scholarly journals WEEE management in a circular economy perspective: an overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-750 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Waste Prevention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Legislative Proposal ◽  
Legislative Framework

<p>The circular economy approach represents a strategy to optimize product lifecycles, thus improving the sustainability of consumption patterns. In the European Union a recent legislative proposal has addressed this concept by promoting waste prevention and re-use as well as extensive recovery of materials. Such approach is particularly interesting for the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), that is regarded as an urban stock of different metals, and in particular of both precious metals and rare earth elements. The recovery of metals is the main focus of WEEE management strategies and, more recently, it has been receiving a great deal of attention, especially due to the continuously increasing production of this waste stream. However, great room for improvements can still be recognised to ensure the overall sustainability of WEEE management. The present work discusses both the current needs and the main challenges regarding WEEE management in a circular economy perspective. To this end, WEEE generation trend and composition is provided and the legislative framework for its handling is overviewed, in order to point out future perspectives to develop a more sustainable management approach of this waste.</p>

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

Challenges of the Blackwood Basin, Western Australia

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ecker ◽  
A. Karafilis ◽  
R. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
River Management ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Riparian Restoration ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Remnant Vegetation ◽  
High Conservation ◽  
Study Zone

Growing concern about the declining state of the catchment and river led to the formation of the Blackwood Basin Group in 1992. Funded primarily by the Natural Heritage Trust and using the river as the focus, the group aims to provide leadership and support to achieve sustainable management of natural resources in the catchment. Through an Integrated Catchment Management approach, the Blackwood Basin Group has managed a range of projects to improve the community's understanding and management of the Blackwood River and its catchment. A number of research, education, demonstration and on-ground action activities relating to river management have been undertaken in partnership with community and local, state and federal government organisations. Activities include demonstrations and evaluations of riparian restoration, funding riparian restoration activities, protection of high conservation value remnant vegetation, a flood risk study, zone action planning and monitoring the condition of the river and its tributaries.

scholarly journals Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Valley Of Death

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

scholarly journals Mitogenomic analysis of diversity of key whitefly pests in Kenya and its implication to their sustainable management

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fathiya M. Khamis ◽  
Fidelis L. O. Ombura ◽  
Inusa J. Ajene ◽  
Komivi S. Akutse ◽  
Sevgan Subramanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Plant Viruses ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Aleyrodes Proletella ◽  
Aleurodicus Dispersus

AbstractWhiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are devastating agricultural pests of economic importance vectoring pathogenic plant viruses. Knowledge on their diversity and distribution in Kenya is scanty, limiting development of effective sustainable management strategies. The present study is aimed at identifying whitefly pest species present in Kenya across different agroecological zones and establish predictive models for the most abundant species in Africa. Whiteflies were sampled in Kenya from key crops known to be severely infested and identified using 16S rRNA markers and complete mitochondrial genomes. Four whitefly species were identified: Aleyrodes proletella, Aleurodicus dispersus, Bemisia afer and Trialeurodesvaporariorum, the latter being the most dominant species across all the agroecology. The assembly of complete mitogenomes and comparative analysis of all 13 protein coding genes confirmed the identities of the four species. Furthermore, prediction spatial models indicated high climatic suitability of T. vaporariorum in Africa, Europe, Central America, parts of Southern America, parts of Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Consequently, our findings provide information to guide biosecurity agencies on protocols to be adopted for precise identification of pest whitefly species in Kenya to serve as an early warning tool against T. vaporariorum invasion into unaffected areas and guide appropriate decision-making on their management.

scholarly journals A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1229
Author(s):  
Alberto Di Bartolo ◽  
Giulia Infurna ◽  
Nadka Tzankova Dintcheva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Net Zero

The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics–plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both–is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks related to plastic waste. In this work, we aim at reviewing the field of bioplastics, including standards and life cycle assessment studies, and discuss some of the challenges that can be currently identified with the adoption of these materials.

Front-of-pack nutrition labelling in the European Union: a behavioural, legal and political analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Vincent DELHOMME
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Nutrition Labelling ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
Legislative Proposal ◽  
The Eu

Amidst a growing interest from European Union (EU) Member States, the European Commission recently announced that it would put forward a legislative proposal for the adoption of a harmonised and mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme at the EU level. The present contribution discusses the implications of such an adoption, taking a behavioural, legal and policy angle. It introduces first the concept of front-of-pack nutrition labelling and the existing evidence regarding its effects on consumer behaviour and dietary habits. It then presents the legal framework currently applicable to (front-of-pack) nutrition labelling in the EU and discusses some of the main political and practical aspects involved with the development of a common EU front-of-pack label.

Distribution, abundance and natural enemies of the invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) in Kenya

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
G. Kinyanjui ◽  
F. M. Khamis ◽  
F. L. O. Ombura ◽  
E. U. Kenya ◽  
S. Ekesi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Macrolophus Pygmaeus ◽  
Larval Parasitoids ◽  
Parasitism Rates ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis ◽  
Sentinel Plants ◽  
Open Fields

Abstract Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) has become a serious menace to sustainable production of tomato in Kenya. A survey was conducted between April 2015 and June 2016 to determine its distribution, abundance, infestation, and damage levels on tomato, and associated natural enemies. Trap counts of T. absoluta moths were recorded in all surveyed 29 counties, which indicated its nationwide distribution irrespective of altitude. Tuta absoluta was present in both open fields and greenhouses. The highest moth/trap/day was 115.38 ± 15.90. Highest leaf infestation was 92.22% and the highest number of mines and larvae per leaf were 3.71 ± 0.28 and 2.16 ± 0.45, respectively. Trap captures in terms of moth/trap/day were linearly and positively related to leaf infestations in open fields (R2 = 0.81) and greenhouses (R2 = 0.61). Highest fruits’ infestation and damage were 60.00 and 59.61%, respectively, while the highest number of mines per fruit was 7.50 ± 0.50. Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) and Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) were identified as predators of T. absoluta larvae. Nine species of larval parasitoids were recovered from infested foliage, with a combined parasitism of 7.26 ± 0.65%. Hockeria species was the most dominant (31.25%) and accounted for 12.88 ± 1.47% parasitism. Two species of larval parasitoids, Hockeria and Necremnus were obtained from sentinel plants with an average parasitism of 1.13 ± 0.25. The overall abundance and parasitism rates of recovered natural enemies were low to effectively control the field populations of T. absoluta. These findings form the basis of researching and developing effective and sustainable management strategies for the pest.

scholarly journals Towards a Circular Economy Taxation Framework: Expectations and Challenges of Implementation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonidas Milios
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Material Resource ◽  
Waste Hierarchy ◽  
Tax Relief

AbstractThe transition to a circular economy is a complex process requiring wide multi-level and multi-stakeholder engagement and can be facilitated by appropriate policy interventions. Taking stock of the importance of a well-balanced policy mix that includes a variety of complementing policy instruments, the circular economy action plan of the European Union (COM(2020) 98 final) includes a section about “getting the economics right” in which it encourages the application of economic instruments. This contribution presents a comprehensive taxation framework, applied across the life cycle of products. The framework includes (1) a raw material resource tax, (2) reuse/repair tax relief, and (3) a waste hierarchy tax at the end of life of products. The research is based on a mixed method approach, using different sources to analyse the different measures in the framework. More mature concepts, such as material resource taxes, are analysed by reviewing the existing literature. The analysis of tax relief on repairs is based on interviews with stakeholders in Sweden, where this economic policy instrument has been implemented since 2017. Finally, for the waste hierarchy tax, which is a novel proposition in this contribution, macroeconomic modelling is used to analyse potential impacts of future implementation. In all cases, several implementation challenges are identified, and potential solutions are discussed according to literature and empirical sources. Further research is required both at the individual instrument and at the framework level. Each of the tax proposals needs a more detailed examination for its specificities of implementation, following the results of this study.

scholarly journals Towards Circular Economy—A Comparative Analysis of the Countries of the European Union

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Ewa Mazur-Wierzbicka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Population Member ◽  
Research Population

There are many studies which implement and assess existing measurement manners and document the progress of entities towards the circular economy (CE) at various levels, or present or propose new possibilities of measurement. The majority of them refer to the micro level. The aim of this paper is to conduct a multidimensional comparative analysis of the implementation of circular economy by EU countries. After an in-depth critical analysis of the literature, CE indicators which were proposed by the European Commission were adopted as a basis. Owing to the research population-Member States of the European Union (EU-28), focusing on the said indicators was declared reasonable in all aspects. The classification of EU countries according to the level of their advancement in the concept of CE was adopted as a main research task. In order to do so, a relevant index of development of circular economy was created (IDCE). This will allow us, inter alia, to trace changes in the spatial differentiation of advancement of the EU countries in implementing CE over the years, to identify CE implementation leaders as well as countries particularly delayed in this regard. The comparative analysis was conducted by means of statistical methods. On the basis of the analyses, it was concluded that among all EU countries, those of the old EU are the most advanced in terms of CE. The analysis confirmed significant rising trends for IDCE only in the case of Belgium and The Netherlands.

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