Poland’s Proposal for a Safe Solution of Waste Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Circular Economy Connection

Abstract

The purpose of the study presented in this text is to show the influence of COVID-19 on waste management systems and circular economy stream, and their impact on circular economy, particularly the economic impact of the pandemic on the waste management sector, impact on circular economy objectives’ implementation as well as additional challenges like the need for hygienization of waste streams during different implementation efforts, such as changes in the municipal solid waste market and different waste processes of their disposal. Additionally, some methods—such as thermal treatment—which seemed to be not fully aligned with the circular economy approach have advantages not taken into account before. Incineration of higher volume of waste affects the waste structure and will change some of the circular economy objectives. The analysis was carried out on the example of the Polish market.

Waste management beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Bibliometric and text mining analyses

“…Developing circular networks and creating circularity to reduce waste, and to return resources to the production cycle was proposed by Alonso-Muñoz et al (2021) , as a cure to make the supply chains resilient against the pandemic adverse effects. Designing eco-design process of face masks based on circularity and life cycle assessment ( Boix Rodríguez et al, 2021 ), recycling of the materials of the disposable filtering masks ( Battegazzore et al, 2020 ), the potential of agri-food loss and waste to contribute to a circular economy ( Osorio et al, 2021 ), blockchain-based forward supply chain and WM practices for COVID-19 medical equipment and supplies ( Ahmad et al, 2021 ), safe WM during the pandemic and circular economy implementation ( Pikoń et al, 2021 ), and the interplay of industry 4.0 and circular economy for developing a smart healthcare waste disposal system ( Chauhan et al, 2021 ) have constructed the bottom line of this research theme. In this regard, smart cities with a special focus on using smart technologies, such as Internet of Things, big data analytics, and cyber-based decision support systems can better support solving WM problems ( Shevchenko et al, 2021b ).…”

“…On the other hand, due to the infectious nature of the generated healthcare waste, reusing, repairing, and recycling programs of such waste have faced serious challenges. Although limited research has been conducted on the potential of circular economy approaches to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on waste ( Kumar et al, 2021 , Pikoń et al, 2021 , Sharma et al, 2021 ), research in this area is still in its immaturity stage and so far from practice and implementation in the real world. Therefore, building a circular economy framework from the design stage to the implementation stage is of high importance to effectively deal with COVID-related waste.…”

Technology Entrepreneurship and the Performance of Enterprises in the Conditions of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Fuzzy Set Analysis of Waste to Energy Enterprises in Poland

“…Mostly, due to the high importance for local communities, high transport costs and large-scale investments, these are initiatives in the area of local public-private partnerships. Local, public-private RDF processing plants for energy should balance the current advantage of supply over demand in the RDF market in Poland and reduce the currently very strong competitive position of cement plants [114].…”

Green Deal and Circular Economy of Bottom Ash Waste Management in Building Industry—Alkali (NaOH) Pre-Treatment

“…The green deal is integrated within the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. The management of secondary waste in construction is in line with SDG 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns) and SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts), and can extend the life cycle of products or materials [ 7 , 10 ].…”