Waste Recycling and Low-Carbon Circular Economy
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 March 2024) | Viewed by 1504
Special Issue Editor
Interests: circular economy; life cycle assessment; solid waste management; international cooperation; developing countries
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The circular economy is the paradigm that is used to move toward sustainable development. Eco-design, resource recovery, industrial symbiosis, waste minimization, and recycling are strategies that are employed to reduce the environmental footprint of the production and consumption of goods. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the approaches employed to quantify the social, economic, and environmental benefits obtained thanks to these strategies. Global decision-makers, private industries, sustainability practitioners, and citizens always require more and more information that is consistently able to set the priorities in order to minimize their carbon footprint.
This Special Issue aims to collect studies where the LCA and principles of resource circularity are employed both to quantify environmental impacts related to processes, services, and systems, and to minimize the use of natural resources, the generation of waste, and the use of non-renewable energy. Emphasis is given to solid waste recovery and recycling, the comparison between advanced and conventional technologies, and the implementation of integrated resource management systems or policies. Discussion on methodologies and results, reviews on previous research published over the last few decades, and real-world case studies and applications are welcome to be submitted.
The collection of scientific articles related to this topic can support scholars, policymakers, and international stakeholders to find solutions and alternatives that can support the reduction in environmental impacts at a global level. The combination of the circular economy principles with a trustworthy approach, such as the LCA, is key to sustainable development. Emphasis should be given to environmental-oriented policies supported by reliable indicators. The role of the international scientific community is to contribute towards this direction.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Circular economy in theory and practice;
- Environmental life cycle assessment;
- Life cycle costing;
- Social life cycle assessment;
- Waste prevention and eco-design of goods;
- Industrial symbiosis;
- Resource recovery for energy production;
- Waste minimization strategies;
- Environmental footprint determination and assessment;
- Reuse and recycling of discarded resources;
- Renewable energy production and consumption;
- Advanced technologies implementation;
- Low-tech recycling solution in low-middle income countries;
- Nature regeneration.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Navarro Ferronato
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- LCA
- solid waste management
- 9Rs
- waste minimization
- carbon footprint
- discarded resources
- sustainable development
- supply chain
- resource circularity
- sustainable production and consumption
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
