Zero Waste and Conversion Efficiencies of Various Technologies for Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste

Zero waste is a philosophy and a design principle of dealing with our waste stream for the ~21st century. After reviewing the available information, the goal of zero waste from landfill is considered to be unachievable by using known and proven methods and ~approaches . The comparison of various technologies shows that the conversion efficiencies depend upon the type of system chosen for processing residual waste, and the best overall diversion rate of waste management system that can be achieved is about 71%. The maximum achievable overall diversion rate can be increased to approximate 92% if current environmental regulations to permit the routine use of the bottom ash or char for advanced thermal technologies.

Sustainable waste management for zero waste cities in China:potential,challenges and opportunities

Waste is a valuable secondary carbon resource.In the linear economy,it is predominantly landfilled or incinerated.These disposal routes not only lead to diverse climate,environmental and societal problems;they also represent a loss of carbon resources.In a circular carbon economy,waste is used as a secondary carbon feedstock to replace fossil resources for production.This contributes to environmental protection and resource conservation.It furthermore increases a nation’s independence from imported fossil energy sources.China is at the start of its transition from a linear to circular carbon economy.It can thus draw on waste management experiences of other economies and assess the opportunities for transference to support its development of‘zero waste cities’.This paper has three main focuses.First is an assessment of drivers for China’s zero waste cities initiative and the approaches that have been implemented to combat its growing waste crisis.Second is a sharing of Germany’s experience-a forerunner in the implementation of the waste hierarchy(reduce-reuse-recycle-recover-landfill)with extensive experience in circular carbon technologies-in sustainable waste management.Last is an identification of transference opportunities for China’s zero waste cities.Specific transference opportunities identified range from measures to promote waste prevention,waste separation and waste reduction,generating additional value via mechanical recycling,implementing chemical recycling as a recycling option before energy recovery to extending energy recovery opportunities.

Treating wastewater under zero waste principle using wetland mesocosms

The present investigation demonstrates the synergistic action of using a sedimentation unit together with Cyperus papyrus(L.)wetland enriched with zeolite mineral in one-year round experiment for treating wastewater.The system was designed to support a horizontal surface flow pattern and showed satisfactory removal efficiencies for both physicochemical and bacteriological contaminants within 3 days of residence time.The removal efficiencies ranged between 76.3%and 98.8%for total suspended solids,turbidity,iron,biological oxygen demand,and ammonia.The bacterial indicators(total and fecal coliforms,as well as fecal streptococci)and the potential pathogens(Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus,and Pseudomonas aeruginosa)showed removal efficiencies ranged between 96.9%and 99.8%.We expect the system to offer a smart management for every component according to zero waste principle.The treated effluent was reused to irrigate the landscape of pilot area,and the excess sludge was recycled as fertilizer and soil conditioner.The zeolite mineral did not require regeneration for almost 36 weeks of operation,and enhanced the density of shoots(14.11%)and the height of shoots(15.88%).The harvested plant biomass could be a profitable resource for potent antibacterial and antioxidant bioactive compounds.This could certainly offset part of the operation and maintenance costs and optimize the system implementation feasibility.Although the experiment was designed under local conditions,its results could provide insights to upgrade and optimize the performance of other analogous large-scale constructed wetlands.

Economics of Recycling and Recovery

In the below-given paper, a holistic, multidisciplinary approach of goods consumption, the economics of recycling and recovery is unfolding, concisely structured, until 2013. The analysis was focused, in brief, on some economic models addressed to environmental issues, tax policies, welfare, waste management, and specifically on recycling and reuse economic modelling. Recycle is an established practice in many countries, while reuse is still under development. Reuse in many aspects is a more desirable option, as far as waste management concerns, and EU legislation seems to encourage this practice. Many industries, especially in the technology section, have developed recycle and reuse programs in order to gain an advantage, while some of them have set a target of zero waste in their production process.

Effects of zero burning waste on the quality of liquid fertilizer and vermicompost

Peatland is an important ecosystem in Indonesia.But in almost every dry season,drained peatlands have been subject to detrimental wildfires.As a response,the government has explicitly prohibited the burning of land since 2016.To clear the land of crop residues and conduct zero burning practices,one alternative method is to utilize the waste biomass to support the cultivation of earthworms(vermiculture).This study examined the quality of liquid fertilizers and compost produced from vermiculture using a completely randomized factorial design,consisting of two treatment factors.The first factor was worm type,with two species used in this research named Lumbricus rubellus and Eudrilus eugeniae.The second factor was the type of feed provided to the worms,comprising no feed(control),vegetable waste,and crop residue waste resulting from zero burning land preparation.The type of feed significantly affected the pH value of the liquid fertilizer produced by the vermiculture but did not significantly affect the nutrient contents(N,P,and K).The combination of the types of earthworms and types of feed significantly affected the pH value of the vermicompost.The combination of worm types and feed types had a significant effect on exchangeable Ca,but not on exchangeable Mg,Na,and K.In combination,green vegetable waste and Lumbricus rubellus produced the greatest effect on soil CEC.However,for Base Saturation,the control(no food)and Eudrilus eugeniae showed the highest value.Types of worms and types of feed had a significant effect on the exchangeable Mg,while the other three parameters made no significant differences.Zero burning waste and Eudrilus eugeniae provide a better exchangeable Ca and Mg.In contrast,no-feeding and Eudrilus eugeniae have a better effect on exchangeable Na and K.Types of worms and types of feed did not significantly affect the weight of worm colonies,but the addition of feed increased the weight of worms with the highest weight resulting from the use of zero burning waste feed.The results showed that crop residue wastes were potentially good as a feed for earthworms.