Circular economy and environmental health in low- and middle-income countries

Wright, Caradee Y.; Godfrey, Linda; Armiento, Giovanna; Haywood, Lorren K; Inglesi‐Lotz, Roula; Lyne, Katrina; Schwerdtle, Patricia Nayna

doi:10.1186/s12992-019-0501-y

Cited by 43 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…"Designing out waste and emissions", "keeping goods and materials in operation", and "regenerating natural systems" are all CE concepts. CE has the potential to aid towards the achievement of the SDGs across all sectors [18].…”

Section: Sustainability and Reductions In Carbon Footprintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of 4IR Digital Technologies and Circular Thinking on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

2020

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As we stand at the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Blockchain, Robotics, 3D technologies, and many more have become the means and solutions to many of the world’s problems. Most recently, these technologies have assisted in the global fight of the COVID-19 pandemic and other societal problems. Together with these innovative techniques, the concept of circular economy and its relevant tools such as life cycle costing, life cycle impact assessment, materials passports, and circularity measurements have been implemented in a number of sectors in different countries for the transition from a linear “take, make, and dispose” model towards a more circular model, which has shown positive results for the environment and economy. In this article, with the help of implementation, prototyping, and case studies, we explore how these technological advancements and innovative techniques are used in different sectors such as information and communications technology, the built environment, mining and manufacturing, education, healthcare, the public sectors, and others to provide an opportunity to understand and resolve the agreed upon framework in 2015 by 193 countries, that is, the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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Section: Sustainability and Reductions In Carbon Footprintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in low and middle-income nations this is not the case. Major differences exist in the perception of whether the implementation of CE activities can make a meaningful contribution to economic growth, employment, and sustainable development [18].…”

Section: Challenges and Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of 4IR Digital Technologies and Circular Thinking on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

2020

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“…Wright and colleagues [15] further expand on contradictions and conflicts of interest in intersectoral action by examining the circular economy (CE) and its potential positive and negative health impact. CE counters the traditional model of "take, make and dispose" and calls for cyclical use of materials.…”

Section: Implementation Of Intersectoral Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The intent of this collection is to stimulate dialogue on setting priorities for intersectoral action, identifying cobenefits across sectors, and monitoring and managing collaboration. This introduction summarizes key points from the 12 articles included in the issue and discusses emergent themes [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health intersectoralism in the Sustainable Development Goal era: from theory to practice

et al. 2020

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In 2015, the United Nations' (UN) Member States adopted a bold and holistic agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrating a vision of peace and prosperity for people and planet. Extensive work within, between, across sectors is required for this bold and holistic agenda to be implemented. It is in this context that this special article collection showcases multisectoral approaches to achieving SDG 3-Good Health and Well-Being-which, though focused explicitly on health, is connected to almost all other goals. A confluence of social and health inequities, within a context of widespread environmental degradation demands systems thinking and intersectoral action. Articles in this issue focus on the SDGs as a stimulus for renewed multisectoral action: processes, policies, and programs primarily outside the health sector, that have health implications through social, commercial, economic, environmental, and political determinants of health. Case studies offer critical lessons on effectively engaging other sectors to enhance their health outputs, identifying co-benefits and 'win-wins' that enhance human health.

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“…Nevertheless, issues associated with food waste expand beyond its environmental impact: with millions of low-income consumers struggling to gain access to nutrient-rich foods on a daily basis including fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat, while many smallholder farmers are living on the margins of food insecurity; hence better understanding of how to minimize food waste would have a significant societal impact as well. Improving the efficiency of the food supply chain can lower production costs to farmers, while also lowering the cost of food to the consumer and thus increase access to both (FAO, 2015;Horton et al, 2019;Wright et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two Food Waste By-Products Selectively Stimulate Beneficial Resident Citrus Host-Associated Microbes in a Zero-Runoff Indoor Plant Production System

Pagliaccia

Bodaghi

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The global production of food waste is a far-reaching problem with sizable financial, ethical, social, and environmental costs. Over 66 million tons of food waste is produced annually in the United States alone. This waste can be converted into valuable digestate by-products that promote a circular economy within agri-food systems. The present work investigated the use of two liquid digestates of microaerobic fermentation from mixed food waste and beer mash, respectively, as biostimulants for non-bearing citrus plants (nursery stock) grown in a zero-runoff greenhouse system with recirculating irrigation. The digestates' impact on the structure and diversity of the microbiota was determined on the irrigation water, soil, leaves, roots, and rhizosphere of citrus plants. A combination of culture-dependent (selective media) and culture-independent approaches (Next-Generation Sequencing) was used to assess the composition of the microbial communities and to single out the presence of foodborne pathogens. Our results suggest that the use of digestates is safe (i.e., no human or plant pathogens were present in the digestates or enriched in the plant production system following amendments). Digestates application to the irrigation water reduced the bacterial diversity within 24–48 h and selectively and significantly stimulated beneficial resident host-associated microorganisms (Pseudomonas putida) by two to three orders of magnitude. Carbon dynamics were analyzed in the nutrient solutions by measuring dissolved organic carbon and characterizing carbon species through gas chromatography-electron ionization-mass spectrometry. Our results indicate that dissolved organic carbon in the recirculating irrigation water spikes after each digestate amendment and it is quickly metabolized by bacteria, plateauing 24 h after application. Soil carbon, nitrogen, and nutrient dynamics were also analyzed, and results suggest that digestates increased the concentration of some plant nutrients in soils without causing a surge of potentially toxic elements. This study represents a proof-of-concept for the safe re-use of organic wastes, from farming and consumers, in agriculture. Implementing this type of integrated plant production system could reduce the environmental impact of food waste and benefit the public by improving soil health, reducing agricultural footprint, and increasing crop fitness by deploying a method based on a circular economy and sustainable food production approaches.

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Circular economy and environmental health in low- and middle-income countries

Cited by 43 publications

References 13 publications

The Impact of 4IR Digital Technologies and Circular Thinking on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The Impact of 4IR Digital Technologies and Circular Thinking on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Health intersectoralism in the Sustainable Development Goal era: from theory to practice

Two Food Waste By-Products Selectively Stimulate Beneficial Resident Citrus Host-Associated Microbes in a Zero-Runoff Indoor Plant Production System

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