Sustainable Waste and Resource Management to Support the Energy Turnaround (wastEturn)

Doctoral thesis of Melanie Haupt

The overarching aim of this joint project is to optimise the contribution of the Swiss waste management system to the ‘energy turnaround’, i.e. the foreseen shift from non-renewable to renewable energy sources and a reduction in overall energy consumption. This requires improving the system’s environmental and economic performance while developing strategies that are socially robust. The joint project wastEturn, therefore comprises four subprojects (SP) which target these different aspects: In SP1 the overall resource potential and the environmental performance of the Swiss municipal solid waste (MSW) management system are assessed and subsequently optimized. In SP2, the implementation and operation of single- and multi-site industrial waste-to-energy systems is addressed. The need for investments and the financial viability and value creation of the waste management system on both a national and sectorial level is evaluated in the third SP. In SP4, the societal barriers and drivers for the transition to more optimal waste management are analysed, and the development of robust strategies for the practical implementation is facilitated by the integration of expert knowledge and stakeholder perspectives.

external page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDWtKotzHrs&t=164s

external page https://www.nfp-energie.ch/en/projects/umbrella/101/

external page https://www.nfp-energie.ch/en/projects/980/

Collaboration

This project is carried out within the National Research Program "Energy Turnaround" (Download NRP70), which is financed and coordinated by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Download SNF).

Advisory board:

  • AWEL: Cantonal Office of Waste, Water, Energy and Air, Zürich
  • CIMO: Compagnie industrielle de Monthey
  • FOEN: Federal Office of the Environment
  • FOEN: Industrial Waste Section
  • geocycle AG
  • Holcim Schweiz AG
  • Infrapark Baselland
  • Lonza AG
  • Neosys AG
  • Stahl Gerlafingen AG
  • Swiss Recycling
  • Valorec
  • VBSA: Association of Operators of Swiss Waste Treatment Facilities
  • ZAR: Development centre for sustainable management of recyclable waste and resources

Further collaborations with: Carbotech AG, Ferro Recycling, IGORA, InnoRecycling / InnoPlastics, Migros Genossenschaftsbund, Model Group AG, PET Recycling Switzerland, Perlen Papier, Utzenstorf Papier, Verein Recycling Papier und Karton

Team Members ESD

Prof. Stefanie Hellweg

Melanie Haupt: Optimising the energy recovery and the sustainability of Swiss municipal solid waste management (SP1) and case study on ferrous scrap of MSWI bottom ash and the influence of resource quality on the recycling process (SP2)

Further team members

Carl Vadenbo (former ESD PostDoc): Optimising the use of biomass in Switzerland (SP1)

Download Dr. Rolf Frischknecht, Download Laura Tschümperlin (Download treeze): Case study on plastic recycling in SP1

Download Prof. Konrad Hungerbühler, Download Dr. Elisabet Capón García, Download Vasco Bolis (Download SETG ETH Zürich): Optimisation of industrial waste-to-energy and resource recovery systems (SP2)

Download Prof. Christoph Hugi, Download Corinna Baumgartner: Economic Assessment of Industrial and Municipal Waste Treatment Options and Waste-to-Energy Systems (SP3)

Download Prof. Michael Stauffacher, Download Grégoire Meylan, Download Mert Duygan (Download USYS TdLab): Initiating Transitions of Swiss Municipal Solid Waste Management

Life cycle inventories of waste management processes

Haupt Melanie, Kägi Thomas, Hellweg Stefanie
Data in Brief, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.05.067

Recycling processes and quality of secondary materials: Food for thought for waste-management-oriented life cycle assessment studies

Rigamonti Luzia, Niero M, Haupt Melanie, Grosso M, Judl Joachim
Waste Management, 2018
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2018.03.001

Do We Have the Right Performance Indicators for the Circular Economy?

Haupt Melanie, Vadenbo Carl, Hellweg Stefanie
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2017
DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12506

Influence of input-scrap quality on the environmental impact of secondary steel production

Haupt M, Vadenbo C, Zeltner C, Hellweg S
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2017
DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12439

Modular life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management

Haupt Melanie, Kägi Thomas, Hellweg Stefanie
Waste Management, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.03.035

Is there an environmentally optimal separate collection rate?

Haupt Melanie, Waser Eliane, Würmli JC, Hellweg Stefanie
Waste Management, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.03.050

2013 - 2019

Energy, Recycling, Industrial Ecology, Optimization, Resource Management, Waste, Secondary Materials, Steel Production, Cement Production, Decision Support, LCA, LCI

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