Material Recycling and the Myth of Landfill Diversion

This article aims to propose a methodological framework to determine the degree of the dynamic impact of the effect of activities in the field of sustainable waste logistics on the development of trade in recyclable raw materials in the chosen countries of the European Union, especially in Poland and Hungary. In order to determine the dynamic interdependence between the indicated phenomena, econometric tools associated with the vector autoregression model were used, namely: Granger causality tests, impulse response function and variance decomposition of forecast errors. The tools used will not only identify the direction of the causal interdependence between the effects of sustainable logistics activities and the development of trade in recyclable raw materials, but also allow to determine the strength of the interaction between these variables. The conducted research shows that changes in the environmental effects of waste logistics activities are the Granger cause of changes occurring in the trade of renewable raw materials, especially in Hungary. Considering adequately delayed values of the synthetic development measure of the environmental effects of waste logistics increases the accuracy of predictions for changes in the trade of recyclable raw materials.

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“…recyclable raw materials market [68,69]; − waste logistics [70]; − closed waste treatment and recycling [71].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Waste Logistics and the Development of Trade in Recyclable Raw Materials in Poland and Hungary

Mesjasz-Lech

Michelberger

2019

Sustainability

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“…However, various lifecycle analyses identify, as a very significant factor, the importance of reducing our demand for plastic materials per se. 2,91,103,104 Around one half of plastic waste (by mass) arises from plastic packaging, 3 and if the 90% 14 of all plastic items that are used once, and then thrown away, are tallied together, some 50% of the total mass of manufactured plastics is thus accounted for. 38 The ‘Blue Planet Effect’ has stimulated several UK supermarkets to offer plastic-free alternatives, 105,106 although in some cases such ‘loose’ fruit and vegetables are more expensive to buy than their plastic wrapped counterparts.…”

Section: Using Less Plastic In the First Placementioning

confidence: 99%

Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation

Rhodes¹

2019

Science Progress

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Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of all plastics made, but amounts to 47% of all plastic waste; 90% of all plastic items are used once and then discarded, which corresponds to around 50% of the total mass of plastics manufactured. Evidence for the ubiquity of microplastic pollution is accumulating rapidly, and wherever such material is sought, it seems to be found. Thus, microplastics have been identified in Arctic ice, the air, food and drinking water, soils, rivers, aquifers, remote maintain regions, glaciers, the oceans and ocean sediments, including waters and deep sea sediments around Antarctica, and within the deepest marine trenches of the Earth. They have also been detected in the bodies of animals, including humans, and as being passed along the hierarchy of food chains, up to marine top predators. Evidence has also been presented that microplastics are able to cross different life stages of mosquito that use different habitats -larva (feeding) to pupa (non-feeding) to adult terrestrial (flying) -and therefore can be spread from aquatic systems by flying insects. The so-called 'missing plastic problem' appears to be, in part, due to limitations in sampling methods, that is, many of the very small microplastic particles may simply escape capture in the trawl nets that are typically employed to collect them, but have been evidenced in grab-sampling experiments. Moreover, it is simply not possible to measure entirely through the vast, oceanic volumes of the oceans. It can, however, be concluded with some confidence that the majority of the plastic is not located at the sea surface, and indeed, several different sinks have been proposed for microplastics, including the sea floor and sediments, the ocean column itself, ice sheets, glaciers and soils. The treatment of land with sewage sludge is also thought to make a significant contribution of microplastics to soil. A substantial amount of airborne microparticulate pollution is created by the abrasion of tyres on road surfaces (and other 'non-exhaust' sources), meaning that even electric vehicles are not 'clean' in this regard, despite their elimination of tailpipe PM 2.5 and PM 10 emissions. The emergence of nanoplastics in the environment poses a new set of potential threats, although any impacts on human health are not yet known, save, as indicated from model studies. While improved design, manufacture, collection, reuse, repurposing and reprocessing/recycling of plastic items are necessary, overwhelmingly, a Article Rhodes 219 curbing in the use of plastic materials in the first place is demanded, particularly from single-use packaging. However, plastic pollution is just one element in the overall matrix of a changing climate ('the world's woes') and must be addressed as part of an integrated consideration of how we use all resources, fossil and otherwise, and the need to change our expectations, goals and lifestyles. In this effort, the role of deglobalisation/relocalisation may prove critical: thus, food and other necessities might be produced more on...

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“…Nearly a quarter of MSW is disposed of at landfills [1]. The reduction of annual MSW production and the ecological treatment of historically accumulated waste landfills have become increasingly urgent [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Microbial Communities in Aged Refuse Based on 16S Sequencing

Hou

Yuan

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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Aged refuse is widely considered to have certain soil fertility. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing is used to investigate the microbial community of aged refuse. The aged refuse is found to contain higher soil fertility elements (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, etc.) and higher concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, and Hg). Taxonomy based on operational taxonomic units (OTUs) shows that Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, and Gemmatimonadetes are the main bacterial phyla in the two soils and there is a palpable difference in the microbial community composition between the two groups of samples. The genera Paramaledivibacter, Limnochorda, Marinobacter, Pseudaminobacter, Kocuria, Bdellovibrio, Halomonas, Gillisia, and Membranicola are enriched in the aged refuse. Functional predictive analysis shows that both the control soil and aged refuse have a high abundance of “carbohydrate metabolism” and “amino acid metabolism”, and show differences in the abundance of several metabolism pathways, such as “xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism” and “lipid metabolism”. Aged refuse and undisturbed soil show significant differences in alpha diversity and microbial community composition. Multiple environmental factors (Hg, TN, Cr, Cd, etc.) significantly impact microorganisms’ abundance (Marinobacter, Halomonas, Blastococcus, etc.). Our study provides valuable knowledge for the ecological restoration of closed landfills.

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Material Recycling and the Myth of Landfill Diversion

Cited by 60 publications

References 32 publications

Sustainable Waste Logistics and the Development of Trade in Recyclable Raw Materials in Poland and Hungary

Sustainable Waste Logistics and the Development of Trade in Recyclable Raw Materials in Poland and Hungary

Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation

Analysis of Microbial Communities in Aged Refuse Based on 16S Sequencing

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