Suchergebnisse

Recycling of minerals from waste deposits could potentially double the recycling flows while offering an opportunity to address the many problematic landfills. However, this type of activity, i.e., landfill mining, brings many advantages, risks and uncertainties and lacks economic feasibility. Therefore, we investigate the capacity of the Swedish authorities to navigate the environmental, resource, and economic conditions of landfill mining and their attitude to support such radical recycling alternatives towards a resource transition. By analyzing three governmental commissions on landfill mining, we show how the authorities seem unable to embrace the complexity of the concept. When landfill mining is framed as a remediation activity the authorities are positive in support, but when it is framed as a mining activity the authorities are negative. Landfill mining is evaluated based on how conventional practices work, with one and only one purpose: to extract resources or remediation. That traditional mining was a starting point in the evaluation becomes particularly obvious when the resource potential shall be evaluated. The resource potential of landfills is assessed based on metals with a high occurrence in the bedrock. If the potential instead had been based on metals with low incidence in the Swedish bedrock, the potential would have been found in the human built environment. Secondary resources in landfills seem to lack an institutional affiliation, since the institutional arrangements that are responsible for landfills primarily perceive them as pollution, while the institutions responsible for resources, on the other hand, assume them to be found in the bedrock. Finally, we suggest how the institutional capacity for a resource transition can increase by the introduction of a broader approach when evaluating emerging alternatives and a new institutional order. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Innovation Agency; VINNOVA

Recycling of minerals from waste deposits could potentially double the recycling flows while offering an opportunity to address the many problematic landfills. However, this type of activity, i.e., landfill mining, brings many advantages, risks and uncertainties and lacks economic feasibility. Therefore, we investigate the capacity of the Swedish authorities to navigate the environmental, resource, and economic conditions of landfill mining and their attitude to support such radical recycling alternatives towards a resource transition. By analyzing three governmental commissions on landfill mining, we show how the authorities seem unable to embrace the complexity of the concept. When landfill mining is framed as a remediation activity the authorities are positive in support, but when it is framed as a mining activity the authorities are negative. Landfill mining is evaluated based on how conventional practices work, with one and only one purpose: to extract resources or remediation. That traditional mining was a starting point in the evaluation becomes particularly obvious when the resource potential shall be evaluated. The resource potential of landfills is assessed based on metals with a high occurrence in the bedrock. If the potential instead had been based on metals with low incidence in the Swedish bedrock, the potential would have been found in the human built environment. Secondary resources in landfills seem to lack an institutional affiliation, since the institutional arrangements that are responsible for landfills primarily perceive them as pollution, while the institutions responsible for resources, on the other hand, assume them to be found in the bedrock. Finally, we suggest how the institutional capacity for a resource transition can increase by the introduction of a broader approach when evaluating emerging alternatives and a new institutional order. ; QC 20180116

Connectedness through cooperation with other sectors regarding feedstock, energy, products and by-products is important for environmental performance of industrial production. The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of the level of connectedness in the Swedish biofuels for transport industry, involving producers of ethanol, biogas and biodiesel. In interviews, the CEOs of four important companies provided information about current strategies, historic and planned development. The production systems are dynamic and have changed significantly over time, including material and energy exchanges between traditionally separate industries. Interesting development was noted where revised business strategies have led to changed cooperation structures and thus altered material and energy flows. Fuel and raw material prices are very influential and all of the respondents said that political decisions to a large extent affect their competitiveness and emphasised the importance of clear long-term institutional conditions, ironically very much in contrast to the current situation within EU and Sweden. ; At the time for thesis presentation publication was in status: Manuscript

This article examines and contrasts the level of Swedish governmental subsidies to two different ways of producing metal: the metal recycling sector and the metal mining sector. In 2010, the metal mining sector was subsidized by € 40 million and the metal recycling sector € 0.6 million. If the exemption from landfill tax is considered a subsidy, the level of subsidization to the metal mining sector changes drastically to approximately € 4000 million. Regardless of how the concept "subsidy" is defined, the metal mining sector in total and per tonne of metal produced is fundamentally more highly subsidized than the metal recycling sector. The value added per tonne of metal produced for the metal recycling sector appears to be higher than for the metal mining sector. The current dominant trend in the Swedish mineral strategy is nevertheless to increase the level of subsidization to the metal mining sector. ; On the day of the defence date the status of this article was Manuscript . JEL Classification: H23; L72; Q38; Q53

Research into environmental policy integration (EPI) has focused very much on coordination issues associated with the preparation of policies at national and international levels. We instead examine some challenges in implementing EPI at the local level. We look at legal and policy frameworks relating to environmental governance and actual waste management decision making in five Swedish cities. We observe an implementation gap between the high-level policy ambitions relating to environmental governance of the waste sector, as expressed in national policy frameworks, and the local-level decision-making procedures and outcomes. Several discrepancies are identified: between national waste policy and the local decision premises, between local waste planning and project decision making, between knowledge gathering and project decision making, and between the legal mechanism in the development consent process and the national environmental quality objectives framework. Our study indicates that the governance frameworks at different levels are quite different, and at least partly incompatible, which causes important coordination problems across levels. Sectoral developments towards an industrial marketisation of waste have rendered frameworks such as local waste plans obsolete. We also find that the more traditional and coercive forms of governing the sector, such as consent, bans, and taxes, are the ones that have steering power, whereas new procedures, such as management by objectives, lack sufficient institutional and cognitive support structures to be effective.

Millions of tonnes of shredder fines are generated and disposed of globally, despite compelling reasons for its recovery. The absence of a review of previous literature, however, makes it difficult to understand the underlying reasons for this. Thus, this study attempts to investigate and assess what, to what extent, and in what ways shredder fines have been addressed in previous research. In doing so, guidelines are drawn for future research to facilitate the valorisation (upgrading and recovery) of shredder fines. Previous research concerning shredder fines was identified with respect to three main research topics. The material characterisation studies are predominantly confined to the occurrence of metals due to their recovery and contamination potential. The process development studies have often undertaken narrowly conceived objectives of addressing one resource opportunity or contamination problem at a time. Consequently, the full recovery (the retrieval of valuable resources and the bulk-utilisation as substitute material) potential of shredder fines has been largely overlooked. The main limitation of policy and regulation studies is the absence of in-depth knowledge on the implications of governmental waste- and resource-policies (macro-level) on actors' incentives and capacities (micro-level) for fines valorisation, which is necessary to understand the marketability of fines-derived resources. Undertaking a systems perspective is the key to recognising not only the different aspects within the individual research topics but also the inter-relations between them. It also facilitates the internalisation of the inter-relations into topical research. ; Mistra closing the loop II

Shredder fines is a residue of the shredding industry and is currently landfilled or used as landfill cover in Sweden. Throughout the time, the heterogeneity and small particle size have rendered resource recovery and recycling of it challenging. In spite of that, European policies envisioning circular economy, in concomitance with stringent resource recovery requirements and increased landfill taxes are challenging the current disposal practices of the shredding industry. As an attempt to address this issue, the present study has developed a systematic approach for performing an initial assessment of the feasibility of several selected mainstream applications for valorisation of shredder fines. First, sampling of shredder fines from a major shredding plant was obtained twice a week over a 10 weeks period. The main focus of the sampling program was to encompass the variation in the material's physical and chemical composition. The two samples from each week were then mixed and divided into six subsamples. That is, one original fraction and five size fractions; ZA (7.10-5.00 mm), ZB (5.00-3.35 mm), ZC (3.35-2.00 mm), ZD (2.00-0.25 mm), and ZE (0.25-0.063 mm). These sub-samples were subsequently sent for laboratory analysis for characterisation of contaminants, potentially valuable metals and energy recovery related properties. Second, three potential main stream applications for shredder fines were identified based on existing research on similar industrial residues (e.g. municipal waste incineration bottom ash) and current practices of the Swedish shredding industry. The selected applications are; Smelting for copper, Energy recovery in cement kilns and municipal solid waste incinerators, and Substitution of aggregates in concrete making and road construction. Third, the gate requirements of potential users and legislative requirements with regards to the identified applications were established, and the characteristics of shredder fines were benchmarked against them. As far as copper smelting is concerned, the presence of high concentrations of lead and chromium is the biggest challenge. Otherwise, the fractions; ZA, ZB, and ZD show some potential due to manageable concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Concerning energy recovery, the calorific value apparently narrows down the options to municipal waste incinerators. There, the chlorine concentration only allows utilisation of the ZC fraction whereas heavy metal concentrations are too high with regards to all the fractions. With regards to the use as substitute material in construction, legislative requirements in Sweden for total content and leachate content of metals are too strict for shredder fines. In conclusion, the benchmarking reveals the need for prior upgrading of shredder fines with respect to the different applications. Thus, integrated upgrading processes that could handle the complexity of the material in terms of contaminants and valuable recoverables is needed in order to achieve holistic valorisation of the material.

Residue products often pose a huge challenge to material recycling industry. Especially heterogenic and fine granular residues. It increases the cost and reduces the efficiency of material separation and recovery. Currently, the most common practice is to landfill such residue products. However, decreasing availability of landfills, increasing landfill costs, and new policy instruments require higher rates of resource recovery. In spite of that, business initiatives for recovering secondary raw material from residue products are often deterred by stringent environmental legislation emphasizing human toxicity concerns. Shredding industry plays a huge role in the context of circular economy via recycling important waste streams such as end-oflife vehicles (ELVs), municipal white goods, construction and demolition waste, and different industrial wastes. The core business model of industrial shredding is driven by recovering different metals while a variety of residue products including plastics, rubber, foam, wood, glass, and sand are generated. Shredder fine residue (also called shredder fines) is a fine granular residue product with intrinsic heterogeneity, which is produced by the shredding industry. A share of 15-20% of the input would end up as shredder fines in a typical plant. The overall aim of this study is to draw technical, market and regulatory boundary conditions for improved material recovery from shredder fines. Thereby to build a framework of principal guidelines to support systematic identification, development, and evaluation of different valorization options for shredder fines. The outcome of this study is also envisioned to provide generic conclusions to the valorization of heterogenic residue products in general. The study is performed in collaboration with a major shredding company in Sweden. The methodology reflects the Swedish context and consists of two phases. During the initial phase, firstly, the overall shredding industry structure of Sweden is studied to understand the governing regulatory framework, level of competition, and the scale of operation. Secondly, the collaborating company is studied to gain knowledge on technical feasibility of implementing recovery processes, economic, business and market aspects, and implications of national and local legislation, from the shredding company perspective. Empirical methods such as interviews and study of documentation are used in this phase. During the second phase, detailed material and elemental characterization tests are performed on shredder fine samples. Thereby the distribution of basic elements, metals, heating value, and ash, in shredder fines as well as across different size fractions of shredder fines is established. The results are compared and contrasted against literature values. An extensive survey is also carried out to identify potential users for different materials which are possibly recoverable from shredder fines. Such potential users are then mapped against materials. Leaching tests are also performed to assess the mobility of heavy metals and thereby the potential environmental risk and human toxicity. As the main contribution of this study, knowledge is developed and synthesized, boundary conditions are set, and principal guidelines of general relevance are drawn in order to facilitate improved valorization of fine granular residue products.