European Union countries agreed upon increasing the use of renewable energy, which strongly promotes usage of biofuels. Biomass combustion results in generation of great amounts of waste – biomass ash, which can find application in different areas: agriculture, forestry, building industry, road construction. Safe ash disposal as well as recycling will become highly important because of the rapid increase in biomass combustion.
European Union countries agreed upon increasing the use of renewable energy, which strongly promotes usage of biofuels. Biomass combustion results in generation of great amounts of waste – biomass ash, which can find application in different areas: agriculture, forestry, building industry, road construction. Safe ash disposal as well as recycling will become highly important because of the rapid increase in biomass combustion.
European Green Deal by European Union (EU) provides goals for further waste utilization. Ratified directives oblige every member of EU to reuse or recycle 60% of all municipal waste by 2030 and also to recycle no less than 70% off all packaging waste. Both of these directives include plastic waste. The amount of plastic waste is increasing every year, whereas industry of plastic recycling is growing yearly as well, but not at the same pace as the accumulated amount of waste. It is significant not only to recycle the appointed amounts of waste but also to accomplish it while making as little environment impact as possible. The process of plastic waste processing (recycling) requires high volume of energy. Energy production is one of the main reasons causing Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Therefore, energy inefficiency indirectly increases GHG emissions. Between 2021 and 2030 Lithuania is committed to reduce GHGs by 40% comparing to the year of 1990. Reducing energy intensity is stipulated in the National Energy Independence Strategy, which obliges to minimize energy intensity until 2030 by 1.5 times comparing to the consumption in 2017. The aim of this research is to increase the efficiency of energy consumption in the plastic waste recycling by optimizing processing processes and, thus, minimizing the impact on the climate changes. Although the importance of the plastic processing sector in contributing to the implementation of the EU goals is obvious, separate studies examining the possibilities of reducing the impact of plastic processing haven't been carried out in Lithuania in the last five years. The object selected for the experiment is one of the largest plastic processing companies in the EU - AB Plasta, which annually recycles over 35 thousand tons of plastic waste, and uses secondary raw material for production. In the work are made analysis of plastic waste management in Lithuania. Identified problematic – insufficient sorting of plastic waste in centralized mechanical treatment facilities. During the analysis of scientific and practical literature, reviewed main technological processes of plastic recycling, their impact on the environment. Methods used to determine the amount of GHG (CO2e) are discussed. In the company, AB Plasta was made energy and environmental audit in LDPE waste recycling determined. Calculate the intensity of energy use, CO2e emission sources (system boundaries: from LDPE waste transportation to secondary raw material production). In order to reduce energy intensity and the impact on climate change due to GHGs. In work presented 3 industrial ecology alternatives. An analysis of their feasibility has been carried out: technical assessment, including testing, environmental and economic assessment. Applied industrial ecology methods: dematerialization (process optimization/integration), industrial symbiosis. Successful integration of all environmental suggestions provided in this work, would enable Plasta to reduce electricity consumption up to 17 475 MWh per year, energy intensity – by 33 % – 1.32 MWh per tonne of granulate produced. An overall amount of GHGs would be minimized by ~34 % – 7 672 t CO2e per year or 0.28 t CO2e per tonne of granulate produced. Then the GHG emitted during the production of 1 t of plastic granulate would be 0.543 t CO2e / t. Successful implementation of these projects would be a significant move forward in order to achieve the environmental goals of Lithuania, such as reduction of energy intensity and GHGs, as well as reaching the required norm of waste recycling. The projects, analysed in this work, could be easily applied to other plastic processing Lithuanian enterprises, which could also contribute to reducing environmental impact and achieving the EU's goals.
European Green Deal by European Union (EU) provides goals for further waste utilization. Ratified directives oblige every member of EU to reuse or recycle 60% of all municipal waste by 2030 and also to recycle no less than 70% off all packaging waste. Both of these directives include plastic waste. The amount of plastic waste is increasing every year, whereas industry of plastic recycling is growing yearly as well, but not at the same pace as the accumulated amount of waste. It is significant not only to recycle the appointed amounts of waste but also to accomplish it while making as little environment impact as possible. The process of plastic waste processing (recycling) requires high volume of energy. Energy production is one of the main reasons causing Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Therefore, energy inefficiency indirectly increases GHG emissions. Between 2021 and 2030 Lithuania is committed to reduce GHGs by 40% comparing to the year of 1990. Reducing energy intensity is stipulated in the National Energy Independence Strategy, which obliges to minimize energy intensity until 2030 by 1.5 times comparing to the consumption in 2017. The aim of this research is to increase the efficiency of energy consumption in the plastic waste recycling by optimizing processing processes and, thus, minimizing the impact on the climate changes. Although the importance of the plastic processing sector in contributing to the implementation of the EU goals is obvious, separate studies examining the possibilities of reducing the impact of plastic processing haven't been carried out in Lithuania in the last five years. The object selected for the experiment is one of the largest plastic processing companies in the EU - AB Plasta, which annually recycles over 35 thousand tons of plastic waste, and uses secondary raw material for production. In the work are made analysis of plastic waste management in Lithuania. Identified problematic – insufficient sorting of plastic waste in centralized mechanical treatment facilities. During the analysis of scientific and practical literature, reviewed main technological processes of plastic recycling, their impact on the environment. Methods used to determine the amount of GHG (CO2e) are discussed. In the company, AB Plasta was made energy and environmental audit in LDPE waste recycling determined. Calculate the intensity of energy use, CO2e emission sources (system boundaries: from LDPE waste transportation to secondary raw material production). In order to reduce energy intensity and the impact on climate change due to GHGs. In work presented 3 industrial ecology alternatives. An analysis of their feasibility has been carried out: technical assessment, including testing, environmental and economic assessment. Applied industrial ecology methods: dematerialization (process optimization/integration), industrial symbiosis. Successful integration of all environmental suggestions provided in this work, would enable Plasta to reduce electricity consumption up to 17 475 MWh per year, energy intensity – by 33 % – 1.32 MWh per tonne of granulate produced. An overall amount of GHGs would be minimized by ~34 % – 7 672 t CO2e per year or 0.28 t CO2e per tonne of granulate produced. Then the GHG emitted during the production of 1 t of plastic granulate would be 0.543 t CO2e / t. Successful implementation of these projects would be a significant move forward in order to achieve the environmental goals of Lithuania, such as reduction of energy intensity and GHGs, as well as reaching the required norm of waste recycling. The projects, analysed in this work, could be easily applied to other plastic processing Lithuanian enterprises, which could also contribute to reducing environmental impact and achieving the EU's goals.
European Green Deal by European Union (EU) provides goals for further waste utilization. Ratified directives oblige every member of EU to reuse or recycle 60% of all municipal waste by 2030 and also to recycle no less than 70% off all packaging waste. Both of these directives include plastic waste. The amount of plastic waste is increasing every year, whereas industry of plastic recycling is growing yearly as well, but not at the same pace as the accumulated amount of waste. It is significant not only to recycle the appointed amounts of waste but also to accomplish it while making as little environment impact as possible. The process of plastic waste processing (recycling) requires high volume of energy. Energy production is one of the main reasons causing Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Therefore, energy inefficiency indirectly increases GHG emissions. Between 2021 and 2030 Lithuania is committed to reduce GHGs by 40% comparing to the year of 1990. Reducing energy intensity is stipulated in the National Energy Independence Strategy, which obliges to minimize energy intensity until 2030 by 1.5 times comparing to the consumption in 2017. The aim of this research is to increase the efficiency of energy consumption in the plastic waste recycling by optimizing processing processes and, thus, minimizing the impact on the climate changes. Although the importance of the plastic processing sector in contributing to the implementation of the EU goals is obvious, separate studies examining the possibilities of reducing the impact of plastic processing haven't been carried out in Lithuania in the last five years. The object selected for the experiment is one of the largest plastic processing companies in the EU - AB Plasta, which annually recycles over 35 thousand tons of plastic waste, and uses secondary raw material for production. In the work are made analysis of plastic waste management in Lithuania. Identified problematic – insufficient sorting of plastic waste in centralized mechanical treatment facilities. During the analysis of scientific and practical literature, reviewed main technological processes of plastic recycling, their impact on the environment. Methods used to determine the amount of GHG (CO2e) are discussed. In the company, AB Plasta was made energy and environmental audit in LDPE waste recycling determined. Calculate the intensity of energy use, CO2e emission sources (system boundaries: from LDPE waste transportation to secondary raw material production). In order to reduce energy intensity and the impact on climate change due to GHGs. In work presented 3 industrial ecology alternatives. An analysis of their feasibility has been carried out: technical assessment, including testing, environmental and economic assessment. Applied industrial ecology methods: dematerialization (process optimization/integration), industrial symbiosis. Successful integration of all environmental suggestions provided in this work, would enable Plasta to reduce electricity consumption up to 17 475 MWh per year, energy intensity – by 33 % – 1.32 MWh per tonne of granulate produced. An overall amount of GHGs would be minimized by ~34 % – 7 672 t CO2e per year or 0.28 t CO2e per tonne of granulate produced. Then the GHG emitted during the production of 1 t of plastic granulate would be 0.543 t CO2e / t. Successful implementation of these projects would be a significant move forward in order to achieve the environmental goals of Lithuania, such as reduction of energy intensity and GHGs, as well as reaching the required norm of waste recycling. The projects, analysed in this work, could be easily applied to other plastic processing Lithuanian enterprises, which could also contribute to reducing environmental impact and achieving the EU's goals.
European Green Deal by European Union (EU) provides goals for further waste utilization. Ratified directives oblige every member of EU to reuse or recycle 60% of all municipal waste by 2030 and also to recycle no less than 70% off all packaging waste. Both of these directives include plastic waste. The amount of plastic waste is increasing every year, whereas industry of plastic recycling is growing yearly as well, but not at the same pace as the accumulated amount of waste. It is significant not only to recycle the appointed amounts of waste but also to accomplish it while making as little environment impact as possible. The process of plastic waste processing (recycling) requires high volume of energy. Energy production is one of the main reasons causing Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Therefore, energy inefficiency indirectly increases GHG emissions. Between 2021 and 2030 Lithuania is committed to reduce GHGs by 40% comparing to the year of 1990. Reducing energy intensity is stipulated in the National Energy Independence Strategy, which obliges to minimize energy intensity until 2030 by 1.5 times comparing to the consumption in 2017. The aim of this research is to increase the efficiency of energy consumption in the plastic waste recycling by optimizing processing processes and, thus, minimizing the impact on the climate changes. Although the importance of the plastic processing sector in contributing to the implementation of the EU goals is obvious, separate studies examining the possibilities of reducing the impact of plastic processing haven't been carried out in Lithuania in the last five years. The object selected for the experiment is one of the largest plastic processing companies in the EU - AB Plasta, which annually recycles over 35 thousand tons of plastic waste, and uses secondary raw material for production. In the work are made analysis of plastic waste management in Lithuania. Identified problematic – insufficient sorting of plastic waste in centralized mechanical treatment facilities. During the analysis of scientific and practical literature, reviewed main technological processes of plastic recycling, their impact on the environment. Methods used to determine the amount of GHG (CO2e) are discussed. In the company, AB Plasta was made energy and environmental audit in LDPE waste recycling determined. Calculate the intensity of energy use, CO2e emission sources (system boundaries: from LDPE waste transportation to secondary raw material production). In order to reduce energy intensity and the impact on climate change due to GHGs. In work presented 3 industrial ecology alternatives. An analysis of their feasibility has been carried out: technical assessment, including testing, environmental and economic assessment. Applied industrial ecology methods: dematerialization (process optimization/integration), industrial symbiosis. Successful integration of all environmental suggestions provided in this work, would enable Plasta to reduce electricity consumption up to 17 475 MWh per year, energy intensity – by 33 % – 1.32 MWh per tonne of granulate produced. An overall amount of GHGs would be minimized by ~34 % – 7 672 t CO2e per year or 0.28 t CO2e per tonne of granulate produced. Then the GHG emitted during the production of 1 t of plastic granulate would be 0.543 t CO2e / t. Successful implementation of these projects would be a significant move forward in order to achieve the environmental goals of Lithuania, such as reduction of energy intensity and GHGs, as well as reaching the required norm of waste recycling. The projects, analysed in this work, could be easily applied to other plastic processing Lithuanian enterprises, which could also contribute to reducing environmental impact and achieving the EU's goals.
Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the largest in both weight and volumetric waste stream in Europe, accounting for about 25-30% of all waste, which is more than 500 million. tons per year. SGA is one of the priority waste streams in the EU. As stated in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, many of these substances are either recyclable or reusable, but the extent of reuse and recycling varies considerably between the EU Member States. 2008 November 19 Directive 2008/98 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste provides for measures to protect the environment and human health. In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, Member States must take the necessary measures to achieve, by 2020, at least 70% (in assessing the amount of waste) non-hazardous construction and demolition wastes other than the naturally occurring substances in category 17 05 04 of the waste list would be prepared for reuse, recycling and other uses, including filling operations using waste instead of other materials. Some of the Member States have already reached or even exceeded their target, while others, including Lithuania, are on their way. The aim of this work is to investigate the need and possibilities for increasing the processing of construction and demolition waste (CDW) in Lithuania. The work consists of three sections: 1) analysis of the situation and experience of the management of construction and demolition waste; 2) research methodology; 3) results. The first chapter examines the emergence of CDW in the European Union, the environmental impact of CDW, the challenges for CDW management in the European Union, the practice of CDW use, technological and managerial solutions used in different countries, CDW recycling in Lithuania. The second chapter reviews the research methods. The paper uses scientific literature, informal interviews and comparative analysis methods, forecasts for the formation of CDW flows and needs. The bases and registers of the environmental protection agency, data of the Lithuanian Geological Survey. The third chapter analyzes the situation of non-hazardous flow of concrete, tiles and ceramics (BA) in Lithuania, the formation and maintenance of CDW in Lithuania. The legal regulation was analyzed, the use of recycled concrete, methods for improving the quality of sorting. BA supply and demand analysis, SWOT analysis performed. Depending on the results of Lithuania's situation and the experience of other countries, offers of recycling opportunities for secondary raw materials (concrete, tile and ceramics) are offered.
Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the largest in both weight and volumetric waste stream in Europe, accounting for about 25-30% of all waste, which is more than 500 million. tons per year. SGA is one of the priority waste streams in the EU. As stated in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, many of these substances are either recyclable or reusable, but the extent of reuse and recycling varies considerably between the EU Member States. 2008 November 19 Directive 2008/98 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste provides for measures to protect the environment and human health. In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, Member States must take the necessary measures to achieve, by 2020, at least 70% (in assessing the amount of waste) non-hazardous construction and demolition wastes other than the naturally occurring substances in category 17 05 04 of the waste list would be prepared for reuse, recycling and other uses, including filling operations using waste instead of other materials. Some of the Member States have already reached or even exceeded their target, while others, including Lithuania, are on their way. The aim of this work is to investigate the need and possibilities for increasing the processing of construction and demolition waste (CDW) in Lithuania. The work consists of three sections: 1) analysis of the situation and experience of the management of construction and demolition waste; 2) research methodology; 3) results. The first chapter examines the emergence of CDW in the European Union, the environmental impact of CDW, the challenges for CDW management in the European Union, the practice of CDW use, technological and managerial solutions used in different countries, CDW recycling in Lithuania. The second chapter reviews the research methods. The paper uses scientific literature, informal interviews and comparative analysis methods, forecasts for the formation of CDW flows and needs. The bases and registers of the environmental protection agency, data of the Lithuanian Geological Survey. The third chapter analyzes the situation of non-hazardous flow of concrete, tiles and ceramics (BA) in Lithuania, the formation and maintenance of CDW in Lithuania. The legal regulation was analyzed, the use of recycled concrete, methods for improving the quality of sorting. BA supply and demand analysis, SWOT analysis performed. Depending on the results of Lithuania's situation and the experience of other countries, offers of recycling opportunities for secondary raw materials (concrete, tile and ceramics) are offered.
Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the largest in both weight and volumetric waste stream in Europe, accounting for about 25-30% of all waste, which is more than 500 million. tons per year. SGA is one of the priority waste streams in the EU. As stated in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, many of these substances are either recyclable or reusable, but the extent of reuse and recycling varies considerably between the EU Member States. 2008 November 19 Directive 2008/98 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste provides for measures to protect the environment and human health. In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, Member States must take the necessary measures to achieve, by 2020, at least 70% (in assessing the amount of waste) non-hazardous construction and demolition wastes other than the naturally occurring substances in category 17 05 04 of the waste list would be prepared for reuse, recycling and other uses, including filling operations using waste instead of other materials. Some of the Member States have already reached or even exceeded their target, while others, including Lithuania, are on their way. The aim of this work is to investigate the need and possibilities for increasing the processing of construction and demolition waste (CDW) in Lithuania. The work consists of three sections: 1) analysis of the situation and experience of the management of construction and demolition waste; 2) research methodology; 3) results. The first chapter examines the emergence of CDW in the European Union, the environmental impact of CDW, the challenges for CDW management in the European Union, the practice of CDW use, technological and managerial solutions used in different countries, CDW recycling in Lithuania. The second chapter reviews the research methods. The paper uses scientific literature, informal interviews and comparative analysis methods, forecasts for the formation of CDW flows and needs. The bases and registers of the environmental protection agency, data of the Lithuanian Geological Survey. The third chapter analyzes the situation of non-hazardous flow of concrete, tiles and ceramics (BA) in Lithuania, the formation and maintenance of CDW in Lithuania. The legal regulation was analyzed, the use of recycled concrete, methods for improving the quality of sorting. BA supply and demand analysis, SWOT analysis performed. Depending on the results of Lithuania's situation and the experience of other countries, offers of recycling opportunities for secondary raw materials (concrete, tile and ceramics) are offered.
Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the largest in both weight and volumetric waste stream in Europe, accounting for about 25-30% of all waste, which is more than 500 million. tons per year. SGA is one of the priority waste streams in the EU. As stated in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, many of these substances are either recyclable or reusable, but the extent of reuse and recycling varies considerably between the EU Member States. 2008 November 19 Directive 2008/98 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste provides for measures to protect the environment and human health. In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, Member States must take the necessary measures to achieve, by 2020, at least 70% (in assessing the amount of waste) non-hazardous construction and demolition wastes other than the naturally occurring substances in category 17 05 04 of the waste list would be prepared for reuse, recycling and other uses, including filling operations using waste instead of other materials. Some of the Member States have already reached or even exceeded their target, while others, including Lithuania, are on their way. The aim of this work is to investigate the need and possibilities for increasing the processing of construction and demolition waste (CDW) in Lithuania. The work consists of three sections: 1) analysis of the situation and experience of the management of construction and demolition waste; 2) research methodology; 3) results. The first chapter examines the emergence of CDW in the European Union, the environmental impact of CDW, the challenges for CDW management in the European Union, the practice of CDW use, technological and managerial solutions used in different countries, CDW recycling in Lithuania. The second chapter reviews the research methods. The paper uses scientific literature, informal interviews and comparative analysis methods, forecasts for the formation of CDW flows and needs. The bases and registers of the environmental protection agency, data of the Lithuanian Geological Survey. The third chapter analyzes the situation of non-hazardous flow of concrete, tiles and ceramics (BA) in Lithuania, the formation and maintenance of CDW in Lithuania. The legal regulation was analyzed, the use of recycled concrete, methods for improving the quality of sorting. BA supply and demand analysis, SWOT analysis performed. Depending on the results of Lithuania's situation and the experience of other countries, offers of recycling opportunities for secondary raw materials (concrete, tile and ceramics) are offered.
This paper deals with the development of waste management legislation and its impact on the results of waste treatment. Together with the progress that was achieved in waste management, existing problems and new tools that are needed to meet them are examined. An overview of hazardous waste management regulations in the EU and Lithuania is made. It was found that the tax on waste products encourages recycling of hazardous waste (scrap tires) thus saving money for transport companies and ensures successful operation of waste recycling companies.
This paper deals with the development of waste management legislation and its impact on the results of waste treatment. Together with the progress that was achieved in waste management, existing problems and new tools that are needed to meet them are examined. An overview of hazardous waste management regulations in the EU and Lithuania is made. It was found that the tax on waste products encourages recycling of hazardous waste (scrap tires) thus saving money for transport companies and ensures successful operation of waste recycling companies.
Plastic packaging waste has been an important issue in the recent years as plastic is used as packaging material in many industries and in types of forms. In order to reach circular economy goals, member states still have to implement various measures in order to lower plastic packaging impact on the environment. The main aim of the final project was to investigate flexible packaging, its collection and recycling rates in European Union countries and to evaluate possible ways to increase its recyclability in Lithuania. To achieve this aim, advantages and disadvantages of flexible plastic packaging were analyzed. Later, collection system and recycling rates in 6 European Union countries, including Lithuania, were investigated. Questionnaire was developed in order to investigate citizens recycling behavior and to understand if separate collection system for flexible plastic packaging is needed. Survey results have showed the need of information about importance of correct packaging waste collection as well as improvements in collection system itself. After the evaluation of the results, improvement in waste collection system was suggested, with indications on required implementations. Finally, alternatives to increase recycling rates were provided.
Plastic packaging waste has been an important issue in the recent years as plastic is used as packaging material in many industries and in types of forms. In order to reach circular economy goals, member states still have to implement various measures in order to lower plastic packaging impact on the environment. The main aim of the final project was to investigate flexible packaging, its collection and recycling rates in European Union countries and to evaluate possible ways to increase its recyclability in Lithuania. To achieve this aim, advantages and disadvantages of flexible plastic packaging were analyzed. Later, collection system and recycling rates in 6 European Union countries, including Lithuania, were investigated. Questionnaire was developed in order to investigate citizens recycling behavior and to understand if separate collection system for flexible plastic packaging is needed. Survey results have showed the need of information about importance of correct packaging waste collection as well as improvements in collection system itself. After the evaluation of the results, improvement in waste collection system was suggested, with indications on required implementations. Finally, alternatives to increase recycling rates were provided.
Plastic packaging waste has been an important issue in the recent years as plastic is used as packaging material in many industries and in types of forms. In order to reach circular economy goals, member states still have to implement various measures in order to lower plastic packaging impact on the environment. The main aim of the final project was to investigate flexible packaging, its collection and recycling rates in European Union countries and to evaluate possible ways to increase its recyclability in Lithuania. To achieve this aim, advantages and disadvantages of flexible plastic packaging were analyzed. Later, collection system and recycling rates in 6 European Union countries, including Lithuania, were investigated. Questionnaire was developed in order to investigate citizens recycling behavior and to understand if separate collection system for flexible plastic packaging is needed. Survey results have showed the need of information about importance of correct packaging waste collection as well as improvements in collection system itself. After the evaluation of the results, improvement in waste collection system was suggested, with indications on required implementations. Finally, alternatives to increase recycling rates were provided.
