Innovation in waste collection, transport and sorting

Francisco V. Sánchez Correa y César Aliaga Baquero – ITENE

 

Within the EU there is a wide range of opinions on the best way to manage the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream, from those who prefer landfilling to those who opt for incineration. In total, 225.7 million tonnes of MSW will be generated in the EU in 2020, an increase of 1% compared to 2019 (+1.8 million tonnes) and +14% compared to 1995 (+27.7 million tonnes) (1). Considering that much of the waste is sent to landfills across the continent, this is both an environmental challenge and a loss of value for the European economy.

 

 

In general terms, both flexible and rigid plastic waste is recovered when it is landfilled. The amount of material going into the waste management system can, in the first case, be reduced by actions to reduce the use of certain materials in products (e.g., by replacing heavy packaging formats with lighter ones, or by reducing the thickness of packaging). Designing products to allow for reuse, repair or reprocessing will result in...READING MORE AT https://www.infopack.es/revista/300/index70.html