The process of economic activities is on the basis of tremendous material inputs.China has been discharging an enormous amount of waste,giving rise to a wide range of environmental impacts.The method of economy-wide m...The process of economic activities is on the basis of tremendous material inputs.China has been discharging an enormous amount of waste,giving rise to a wide range of environmental impacts.The method of economy-wide material flow analysis(EW-MFA)is one of the effective tools to examine the flow of materials entering physical economies,and recognize early environmental problems.Relevant researches are still at the early stage in China and most focus on material throughput but are rarely concerned about the utilization of recycling resource and environmental impact.Based on more than 3,000 items of data related,materials entering Chinese economy are classified into three types,and then the characteristics of material input and environmental impact are presented for the years 1990-2005 by using the indicators derived from EW-MFA.The Ratio of Recycled Material(RRM) is added as the new indicator in order to be in accordance with the need of circular economy being promoted in China.Results show that the great changes in the structure of material input cause the continuous increase of industrial solid waste emissions and the bogging down of material productivity.The RRM reveals that the utilization of recycling resources remains at a fairly low level in China.Finally,some weakness of EW-MFA is discussed according to the calculated results.展开更多
Consumers increasingly have worn-out batteries as electrical and electronic equipment with new technical developments are introduced into the market and quickly replace older models. As a result, large amounts of end-...Consumers increasingly have worn-out batteries as electrical and electronic equipment with new technical developments are introduced into the market and quickly replace older models. As a result, large amounts of end-of-life （EOL） or waste batteries are generated. Such batteries may contain a variety of materials that includes valuable resources as well as toxic elements. Thus, the proper recycling and management of batteries is very important from the perspective of resource conservation and environmental effect. The collection and recycling of EOL batteries is relatively low in South Korea compared to other countries, although an extended producer responsibility （EPR） policy was adopted for battery recycling in 2003. In this study, the management and material flow of EOL batteries is presented to determine potential problems and quantitative flow, based on literature review, site visits to battery recycling facilities, and interviews with experts in the Korea Battery Recycling Association （KBRA）, manufacturers, and regulators in government. The results show that approximately 558 tons of manganese-alkaline batteries, the largest fraction among recycling target items, was disposed in landfills or incinerators in 2015, while approximately 2,000 tons of batteries were recovered at a recycling facility by simple sorting and crushing processes. By raising environmental awareness, more diverse and effective collection systems could be established for consumers to easily dispose of EOL batteries in many places. Producers, retailers and distributors in South Korea should also play an important role in the collection of EOL batteries from consumers. Lithium-ion batteries from many electronic devices must be included in the EPR system for resource recovery.展开更多
Waste of electrical and electronic equipment （WEEE） constitutes one of the most relevant waste streams because of the quantity and presence of valuable materials. However, there is limited knowledge on the resource ...Waste of electrical and electronic equipment （WEEE） constitutes one of the most relevant waste streams because of the quantity and presence of valuable materials. However, there is limited knowledge on the resource potential of urban mining WEEE, as data on material composition, and the efficiency of current recycling treatments are still scarce. In this article, an evaluationof the recycling performance at a national level for one of the fastest growing e-waste streams： LCD TVs is carried out through the following four steps. Firstly, material characterisation is performed by means of sampling of the waste stream. Secondly, a material flow analysis is conducted by evaluating the separation performance of a recycling plant in Belgium..Thirdly, the recovered economic value and avoided environmental impact （EI） of the analysed recycling system is assessed. Finally, the potential of urban mining for Belgium is forecasted. The analysis shows that while recycling performance for ferrous metals and aluminium are relatively high; there is substantial room to better close the material loops for precious metals （PM） and plastics. PMs and plastics account for 66 % of the economic value in LCD TVs and 57% of the El. With the current, commonly applied recycling technology only one-third of the PM and housing plastics are recycled; meaning that for＇these material＇s, at a national level for Belgium, there is a potential for improvement that represents 3.3 million euros in 2016 and 6.8 million euros in 2025.展开更多
基金supported by the 10th National Five-Year Program for Science and Technology Development of China(Grant No.2003BA614A-02)
文摘The process of economic activities is on the basis of tremendous material inputs.China has been discharging an enormous amount of waste,giving rise to a wide range of environmental impacts.The method of economy-wide material flow analysis(EW-MFA)is one of the effective tools to examine the flow of materials entering physical economies,and recognize early environmental problems.Relevant researches are still at the early stage in China and most focus on material throughput but are rarely concerned about the utilization of recycling resource and environmental impact.Based on more than 3,000 items of data related,materials entering Chinese economy are classified into three types,and then the characteristics of material input and environmental impact are presented for the years 1990-2005 by using the indicators derived from EW-MFA.The Ratio of Recycled Material(RRM) is added as the new indicator in order to be in accordance with the need of circular economy being promoted in China.Results show that the great changes in the structure of material input cause the continuous increase of industrial solid waste emissions and the bogging down of material productivity.The RRM reveals that the utilization of recycling resources remains at a fairly low level in China.Finally,some weakness of EW-MFA is discussed according to the calculated results.
文摘Consumers increasingly have worn-out batteries as electrical and electronic equipment with new technical developments are introduced into the market and quickly replace older models. As a result, large amounts of end-of-life （EOL） or waste batteries are generated. Such batteries may contain a variety of materials that includes valuable resources as well as toxic elements. Thus, the proper recycling and management of batteries is very important from the perspective of resource conservation and environmental effect. The collection and recycling of EOL batteries is relatively low in South Korea compared to other countries, although an extended producer responsibility （EPR） policy was adopted for battery recycling in 2003. In this study, the management and material flow of EOL batteries is presented to determine potential problems and quantitative flow, based on literature review, site visits to battery recycling facilities, and interviews with experts in the Korea Battery Recycling Association （KBRA）, manufacturers, and regulators in government. The results show that approximately 558 tons of manganese-alkaline batteries, the largest fraction among recycling target items, was disposed in landfills or incinerators in 2015, while approximately 2,000 tons of batteries were recovered at a recycling facility by simple sorting and crushing processes. By raising environmental awareness, more diverse and effective collection systems could be established for consumers to easily dispose of EOL batteries in many places. Producers, retailers and distributors in South Korea should also play an important role in the collection of EOL batteries from consumers. Lithium-ion batteries from many electronic devices must be included in the EPR system for resource recovery.
文摘Waste of electrical and electronic equipment （WEEE） constitutes one of the most relevant waste streams because of the quantity and presence of valuable materials. However, there is limited knowledge on the resource potential of urban mining WEEE, as data on material composition, and the efficiency of current recycling treatments are still scarce. In this article, an evaluationof the recycling performance at a national level for one of the fastest growing e-waste streams： LCD TVs is carried out through the following four steps. Firstly, material characterisation is performed by means of sampling of the waste stream. Secondly, a material flow analysis is conducted by evaluating the separation performance of a recycling plant in Belgium..Thirdly, the recovered economic value and avoided environmental impact （EI） of the analysed recycling system is assessed. Finally, the potential of urban mining for Belgium is forecasted. The analysis shows that while recycling performance for ferrous metals and aluminium are relatively high; there is substantial room to better close the material loops for precious metals （PM） and plastics. PMs and plastics account for 66 % of the economic value in LCD TVs and 57% of the El. With the current, commonly applied recycling technology only one-third of the PM and housing plastics are recycled; meaning that for＇these material＇s, at a national level for Belgium, there is a potential for improvement that represents 3.3 million euros in 2016 and 6.8 million euros in 2025.
