Urban Metabolism and Waste Management

Paul H. BrunnerVienna University of Technology, Austria

2/19

The last 100 years: unprecedented growth in materials …

Germany 1920 Japan 2010

3/19

England 1840 China 2010

… and energy flows!

4/19

Large and growing material stocks

5/19

mas

sflo

w[to

ns/p

erso

n.ye

ar]

material input

5

10

15

20

1950 1970 1990 2010 2030 2050

Today´s stocks are tomorrow´s wastes

Example of construction materials in a growing economy

40 years

today: ~ 5 t/c.y

in 40 years: ~ 15 t/c.y

3xwaste output

6/19

Activity Input Output StockSewage Off gas Solid residues

[t/c.y] [t/c.y] [t/c]

To nourish 5,7 0,9 4,7 0,1 < 0,1

To clean 60 60 0 0,02 0,1

To reside 10 0 7,6 1 100 + 1To transport 10 0 6 1,6 160 + 2Total 86 61 19 2,7 260 + 3

Material flows into stocks equal the amount of solid residues

Household metabolism: Key activities and material flows

7/19Source: Daxbeck et al. 1996 (updated)

Export goods

Sewage

144

Off-gas43

Water

147

Fossil fuels

Construct. materials& consumer goods

2

12-18

Air36

3Solid wastes

3Municipalsolid wastes 0.3

Fluxes [t/(c.yr)]Stocks [t]

Output ~ 195 t/c.y

Stock: 350

4-10

Input ~ 200 t/c.y

Urban metabolism: the case of Vienna

8/19

Abundance of “holes” - or scarcity of landfill space?- the “substance” problem!

Cities grow – implications for wm?

[ 106t/a ]

+8,5

9/19

34

6 0,3 2,7

1

11

1,5

7

2

4140*

0,8

0,8

primaryproduction

pedo-/

production waste man-agment

otherdisposal

2000 2050 21000

350

150

50

100

200

250

300 anthropogeniciron stock

44

194

344

2000 2050 21000

350

150

50

100

200

250

300 geogeniciron reserve

140

40 0

lithosphere

44

344

consump-tion

The stock – our future resource (the case of iron)

[106 tons]

10/19

Goals and principles of waste management

General and global goals

- Protection of men and environment

- Resource conservation

- After care free wm: no export in time and space

Regionally appropriate meansEU: prevention – recycling – disposalBangla Desh: disposal – recycling - prevention

-> means depend on GDP!

11/19

Collection + TransportTreatmentDisposal

90%

10%

Dhaka(GDP 450 US$/c.y)

0.8

0.2

82%

9%9%

Damascus(GDP 1600 US$/c.y)

4.6

0.3

59%

29%

12%

ViennaGDP 33‘000 US$/c.y))

130

0.4

region

WM costs [US$/c.y]

% of GDP

Means of waste management depend on GDP

-> Globalization of EU “waste hierarchy” ?

12/19

Flows [kg P/c.y]

industrialprocessing/distribution

14 0.4

3 0.6 0.4

privatehouseholdagriculture

Agriculturalwastes

Productionwastes

Sewage andMSW

Better waste management based on metabolism

The case of Phosphorous: how to reach the goals of wm?

13/19

Phosphorus[ % of input ]

Humanbody

Respirationtranspiration

STP

Feces Urine

Total foodwastes tosewersystem

GarbageWaste

Food

MSWtreatment

Kitchen

Sewage

23 63

100%(=0.4kg/(c.yr))

0

9

91

5

private household

New design based on metabolism

14/19

consumption

recycling incineration landfill

2 170

Packaging plastic waste view

+17

WM decisions based on metabolism – the case of plastics

consumption

recycling incinerationlandfill

10 755

+75

Total plastic waste view

+50

140

100% 14 %

19 [kg/c.y]

15/19Source: R. Fehringer, 1998

collection,transporting, sorting

recycling

wastes

stock: 45+42

stock: 0

regranulate26

49

energyrecovery

off gas

wastes

stock: 0

71

71

landfillstock: 9700+590

wastes590

[ kt/y 1994]

Einsatz

1.100 primary processing

productmanufacturing

raw material

intermediate products

plastic products

plasticproducts

duro- andpolymers

duro- and polymers

plastic products

intermediateproducts

wastes

productionwastes

stock: 40

stock: 50

stock: 7100+400

consumption

regranulate

IMPORT EXPORT

990

530

720

600

250

1728

420

210

850

6 %packaging ordinance

37%landfill ordinance

Total plastic flows and stocks in Austria

16/19

Material &additives

Totalconsumption

[kt/yr]

Plastics 1,100

Softeners 14

Ba/Cd‐ stabilizers 0.27

Pb‐stabilizers 1.8

Fire retardants 2.3

Totalstock

[kt]

7,100

140

2.6

18

22

% in packaging material

[kt/yr]

200  18

0.2 2

0.0002 <1

0.002 <1

0 ~0

[%]

Additives are crucial for plastic recycling decisions

17/19

Metabolism needs sinks: incinerators and landfills

main barrier: - waste propertiesadditional barriers: - natural attenuation

- monitoring

objectives: - mineralization of OC- immobilization of HM

18/19

1. Goals of wm can be reached effectively only if total metabolism is known

2. New knowledge base needed about material flows and stocks

3. Focusing on metabolism allows:- early recognition of future problems- setting priorities- designing effective wm systems

Conclusions

19/19

Thank you

Vienna, where ISWA World Conference 2013 will take place

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=12806