This study undertook a critical examination of Ontario’s extended producer responsibility scheme for the residential “Blue Box” recycling program, specifically examining the relationship between packaging fee rates and material-specific recycling rates. Using data collected for each of the 23 materials found in the residential recycling program over the past decade, a regression model was devel...

From the use of renewable resources and environmental protection viewpoints, recycling of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) receives wide concerns as the amounts of scrap PCBs increases dramatically In recent years there has been increasing concern about the growing volume of end of life electronics and the fact that much of it is consigned to landfill w ithout any attempt being made to recyc...

Supercritical fluid technology is a new technology being extensively studied in the past two decades. The research on application of supercritical fluid to PCB recycling is an attempt to equip the recycling industry with the state-of-the-art technique to achieve better economic benefits and environmental objectives. Through the exploratory research and the systematic study, it is proved that th...

Hurling a successful Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) recycling operation around the globe is a challenge today, predominantly because secondary materials markets are yet to be integrated. Reducing, Reusing and recycling of (C&DW) have been employed over the years, and various techniques have been investigated. However, the economic and environmental viability of its application seems l...

A key challenge for the waste management sector is to maximise resource efficiency whilst simultaneously reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For stakeholders to better understand the GHG impacts of their waste management activities and identify emissions reduction opportunities, they need to be able to quantify the GHG impacts of material recycling. Whilst previous studies have been un...

Most of the United States have laws mandating the recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW). In order to comply, municipalities recycle quotas of materials, without regard to fluctuating prices. An inventory system is proposed that allows municipalities to be sensitive to materials prices as they recycle in accordance with state mandates. A dynamic model is developed; it uses historical secondar...

State laws mandate the recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW) across most of the United States. In order to comply, municipalities recycle quotas of materials, generally without regard to fluctuating prices. An inventory system is proposed that allows municipalities to be sensitive to materials prices as they recycle in accordance with state mandates. A dynamic model is developed that uses hi...

Polyethyleneterephthalate, PET, has become one of the major post-consumer plastic waste. In this work special attention was paid to minimising PET residues and to obtain a high value carbon material. Pyrolysis and subsequent activation of PET from post-consumer soft-drink bottles was performed. Activation was carried out at 925 oC under CO2 atmosphere to different burn-off degrees. Textural cha...

The increased interest in solar power over the last few decades has led to a constant development of existing and new types of solar cells. One type of solar cell that is making advances on the global market is copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells. The advantage of thin film solar cells is that they require less semiconductor material than conventional silicon solar cel...

The recycling of rural and urban organic waste materials onto agricultural land provides a challenge to the producers and end-users who both have a 'duty-of-care' to ensure the method of disposal is managed in a sustainable way. Careful management means that soil and water resources are not contaminated, the agricultural production system remains stable, and land use alternatives remain availab...