1. |
- Arushanyan, Yevgeniya, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Assessment of Possible Future Waste Management Scenarios
- 2017
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 10:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Waste management has developed in many countries and will continue to do so. Changes towards increased recovery of resources in order to meet climate targets and for society to transition to a circular economy are important driving forces. Scenarios are important tools for planning and assessing possible future developments and policies. This paper presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) model for environmental assessments of scenarios and waste management policy instruments. It is unique by including almost all waste flows in a country and also allow for including waste prevention. The results show that the environmental impacts from future waste management scenarios in Sweden can differ a lot. Waste management will continue to contribute with environmental benefits, but less so in the more sustainable future scenarios, since the surrounding energy and transportation systems will be less polluting and also because less waste will be produced. Valuation results indicate that climate change, human toxicity and resource depletion are the most important environmental impact categories for the Swedish waste management system. Emissions of fossil CO2 from waste incineration will continue to be a major source of environmental impacts in these scenarios. The model is used for analyzing environmental impacts of several policy instruments including weight based collection fee, incineration tax, a resource tax and inclusion of waste in a green electricity certification system. The effect of the studied policy instruments in isolation are in most cases limited, suggesting that stronger policy instruments as well as combinations are necessary to reach policy goals as set out in for example the EU action plan on circular economy.
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2. |
- Eriksson, Ola, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of fuels for district heating : A comparison of waste incineration, biomass- and natural gas combustion
- 2007
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Ingår i: Energy Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4215 .- 1873-6777. ; 35:2, s. 1346-1362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) is to compare district heating based on waste incineration with combustion of biomass or natural gas. The study comprises two options for energy recovery (combined heat and power (CHP) or heat only), two alternatives for external, marginal electricity generation (fossil lean or intense), and two alternatives for the alternative waste management (landfill disposal or material recovery). A secondary objective was to test a combination of dynamic energy system modelling and LCA by combining the concept of complex marginal electricity production in a static, environmental systems analysis. Furthermore, we wanted to increase the methodological knowledge about how waste can be environmentally compared to other fuels in district-heat production. The results indicate that combustion of biofuel in a CHP is environmentally favourable and robust with respect to the avoided type of electricity and waste management. Waste incineration is often (but not always) the preferable choice when incineration substitutes landfill disposal of waste. It is however, never the best choice (and often the worst) when incineration substitutes recycling. A natural gas fired CHP is an alternative of interest if marginal electricity has a high fossil content. However, if the marginal electricity is mainly based on non-fossil sources, natural gas is in general worse than biofuels.
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3. |
- Finnveden, Göran, et al.
(författare)
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Policy instruments towards a sustainable waste management
- 2013
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - Basel : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 5:3, s. 841-881
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to suggest and discuss policy instruments that could lead towards a more sustainable waste management. The paper is based on evaluations from a large scale multi-disciplinary Swedish research program. The evaluations focus on environmental and economic impacts as well as social acceptance. The focus is on the Swedish waste management system but the results should be relevant also for other countries. Through the assessments and lessons learned during the research program we conclude that several policy instruments can be effective and possible to implement. Particularly, we put forward the following policy instruments: “Information”; “Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials”; “Weight-based waste fee in combination with information and developed recycling systems”; “Mandatory labeling of products containing hazardous chemicals”, “Advertisements on request only and other waste minimization measures”; and “Differentiated VAT and subsidies for some services”. Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials is the policy instrument that has the largest potential for decreasing the environmental impacts with the configurations studied here. The effects of the other policy instruments studied may be more limited and they typically need to be implemented in combination in order to have more significant impacts. Furthermore, policy makers need to take into account market and international aspects when implementing new instruments. In the more long term perspective, the above set of policy instruments may also need to be complemented with more transformational policy instruments that can significantly decrease the generation of waste.
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4. |
- Ljunggren Söderman, Maria, 1967, et al.
(författare)
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Integrated Economic and Environmental Assessment of Waste Policy Instruments
- 2016
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 8:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The need for new policy instruments supporting the on-going transition from end-of-pipe waste treatment to resource management has been recognized in European policy. Instruments need to be carefully assessed before implementation to promote the desired changes and avoid problem shifting. Mathematical models may assist policy makers in such assessments. This paper presents a set of soft-linked models for assessing the economic and environmental impacts of policy instruments for both the prevention and management of waste and discusses its strengths and limitations. Consisting of (1) a macro-economic model, (2) a systems engineering model for waste management and (3) a life cycle assessment model for waste management, the set is primarily suited to assessing market-based instruments and environmental regulations. Considerable resources were needed for developing and using the set, and there are clear limits as to what can be addressed. However, if only one of the models had been used, neither the range of instruments nor the scope of impacts would have been possible to cover. Furthermore, soft-linked models allow many disciplines to contribute within one harmonized framework. Such integrated assessments may become increasingly useful for continuing the implementation of policy for sustainable governance of society's material resources.
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5. |
- Malmqvist, Tove, et al.
(författare)
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A Swedish environmental rating tool for buildings
- 2011
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Ingår i: Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-5442 .- 1873-6785. ; 36:4, s. 1893-1899
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2003, a joint effort between the Swedish government, a number of companies in the building and construction sectors, some municipalities, insurance companies and banks set a target that by 2009, all new buildings and 30% of existing Swedish buildings should be rated using a voluntary environmental rating tool. In a major research programme finished in 2008, a tool was developed to be used in this context. The tool covers three assessment areas: Energy, Indoor environment and Material & Chemicals. These areas are split into 11 aspects with one or a few indicators. Rating criteria are specified for each indicator, stipulating requirements for a rating Gold, Silver, Bronze and Rated. Indicator results can then be aggregated to aspect, area and a single raring for building level for enhanced result communication. The tool builds on previous experiences regarding environmental building rating tools and therefore includes some special characteristics which aim to tackle some of the criticism directed towards the first generation of such tools. At the time of writing, the first buildings have received official ratings and an independent stakeholder group is promoting broader implementation of the tool. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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