Evaluating Global Municipal Solid Waste Management Efficiency From a Circular Economy Point of View

Abstract

The Circular Economy (CE) principles recently set out by the European Union (EU) include additional guidelines for municipal solid waste (MSW) management. More detailed information about material streams must be generated and managed so that the entire system can be monitored from a new perspective. Suitable indicators (and indices from them) must be made readily available, so that they can be used to assess the efficiency that the European Union expects from the sector. This article presents a preliminary critical analysis of the literature and identifies that indicators and indices should be considered to facilitate the evaluation of MSW management under a CE vision. The analysis is combined with a discussion of the situation in various countries, to provide an overview of attempts to implement CE strategies worldwide. Special waste is not dealt with in this article as EU updated the vision of waste management starting from the MSW sector, on which this work is focused.

Circular Economy and Solid Waste Management: Connections from a Bibliometric Analysis

“…From a more theoretical perspective, Rada et al [58] presented a preliminary critical analysis of the literature and emphasized the need to build indicators to facilitate the evaluation of SWM based on the principles of the CE. They advocated the development of indices for material reuse processes, green energy production (such as biofuels), and the sustainability of the management system as a whole.…”

“…However, a problem in adopting indicators is related to low-income regions, where there is inadequate waste collection or even the absence of a culture of data generation in the management system [58]. Thus, in order to conduct waste management more effectively within the context of the CE, it is necessary to generate accurate data so that the indicators have a high potential to help administrators make decisions.…”

Ecoladrillos: alternativa para aprovechamiento de arcilla y grano de caucho reciclado

“…En la actualidad ha tomado auge el reciclaje de llantas (Albidah et al, 2022), solución que está haciendo parte de la economía circular que promueve las prácticas sostenibles (Arulrajah et al, 2015) en la producción de bienes y servicios (Ferronato et al, 2019;Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013;Rada et al, 2021) aportando de esta forma con beneficios sociales, ambientales, económicos y de recursos (Rada et al, 2021) en esta industria. Para quienes tienen la inquietud de reciclaje de llantas se enfrentarán al reto particular del reciclaje del caucho, a razón de que este se produce de la mezcla de elastómeros con aditivos orgánicos, agentes vulcanizantes y cargas minerales (Peláez Arroyave et al, 2017).…”

Reducing the Negative Impact on Atmospheric Air: An Overview of Economic and Administrative and Legal Tools

“…Huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as a result of human activity is the main reason for the increase in the average temperature on the planet [2][3][4]. Therefore, in order to achieve this task, it is necessary to take a set of measures to reduce the generation of waste and emissions, including eco-modernization of industrial enterprises, development of green energy and tightening of environmental legislation all under the Circular Economy concept [5][6][7][8]. In 2020, at the 26 th UN Climate Change Conference, additional measures were taken to reduce GHG: abandoning the use of coal, significantly limiting deforestation by 2030 and limiting methane emissions [9].…”