Taherzadeh M.J., Richards T. (eds.) Resource Recovery to Approach Zero Municipal Waste

CRC Press; Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. — 360 p.A population of 7 billion in the world means 7 billion waste producers. The widespread current practice of getting rid of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in the world is through landfll. These wastes represent a mixture of resources, but knowledge has not developed enough to enable their utilization in a proper and economical way. This results in an almost linear utilization of our resources, wherein the material passes through society only once before being dumped in a landfll; this practice is not sustainable in the long term. It means that we should aim for zero landfll and to completely recover our resources in order to realize a sustainable society. Although landflling of all organic wastes is forbidden in Europe, there are only a few countries, such as Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland, that have approached zero landfll, using a variety of technologies to recover resources from MSW.
This book provides a holistic approach to resource recovery from MSW toward zero waste. It is a complex subject with several technical, social, environmental, management, and sustainability aspects. However, there are cities and countries where zero waste is a reality, although continuous development is still ongoing. This book starts with an overview of solid waste management toward zero waste. It has several examples from Sweden and particularly from one city (Borås), where this topic has been on the agenda since 1986. After this, a discussion of sustainability aspects together with laws and regulations of waste management follows. One important choice, which is considered in Chapter 1, is whether people should separate their MSW at home or let machines and workers do it. When the waste is separated in different fractions, then we have several technologies to take care of them and convert them to different resources. Organic or biological wastes can be converted to compost or biogas and biofertilizers. We have combustion, pyrolysis, and gasifcation for the rejects. There are different recycling technologies, of which this book covers metals, electronic wastes, thermoset composites, papers, and fbers. Other technologies, such as glass recycling, are covered in the introduction (Chapter 1). However, in order to have good recycling, the recycling should be considered when the products are designed and produced. This is discussed in Chapters 9 through 12. Finally, if the materials are landflled, then landfll mining should be considered. This is the topic of Chapter 14.
This book is designed to be suitable for teaching at the higher education level, as well as for researchers and companies and municipalities. We hope that it contributes to a better global environment and more sustainable societies.Table of contests:
Chapter 1 An Overview of Solid Waste Management toward Zero Landfll: A Swedish Model
Chapter 2 Sustainable Management of Solid Waste
Chapter 3 Laws and Regulations Governing Waste Management: Institutional Arrangements Regarding Waste Management
Chapter 4 Source Separation of Household Waste: Technology and Social Aspects
Chapter 5 Composting of Wastes
Chapter 6 Biogas from Wastes: Processes and Applications
Chapter 7 Combustion of Wastes in Combined Heat and Power Plants
Chapter 8 Recent Developments in the Gasifcation and Pyrolysis of Waste
Chapter 9 Metal Recycling
Chapter 10 Material and Energy Recovery from Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities
Chapter 11 Recycling of Thermoset Composites
Chapter 12 Recycling of Papers and Fibers
Chapter 13 Product Design for Material Recovery
Chapter 14 Landfll Mining: On the Potential and Multifaceted Challenges for Implementation