Zero Waste to Zero Emissions: How Reducing Waste is a Climate Gamechanger

Tangri, Neil; Viella, Mariel; Moon, Doun; Naayem, Natasha

doi:10.46556/mstv3095

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Several NGOs have community-based SWM projects in Metro Manila. GAIA's Zero Waste Cities and stories of impact remain inspiring in this regard; zero waste strategies have been correlated to a reduction in GHG emissions and there is a call for international academic collaboration for zero waste cities (GAIA, 2022(GAIA, , 2023Hannon et al, 2019).…”

Section: Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Circularity Assessment Protocol in Cities to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Jambeck,

Maddalene,

Youngblood

et al. 2024

Community Science

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The circular economy has been promoted as a solution to plastic pollution, but cities and communities bear the brunt of plastic pollution. The Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) is a systems method of collaborative and open data collection for communities to use for decision‐ and policy‐making. The CAP has been utilized in 51 cities in 14 countries and is illustrated here in Metro Manila. Results include identifying manufacturing and parent companies to bring to the table; documenting most (77%) products are in single‐use multi‐layer film packaging; a small, but growing formal refill and reuse system; 10% of to‐go food containers composed of paper‐based alternatives, and a snap‐shot leakage concentration of plastics to the environment that is 1.8%–2.7% of current waste generation. Community narratives emerged from a collaborative workshop and are threaded throughout opportunities identified by the CAP process to inform circularity, future actions, and policy, as a scalable way to create systems change for plastic pollution from the ground up.

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Section: Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Circularity Assessment Protocol in Cities to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Jambeck,

Maddalene,

Youngblood

et al. 2024

Community Science

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“…Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 emphasizes the efficient recycling of organic waste to reduce reliance on fertilizers and promote sustainable agriculture [5]. Recycling organic waste also helps decrease landfill disposal, aiding in closing the nutrient cycle and reducing methane emissions by approximately 62% [6]. Composting can be an alternative to landfill disposal, which aligns with SDG 13 for Climate Action, as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composting of Biowaste Generated in University Canteens and Rural Households: Converting Waste into a Valuable Product

Baptista,

Rodrigues,

Quina

2024

Sustainability

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The growing production of biowaste is causing serious environmental concerns, and composting has emerged as an environmentally friendly solution. This approach contributes to the real circular economy of biowaste, avoiding landfill disposal. This process is flexible as it can be carried out on a domestic or industrial scale. This work focused on the formulation and monitoring of two different composting processes (on a laboratory and domestic scale), to recover biowaste from a university canteen and a rural household, as well as evaluating the quality of the final composts. Three different mixtures of canteen food waste (CFW) and olive wood chips (OWC) were tested at lab scale (CFW:OWC 100:0, 40:60, and 60:40%), with two replicates carried out on the second mixture; a single mixture was tested at the domestic experiment (40:60%). The results showed that both processes reached thermophilic temperatures, with a peak of 65 °C on the lab scale and 75 °C recorded in the domestic composting. Reaching thermophilic temperatures is essential in composting, to maximize the rate of organic matter (OM) decomposition and improve compost quality (e.g., stability and maturation). The moisture content (MC) of biowaste proved to be a critical parameter since the high MC of CFW led to the inhibition of the aerobic process in the mixture without OWC (100% of CFW). On the contrary, a large quantity of OWC (60:40%) showed lower biodegradability due to the presence of lignocellulosic compounds. Analysis of the quality of the final compost revealed that although domestic composting was a process with a low level of control, it allowed obtaining quality compost for agronomic applications, similar to that produced on a laboratory scale. All final composts (after 120 days) were stable and mature, according to the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and the germination index (GI). Indeed, OUR complied with the regulatory limits (15 and 25 mmolO2/kgOM.h) to be considered soil correctives or organic fertilizers, evidencing the stability of the materials. All composts are non-phytotoxic (GI above 80%), meaning that they are suitable for plant growth. The composts produced retained a significant amount of carbon (40–70%), with a high value for returning carbon to the soil in stable OM forms. Thus, when applied to the soil, a significant amount of carbon is carried to this compartment, making a valuable contribution to closing the carbon cycle and avoiding the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Overall, it was possible to conclude that biowaste from university canteens and households can be recovered by composting, as long as it is mixed with a bulking agent (such as OWC), which promotes the process and improves the properties of the composts.

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Zero Waste to Zero Emissions: How Reducing Waste is a Climate Gamechanger

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The Circularity Assessment Protocol in Cities to Reduce Plastic Pollution

The Circularity Assessment Protocol in Cities to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Composting of Biowaste Generated in University Canteens and Rural Households: Converting Waste into a Valuable Product

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