Optimizing Urban Material Flows and Waste Streams in Urban Development through Principles of Zero Waste and Sustainable Consumption

In any modern society, waste is the ultimate symbol of inefficiency and represents a total misallocation of resources (Zaman and Lehmann 2013, 123). Waste generation is one of the greatest challenges facing society. By the year 2050, global waste will increase by 70% if action is not taken. According to Babayemi and Dauda (2009, 83), waste is defined as a product of human activities which is regarded as being useless. The South African Waste Information Centre (2016) elaborates that waste is any substance, object or material that is unwanted and discarded, regardless of whether it can be reused, recycled or recovered. In order to slow waste generation and prevent the depletion of global resources, a concept of sustainable consumption and living is required (Song, Li and Zeng 2015, 199). The conceptualisation of zero waste is the most visionary idea for addressing global waste issues. Zaman and Lehmann (2011, 177) state that zero waste involves designing and managing materials, products and processes in such a way as to avoid and eliminate all waste, thus conserving and recovering every resource from waste streams Keywords: Sustainability; waste; waste management; zero waste shopping

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Urban development and sustainability challenges chronicled by a century of construction material flows and stocks in Tiexi, China

Journal of Industrial Ecology ◽

10.1111/jiec.13054 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jing Guo ◽

Tomer Fishman ◽

Yao Wang ◽

Alessio Miatto ◽

Wendy Wuyts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Development ◽

Construction Material ◽

Material Flows ◽

Sustainability Challenges

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The metabolism of the city: optimizing urban material flow through principles of zero waste and sustainable consumption: Steffen Lehmann

Designing for Zero Waste ◽

10.4324/9780203146057-29 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 332-366

Keyword(s):

Material Flow ◽

Sustainable Consumption ◽

Zero Waste ◽

Flow Through ◽

The City

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Plastics: are they part of the zero-waste agenda or the toxic-waste agenda?

Sustainable Earth ◽

10.1186/s42055-021-00043-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Atiq Zaman ◽

Peter Newman

Keyword(s):

Design Thinking ◽

Sustainable Consumption ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Toxic Waste ◽

Short Term ◽

Collaborative Consumption ◽

Zero Waste ◽

Loop Design ◽

Micro Particles ◽

Consumption Practices

Abstract Background Plastics were considered as a magical material owing to their strong, non-degradable and versatile characteristics. After five decades of mass application, plastics’ property of non-biodegradability has become one of the key concerns for scientists, civil society and government owing to the pollution and damage that plastics cause to our environment. Globally we have generated 8.3bn tonnes of plastics since 1950s and around 9% has been recycled, 12% incinerated and the remaining 79% of the plastics has ended up in the environment. The core question is, should this waste be minimised through the zero-waste agenda or banned through the toxic-waste agenda? Results The study analyses the zero plastic waste agenda and the toxic plastic waste agenda. It analyses zero-waste practices at different levels including family to community, industry and city levels. In addition, the study investigates the need to phase out toxic plastics. The study identified the need for both approaches. As plastics promote the throwaway living which is responsible for generating undesirable waste, it should be tackled through better design principles and sustainable consumption practices for the short-term agenda. The study proposes a strategic zero plastic waste framework for moving towards a zero plastic waste society. At the same time, there is a need to identify those plastics that are leading to serious and toxic impacts through micro-particles that necessitate them to be phased out more quickly through transitioning to bio-plastics. Conclusions Both zero plastic and zero toxic agendas are urgently needed. The study concludes that at least three things in the short term need to be implemented simultaneously to achieve a zero plastic waste society. Firstly, through zero-waste design - to eliminate creating any unnecessary plastic waste through closed-loop design thinking. Secondly, through responsible and collaborative consumption - to avoid and reduce generating avoidable plastic waste. Finally, through zero-waste management - to prioritise the value, retain the wasted materials and recover all resources. The study also establishes that a new long-term agenda needs to be created to identify those plastics that must be phased out owing to their toxicity. Consequently, the study suggests a process to achieve it in line with the transition to the post fossil-fuel era through United Nations initiatives as a joint action of the Paris Agreement and the Basel Convention.

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Approaches and Policies to Promote Zero-Waste City Construction: China’s Practices and Lessons

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132413537 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (24) ◽

pp. 13537

Author(s):

Mingfu Meng ◽

Zongguo Wen ◽

Weijun Luo ◽

Shijie Wang

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Urban Development ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Action Plan ◽

Agricultural Waste ◽

Waste Product ◽

Policy Objective ◽

Zero Waste ◽

Waste Flow

The rapidly growing output of solid waste has brought tremendous pressure to urban development. China launched an action plan known as “Zero-waste city” (ZWC), that refers to an urban development model aimed at reducing the generation of and enhancing the recycling of solid waste, in order to alleviate environmental impacts. Eleven cities and five special zones achieved positive results of solid waste management were selected as pilot areas for exploring empirical methods until 2019. The practices and lessons of the pilot cities need to be deeply analyzed and summarized, so as to promote successful models, learn lessons and better implement the policy comprehensively for other cities. This study presents a review of China’s ZWC policies and practices with constructive suggestions for further development. Based on the policy objective of ZWC and the field investigation of solid waste flow, five crucial approaches to developing ZWC are proposed, namely, solid waste reduction throughout the industrial chain, collaborative treatment of classified municipal solid waste (MSW), efficient utilization of agricultural waste with multiple purposes, safety control of hazardous waste flow, and optimization of market mechanisms. The case study demonstrates that the five paths are appropriate to Xuzhou city. However, deficiencies in MSW classification, pesticide packaging waste collection systems, solid waste product application, management, and policymaking, have emerged. Regulatory prohibitions, extended producer responsibility and market vitality should be adopted to improve the collection, transportation, and utilization of solid waste. Key findings from this research are to summarize crucial paths toward fulfiling ZWC goal, and to reveal some successful practices of, and lessons from ZWC construction by case studies. This study provides a method to further implement zero solid waste management in a targeted manner. The recommendations drawn from the study, which include law, market and institutional measures, may contribute to the achievement of developing sustainable cities.

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