The potential impact of the new 'Right to Repair' rules on electrical and electronic equipment waste: A case study of the UK.

Every year an estimated two million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are discarded by householders and companies in the United Kingdom (UK). While the UK has left the European Union (EU), its waste-related policies still mirror those of the EU, including the WEEE-related policies. Motivated by the recent introduction the so-called 'Right to Repair' policy for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) across the EU and UK, this paper aims to demonstrate that, depending on the commitment and behavioural changes by the consumers and the government, the future of the WEEE management of the UK will vary. To this end, focusing on landfilled WEEE reduction we develop a generic system dynamics model and apply it to eleven WEEE categories. They depict the flow of EEE and WEEE representing the interaction among the stakeholders (e.g., consumers and producers of EEE) and relevant government regulations of the UK. Our four scenario analyses find that longer use of EEE and better WEEE collection seem to be effective in reducing landfilled WEEE, while more reuse and more recycling and recovery have negligible impacts, despite excluding the additional generation of landfilled WEEE as a result of recycling and recovery. Comparing with the business-as-usual scenario, one year longer EEE use and 10% more of WEEE collection could at maximum reduce landfilled WEEE by 14.05% of monitoring and control instruments and 93.93% of display equipment respectively. Backcasting scenario analyses reveal that significant efforts are required to reduce the targeted amounts.

Designing a circular carbon and plastics economy for a sustainable future.

The linear production and consumption of plastics today is unsustainable. It creates large amounts of unnecessary and mismanaged waste, pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, undermining global climate targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. This Perspective provides an integrated technological, economic and legal view on how to deliver a circular carbon and plastics economy that minimizes carbon dioxide emissions. Different pathways that maximize recirculation of carbon (dioxide) between plastics waste and feedstocks are outlined, including mechanical, chemical and biological recycling, and those involving the use of biomass and carbon dioxide. Four future scenarios are described, only one of which achieves sufficient greenhouse gas savings in line with global climate targets. Such a bold system change requires 50% reduction in future plastic demand, complete phase-out of fossil-derived plastics, 95% recycling rates of retrievable plastics and use of renewable energy. It is hard to overstate the challenge of achieving this goal. We therefore present a roadmap outlining the scale and timing of the economic and legal interventions that could possibly support this. Assessing the service lifespan and recoverability of plastic products, along with considerations of sufficiency and smart design, can moreover provide design principles to guide future manufacturing, use and disposal of plastics.

Assessment of air pollution caused by illegal e-waste burning to evaluate the human health risk.

The onset of the 21st century has started a corresponding change in consumer lifestyles, resulting in the generation of a huge amount of the end-of-life electronics, known as e-waste. The e-waste recycling activities can pose a high risk to the environment and human health. We monitored air pollution levels (PM10) and heavy metal concentrations (Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr) in the air for three consecutive months in an area where illegal e-waste recycling was in operation and compared the results with other two residential sites. In addition, we measured the concentrations of the same heavy metals in human blood to find out if there exists any correlation between environmental and biological exposure. Hypoxemia and hypertension were also determined for the comparison of health status amongst the study population. The study design comprised of three sites, which were selected on the basis of different major activities in the respective areas. Air samples were collected with the help of RDS and subjected to heavy metals analysis by ICP-OES, whereas blood samples were analyzed by ICP-MS. Results showed that amongst all study sites significant highest mean concentration of PM10 (243.310 ±â€¯22.729 µg/m3) and its heavy metal was found at e-waste burning site (SIII). High levels of heavy metal in the air were responsible for the higher exposure to the residents of SIII. Therefore, the study concluded that e-waste burning by the informal sector has significantly contributed to the high levels of the air pollution, which in turn was responsible for the highest level of heavy metal exposure to the residents. This was also associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular morbidity namely hypertension amongst the inhabitants of SIII may indicate the effect of chronic exposure to the air pollution due to e-waste processing activities, which needs to be studied further.

Public Health Bacteriology of Commercially Composted Domestic Food and Garden Waste by the 11 Councils in Northern Ireland - Persistence Of Clostridium perfringens and Implications for Local Food Safety.

BACKGROUND: New legislation has been introduced in Northern Ireland from April 2017, requiring domestic households to recycle all domestic food waste items. The purpose of this study was to examine the bacteriology of compost derived from this source which is supplied free-of-charge to the public for horticultural use. METHODS: Municipal compost samples were compared microbiologically with commercial garden compost samples, examining total viable count and diversity of bacteria cultivated. RESULTS: The municipal compost had a mean Total Viable Count (TVC) of 1.53 × 108 colony forming units (cfu)/ g compost, whereas the commercial garden compost had a mean TVC of 4.5 × 107 cfu/g compost. Campylobacter, Salmonella and Listeria were not isolated from any compost. Twenty-three bacterial genera were represented amongst the 46 organisms recovered. Of these, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium perfringens were the most clinically significant. DISCUSSION: The application of municipal compost to cultivate non-food plants, such as roses and flowers presents minimal risk, provided safe handling practices are adopted and hands are thoroughly washed and dried afterwards. However, if applied to soil growing food produce, it is important that municipal compost does not enter the food chain without an effective critical control point which would prevent germination of spores of Clostridium perfringens. Risk may be increased in products such as marinades, home canning, home bottling and associated products. These methods of food preparation are common in ethnic Eastern European populations in Northern Ireland, where awareness of risk needs to be increased.

Analysis of the Evolution Game of Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Behavior Based on Prospect Theory under Environmental Regulation.

With the development of the construction industry, increasing concern over construction and demolition waste (CDW) has initiated a wave of environmental regulation by the government in order to reduce the environmental impact and ensure sustainable development. Research on behavioral decision-making can offer a theoretical basis for the government and individuals. This paper aims to study the behavioral decision-making of stakeholders in CDW recycling under environmental regulation. Considering the limited rationality of stakeholders and the difference in reference points, an evolutionary game model including contractors and manufacturers of construction materials is proposed based on the prospect theory of behavioral economics. The results indicate that, only when the perceived benefits of one or both stakeholders for participation under the environmental regulation exceed those for non-participation, can the CDW recycling system eventually evolve to a stable state in which both stakeholders choose to participate. In addition, factors such as the initial strategy, production cost, technology, subsidies, recycling benefits, and the degree of perception of the stakeholders, exert certain influences on the stable state. To attain the required stable state, the government should increase the subsidies for the stakeholders and strengthen the publicity regarding recycling effects to improve the perceived benefits.

Support amongst UK pig farmers and agricultural stakeholders for the use of food losses in animal feed.

While food losses (foods which were intended for human consumption, but which ultimately are not directly eaten by people) have been included in animal feed for millennia, the practice is all but banned in the European Union. Amid recent calls to promote a circular economy, we conducted a survey of pig farmers (n = 82) and other agricultural stakeholders (n = 81) at a UK agricultural trade fair on their attitudes toward the use of food losses in pig feed, and the potential relegalisation of swill (the use of cooked food losses as feed). While most respondents found the use of feeds containing animal by-products or with the potential for intra-species recycling (i.e. pigs eating pork products) to be less acceptable than feeds without, we found strong support (>75%) for the relegalisation of swill among both pig farmers and other stakeholders. We fit multi-hierarchical Bayesian models to understand people's position on the relegalisation of swill, finding that respondents who were concerned about disease control and the perception of the pork industry supported relegalisation less, while people who were concerned with farm financial performance and efficiency or who thought that swill would benefit the environment and reduce trade-deficits, were more supportive. Our results provide a baseline estimate of support amongst the large-scale pig industry for the relegalisation of swill, and suggest that proponents for its relegalisation must address concerns about disease control and the consumer acceptance of swill-fed pork.

Decision-Making and Environmental Implications under Cap-and-Trade and Take-Back Regulations.

To reduce carbon emissions during production and realize the recycling of resources, the government has promulgated carbon cap-and-trade regulation and take-back regulation separately. This paper firstly analyses the manufacturing, remanufacturing and collection decisions of a monopoly manufacturer under cap-and-trade regulation and take-back regulation conditions, and then explores the environmental impact (i.e., carbon emissions) of both carbon regulation and more stringent take-back regulation. Finally, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results. The results indicate that it will do good for the environment once the cap-and-trade regulation is carried out. We also conclude that government’s supervision of carbon trading price plays an important role in reducing the environmental impact. Furthermore, unexpectedly, we prove that if emissions intensity of a remanufactured (vis-á-vis new) product is sufficiently high, the improvement of collection and remanufacturing targets might lead to the deterioration of environment.

Tackling the Relevance of Packaging in Life Cycle Assessment of Virgin Olive Oil and the Environmental Consequences of Regulation.

Production and consumption of olive oil is very important in Europe, being this product a basic element in the Mediterranean diet since long ago. The project objective is two-fold: a study of the contribution of virgin olive oils (VOOs) usual packaging to the whole life cycle of the product and a study of the environmental consequences of the Spanish Government regulation on VOO packaging. A life cycle assessment (LCA) according to ISO 14044 has been performed using the CML methodology for the impact assessment. The results show that the packaging influence varies from 2 to 300%, depending on the impact category and type of packaging (glass, tin or polyethylene terephtalate). Glass, which is related to higher quality perception by consumers, was found to be the most influencing material (due to its weight); however, this impact may be fairly reduced by applying ecodesign strategies (such as weight reduction and recycled-glass percentage increase). A new Spanish regulation on the mandatory use of non-refillable oilers in HORECA establishments (hotels, restaurants and caterings) aims to provide more quality assurance and better information to consumers; however, it was also found to mean a 74% increase in greenhouse gases emissions. This regulation was deeply discussed at European level and its application was withdraw due to consumers rejection, except for Spain. The findings of the present case study show that LCA and ecodesign should be important tools to be promoted and applied in policy making to reduce non-desirable consequences of regulation.

Informal E-waste recycling in developing countries: review of metal(loid)s pollution, environmental impacts and transport pathways.

Crude or primitive recycling practices are often adopted in material resource recovery from E-waste in developing nations. Significant human health and environmental impacts may occur because of such practices. Literature on metal(loid)s pollution during E-waste processing is fragmented. Here, I review the health and environmental impacts of E-waste recycling operations and transport pathways of metal(loid)s, dispersed during operations. This paper is organised into five sections. Section 1 relates to the background of global E-waste generation and legal/illegal trade, citing specific cases from Ghana and other developing nations. Section 2 provides a brief information on sources of metal(loid)s in E-waste. Section 3 describes characteristics of informal E-waste recycling operations in developing nations. Section 4 examines the health and environmental impacts in E-waste recycling while section 5 evaluates major transport pathways of metal(loid)s contaminants.

Material recycling of post-consumer polyolefin bulk plastics: Influences on waste sorting and treatment processes in consideration of product qualities achievable.

Material recycling of post-consumer bulk plastics made up of polyolefins is well developed. In this article, it is examined which effects on waste sorting and treatment processes influence the qualities of polyolefin-recyclats. It is shown that the properties and their changes during the product life-cycle of a polyolefin are defined by its way of polymerisation, its nature as a thermoplast, additives, other compound and composite materials, but also by the mechanical treatments during the production, its use where contact to foreign materials is possible and the waste sorting and treatment processes. Because of the sum of the effects influencing the quality of polyolefin-recyclats, conclusions are drawn for the material recycling of polyolefins to reach high qualities of their recyclats. Also, legal requirements like the EU regulation 1907/2006 concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restrictions on chemicals are considered.

From macro- to microplastics - Analysis of EU regulation along the life cycle of plastic bags.

Plastic pollution and its environmental effects has received global attention the recent years. However, limited attention has so far been directed towards how plastics are regulated in a life cycle perspective and how regulatory gaps can be addressed in order to limit and prevent environmental exposure and hazards of macro- and microplastics. In this paper, we map European regulation taking outset in the life cycle perspective of plastic carrier bags: from plastic bag production to when it enters the environment. Relevant regulatory frameworks, directives and authorities along the life cycle are identified and their role in regulation of plastics is discussed. Most important regulations were identified as: the EU chemical Regulation, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive including the amending Directive regarding regulation of the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, the Waste Framework Directive and the Directive on the Landfill of Waste. The main gaps identified relate to lack of clear definitions of categories of polymers, unambitious recycling rates and lack of consideration of macro- and microplastics in key pieces of legislation. We recommend that polymers are categorized according to whether they are polymers with the same monomer constituents (homopolymers) or with different monomer constituents (copolymers) and that polymers are no longer exempt from registration and evaluation under REACH. Plastics should furthermore have the same high level of monitoring and reporting requirements as hazardous waste involving stricter requirements to labelling, recordkeeping, monitoring and control over the whole lifecycle. Finally, we recommend that more ambitious recycle and recovery targets are set across the EU. Regulation of the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags should also apply to heavyweight plastic carrier bags. Last, the Marine and Water Framework Directives should specifically address plastic waste affecting water quality.

Toward a More Sustainable Trajectory for E-Waste Policy: A Review of a Decade of E-Waste Research in Accra, Ghana.

Global flows of e-waste from the Global North to the Global South continue to damage local environments and harm human health. Weak e-waste regulations and limited use of safety measures for e-waste workers in Accra, Ghana, foster an exploitative environment within the industry, and pose health risks for those working and living near e-waste processing sites. This paper presents an integrated review of over 40 e-waste studies specific to Accra, with particular emphasis on the well-studied e-waste processing site in Agbogbloshie, and synthesizes the existing research base across interdisciplinary themes of human health, environmental health, globalization, trade and informalization, and public policy. Despite significant international attention to Accra's e-waste problem, loopholes within international environmental regulations and treaties provide few incentives and resources for Ghana to strengthen protections for human and environmental health. After a decade of e-waste research in Accra, the crisis continues to intensify; we present a renewed vision for sustainable e-waste policy reform in Ghana and beyond.

Reuse of bituminous pavements: A mini-review of research, regulations and modelling.

Bituminous pavement can be recycled - even multiple times - by reusing it in new bituminous mixtures. If the mechanical properties of the binder get worse, this reclaimed asphalt is often used in the sub-structure of the road. Apparently, up till now, no end-of-life phase exists for the material. Actually, defining the end-of-life and the end-of-waste stage of a material is important for life cycle assessment modelling. Various standards and scientific studies on modelling life cycle assessment are known, but the crucial stages are not yet defined for reclaimed asphalt pavement. Unlike for iron, steel and aluminium scrap, at this moment, no legislative end-of-waste criteria for aggregates are formulated by the European Commission. More research is necessary in order to develop valuable end-of-life criteria for aggregates. This contribution is a mini-review article of the current regulations, standards and studies concerning end-of-life and end-of-waste of reclaimed asphalt pavement. The existing methodology in order to define end-of-waste criteria, a case study on aggregates and the argumentation used in finished legislative criteria are the basis to clarify some modelling issues for reclaimed asphalt material. Hence, this contribution elucidates the assignment of process environmental impacts to a life cycle stage as defined by EN15804, that is, end-of-life stage (C) and the supplementary information Module D with benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.

System dynamics applied to closed loop supply chains of desktops and laptops in Brazil: A perspective for social inclusion of waste pickers.

The structure of reverse logistics for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is essential to minimize the impacts of their improper disposal. In this context, the Brazilian Solid Waste Policy (BSWP) was a regulatory milestone in Brazil, submitting WEEE to the mandatory implementation of reverse logistics systems, involving the integration of waste pickers on the shared responsibility for the life cycle of products. This article aims to measure the impact of such legal incentives and the bargaining power obtained by the volume of collected waste on the effective formalization of waste pickers. The proposed model evaluates the sustainability of supply chains in terms of the use of raw materials due to disposal fees, collection, recycling and return of some materials from desktops and laptops using system dynamics methodology. The results show that even in the absence of bargaining power, the formalization of waste pickers occurs due to legal incentives. It is important to ensure the waste pickers cooperatives access to a minimum amount, which requires a level of protection against unfair competition with companies. Regarding the optimal level of environmental policies, even though the formalization time is long, it is still not enough to guarantee the formalization of waste picker cooperatives, which is dependent on their bargaining power. Steel is the material with the largest decrease in acquisition rate of raw material.