American region is home to numerous bio-based infrastructures: biogas recovery, composting facilities and bioremediation strategies. Nevertheless, a conclusive remark underlines that some social, economic and political barriers are still encountered in the region, and therefore, new and locally-based studies are of paramount importance.

The environmental impact of small-scale palm oil processing mills in Ghana has come under serious questioning, especially the disposal of wastewater generated from their operations. This chapter describes the small-scale palm oil production operations in Ghana to highlight the associated environmental problems arising from the disposal of wastewater and other waste by-products. The chapter further discusses the effluent discharge permitting arrangements and possible modifications to the production practices and policy interventions that could improve their environmental compliance and encourage resource recovery. The data in this chapter was obtained from a survey of selected small-scale palm oil processing mills in Ghana, laboratory analysis of wastewater samples from processing mills and review of related literature. Wastewater generated from the processing activities is currently disposed of without any form of treatment. The characteristics of wastewater indicate the need for treatment before disposal. Treatment technologies that could achieve resource recovery (such as biogas, compost, earthworm biomass) and fit into the framework of circular economy should be explored.

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The study focuses on an Italian composting plant and aims to investigate the impact of the presence of plastic impurities in the collected biowaste on the environmental and economic performance of the plant. The study is divided into two main steps: firstly, a material flow analysis was conducted to quantify the number of impurities (e.g., conventional plastics and biodegradable plastics) before and after the composting process. Secondly, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a complementary Life Cycle Costing (LCC) of the composting process were conducted. The results of the material flow analysis confirmed the initial assumption that conventional plastic remains almost constant before and after the composting treatment, while biodegradable plastic almost disappears. As far as the life cycle analyses are concerned, the most environmentally damaging phases of the process were the shredding and mixing phases, while the operating costs (OPEX) contributed the most to the total annual costs of the company. Finally, a further scenario analysis was performed, assuming that the plastic contaminants in the treated biowaste consisted exclusively of biodegradable plastics. The comparison with this ideal scenario can support decision-makers to understand the potential improvements achievable by addressing the presence of plastic impurities in the biowaste. The results show that the treatment of plastic impurities cause relevant environmental and economic impacts, being responsible for 46% of the total waste to treat at the end of the process, almost 7% of the total annual costs covered by the plant owners and about 30% of all negative externalities.

The study focuses on an Italian composting plant and aims to investigate the impact of the presence of plastic impurities in the collected biowaste on the environmental and economic performance of the plant. The study is divided into two main steps: firstly, a material flow analysis was conducted to quantify the number of impurities (e.g., conventional plastics and compostable plastics) before and after the composting process. Secondly, a life cycle assessment (LCA) and a complementary life cycle costing (LCC) of the composting process were conducted. The results of the material flow analysis confirmed the initial assumption that conventional plastic remains almost constant before and after the composting treatment, while compostable plastic almost disappears. As far as the life cycle analyses are concerned, the most environmentally damaging phases of the process were the shredding and mixing phases, while the operating costs (OPEX) contributed the most to the total annual costs of the company. Finally, a further scenario analysis was performed, assuming that the plastic contaminants in the treated biowaste consisted exclusively of compostable plastics. The comparison with this ideal scenario can support decision-makers to understand the potential improvements achievable by addressing the presence of plastic impurities in the biowaste. The results show that the treatment of plastic impurities causes relevant environmental and economic impacts, being responsible for 46% of the total waste to treat at the end of the process, almost 7% of the total annual costs covered by the plant owners, and about 30% of all negative externalities.