Sustainable Reuse of Waste towards Circular Economy
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 5456
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Interests: plant layout; occupational health and safety (OHS); industrial risk; maintenance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: industrial systems engineering; project management; analysis and design of industrial plants; green supply chain management
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The high living standards and population density have drastically increased the production of waste in the last few years. As a consequence, governments, companies and researchers are asked more and more to face numerous environmentally sustainable challenges, moving towards preserving resources and reusing and recycling waste. In this regard, switching from the linear model of the economy to the circular one is fundamental to developing efficient waste management processes, according to the European Commission strategies.
Despite the increasing interest of researchers, practitioners and authorities in the aforementioned issues, further efforts are still needed to find technological and economically feasible solutions to give waste materials a second useful life by reusing and recycling. Besides technical barriers, moving towards the circular economy requires new strategies and a fundamental redesign of service and products offerings, often entailing holistic adaptations in companies’ business models. In this perspective, digital technologies of Industry 4.0 may surely support the implementation of circular economy principles by enabling new business models and the redesign of value chains, products, and consumption patterns. In fact, Industry 4.0 is a manufacturing revolution embedded in a larger economic context, defined as circular, where waste gains new value by the improvement of the production systems and the redefinition of supply chains while reducing the resources consumption and the overall environmental impact.
This Special Issue calls for papers focused on the development of new uses for recycled materials (i.e., construction and demolition waste, plastics and polymers, food waste, etc.). Studies on energy efficiency and industrial solutions are also welcome. Contributions may include empirical researches, case studies, comparative and theoretical studies. Possible topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Complexity, challenges, and risks in a circular economy;
- Circular economy, social impact and digitalization;
- The impact of 4.0 technologies in waste management;
- Reuse and recycling of wastes;
- Bio-based materials, bio-architecture, biomass.
Prof. Dr. Giada La Scalia
Dr. Concetta Manuela La Fata
Dr. Antonio Giallanza
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- waste management
- recycling and recovery
- circular economy
- sustainable strategies and policies
- resources consumption
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