The social benefits of charity retail are widely recognized. However, data relating to the potent... more The social benefits of charity retail are widely recognized. However, data relating to the potential benefits to the sustainable use of end-of-use consumer goods are scarce. A general survey and an observational study at a typical charity shop aimed to quantify and evaluate reuse via charity retail outlets. We reveal valuable insights to stock data recording, procedures for receiving/dealing with donations (by category), use of standard approaches, quantification of key variables, and accuracy of previous survey data. Methods were successfully developed and trialled to (a) quantify diversion of end-of-use products from residual waste via reuse/recycling, and (b) estimate the cost of unsaleable donations. Future routine use of these methods for charity retail shops is recommended while acknowledging the limitations due to reporting capabilities. We identify four key groups of beneficiaries: (1) the parent charity, (2) charity shop workers (paid and unpaid), (3) donors, and (4) custom...
As awareness of the negative externalities created by ports increases, and the perceived local be... more As awareness of the negative externalities created by ports increases, and the perceived local benefits decrease, ports must find new ways to improve the local noneconomic benefits they provide if they are to obtain local support. This global survey collected data from 51 ports in 26 countries. The results highlight a recognition by port authorities that ports face increasing pressure from local residents to reduce their negative impacts and that they should seek to improve the public perception towards the port by increasing local benefits. At present, port information and social media (81%), port events (67%) and education (63%) are the most adopted options. There is a lack of evidence that these measures are effective in improving local perceptions. Maritime museums and public access show a positive association with increasing local awareness of the benefits a port provides, despite their lower levels of adoption (45%). Port centres are the least adopted option at present (29%) a...
As ports seek to maintain support for their operations amidst growing environmental awareness and... more As ports seek to maintain support for their operations amidst growing environmental awareness and social pressure, it is important they provide benefits for the local population to offset negative impacts. Ports can add additional economic benefits for the cities they are located in by encouraging maritime clusters, industrial development, a circular economy, and waterfront development. The current level of adoption, interest in future adoption, barriers to implementation, and attitudes towards the views of the local population were assessed via an online questionnaire sent to port authorities in 26 countries. The potential and willingness of ports to be on the frontline of the transition to a circular economy globally has been clearly identified for the first time, seeing a 60% increase between current levels of adoption and future interest in adoption. Barriers to a circular economy are comparable to barriers to widely adopted methods, such as industrial development and a waterfro...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Waste and Resource Management, 2014
This paper reports on a study to develop a construction resource efficiency stakeholder network i... more This paper reports on a study to develop a construction resource efficiency stakeholder network in the UK. The primary stakeholders in the network were the client, designer and main contractor – the decision-makers on construction techniques, materials and products. The paper outlines the rationale for the study, development of waste-prevention measures and industrial networks, progressive implementation in three separate construction activities, barriers and practical constraints, key results, conclusions and recommendations. Improvements were achieved through increased specification and use of sustainably produced construction materials, greater separation of materials for recycling, increased reuse of materials and behaviour changes in energy and water use as a result of on-site monitoring.
This article presents interactions and common methodology underlying the development of the ZeroW... more This article presents interactions and common methodology underlying the development of the ZeroWIN case studies. The ten presented industrial case studies focus on the implementation of a European industrial network, with a primary aim of enhancing the environmental performance through resources exchange between manufacturing industries. The ZeroWIN case studies stem from various industries, including ICT, construction, PV and automotive sectors. The novelty of the ZeroWIN concept lies in the selection of industries, being SME companies and being involved in very diverse activities from a construction sector managing large volumes of resources to an information and communication technology, involving low volumes of very precious resources. The existing examples of industrial symbioses stem from other industry sectors, especially from heavy industry, which generates high volume of waste with a well defined and stable quality. The ZeroWIN project addresses the new concepts of “by-pro...
ABSTRACT ZeroWIN (Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks - www.zerowin.eu) is a five year proj... more ABSTRACT ZeroWIN (Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks - www.zerowin.eu) is a five year project funded by the EC under the 7th Framework Programme. Amongst others, ZeroWIN examines how producers' responsibility can be applied in the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and photovoltaic sectors. Discussion about extending producers' responsibility for environmental impacts of their products to the entire product life cycle began in the 1990s. Since then, many environmental regulations focusing on treatment of end-of-life products have incorporated the concept of producer responsibility. This paper identifies and critically discusses global implementation of producer responsibility in the photovoltaic and EEE industrial sectors. Characteristics of current systems and markets preventing or facilitating its implementation are discussed.
Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management, 2009
The bulky waste fraction of municipal waste arisings is under-exploited in terms of recycling and... more The bulky waste fraction of municipal waste arisings is under-exploited in terms of recycling and reuse. Currently, third-sector bulky waste recycling and reuse schemes (e.g. furniture reuse organisations (FROs)) redistribute approximately 2·5 million items annually, largely to needy families and individuals, thus diverting – or at least delaying – landfill disposal. At the same time, several other benefits can be derived from the actions of bulky waste recycling schemes. This paper brings together a range of studies assessing the volume of bulky waste in terms of estimated tonnages and percentage of municipal waste arisings, and possibilities for augmenting current reuse. Turning to the efficacy of existing collection and reuse services, this paper considers: the various routes available for disposal; the operational effectiveness of FROs; and key aspects of the relationship between local authorities and FROs, such as coordination in communication and collection, funding and manage...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Waste and Resource Management, 2014
This paper presents the results of Portuguese case studies on developing an industrial network ar... more This paper presents the results of Portuguese case studies on developing an industrial network around a construction site and three zero-waste demolition projects. The case studies analysed to what extent it is possible to achieve a significant reduction of the solid waste produced and an overall decrease in energy and water consumption. The results show that the reduction targets could be achieved by implementation of good practices in waste management and the development of networks to allow an increase in the reuse and recycling rates of wasted materials and residual water. At the construction site, overall achievement of reduction rates was additionally enforced by the substitution of inputs with strong potential impacts on the decrease of fresh water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions along the supply chain.
Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management, 2012
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing UK waste streams. ... more Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing UK waste streams. The UK WEEE Regulations prioritise waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery to minimise disposal of electronic products in landfill. This paper evaluates and discusses the UK collection network for household WEEE by analysing the operations of key stakeholders. The paper discusses the amount of wastes collected, how it is handled and processed. In UK urban areas, there are adequate facilities for the collection of unwanted ...
Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rat... more Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rate of ~65%. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) set a statutory target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2024/25. We reviewed historical trends in waste management in Wales from 2006 to 2020, with a focus on recycling. Authoritative, official data were obtained from WasteDataFlow, an Internet system for municipal waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government. Data are collected quarterly allowing the generation of time series plots, trendlines and like-for-like comparisons between groupings of various characteristics, such as number of separate kerbside collections, income, political preference, and impact of policy changes. Results showed that the approach taken by the WAG to politically prioritise and encourage participation in household recycling has achieved impressive results that contrast starkly with the recycling performance of other UK countries. In Wales, househo...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Municipal Engineer
Household bulky waste, defined as ‘any large items you would normally take with you when moving h... more Household bulky waste, defined as ‘any large items you would normally take with you when moving house’ constitutes 56% of fly-tipped household waste. Although fly-tipping, especially the disposal of the bulky household waste stream by way of fly-tipping, is little studied, it causes a wide range of social and environmental problems. Legitimate means of disposal available to householders include council collection, household waste recycling centres, private companies and charities. This study was aimed at identifying the key drivers for fly-tipping bulky wastes using the county of Hampshire, UK as a case study area. The study indicates that fly-tipping of bulky items is a significant problem, particularly in areas of high deprivation and population density, and areas with a large proportion of rented accommodation. The findings also illustrate the distinct service requirements of different age groups and that no single, generic approach to bulky waste management can be applied univer...
An increasing number of geochemically scarce metallic raw materials are entering into our lives v... more An increasing number of geochemically scarce metallic raw materials are entering into our lives via new technologies. A reversal of this trend is not foreseeable, leading to concerns regarding the security of their supply. However, the evaluation of raw material supply is currently hampered by inconsistent use of fundamental terminologies and incomplete assessment criteria. In this paper, we aim to establish a consistent framework for evaluating raw material supply from both anthropogenic and geological sources. A method for concept extraction was applied to evaluate systematically the use of fundamental terms in the evaluation of raw material supply. The results have shown that 'availability' is commonly used in raw material supply evaluations, whilst other researchers suggest that raw material supply should be evaluated based on 'accessibility'. It was revealed that 'accessibility' actually comprises two aspects: 'availability' and 'approachabil...
The mining of material resources requires knowledge about geogenic and anthropogenic deposits, in... more The mining of material resources requires knowledge about geogenic and anthropogenic deposits, in particular on the location of the deposits with the comparatively highest concentration of raw materials. In this study, we develop a framework that allows the establishment of analogies between geological and anthropogenic processes. These analogies were applied to three selected products containing rare earth elements (REE) in order to identify the most concentrated deposits in the anthropogenic cycle. The three identified anthropogenic deposits were characterised according to criteria such as "host rock", "REE mineralisation" and "age of mineralisation", i.e. regarding their "geological" setting. The results of this characterisation demonstrated that anthropogenic deposits have both a higher concentration of REE and a longer mine life than the evaluated geogenic deposit (Mount Weld, Switzerland). The results were further evaluated by comparison...
Household bulky waste includes large and heavy items such as furniture and electrical appliances.... more Household bulky waste includes large and heavy items such as furniture and electrical appliances. Local authorities in England provide two options for disposing of these items: a special collection service, often involving a collection charge, and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), where residents can take their waste free of charge. Local private companies and community or charitable organisations may also collect certain bulky items.In this study, 1450 householders in 3 cities across England were surveyed about a range of issues relating to the disposal of bulky items. Questionnaires were hand delivered to households pre-selected using the national Index of Multiple Deprivation in order to compare how disposal of bulky items differs with level of affluence.Sixty-five percent of householders had discarded bulky items in the 12 months prior to the survey. The principal disposal route was found to be the HWRC, with almost 60% of residents who had discarded items using this method. Only 19% of the householders had used the special collection services. In low-affluence areas, lower car ownership made residents more reliant on council collections of bulky items, and HWRCs were used less frequently. Householders were found to be satisfied with the collection service they had received.The study demonstrates that there is significant capacity for reuse and recycling of bulky items at a national level. Using the Waste Hierarchy, these management options are environmentally preferable to landfill, which is the widely-used disposal method at present. Where items are reused there are also social benefits for the community or charity groups involved, volunteers employed, and recipients of the items. Only the current bulky waste handlers – local authorities, can implement the logistical, and in some cases financial, solutions that are required to increase recovery in this waste stream.
The social benefits of charity retail are widely recognized. However, data relating to the potent... more The social benefits of charity retail are widely recognized. However, data relating to the potential benefits to the sustainable use of end-of-use consumer goods are scarce. A general survey and an observational study at a typical charity shop aimed to quantify and evaluate reuse via charity retail outlets. We reveal valuable insights to stock data recording, procedures for receiving/dealing with donations (by category), use of standard approaches, quantification of key variables, and accuracy of previous survey data. Methods were successfully developed and trialled to (a) quantify diversion of end-of-use products from residual waste via reuse/recycling, and (b) estimate the cost of unsaleable donations. Future routine use of these methods for charity retail shops is recommended while acknowledging the limitations due to reporting capabilities. We identify four key groups of beneficiaries: (1) the parent charity, (2) charity shop workers (paid and unpaid), (3) donors, and (4) custom...
As awareness of the negative externalities created by ports increases, and the perceived local be... more As awareness of the negative externalities created by ports increases, and the perceived local benefits decrease, ports must find new ways to improve the local noneconomic benefits they provide if they are to obtain local support. This global survey collected data from 51 ports in 26 countries. The results highlight a recognition by port authorities that ports face increasing pressure from local residents to reduce their negative impacts and that they should seek to improve the public perception towards the port by increasing local benefits. At present, port information and social media (81%), port events (67%) and education (63%) are the most adopted options. There is a lack of evidence that these measures are effective in improving local perceptions. Maritime museums and public access show a positive association with increasing local awareness of the benefits a port provides, despite their lower levels of adoption (45%). Port centres are the least adopted option at present (29%) a...
As ports seek to maintain support for their operations amidst growing environmental awareness and... more As ports seek to maintain support for their operations amidst growing environmental awareness and social pressure, it is important they provide benefits for the local population to offset negative impacts. Ports can add additional economic benefits for the cities they are located in by encouraging maritime clusters, industrial development, a circular economy, and waterfront development. The current level of adoption, interest in future adoption, barriers to implementation, and attitudes towards the views of the local population were assessed via an online questionnaire sent to port authorities in 26 countries. The potential and willingness of ports to be on the frontline of the transition to a circular economy globally has been clearly identified for the first time, seeing a 60% increase between current levels of adoption and future interest in adoption. Barriers to a circular economy are comparable to barriers to widely adopted methods, such as industrial development and a waterfro...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Waste and Resource Management, 2014
This paper reports on a study to develop a construction resource efficiency stakeholder network i... more This paper reports on a study to develop a construction resource efficiency stakeholder network in the UK. The primary stakeholders in the network were the client, designer and main contractor – the decision-makers on construction techniques, materials and products. The paper outlines the rationale for the study, development of waste-prevention measures and industrial networks, progressive implementation in three separate construction activities, barriers and practical constraints, key results, conclusions and recommendations. Improvements were achieved through increased specification and use of sustainably produced construction materials, greater separation of materials for recycling, increased reuse of materials and behaviour changes in energy and water use as a result of on-site monitoring.
This article presents interactions and common methodology underlying the development of the ZeroW... more This article presents interactions and common methodology underlying the development of the ZeroWIN case studies. The ten presented industrial case studies focus on the implementation of a European industrial network, with a primary aim of enhancing the environmental performance through resources exchange between manufacturing industries. The ZeroWIN case studies stem from various industries, including ICT, construction, PV and automotive sectors. The novelty of the ZeroWIN concept lies in the selection of industries, being SME companies and being involved in very diverse activities from a construction sector managing large volumes of resources to an information and communication technology, involving low volumes of very precious resources. The existing examples of industrial symbioses stem from other industry sectors, especially from heavy industry, which generates high volume of waste with a well defined and stable quality. The ZeroWIN project addresses the new concepts of “by-pro...
ABSTRACT ZeroWIN (Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks - www.zerowin.eu) is a five year proj... more ABSTRACT ZeroWIN (Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks - www.zerowin.eu) is a five year project funded by the EC under the 7th Framework Programme. Amongst others, ZeroWIN examines how producers' responsibility can be applied in the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and photovoltaic sectors. Discussion about extending producers' responsibility for environmental impacts of their products to the entire product life cycle began in the 1990s. Since then, many environmental regulations focusing on treatment of end-of-life products have incorporated the concept of producer responsibility. This paper identifies and critically discusses global implementation of producer responsibility in the photovoltaic and EEE industrial sectors. Characteristics of current systems and markets preventing or facilitating its implementation are discussed.
Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management, 2009
The bulky waste fraction of municipal waste arisings is under-exploited in terms of recycling and... more The bulky waste fraction of municipal waste arisings is under-exploited in terms of recycling and reuse. Currently, third-sector bulky waste recycling and reuse schemes (e.g. furniture reuse organisations (FROs)) redistribute approximately 2·5 million items annually, largely to needy families and individuals, thus diverting – or at least delaying – landfill disposal. At the same time, several other benefits can be derived from the actions of bulky waste recycling schemes. This paper brings together a range of studies assessing the volume of bulky waste in terms of estimated tonnages and percentage of municipal waste arisings, and possibilities for augmenting current reuse. Turning to the efficacy of existing collection and reuse services, this paper considers: the various routes available for disposal; the operational effectiveness of FROs; and key aspects of the relationship between local authorities and FROs, such as coordination in communication and collection, funding and manage...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Waste and Resource Management, 2014
This paper presents the results of Portuguese case studies on developing an industrial network ar... more This paper presents the results of Portuguese case studies on developing an industrial network around a construction site and three zero-waste demolition projects. The case studies analysed to what extent it is possible to achieve a significant reduction of the solid waste produced and an overall decrease in energy and water consumption. The results show that the reduction targets could be achieved by implementation of good practices in waste management and the development of networks to allow an increase in the reuse and recycling rates of wasted materials and residual water. At the construction site, overall achievement of reduction rates was additionally enforced by the substitution of inputs with strong potential impacts on the decrease of fresh water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions along the supply chain.
Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management, 2012
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing UK waste streams. ... more Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing UK waste streams. The UK WEEE Regulations prioritise waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery to minimise disposal of electronic products in landfill. This paper evaluates and discusses the UK collection network for household WEEE by analysing the operations of key stakeholders. The paper discusses the amount of wastes collected, how it is handled and processed. In UK urban areas, there are adequate facilities for the collection of unwanted ...
Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rat... more Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rate of ~65%. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) set a statutory target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2024/25. We reviewed historical trends in waste management in Wales from 2006 to 2020, with a focus on recycling. Authoritative, official data were obtained from WasteDataFlow, an Internet system for municipal waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government. Data are collected quarterly allowing the generation of time series plots, trendlines and like-for-like comparisons between groupings of various characteristics, such as number of separate kerbside collections, income, political preference, and impact of policy changes. Results showed that the approach taken by the WAG to politically prioritise and encourage participation in household recycling has achieved impressive results that contrast starkly with the recycling performance of other UK countries. In Wales, househo...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Municipal Engineer
Household bulky waste, defined as ‘any large items you would normally take with you when moving h... more Household bulky waste, defined as ‘any large items you would normally take with you when moving house’ constitutes 56% of fly-tipped household waste. Although fly-tipping, especially the disposal of the bulky household waste stream by way of fly-tipping, is little studied, it causes a wide range of social and environmental problems. Legitimate means of disposal available to householders include council collection, household waste recycling centres, private companies and charities. This study was aimed at identifying the key drivers for fly-tipping bulky wastes using the county of Hampshire, UK as a case study area. The study indicates that fly-tipping of bulky items is a significant problem, particularly in areas of high deprivation and population density, and areas with a large proportion of rented accommodation. The findings also illustrate the distinct service requirements of different age groups and that no single, generic approach to bulky waste management can be applied univer...
An increasing number of geochemically scarce metallic raw materials are entering into our lives v... more An increasing number of geochemically scarce metallic raw materials are entering into our lives via new technologies. A reversal of this trend is not foreseeable, leading to concerns regarding the security of their supply. However, the evaluation of raw material supply is currently hampered by inconsistent use of fundamental terminologies and incomplete assessment criteria. In this paper, we aim to establish a consistent framework for evaluating raw material supply from both anthropogenic and geological sources. A method for concept extraction was applied to evaluate systematically the use of fundamental terms in the evaluation of raw material supply. The results have shown that 'availability' is commonly used in raw material supply evaluations, whilst other researchers suggest that raw material supply should be evaluated based on 'accessibility'. It was revealed that 'accessibility' actually comprises two aspects: 'availability' and 'approachabil...
The mining of material resources requires knowledge about geogenic and anthropogenic deposits, in... more The mining of material resources requires knowledge about geogenic and anthropogenic deposits, in particular on the location of the deposits with the comparatively highest concentration of raw materials. In this study, we develop a framework that allows the establishment of analogies between geological and anthropogenic processes. These analogies were applied to three selected products containing rare earth elements (REE) in order to identify the most concentrated deposits in the anthropogenic cycle. The three identified anthropogenic deposits were characterised according to criteria such as "host rock", "REE mineralisation" and "age of mineralisation", i.e. regarding their "geological" setting. The results of this characterisation demonstrated that anthropogenic deposits have both a higher concentration of REE and a longer mine life than the evaluated geogenic deposit (Mount Weld, Switzerland). The results were further evaluated by comparison...
Household bulky waste includes large and heavy items such as furniture and electrical appliances.... more Household bulky waste includes large and heavy items such as furniture and electrical appliances. Local authorities in England provide two options for disposing of these items: a special collection service, often involving a collection charge, and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), where residents can take their waste free of charge. Local private companies and community or charitable organisations may also collect certain bulky items.In this study, 1450 householders in 3 cities across England were surveyed about a range of issues relating to the disposal of bulky items. Questionnaires were hand delivered to households pre-selected using the national Index of Multiple Deprivation in order to compare how disposal of bulky items differs with level of affluence.Sixty-five percent of householders had discarded bulky items in the 12 months prior to the survey. The principal disposal route was found to be the HWRC, with almost 60% of residents who had discarded items using this method. Only 19% of the householders had used the special collection services. In low-affluence areas, lower car ownership made residents more reliant on council collections of bulky items, and HWRCs were used less frequently. Householders were found to be satisfied with the collection service they had received.The study demonstrates that there is significant capacity for reuse and recycling of bulky items at a national level. Using the Waste Hierarchy, these management options are environmentally preferable to landfill, which is the widely-used disposal method at present. Where items are reused there are also social benefits for the community or charity groups involved, volunteers employed, and recipients of the items. Only the current bulky waste handlers – local authorities, can implement the logistical, and in some cases financial, solutions that are required to increase recovery in this waste stream.
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