| 1. |
- Andersson, Hanna, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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SUPFES: ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT ON SHORT-CHAIN PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES APPLIED TO LAND IN MUNICIPAL SEWAGE SLUDGE
- 2014
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Ingår i: 6th INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP on Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances - PFASs.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In a recent risk assessment of sludge application to Swedish farmlands perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was identified as a substance contributing to risks to the environment and a regulation of permissible levels in sludge was proposed. This is only one of many actions taken to regulate the so called long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of substances which include e.g. PFOS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and their precursors. These regulations are enforced due to concerns regarding the persistence, bioaccumulation potential and effects for wildlife and human health of the long-chain PFAS. With the regulation and phase out of PFAS products containing long perfluoroalkyl chains, PFAS products containing short-chain perfluoroalkyl chains are seen as viable alternatives by the manufacturing industry, but to date knowledge about these alternative emerging products is limited and risk assessments have not yet been conducted. In this project, which is a subproject of the Swedish research programme SUPFES (www.supfes.eu), we assess the risks associated with short-chain PFAS in municipal sewage sludge applied to agricultural land in Sweden. Different scenarios are created regarding the loads of PFAS to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Further modelling scenarios are undertaken to estimate the loading of PFAS to agricultural land in Sweden as well as the subsequent fate and uptake in agricultural plants and leakage to water. The model predicted concentrations provide a basis for environmental risk assessment. With the long-chain PFAS as a benchmark, the study also aims to assess if the transition from long- to short-chain PFAS is beneficial from an application of sludge to agricultural land perspective. The risk assessment is connected to a life cycle assessment (LCA) on possible sludge handling alternatives which helps to place the problems associated with PFAS risks into a larger LCA perspective. The project results will help to determine if action is needed by water authorities to reduce the diffuse emissions of PFAS to agricultural land by introducing improved treatment technologies to remove PFAS from WWTP. This is thus an important contribution to the overarching goal of the SUPFES project which is to quantify and, if necessary, reduce diffuse emissions of PFAS to the environment. In the poster preliminary results from the risk assessment will be presented and ideas for further work discussed. Important methodological issues will be highlighted.
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| 2. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983
(författare)
-
Beneficial Recirculation of Nutrients and Organic Matter to Agriculture: Meeting the Needs of Farmers and Soils
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In April 2018, we set out to learn from 10 organic vegetable producers in British Columbia about their perspectives on new and innovative fertilizer products rendered by the treatment of human excreta (i.e. urine and feces), wastewater, and other organic residuals. This report summarizes the findings from the interviews we conducted and is a part of a larger project designed to bring a greater understanding of various alternative nutrient sources, and improve their utilization.
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| 3. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Estimating human toxicity potential of land application of sewage sludge: the effect of modelling choices
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 22:5, s. 731-743
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose:Many municipalities are facing increasing pressure to adapt solid waste and wastewater management infrastructures in order to better close nutrient cycles. The focus of this study is on the estimation of the human toxicity potential associated with chemical contaminants released upon the application of sewage sludge to agricultural land. More specifically, this study investigated the effect of modelling choices regarding fate and exposure assessment.Methods:Monitoring data were collected for contaminants present in the sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in Gothenburg and from other municipal wastewater treatment plants in Sweden. Based on these monitoring data, an overall burden of disease was estimated using characterisation factors taken from the USEtox models (versions 1.01 and 2.0). For the exposure through vegetables, an alternative life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) model was developed. The intake fractions thus obtained were used in combination with human health effect factors taken from the USEtox 2.0 database. The model results were compared with the USEtox models, and whether these two versions of the USEtox model provide significantly different results was also examined. The potential relevance of accidental ingestion of sludge was also considered.Results and discussion:The different LCIA models provided burden of disease estimates that differed from one another for individual contaminants (up to five orders of magnitude). The aggregated burdens of disease (i.e. sum for all contaminants considered in this study) estimated through different model variants, however, were of the same order of magnitude. For both metals and organic contaminants, only a small set of contaminants was found to make significant contributions to the aggregate burden of disease. However, it is uncertain whether the 15 metals and 106 organic contaminants covered by this study are those of greatest health significance of all contaminants potentially present in sewage sludge.Conclusions and recommendations:The results of this study indicate that the technical information provided by the various approaches to modelling human toxicity in life cycle assessment (LCA) in the context of land application of sewage sludge management is consistent on the whole. However, given the uncertainties associated with the assessment of human toxicity in LCA, it is important to also contemplate the extent to which LCA in general is capable of informing the sewage sludge debate when it comes to human toxicity and possibly also other indicators. Future research could focus on identifying which types of questions of interest in the context of sewage management can be answered by LCA and which cannot.
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| 4. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983
(författare)
-
Fresh Perspectives on the Assessment of Sewage Sludge Management
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sewage sludge management and its role in closing nutrient cycles have received considerable attention in recent years. This thesis quantified phosphorus flows in Gothenburg, Sweden, under current and possible future waste management practices, and aimed to improve the assessment of wastewater and sludge management from an environmental and human health perspective through blending risk assessment (RA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). A review of previous environmental assessment case studies revealed inconsistent use of terminology regarding what is meant by integration, combination, hybridisation, or integrated use of RA and LCA. To facilitate a better understanding and more transparent communication of the nature of a given case study, this thesis proposed a design space that outlines choices to be made when blending RA and LCA. For the assessment of human health effects, this thesis suggests that a case study should only be referred to as a combination or integration of RA and LCA if it addresses two distinct perspectives: risks for specific members of a given human population (RA perspective) and overall impacts for a given human population (LCA perspective). RA and LCA can also be blended by transferring model elements from one framework to the other. This thesis explored the transfer of elements of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to an LCA framework in order to account for adverse effects of pathogens on human health. Such practice was found to be adequate, but it is important to ensure that exposure pathways and parameters are chosen in accordance with the principles applied in the LCA study of which the assessment is a part. Also, in the context of sewage sludge management, the consideration of non-routine operation scenarios in LCA may be warranted. This thesis also explored different models to assess human health effects related to chemical contaminants in the context of land application of sewage sludge. The different model variants investigated provided different burden of disease estimates for individual chemical contaminants, but an aggregate burden of disease estimate of the same order of magnitude. Overall, this thesis emphasises the importance of explicitly contemplating which type of question relevant to sewage sludge management can be answered by quantitative assessment tools such as RA and LCA.
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| 5. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
-
Including Pathogen Risk in Life Cycle Assessment of Wastewater Management. 1. Estimating the Burden of Disease Associated with Pathogens
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 48:16, s. 9438-9445
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The environmental performance of wastewater and sewage sludge management is commonly assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA), whereas pathogen risk is evaluated with quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). This study explored the application of QMRA methodology with intent to include pathogen risk in LCA and facilitate a comparison with other potential impacts on human health considered in LCA. Pathogen risk was estimated for a model wastewater treatment system (WWTS) located in an industrialized country and consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary wastewater treatment, anaerobic sludge digestion, and land application of sewage sludge. The estimation was based on eight previous QMRA studies as well as parameter values taken from the literature. A total pathogen risk (expressed as burden of disease) on the order of 0.2–9 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) per year of operation was estimated for the model WWTS serving 28 600 persons and for the pathogens and exposure pathways included in this study. The comparison of pathogen risk with other potential impacts on human health considered in LCA is detailed in part 2 of this article series.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Including pathogen risk in life cycle assessment: the effect of modelling choices in the context of sewage sludge management
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 21:1, s. 60-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Recent attempts to include adverse effects of pathogens on human health in life cycle assessment (LCA) have focused on integrating results obtained through quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) as an impact category in LCA. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of QMRA can be an adequate way of integrating pathogen impact potential in LCA and to quantify how pathogen impact potential is affected by choices regarding model structure and mathematical relationships used.Methods: This study was performed for the context of sewage sludge management and is based on pathogen concentrations in treated sludge reported in the literature. Eight reference pathogens were included in order to address important microbial groups. The pathogen impact potential associated with land application of sewage sludge was quantified based on a QMRA model for eight distinct exposure pathways. The modelling choices investigated were linearisation of dose-response and severity assessment and different modelling approaches and parameter choices in fate and exposure assessment.Results and discussion: The linearisation of effect and severity assessment had a minor impact on the results for exposure pathways where pathogen doses were low but had a major impact where pathogen doses were high. The assumptions regarding fate and exposure conditions, such as pathogen decay time, number of individuals exposed and frequency of exposure, had a significant effect on overall pathogen impact potential. If pathogen impact potential is to be integrated in LCA, a range of different parameterisations for each exposure event may be warranted rather than only the one with the highest risk per individual exposed as commonly reported for QMRAs. This is also in line with the ordinary LCA practice of focusing on average rather than extreme conditions. Conclusions: This study suggests that the use of QMRA can be an adequate way of integrating adverse effects of pathogens on human health in LCA. However, analysts should be careful when choosing model parameters such as the number of people exposed or the frequency of exposure, as LCA may require a different parameterisation than an ordinary risk assessment (RA). Therefore, a direct integration of the results of a QMRA study into LCA may be problematic. Also, in order to avoid potential bias, analysts should carefully consider whether or not pathogen impact potential and human toxicity potential need to be estimated based on a similar set of exposure pathways.
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| 8. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Perspectives on quantifying and influencing household metabolism
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1360-0559 .- 0964-0568. ; 60:2, s. 178-203
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Household metabolism is a concept that is concerned with the analysis of stocks and flows of energy, matter, and information at the household scale. This paper starts by providing a brief overview of the concept of household metabolism. Rather than attempting an in-depth review and analysis of this field, the article subsequently maps the contributions and perspectives of a broad variety of research traditions that have an interface with the concept of household metabolism. Next, this paper highlights a number of controversial issues connected to household metabolism, and studies at the interface of household metabolism. Finally, this paper argues that the concept of household metabolism can provide valuable help in diagnosing misalignments between enacted system dynamics and expressed societal goals, and can help to design research that facilitates their alignment.
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| 9. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Quantification of goods purchases and waste generation at the level of individual households
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 1088-1980 .- 1530-9290. ; 18:2, s. 227-241
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantifying differences in resource use and waste generation between individual households and exploring the reasons for the variations observed implies the need for disaggregated data on household activities and related physical flows. The collection of disaggregated data for water use, gas use, electricity use, and mobility has been reported in the literature and is normally achieved through sensors and computational algorithms. This study focuses on collecting disaggregated data for goods consumption and related waste generation at the level of individual households. To this end, two data collection approaches were devised and evaluated: (1) triangulating shopping receipt analysis and waste component analysis and (2) tracking goods consumption and waste generation using a smartphone. A case study on two households demonstrated that it is possible to collect quantitative data on goods consumption and related waste generation on a per unit basis for individual households. The study suggested that the type of data collected can be relevant in a number of different research contexts: eco-feedback; user-centered research; living-lab research; and life cycle impacts of household consumption. The approaches presented in this study are most applicable in the context of user-centered or living-lab research. For the other contexts, alternative data sources (e.g., retailers and producers) may be better suited to data collection on larger samples, though at a lesser level of detail, compared with the two data collection approaches devised and evaluated in this study.
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| 10. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983
(författare)
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Quantifying the Metabolism of Individual Households
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The magnitude of the flows of matter and energy resulting from human activities is influenced by human needs and demands as well as the practices and technologies applied to fulfil them. The aim of this study was to explore differences in resource use and waste generation between individual households through the simultaneous quantification of physical flows entering and leaving the households. A pilot study was initiated where infrastructure-mediated sensing was combined with manual data collection approaches for fine-grained monitoring of resource use and waste generation at the level of individual households. A further aim was to relate resource and waste flows to specific household activities. This thesis presents the main findings from the pilot study, embeds the concept of household metabolism within the research field of socio-economic metabolism, and outlines which other research fields contribute to, or benefit from the quantification of household metabolism. The main scientific contribution of this thesis is the development and evaluation of two approaches for the collection of highly disaggregated data on goods consumption and related waste generation. In conclusion, comprehensive data collection at the level of detail envisaged in this study is challenging. Data collection can potentially be significantly simplified once easy to install single-point sensors for sensing disaggregated consumption data become commercially available, and data on goods consumption can be more readily obtained from retailers. Based on the work on household metabolism presented in this thesis, two meaningful possible directions for future research emerge. First, quantification of household metabolism can be embedded in living lab facilities in order to assess the impact of innovations on resource consumption and waste generation. Second, researchers and household members could co-develop a way to comprehensively track and evaluate resource consumption and waste generation of individual households. This could include seeking cooperation with supermarkets and retailers to provide consumption data to households.
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| 11. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Recycling nutrients contained in human excreta to agriculture: Pathways, processes, and products
- 2019
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Ingår i: Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1064-3389 .- 1547-6537. ; 49:8, s. 695-743
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The need for better nutrient management has spurred efforts towards more comprehensive recycling of nutrients contained in human excreta to agriculture. Research in this direction has intensified throughout the past years, continuously unfolding new knowledge and technologies. The present review aspires to provide a systematic synthesis of the field by providing an accessible overview of terminology, recovery pathways and treatment options, and products rendered by treatment. Our synthesis suggests that, rather than focusing on a specific recovery pathway or product and on a limited set of nutrients, there is scope for exploring how to maximize nutrient recovery by combining individual pathways and products and including a broader range of nutrients. To this end, finding ways to more effectively share and consolidate knowledge and information on recovery pathways and products would be beneficial. The present review aims to provide a template that aims to facilitate designing human excreta management for maximum nutrient recovery, and that can serve as foundation for organizing and categorizing information for more effective sharing and consolidation.
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| 12. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Reframing human excreta management as part of food and farming systems
- 2020
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Ingår i: Water Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0043-1354 .- 1879-2448. ; 175
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recognition of human excreta as a resource, rather than as waste, has led to the emergence of a range of new and innovative nutrient recovery solutions. Nevertheless, the management of human excreta remains largely rooted in current sanitation and wastewater management approaches, which often makes nutrient recovery an add-on to existing infrastructures. In this paper, we argue that framing human excreta management as a resource recovery challenge within waste management obscures important trade-offs. We explore the factors that would be brought to the fore by reframing human excreta management as part of food and farming systems. We find that such a reframing would accentuate (at least) six aspects of critical importance that are currently largely overlooked. Recognizing that the proposed framing may also have its limitations, we argue that it has the potential to better guide human excreta management towards long-term global food, soil, and nutrient security while reducing the risk of compromising other priorities related to human and environmental health.
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| 13. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Review of Environmental Assessment Case Studies Blending Elements of Risk Assessment and Life Cycle Assessment
- 2015
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Ingår i: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 49:2, s. 13083-13093
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Risk assessment (RA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are twoanalytical tools used to support decision making in environmental management. This study reviewed 30 environmental assessment case studies that claimed an integration, combination, hybridization, or complementary use of RA and LCA. The focus of theanalysis was on how the respective case studies evaluated emissions of chemical pollutants and pathogens. The analysis revealed three clusters of similar case studies.Yet, there seemed to be little consensus as to what should be referred to as RA andLCA, and when to speak of combination, integration, hybridization, or complementary use of RA and LCA. This paper provides clear recommendationstoward a more stringent and consistent use of terminology. Blending elements of RA and LCA offers multifaceted opportunities to adapt a given environmental assessmentcase study to a specific decision making context, but also requires awareness of several implications and potential pitfalls, of which six are discussed in this paper. To facilitate a better understanding and more transparent communication of the nature of a given case study, this paper proposes a “design space” (i.e., identification framework) for environmental assessment case studies blending elements of RA and LCA. Thinking in terms of a common design space, we postulate, can increase clarity and transparency when communicating the design and results of a given assessment together with its potential strengths and weaknesses.
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| 14. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Source-separation in the existing urban water infrastructure: chances and challenges
- 2013
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Ingår i: WT-Afvalwater. - 1879-8780. ; 13:2, s. 75-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In de afgelopen 15 tot 20 jaar zijn verschillende nieuwe concepten ontwikkeld voor de inzameling, het transport en de behandeling van afvalwater en op pilot-schaal toegepast en getest. Doelstelling hierbij is te komen tot een meer duurzaam afvalwatersysteem. De voordelen van de nieuwe concepten zijn onder meer de mogelijk om energie en grondstoffen uit afvalwater te winnen en de mogelijkheid om microverontreinigingen te verwijderen. Bronscheiding is één van onderzochte mogelijkheden. De bestaande infrastructuurvoor afvalwater bestaat echter voor het grootste deel uit ofwel gemengde systemen of systemen waarin afvalwater en hemelwater worden gescheiden, waardoor het op grote schaal gescheiden inzamelen van bijvoorbeeld urine, zwart en grijs water geen eenvoudige zaak is. Echter, de vervanging van verouderde bestaande systemen of grootschalige renovatie van wijken biedt de mogelijkheid om over te gaan tot deinvoering van bronscheiding in bestaande situaties. Iets dergelijks geldt bij renovatie van woningen voor de binnenhuisriolering. Het onderzoek naar nieuwe sanitatieconcepten heeft zich vooral gericht op de ontwikkeling van behandelingsconcepten en de uitgevoerde praktijktoepassingen betroffen betrekkelijk kleinschalige projecten in nieuwbouwsituaties. Dit artikel gaat in de mogelijkheden om te komen tot bronscheidingin bestaande situaties, hierbij is gekeken naar bestaande inzamel- en transportmethodes, maar er is ook een aantal niet direct voor de hand liggende mogelijkheden benoemd.
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| 15. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Using quantitative microbial risk assessment and life cycle assessment to assess management options in urban water and sanitation infrastructures: Opportunities and unresolved issues
- 2017
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Ingår i: Microbial Risk Analysis. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-3522. ; 5, s. 71-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are two distinct environmental management techniques that can provide complementary perspectives when assessing management options for urban water and sanitation infrastructure. While QMRA per definition concerns microbial risks, accounting for pathogens in LCA has received little attention. A few case studies, however, have explored the concurrent use of QMRA and LCA. These studies were motivated by the perceived need to address trade-offs between local health burdens associated with pathogens and global health burdens associated with other stressors at different spatial and temporal scales. Along with the LCA, the QMRA results were sought to provide the basis for addressing such trade-offs, rather than for deciding whether pathogen-related adverse effects experienced by specific individuals or populations are acceptable, or which scenario leads to the highest overall health burden for a given community, as is traditionally the case in QMRA. This paper highlights opportunities and unresolved issues related to the concurrent use of QMRA and LCA, such as assumptions in translating chemical and pathogen health impacts to a common metric or other mode structure and parameterisation aspects. Our aim is to facilitate more consistent design and transparent communication of future case studies of this type, and to highlight opportunities for QMRA experts to contribute to LCA method development so as to include pathogen health impacts. While most examples provided in this paper focus on water reuse, the findings apply more broadly and can also be extrapolated to other pathogen exposures in the context of urban water and sanitation systems as well as other contexts.
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| 16. |
- Heimersson, Sara, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Including Pathogen Risk in Life Cycle Assessment of Wastewater Management. 2. Quantitative Comparison of Pathogen Risk to Other Impacts on Human Health
- 2014
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Ingår i: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 48:16, s. 9446-9453
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resource recovery from sewage sludge has the potential to save natural resources, but the potential risks connected to human exposure to heavy metals, organic micropollutants, and pathogenic microorganisms attract stakeholder concern. The purpose of the presented study was to include pathogen risks to human health in life cycle assessment (LCA) of wastewater and sludge management systems, as this is commonly omitted from LCAs due to methodological limitations. Part 1 of this article series estimated the overall pathogen risk for such a system with agricultural use of the sludge, in a way that enables the results to be integrated in LCA. This article (part 2) presents a full LCA for two model systems (with agricultural utilization or incineration of sludge) to reveal the relative importance of pathogen risk in relation to other potential impacts on human health. The study showed that, for both model systems, pathogen risk can constitute an important part (in this study up to 20%) of the total life cycle impacts on human health (expressed in disability adjusted life years) which include other important impacts such as human toxicity potential,global warming potential, and photochemical oxidant formation potential.
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| 17. |
- Heimersson, Sara, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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LCA on wastewater and sludge management for local decision-making in Gothenburg – are new LCA method developments enough?
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper describes an LCA study that was made to inform decision-makers in Gothenburg about two different sludge management options. Incineration of anaerobically digested sludge with recovery of a phosphorus fertiliser product seemed preferable to using pasteurised anaerobically digested sludge in agriculture. Aspects under the control of the decision-makers were important for overall results, and caused the main differences between the studied systems, indicating considerable potential for local improvement efforts. Applying a human toxicity characterisation method with a more sludge specific fate model were important, but not crucial, for the results. However, the results are connected to large uncertainties and remaining challenges are discussed in the paper.
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| 18. |
- Kalmykova, Yuliya, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Pathways and Management of Phosphorus in urban areas
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 16:6, s. 928-939
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to the finite nature of mineral phosphorus reserves, effective management of anthropogenicphosphorus flows is currently under investigation by the international researchcommunity. This article emphasizes the importance of urban phosphorus flows, which areoften marginalized due to the greater magnitude of agricultural phosphorus flows. A studyon phosphorus flows in Gothenburg, Sweden, points out the potential role of solid waste innutrient management, as the amounts of phosphorus in solid waste and in wastewater werefound to be equal. Importation of food commodities accounts for 50% of the total inflowof phosphorus, and food waste is a major contributor of phosphorus to solid waste. Theresults suggest that solid waste incineration residues represent a large underestimated sinkof phosphorus. Focusing on wastewater as the sole source of recovered phosphorus is notsufficient. The Swedish national goal on phosphorus recycling, which is limited to sewagesludge, targets only a part of the total phosphorus flow that can potentially be recovered.In contrast to previous studies, agricultural flows in Gothenburg were marginal comparedto flows related to the urban waste management infrastructure. We emphasize the needfor debate on preferable routes for disposal of waste with a high phosphorus content. Bothrecovery potential and usefulness of the recovered product for agricultural purposes haveto be considered. Impacts of five waste management strategies on phosphorus flows wereevaluated: incineration of all the waste, comprehensive food waste separation, installationof kitchen grinders, urine diversion, and separation of blackwater and food waste.
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| 19. |
- Lorick, Dag, et al.
(författare)
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A circular economy for phosphorus in sweden-is it possible?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 13:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- More sustainable management of phosphorus requires comprehensive understanding of phosphorus stocks and flows. With the purpose of shedding light on the possibilities for an increased level of recirculation of phosphorus in Sweden, phosphorus flows entering and exiting biomass production sectors were quantified along with waste flows, that is, flows that are not currently utilized in biomass production. Relevant waste flows were also characterized in terms of phosphorus concentration, plant availability, contamination and geo-spatial distribution. The theoretical recirculation potential of phosphorus in Sweden was then estimated. The results indicate that there is a large potential for making phosphorus management more circular, especially regarding the utilization of phosphorus in sewage sludge as well as wood ashes from the forestry sector. Moreover, there is a large amount of phosphorus in mining waste that could potentially be used for fertilizer production. It is concluded that the amount of phosphorus in flows fit for recirculation in forestry could more or less balance today’s output. In agriculture, however, recirculation can only sufficiently replace imported mineral phosphorus at current demand if the phosphorus in mining waste is utilized. Thus, if the goal is to replace all of the mineral phosphorus, the agricultural sector also has to become much more efficient in its phosphorus usage.
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| 20. |
- Mangold, Mikael, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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The transformative effect of the introduction of water volumetric billing in a disadvantaged housing area in Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: Water Policy. - : IWA Publishing. - 1366-7017 .- 1996-9759. ; 16:5, s. 973-990
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Domestic water payment schemes are often a product of their time, place and what is perceived to be customary. Aspects that payment schemes can take into account include resource conservation, equity, maintainability, and profitability. In contemporary Sweden profitable environmentally sustainable solutions are promoted, such as the introduction of volumetric billing of water in rental apartments. This paper describes the detailed consequences of this change in the payment structure for domestic water in terms of reduced resource consumption, direct impact on household economies and perceptions of the system's change process. By combining high-resolution quantitative data on water usage and socio-economic household characteristics with qualitative data from semi-standardized interviews with residents, it is possible to identify the different impacts of the system's change and how the process was experienced. It was shown that while water usage decreased by 30%, 63% of the households had increased monthly costs, and unemployed residents were further disadvantaged and closer to social exclusion. Focusing on making environmental sustainability profitable, as posited in ecological modernization theory, may shadow negative impacts on social sustainability.
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| 21. |
- Ordonez, Maria Isabel, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Sorting waste in apartment buildings: facts and possibilities
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the ERSCP-EMSU 2013 conference, 16th Conference of the European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) & 7th Conference of the Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU), 4 – 7 June 2013, Istanbul, Turkey..
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Waste handling is a major challenge in today’s society. The amount of waste is increasing despite numerous, waste-system related improvements. In other domains of interest for sustainable development, researchers have recently started to investigate the user’s role instead of keeping a systems perspective that excludes the human factors. To investigate the use of existing waste-sorting infrastructure available at apartment buildings, this paper reports on a case study carried out in two buildings in Gothenburg/Sweden. Results from the study reveal mismatches between user needs and what the system offers. The aim was to identify a strategy that housing companies could take to allow for more effective sorting of household waste in rental housing areas, with special focus on the biodegradable fraction. The resulting strategy consists of practical solutions that can be implemented by housing companies with similar conditions.
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| 22. |
- Ordonez Pizarro, Isabel, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Waste sorting in apartments: integrating the perspective of the user
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 106, s. 669-679
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to increase resource recovery from solid waste, better sorting of household waste is needed. This article reports on a case study about waste sorting infrastructure performance carried out in two buildings in Gothenburg, Sweden. Results from the study reveal mismatches between users' needs and what the system offers, affecting the sorting rates and quality of the sorted material. Frequent sorting errors were observed from the tenants in these apartment buildings, where more than 70% of the discards that go in the mixed waste could be sorted out into other available fractions, with biodegradable waste being the most neglected. Hazardous waste was often discarded wrongly and recurrent errors were observed in the containers available for sorting different packaging material. Given the performance observed, initial suggestions are made for housing companies to rethink the sorting system they offer to their tenants (i.e. accessible space for electronic waste, more space for biodegradable waste, possibility of sorting textiles, etc.). Most importantly this paper makes the case that housing companies have the opportunity to provide sorting infrastructure that is designed for the user, rather than just fitted to the waste management system.
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| 23. |
- Peters, Gregory, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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A Swedish comment on ‘review: the availability of life-cycle studies in Sweden’
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 24:10, s. 1758-1759
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The article entitled ‘Review: the availability of life-cycle studies in Sweden’ by Croft and colleagues (January 2019, volume 24, issue 1, pages 6–11) has puzzled many researchers in Sweden. The stated purpose of the article is to review the availability of water and carbon footprinting studies and life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies in Sweden. Despite its title and purpose suggesting otherwise, the article appears to be about the accessibility of life-cycle case studies from Sweden in South Africa. It is problematic that the article claims to be a review in the title and text, but is presented by the journal as a commentary. We believe that the article’s method is unclear and that its title and results are misleading. The authors of the article found only 12 academic papers, 10 academic theses, 8 company reports, and 1 presentation. This result significantly underestimates the actual production and availability of Swedish LCA case studies.
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| 24. |
- Svanström, Magdalena, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of sludge management with phosphorus utilisation and improved hygienisation in Sweden
- 2017
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Ingår i: Water Science and Technology. - : IWA Publishing. - 0273-1223 .- 1996-9732. ; 75:9, s. 2013-2024
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To provide input to sewage sludge management strategies that address expected new regulations in terms of hygienisation and phosphorus recovery in Sweden, an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) was made. The LCA identified environmental hot spots for methods that may permit sludge or phosphorus from sludge to be applied on agricultural land. In particular, thermophilic digestion, pasteurisation, thermal hydrolysis, urea treatment and mono-incineration with phosphorus recovery were compared. In addition, a sludge management system involving drying of sludge before use in forestry was investigated. The results showed that some major impacts are related to large uncertainties, such as those related to emissions from sludge storage. It also showed that large gains can be achieved when products from the systems replace other products, in particular when biogas is used to replace natural gas in vehicles, but also when sludge is used in agriculture and forestry. In general, there are small differences between the sludge management methods. Retaining the sludge matrix to allow for its utilisation in agriculture may conflict with keeping emissions to air and water from the sludge matrix low. It is recommended that any sludge management option minimises emissions from sludge to air and water and that resources are recovered and used, in line with the principles of a circular economy.
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