The currently consumption-driven society produces an enormous volume of waste every day. Continuous depletion of natural finite resources by urban populations is leading the globe to an uncertain future. Therefore, to prevent further depletion of global resources, sustainable consumption and a strategic waste management system would be required. It is evident that a significant number of global non-renewable resources such as cadmium, mercury and tellurium will experience permanent shortfall in global supply within the next two to three decades. Astonishingly, the current recycling rate of these very scarce metals is significantly low in all cities around the globe. The concept of the zero waste city includes a 100% recycling of municipal solid waste and a 100% recovery of all resources from waste materials. However, transforming currently over-consuming cities into zero waste cities is challenging. Therefore, this study aims to understand the key factors waste management systems in cities such as consumption, resource depletion and possible decoupling opportunity through implementing the “zero waste city” concept. The study proposes five significant principles for transforming current cities into zero waste cities in the context of long-term sustainability. A simultaneous and harmonized application of sustainable behaviour and consumption, product stewardship, a 100% recycling and recovery of resources, legislated zero landfill and incineration are required to transform current city into a zero waste city
This investigation tested the usefulness of geometry-based landscape metrics for monitoring landscapes in a heavily disturbed environment. Research was carried out in a 75 sq km study area in Saxony, eastern Germany, where the landscape has been affected by surface mining and agricultural intensification. Landscape metrics were calculated from digital maps (1912, 1944, 1973, 1989) for the entire study area and for subregions (river valleys, plains), which were defined using the original geology and topography of the region. Correlation and factor analyses were used to select a set of landscape metrics suitable for landscape monitoring. Little land-use change occurred in the first half of the century, but political decisions and technological developments led to considerable change later. Metrics showed a similar pattern with almost no change between 1912 and 1944, but dramatic changes after 1944. Nonparametric statistical methods were used to test whether metrics differed between river valleys and plains. Significant differences in the metrics for these regions were found in the early maps (1912, 1944), but these differences were not significant in 1973 or 1989. These findings indicate that anthropogenic influences created a more home geneous landscape.
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