- MOVE FROM A LINEAR ECONOMY TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A ‘circular economy’ model, which employs not only waste management, but reuse, recycling and responsible manufacture could support the development of new industries and jobs, reducing emissions and increasing efficient use of natural resources (including energy, water and materials). Each year, 90 billion tons of primary materials are extracted and used globally, with only 9 per cent recycled (United Nations Environment Program, 2019). While this is unsustainable, the nature of the mainstream ‘make-take-dispose’ consumer model also has significant detrimental impacts on human health, climate change and the environment.
- A ‘circular economy’ has been identified as a major (up to $4.5 trillion: World Business Council for Sustainable Development) commercial opportunity and could support the development of new industries and jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing efficient use of natural resources (including energy, water and materials).
- MAKE A CORRECT SEPARATE COLLECTION: provide useful and practical information to citizens for correct differentiation, set up a “waste code” which aims to give regulations at a national level, in order to issue fines to those who do not carry out good separate collection, digital waste data collection.
- INVESTING IN NEW WASTE DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGIES for effective waste disposal or transformation.
- WASTE TO ENERGY (WtE): WtE is the conversion of non-recyclable waste into heat, electricity, or fuel using renewable energy sources such as anaerobic digestion and plasma gasification. Anaerobic digestion is the biological reprocessing of animal manure and human excreta into methane-rich biogas. Plasma gasification uses a plasma-filled vessel operating at high temperatures and low levels of oxygen to transform hazardous waste into syngas. Another option for disposing of hazardous waste is bioremediation, the treatment of contaminants, toxins, and pollutants through micro-organisms.
- REGULATE THE PRODUCTION MATERIALS OF PRODUCTS: set taxes for those that are more difficult to differentiate.
Introduce the main technologies and / or methodologies relating to this topic
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Updated on 03/02/2023