Municipal Solid Waste Mass Balance as a Tool for Calculation of the Possibility of Implementing the Circular Economy Concept

Grzegorz Wielgosiński, Justyna Czerwińska and Szymon Szufa
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Grzegorz Wielgosiński: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Justyna Czerwińska: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Szymon Szufa: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: Municipal waste management system modeling based on the mass balance of individual waste streams allows us to answer the question of how the system will react to organizational changes, e.g., to the expected reduction in the amount of plastics or the introduction of a deposit for glass and/or plastic packaging. Based on the data on Polish municipal solid waste and the forecast of changes in its quantity and composition, as well as demographic data, a balance model was prepared to assess the impact of introducing higher and higher levels of recycling, in accordance with the circular economy assumptions on the waste management system. It has been shown that, for the Polish composition of municipal waste, even if the assumed recycling levels of individual streams are achieved, achieving the general target level of 65% recycling in 2025/30 may not be feasible. The possibility of achieving a higher level of recycling will be possible due the introduction of selective ash collection from individual home furnaces, while the impact of reducing the amount of plastics or introducing a deposit on packaging is minimal. The calculations also showed that, to complete the waste management system in Poland, we need at least 3.5 million Mg/year of incineration processing capacity and the present state (approx. 1.3 million Mg/year) is insufficient.

Keywords: MSW management; recycling; circular economy; mathematical modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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