Closing the loop: A case study on pathways for promoting sustainable waste management on university campuses

Aleksandra Jakimiuk; Yasuhiro Matsui; Anna Podlasek; Eugeniusz Koda; Venkata Siva Naga Sai Goli; Stanislava Voběrková; Devendra Narain Singh; Magdalena Daria Vaverková

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164349

Closing the loop: A case study on pathways for promoting sustainable waste management on university campuses

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Sep 20:892:164349. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164349. Epub 2023 May 24.

Authors

Aleksandra Jakimiuk¹, Yasuhiro Matsui², Anna Podlasek¹, Eugeniusz Koda¹, Venkata Siva Naga Sai Goli³, Stanislava Voběrková⁴, Devendra Narain Singh³, Magdalena Daria Vaverková⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Revitalization and Architecture, Institute of Civil Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 776 Warsaw, Poland.
² Graduate School of Environmental Science, Okayama University, 3-1-1, Tsushima-naka, Okayama-city, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
³ Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, Maharashtra, India.
⁴ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
⁵ Department of Revitalization and Architecture, Institute of Civil Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 776 Warsaw, Poland; Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: magdalena_vaverkova@sggw.edu.pl.

PMID: 37236450
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164349

Abstract

The implementation of circular economy (CE) strategies has facilitated a comprehensive approach to waste management (WM) in university campuses. Composting food waste (FW) and biomass can mitigate negative environmental impacts and be part of a closed-loop economy. The compost can be used as a fertilizer, thereby closing the waste cycle. Implementing nudging strategies to promote effective waste segregation can help the campus move closer towards achieving neutrality and sustainability goals. The research was conducted at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences - WULS (SGGW). The University Campus is located in the south of Warsaw (Poland) and covers an area of 70 ha with 49 buildings. The SGGW campus generates selectively collected (glass, paper, plastic and metals, and biowaste) and mixed waste. Data were collected through a year-long report from the university administration. For the survey, waste data from 2019 to 2022 were obtained. The CE efficiency indicators of CE were measured. The indicators of CE efficiency for compost (Ic,ce) and plastic (I_pb,_ce) showed Ic,ce at 21.05 %, which means that 1/5th of the waste generated on the campus can be introduced into the CE paradigm through composting, and the resulting value I_pb,ce of 19.96 % indicates that this amount can be reintroduced into the CE paradigm through its reuse. The results of the seasonality study showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the generated biowaste between the separated periods of the year, and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.068) provided additional confirmation. The weak correlation between the amount of biowaste generated and the average for each year (r = 0.110) also indicates a stable biowaste generation system that does not require a reduction or increase in the efficiency of waste processing, such as composting. By implementing CE strategies, university campuses can improve WM practices and achieve sustainability goals.

Keywords: Biowaste; Circular economy; Higher Education Institutions; Sustainable development; Waste management.

MeSH terms

Food
Humans
Plastics
Refuse Disposal*
Universities
Waste Management*

Substances

Plastics