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Paper info: The Impact of Different Waste Collection Systems on Carbon Footprint

Title


The Impact of Different Waste Collection Systems on Carbon Footprint

Authors


Eirill Bø, Bente M. Flygansvær and
Trond Hammervoll
HARSTAD UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Norway
Trond Hammervoll

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 32nd IMP-conference in Cape Town in 2016.

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Abstract


Climate change can be mitigated by reducing energy consumption, pollution and the emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. There are novel opportunities for research into how supply networks can contribute to a more sustainable society. Little research has addressed how different ways of collecting waste from private households affect the carbon footprint of the waste collection network, and the purpose of this research is to fill some of the knowledge gap. In the reverse supply chain, there are several decisions to be made concerning the system, sources of variability and uncertainty. Starting with the end-user, the “waste” as a category may be sorted for several purposes according to the waste hierarchy. In addition to the decision of how to handle the various types of waste, there is also a question of how many fractions the waste is sorted into. We have compared CO2 emissions in two waste collection networks, both using diesel trucks. An extensive Excel-based spreadsheet model include information on truck systems, fill rates, loading times, number of waste bins, frequency, waste compression levels, fuel consumption, empty driving and driving distances are used to calculate CO2 emissions. The findings indicate that collective waste solutions result in significant reductions in CO2 emissions. Individuals can contribute to reduce the carbon footprint by accepting solutions less convenient.