SECTOR WATCH 

Innovation and Resources on Urban Waste

SECTOR WATCH SEARCH RESULTS ( 1 - 6 from 6 )

Analysis

Trash tech: smart city and IoT infiltrate the industry

31 May 2019

New emerging infrastructure and capabilities offered by Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Blockchain technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are expected to play a vital part in the paradigm shift towards reducing waste and extending product lifecycles within the circular Smart Cities of the future. The IoT concept predicts a world in which physical, digital, and virtual objects are interconnected in a network with the ability to share data. If used correctly, the IoT ecosystem could see improvements in safety, turnaround times and customisation. But perhaps most far-reaching impacts will involve large data systems that drive sustainability in logistics and supply chains, via increased transparency of the product lifecycle through data collection and analysis, helping cities manage resources and infrastructure more efficiently.


Fast forward to the future   

IoT has the potential to improve in all three main waste management practices: prevention (e.g. product design, awareness campaigns, legislation), end-of-pipe strategies (e.g. recycling, waste separation, incineration, proper landfill) and environmental restoration. Prevention offers the most effective method with the lowest impact control costs, while environmental restoration is the most expensive practice with the lowest effectiveness. Currently, data are collected everywhere by different organisations, but communication between sources and an integrated and connected (product lifecycle) data cloud that can be shared between them is lacking.


IoT hierarchy

IoT may involve three core layers: (1) collection of product lifecycle data to maximise use (2) new business models based on connected and involved citizens for sharing products and service information to avoid waste generation, and (3) an intelligent sensor-based infrastructure for on-time collection and separation of waste to assure effective waste recovery operations. The first two aim to prevent waste, the third to improve efficiency of collection and recovery.


Barcelona

Working to become the “smartest city on the planet” (Fortune 2014), Barcelona’s mantra is to be an “inclusive, self-sufficient smart city in a hyper-connected zero emissions Metropolitan area”. Their end-to-end Smart City strategy impacts almost every urban service via open data initiatives, smart lighting, e-mobility and energy (heating and cooling networks). For street lighting for example, which uses most of a city’s energy consumption, a highly efficient remotely managed system saves energy, optimises maintenance and provides a safe environment for citizens. A smart water irrigation hydric balance system enables watering and irrigation organisation through sensor and electrovalves. The projects delivered 43 million Euro of benefits between 2011-2014, with an expected cumulative 832 million Euro by 2025, saving 9,700 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and 600,000 liters of water each year in the long term through reduced lighting power consumption, reduced travel and office space while increasing attractiveness and liveability.  


Transportation efficiency

Transportation is one of the greatest contributors to worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and one of the largest costs of waste management, IoT technology has great potential to improve its efficiency. Sensor-enabled and internet-connected garbage bins can collect information on fill level, temperature, location, or whatever data types the sensors gather and the sanitation department finds useful. With a user interface revealing the locations and fill levels of all bins, waste collectors can get an automated route planned for them that has prioritized areas in urgent need of cleanup and avoided disposal units that still have room. It is possible to track the location of waste containers, monitoring the level of garbage deposited, identify locations with the highest demand, suggest the shortest route for collection optimization of solid waste, or even interface with citizens to encourage disposal at times when the container can receive waste, which promotes citizenship and avoids significant problems resulting from the accumulation of garbage outside garbage collectors.


Focus on: Glasgow’s waste collection using GIS               

As well as optimising fleet logistics operations and reducing fuel consumption, the bins also record the number of times they’re emptied and how fast they fill up. Such data, when combined with statistics from other smart city systems, can facilitate more insightful, multi-pronged actions e.g. planning better distribution of garbage bins, zeroing in on problems like incorrect disposal practices) or reducing waste going to landfill.


Trash tracking

Sensor-based tracking technology has proven crucial for monitor recycling and recovery of e-waste after leaving of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) hands. A project by Greenpeace for example GPS tracked broken television sets, revealing the illegal actions of UK formal recycling sectors in selling second-hand items to developing regions, violating EU regulations. The Basel Action Network (BAN) and MIT Senseable City Lab tracked certain electronics dropped in charities and recycling sites, showing the export of e-waste from the US abroad - mostly to Asia - while others have exposed informal facilities and dump sites.

 

 

Report

Concrete jungle: sustainable procurement in construction

27 May 2019

The latest "Global Resource Outlook 2019. Natural resources for the future we want” presents a potential future circular economy plan that fits within planetary boundaries. The report states that 50% of total emissions is related to material use: mining, transport, production of goods and waste disposal. 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress are caused by resource extraction and processing. From 2000 to 2015, climate change and health impacts from extraction and production of metals doubled. The most used material by far, second to water, concrete has far reaching environmental impacts. In fact, if it were a country the industry would be the third largest carbon emitter after the US and China. Various safety and quality rules in EU and national legislation apply to buildings. Yet the number of EU initiatives that address sustainability issues in this sector are much more limited.


Closed material loops

The built environment consumes 40% of natural resources globally and produces 40% of global waste and 33% of emissions; construction and demolition waste (CDW) making up up to 30% EU waste. But reuse and recycling of material so as to improve circularity can be done in many innovative ways. The efficient use of room space and multi-purpose buildings provide opportunities for new multifunctional furniture and fixtures, and reduces the need for more buildings. New market opportunities related to recycled material-based products also arise in the field of building components. For example, ecological wood stone – a stone made of recycled fibres (Destaclean, 2016), biocomposite products for outdoor construction and cladding (UPM Profi, 2016) or other similar products could also be utilised in public buildings and spaces. Techniques such as recycling materials like ash and soil from nearby construction sites into roads and tarmac in Finland as well as roofing felt waste into asphalt make use of materials while minimising transportation. Currently recycling of doors, windows or frames does not take place at large scale, which could also be explored.


Concrete example: Paris’ recycled public works materials

The City of Paris carries out public works by obtaining local recycled materials. All the finest materials (flagstones, sandstone or granite borders) are recovered from building sites, and once treated, are re-used for refitting or maintenance operations instead of new materials. This demand is formalized in the public procurement contract. Pursuant to Paris public works regulations, penalties are incurred if suppliers fail to deliver natural stone materials to be recycled. In addition to the financial gain, this practice prevents natural quarry mining and the transportation of materials over several kilometers.


Building construction in Berlin

In 2013, the City-State of Berlin launched a pilot project with the aim of encouraging greater reuse of recycled concrete in building construction. A total volume of around 5,400m3 of certified ‘circular economy’ recycled concrete was used in the construction of a slurry wall and building shell of the new life science laboratory building at the Humboldt University. In comparison with concrete made from primary aggregates, the recycled concrete alternative saved 880m2 of virgin gravel, 66% of the energy required for production and transport, and 7% of the associated CO2 emissions. If a product cannot be reused then designing for recycling is the next alternative in making it circular. This means ensuring that the product purchased contains materials that can be easily and effectively recycled into a new product. Alternatively, or in addition to the previous point, the product could be made from recycled content and thus further contribute to resource efficiency.


Zurich: A pioneer is sustainable building material

The City of Zurich is a pioneer in concrete recycling. As part of the European project UrbanWINS, a study trip was organised for practitioners from across Europe  to learn about Zurich’s experiences. The European expert group exchanged about how to handle construction and demolition waste, how to procure public buildings that contain recycled concrete and how to involve architects and builders in the process.  More information about Zurich’s concrete recycling experience and the study trip can be found here.

Analysis

186 countries take action to fight plastic waste

22 May 2019

We have frequently reported about the environmental, social and health impacts of plastic waste. Now, governments globally have acknowledged this issue and pledged to tackle it together. On 10 May, in a landmark unison decision 186 countries have agreed to put restrictions on the export of plastic waste.

An amendment to the global framework governing the movement of hazardous chemicals was adopted at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Convention places trade controls on hazardous wastes and regulates its disposal. This decision means that countries seeking to export plastic waste need prior consent from countries they are sending their waste to.

This will stem the flow of plastic waste into poor nations. Currently countries can send lower quality plastic waste across the ocean without obtaining the receiving countries government’s consent.  The export of plastic waste to these countries is a major problem for marine litter, since they lack the facilities to manage the amounts of waste imported. Much of the plastic that is dumped or landfilled eventually ends up in the ocean.

There have been NGO reports of US origin plastic trash spilled across villages in Indonesia, Thailand, and Maylasia. Even though the US is not part of the Covention it will no longer be able to export waste without consent from the countries that are part of it.

Supporters credit this successful development to raising awareness among the general public and political leaders, not least because of the relentless reporting of trash filled animals and nano-plastics found even inside humans.

In UrbanWINS, the city of Cremona took on the issue of plastic waste in agriculture, where it is at risk of remaining in the environment and not being properly discarded and recycled. Read more about this pilot action on the project website.

Project

How can waste management benefit from the use of information and data?

16 May 2019

Information can be used to optimise waste collection, improve analysis and policy-making in the field of waste, and provide feedback to the citizens to steer their behaviour in the desired direction. Already today, cities and regions across Europe are doing this, but they can achieve even more by working together. This is the outcome of the first seminar of the WINPOL project, where European experts exchanged good practices and identified first opportunities for collaboration.

On 14 May 2019 the first of a series of seminars on innovation in the waste field kicked off in the framework of the European-funded project WINPOL. This event was hosted by Snaga, the public waste management company of the City of Maribor (Slovenia), and focused on the collection and use of information to optimise waste management. It gathered project partners and their local stakeholders to exchange relevant good practices existing on their territories. Additional experiences were brought by external experts invited by ACR+, the Advisory Partner of the project.

More than 10 practices, interesting and inspiring to both project partners and external experts, were presented during the seminar, which is part of the “Interregional Learning” phase of the project. This phase is meant for WINPOL partners to exchange, identify good practices and elaborate action plans on the transfer of relevant experiences on their territories. Thus, the meeting also included two site-visits to waste management company Snaga’s installations: the automated sorting plant for communal waste and one of the three collection centres located in the city of Maribor. The seminar already counts with successful outcomes as the project partner City of Antwerp and two of the experts invited by ACR+ – LIPOR, the public waste management of the wider Porto region in Portugal, and the City of Amsterdam in the Netherlands – identified possibilities for collaboration and will continue bilateral exchanges.

In the following months, partners will continue identifying good practices in preparation of the second thematic seminar focusing on innovative models for collection, prevention and recycling, which is set to take place in late Autumn 2019 and hosted by the City of Antwerp. In the meantime, local actors in the partners’ territories can get involved in the WINPOL project through a series of events organised by the partners.

Maribor, circular economy in action

The WINPOL project meeting was not the only event linked to circular economy happening in Maribor this week. On 16 and 17 May 2019, Maribor is hosting the 4th edition of the Circular Change conference. The ambition of this edition is to move towards “less talk, more action”, that is translating the numerous reports, data, guidelines and other documents existing on circular economy into concrete actions, radical collaboration and scalable success stories.

Analysis

EU Ecolabel: untapped potential

14 May 2019

Out of the most common Type 1 (third party assessed) ecolabelled products (goods and services), the EU Ecolabel represents the best performing ones on the market, alongside ecolabels such as Blue Angel, TSO and Nordic Swan. The EU Ecolabel Regulation provides a voluntary framework for the setting of environmental criteria for defined product groups with the aim of reducing the negative life cycle environmental impacts associated with the production and consumption of the products. Although their benefits are far reaching, and are expected to see increasing popularity, such schemes, and the synergies between them, their advantages could be promoted more throughout Europe. One way being to purchase more strategically through public procurement.


EU Ecolabel in focus

Established in 1992 and recognised across Europe and worldwide, the EU Ecolabel is a label of environmental excellence that is awarded to products and services meeting high environmental standards throughout their life-cycle: from raw material extraction, to production, distribution and disposal. It promotes the circular economy by encouraging producers to generate less waste and CO2 during the manufacturing process. Its criteria also encourage companies to develop products that are durable, easy to repair and recycle. Identifying goods that are within the top 10-20% of the most environmentally friendly in their industry/category, today it covers 34 goods and services including paper, textiles, cleaning products, lubricants, appliances, home and garden products and tourist accommodation. Criteria cover environmental as well as technical performance, with social criteria included for products groups where particularly relevant (e.g. textiles). All are locateable in their comprehensive catalogue.


Flooring, furniture and formaldehyde

EU Ecolabel furniture, which restricts the use of chemicals such as formaldehyde, solvents and flame retardants known to be toxic for human health and particularly for children, acts as a guarantee for safer products. For example, Italian company Mobilferro, awarded with the EU Ecolabel, manufactures eco-friendly furniture mainly for public schools that is carefully selected and closely monitored, with very little formaldehyde. The EU Ecolabel criteria for wood floor coverings similarly guarantees a high-quality product with optimal performance while restricting the number of harmful levels of chemicals like formaldehyde, polybrominated diphenyl ethers found in fire retardants and which have been found to be toxic to humans in furniture, as exemplified by the Polish furniture company Famos supplying Scandic Hotels. It also requires sustainable wood sourcing to limit deforestation, subject to third-party certification such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), and ensures the durability of goods, thus reducing long term costs.


Copenhagen

The City of Copenhagen’s Ecolabel procurement policy demands EU Ecolabel or Nordic Swan where there are many labelled products on the market. If there are too few products on the market, the ecolabel requirements can be used as award criteria, but a key challenge faced was how the issue of equivalence is addressed. However, the ecolabel was established to serve as a common instrument that ensures harmonisation and alignment of criteria of different labels so as to avoid confusion.


Green your spring clean

In the detergents and cleaning products category, the EU ecolabel saves energy, is safer for humans and for the environment including aquatic organisms - it must be biodegradable and free of contaminants to improve recyclability. “Conventional” non-ecolabelled detergents may include triclosan (suspected of interfering with human hormones[1]), nanosilver (linked to neurological disorders), or substances that release formaldehyde (suspected of causing cancer, allergies and asthma. As well as sustainable certifications for ingredients like palm oil, the label requires circular packaging, and promotes proportionate-to-its-content, refillable and recycled and recyclable packaging materials as well as recyclability, thus slashing plastic use. Austrian company Hagleitner for example offer refillable containers for their “clean chemistry and clean production” detergents that attempt to break the dichotomy of science vs. nature.


Synergies and scaling

Despite its long term business advantages and increasing expectations regarding environmental impact, the EU Ecolabel remains "very niche”, covering only 10% of the environmentally best-performing products, according to European Commission policy officer Kristine Dorosko. A recent drop in labelled products is likely due to the entry into force of new criteria to which companies willing to continue using their EU Ecolabel need to prove compliance. And it is getting stricter. Upfront costs can also put potential clients off. However, a number of funding support schemes are available and green public procurement is increasingly using ecolabels as award criteria, incentivising higher uptake of the label.

Report

Plastic - friend or foe in the fight against food waste

8 May 2019

It’s the oft-recited estimate: one third of all food is wasted across the world. Not to mention the farmers’ work, fertilisers, pesticides and fuel used to grow it, the energy to transport it and, finally, the impacts of its disposal too. In Europe, 88 million tonnes, 95-115kg per capita per year is lost, costing €143 billion (European Commission) and comprising 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (FAO). Yet for every Euro invested in Food Waste reduction, a city saves €8. From plastic packaging to participation, what is the best way to implement a sustainable food waste strategy? Our case studies include the city of Bruges, Belgium, who implemented a radical strategy to slash their waste to reach zero food waste status.


From food waste fiasco to fun opportunity    

Facing the food waste challenge plays a significant role in attaining climate goals globally. Indeed, as stated in the comprehensive study Drawdown, reducing food waste is ranked as the third most effective solution to reduce GHG emissions, even before solar farms and plant-rich diets. “It is also an easy and fun topic to work on [...] Citizens even contact me because they have too many courgettes and want to make sure they get eaten. This would have never happened 6 years ago.” says Mieke Hoste, Bruges’ alderwoman of environment.


Awareness first

Whether using a method as simple as disposing of organic waste in separate clear bags or a high tech intelligent camera that identifies the exact type, amount and cost of food being wasted, diagnosing the problem is the vital first step to fight food waste. As stated by food waste organisation FoodWIN, knowledge leads to action. Initially not included in their urban food strategy, after talking to food waste expert and activist Tristram Stuart, Bruges used Foodwin’s food waste calculator and was convinced by the “huge” costs - equivalent financially to investing in solar panels. Restaurants, citizens, retail and healthcare were found to create the most waste.


The (zero) waste hierarchy

Organic waste can be used as a source of bioenergy. However, the susustainability of this type of energy is contested. Zero Waste Europe best practise states a reduction of organic waste should be prioritised through improved labelling, portioning, awareness and educational campaigns around food waste and home composting. Unavoidable (excess) edible food should be targeted at human consumption first i.e. donated to social organisations, as done by Bruges, or otherwise for animal feed. Non-edible organic waste can be composted and used as fertiliser for agriculture, soil restoration and carbon sequestration; garden trimmings, discarded food and food-soiled paper in low-tech small-scale process sites whenever possible. In larger areas, composting could be centralised with more technologically advanced systems. Alternatively, depending on local circumstances and nitrogen levels in the soil, non-edible organic waste should be used to produce biogas through Anaerobic Digestion, a truly renewable source of energy and soil enhancer. If there is any organic waste within the residual waste stream, Material Recovery – Biological Treatment (MRBT) allows for the recovery of dry materials for further recycling and stabilizes the organic fraction prior to landfilling, with a composting-like process. Landfill and incineration are the least preferable, last resort option.


Participation and cocreation

In Bruges, a participatory approach increased awareness and ensured the involvement of citizens, e.g. via the creation of Bruges Food Lab - a local stakeholder council on sustainable food which includes organisations like social grocery stores and restaurants that redistribute surplus food, and via a crowdsourcing day to shape the urban food strategy, organise redistribution and reduction of surplus in public organisations. Bruges is the first city in Belgium taking the commitment to only use sustainable food at events. An annual food festival also “fed the 5000” with food waste; further boosting awareness.  


Collaboration and communication of organisations

From 2017, Bruges started to focus on different sectors such as hospitals, resulting in food waste reductions of up to 43%. Communication between the different services of an elderly home or hospital for example was crucial to cocreate a system to serve food right away to ensure freshness. Too Good to Go is an app that allows shops and supermarkets to sell surplus food for a significantly reduced price, and the city is planning to launch a logistical platform to help it reach social projects via car or bike. UrbanWINS’ pilot project in Cremona similarly saw surplus food distributed by bike to families in need, an app created advertising end of day discounts at eateries, and a second hand/vintage market.


Fighting food waste: is plastic packaging a help or a hindrance?

The linked challenges of food waste and plastic packaging waste must be tackled together, as stated in the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) Report UNWRAPPED. Aside from health and unknown chemical migration risks associated, they found plastic packaging to increase food waste overall. Practises such as trimming to fit packaging and multipacks for example were found to cancel out the benefits of preservation of foods. They also present solutions such as laser marking goods, which produces 1% carbon emissions of a typical plastic sticker.


Conclusion

Ultimately, energy policies for a low-carbon economy should progressively move away from extracting as much energy as possible from waste - such as energy from biomass - and instead increase measures to preserve the embedded energy in products, a far more efficient and sustainable approach to resource use. In Bruges, all government departments now work within a sustainable food framework, setting the foundation for zero food waste overall. Going forward, they plan to focus more on citizens and restaurants who have the biggest impact.