Reducing Volume to Increase Capacity—Measures to Reduce Transport Energy for Recyclable Waste Collection

Adriano A. Santos (), António Ferreira da Silva, António Gouveia, Carlos Felgueiras and Nídia Caetano
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Adriano A. Santos: CIDEM, School of Engineering (ISEP), Polytechnic of Porto (P. Porto), Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
António Ferreira da Silva: CIDEM, School of Engineering (ISEP), Polytechnic of Porto (P. Porto), Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
António Gouveia: CIDEM, School of Engineering (ISEP), Polytechnic of Porto (P. Porto), Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Carlos Felgueiras: CIETI—School of Engineering (ISEP), Polytechnic of Porto (P. Porto), Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Nídia Caetano: CIETI—School of Engineering (ISEP), Polytechnic of Porto (P. Porto), Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-16

Abstract: The production of municipal waste is increasing all over the world. Although a significant part of the waste is collected as commingled waste, much of it is recyclable if disposed of properly. Thus, separate deposition and collection plays an extremely important role today, more than ever, not only in terms of preventing pollution but also from the point of view of recycling as a driver of circular economy and of efficient use of resources. This work is focused on the development of compaction equipment to be applied to containers, which allows a more efficient approach to the process of collecting waste for recycling. As a management option, recycling depends on collective behavior which is based on individual acts. Therefore, individual use of plastic/metal compaction systems can help meet recycling targets, even as a complement to conventional bins. Thus, herein a proposal is presented for a plastic/metal collection station with a built-in compaction element that allows for the compacting of the separated waste, individually, in an easily accessible drawer. Sorting and compacting waste before collection will result in a reduction of the number of collection/transport stops, which will also translate into higher energy efficiency, cost savings, optimization of the transported tons/km ratio, and profitability.

Keywords: compaction; Cyclea container; Ecopoint; metal and plastic packaging; optimization; recycling; routes (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: 2022
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