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Waste Recycling and Low-Carbon Circular Economy

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 March 2024) | Viewed by 746

Special Issue Editor

Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
Interests: circular economy; life cycle assessment; solid waste management; international cooperation; developing countries
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The circular economy is the paradigm that is used to move toward sustainable development. Eco-design, resource recovery, industrial symbiosis, waste minimization, and recycling are strategies that are employed to reduce the environmental footprint of the production and consumption of goods. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the approaches employed to quantify the social, economic, and environmental benefits obtained thanks to these strategies. Global decision-makers, private industries, sustainability practitioners, and citizens always require more and more information that is consistently able to set the priorities in order to minimize their carbon footprint.

This Special Issue aims to collect studies where the LCA and principles of resource circularity are employed both to quantify environmental impacts related to processes, services, and systems, and to minimize the use of natural resources, the generation of waste, and the use of non-renewable energy. Emphasis is given to solid waste recovery and recycling, the comparison between advanced and conventional technologies, and the implementation of integrated resource management systems or policies. Discussion on methodologies and results, reviews on previous research published over the last few decades, and real-world case studies and applications are welcome to be submitted.

The collection of scientific articles related to this topic can support scholars, policymakers, and international stakeholders to find solutions and alternatives that can support the reduction in environmental impacts at a global level. The combination of the circular economy principles with a trustworthy approach, such as the LCA, is key to sustainable development. Emphasis should be given to environmental-oriented policies supported by reliable indicators. The role of the international scientific community is to contribute towards this direction.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Circular economy in theory and practice;
  • Environmental life cycle assessment;
  • Life cycle costing;
  • Social life cycle assessment;
  • Waste prevention and eco-design of goods;
  • Industrial symbiosis;
  • Resource recovery for energy production;
  • Waste minimization strategies;
  • Environmental footprint determination and assessment;
  • Reuse and recycling of discarded resources;
  • Renewable energy production and consumption;
  • Advanced technologies implementation;
  • Low-tech recycling solution in low-middle income countries;
  • Nature regeneration.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Navarro Ferronato
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • LCA
  • solid waste management
  • 9Rs
  • waste minimization
  • carbon footprint
  • discarded resources
  • sustainable development
  • supply chain
  • resource circularity
  • sustainable production and consumption

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1703 KiB  
Article
Outsourcing or Authorizing? Optimal Options for Third-Party Remanufacturing Modes with Green Consumerism
by Juncheng Wu, Lei Zhang and Xuan Shen
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1914; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051914 - 26 Feb 2024
Viewed by 402
Abstract
In recent decades, more and more consumers are becoming concerned about the environment and increasingly tend to buy remanufactured products. However, despite the emergence of green consumerism, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are unlikely to engage in remanufacturing themselves and instead prefer to [...] Read more.
In recent decades, more and more consumers are becoming concerned about the environment and increasingly tend to buy remanufactured products. However, despite the emergence of green consumerism, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are unlikely to engage in remanufacturing themselves and instead prefer to contract it to third-party remanufacturers (TPRs). Although the literature has recently highlighted the difference between outsourcing and authorizing remanufacturing, it does not explore how green consumerism impacts the choice between these two remanufacturing modes. To fill this gap, in this study, we develop two theoretical models according to which the OEM can outsource or authorize its remanufacturing operations to a TPR to satisfy green consumers who prefer remanufactured products. By comparing optimal outcomes, such as quantities, profit, and environmental factors, our analysis shows that a substantial proportion of environmentally conscious consumers prefer the strategy of remanufacturing outsourcing, which provides a win–win–win strategy for the OEM, the TPR, and the environment; otherwise, the OEM chooses to authorize remanufacturing, which negatively affects the TPR and the environment. As such, we suggest that governments try to increase the proportion of the population that favors green consumerism or implement measures that encourage OEMs to adopt remanufacturing outsourcing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Recycling and Low-Carbon Circular Economy)
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