Approaching a zero-waste strategy by reuse in New York City: Challenges and potential

Abstract

<jats:p> In New York City (NYC), the aspiring target of zero waste to landfills is robustly engaging the often poorly understood solid waste management technique of reuse. The reuse activities occurring in NYC are reported, accounting for the quantities of reuse of various products, such as furniture, appliances and automobile accessories, amongst others. The quantities of products are translated to reuse mass and net CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-eq emissions saved as a consequence of reuse. This quantitative assessment employs the Reuse Impact Calculator (RIC), based on the Waste Reduction Model (WARM). The RIC is a novel calculator used to quantitatively assess the environmental impact of material reuse. It uses the information about the material to be reused from the WARM database and estimates the emissions and energy savings based on the product’s final destination, that is, reuse, landfill, recycle or composting. A close monitoring of reuse activities in NYC shows 45 × 10<jats:sup>6</jats:sup> kg of reuse occurring for different products that would otherwise be directed to landfills. The net emissions reduced annually by reuse is approximately 122 × 10<jats:sup>6</jats:sup> kg of CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-eq. This article compares the NYC reuse activities with that occurring in some select cities of the world. It is shown that the maximum recycle potential is saturated at 66%, and only auxiliary strategies like reuse can achieve the zero waste to landfill ambitions. Furthermore, this work discusses the role of reuse in the circular economy, wherein the resource utilization is maximized by increasing the shelf life of the product, and thereby enabling a maximum reuse potential. </jats:p>

Circular Economy and Solid Waste Management: Connections from a Bibliometric Analysis

“…Finally, it is worth highlighting the work of Lugo, Ail, and Castaldi [60], where the authors focused on the relevance of reuse as a catalyst for reducing greenhouse gases in New York City. The most recent data, according to the authors, showed that the net emissions reduced annually as a result of reuse were close to 122 × 106 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) units.…”

A Study on the Willingness of Industrial Ecological Transformation from China’s Zero Waste Cities Perspective

“…Especially in different countries, different social backgrounds as well as economic systems, and different regions have their own history of industrial development, therefore experts from various countries have proposed relevant urban management approaches for specific cities. By introducing social forces and adopting cooperation between government and enterprises to establish a benign industrial end-cycle, we aim to realize the material cycle through “industrial digestion” and realize the creation of a “Zero Waste” city [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”

Economic Instruments of Strategic Household Waste Management

“…The problem of household waste management is the subject of research in the field of economic, environmental, and legal sciences. This research is based on the methodological principles of ma-nagement, as developed by O. Samoilov [5]; strategic directions for the management of the solid waste management system, as proposed by Andrew Whiteman, Mike Webster, David C. Wilson [6], Michael Lugo, Snehesh Shivananda Ail, Marco J. Castaldi [7]; economic tools of waste management, as described by Chiara Magrini, Filippo D'Addato, Alessandra Bonoli [8], Iman Ghalehkhondabi, Reza Maihami [9]; the formation of a ba lanced system of relationships among the members of the waste management system, as developed by Daker Taha Dib Elrabaya [10].…”