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Title Performance indicators for a circular economy: A case study on post-industrial plastic waste
ID_Doc 1542
Authors Huysman, S; De Schaepmeester, J; Ragaert, K; Dewulf, J; De Meester, S
Title Performance indicators for a circular economy: A case study on post-industrial plastic waste
Year 2017
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.01.013
Abstract A linear economy approach results in many environmental challenges: resources become depleted and end up as waste and emissions. One of the key strategies to overcome these problems is using waste as a resource, i.e. evolving toward a circular economy. To monitor this transition, suitable indicators are needed that focus on sustainability issues whilst taking into account the technical reality. In this paper, we develop such an indicator to quantify the circular economy performance of different plastic waste treatment options. This indicator is based on the technical quality of the plastic waste stream and evaluates resource consumption by using the Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment (CEENE) method. To illustrate the use of this new indicator, it was applied in a case study on post-industrial plastic waste treatment. The results show that the indicator can be a very useful approach to guide waste streams towards their optimal valorization option, based on quality of the waste flow and the environmental benefit of the different options. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Author Keywords Indicators; Circular economy; Compatibility; Plastic waste; LCA
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000395616300005
WoS Category Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences
Research Area Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
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