Erhvervsakademiet Křbenhavn

Handbook

Wasteman Project Guidelines for tests in Living Labs

December 2019

Supplementary to

Design Manual for Circular Change: A people-perspective on circular flows through Living Labs

Prepared by

Stig Hirsbak, Aalborg University David Christensen, BOFA Marcin Paszkiewicz, EKO DOLINA Andrzej Pollak, Municipality of Nowa Karczma Adam Cenian, IMP-PAN Bartosz Pietrzykowski, IMP-PAN Andrius Lacius, Municipality of Tauragé

THIS HANDBOOK HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY THE EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND WITHIN THE INTERREG SOUTH BALTIC PROGRAMME 2014-2020, UNDER PROJECT NO. WASTEMAN STHB.02.02.00- 0131/17. THE CONTENTS ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHORS AND CAN IN NO WAY BE TAKEN TO REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE MANAGING AUTHORITY OR THE JOINT SECRETARIAT OF THE INTERREG SOUTH ALTIC PROGRAMME 2014-2020. 2

Introduction

This Handbook is a supplement to the Design Manual for Circular Change (Design Manual) prepared by and on behalf of parties involved in the Wasteman project. While the Design Manual addresses a broad stakeholder audience, this Handbook is intended for use among project partners. It contains background information crucial to implementing Living Labs for developing ISWM solutions, specific project partner considerations and desk research, and includes the following topics:

 Governance aspects, as it is presumed that the EU Council of Environmental Ministers approves the waste framework - and packaging directives in December 2017 which are a crucial element of the EU circular economy strategy, including targets for increase of recycling of municipal solid waste and landfilling.  Public change management considerations, as it is presumed that in order to develop ISWM solutions in line with transitioning to a circular economy, authorities and waste management companies will need to be able to organize their modes of operation in an innovative manner.  Specific Living Lab background information and considerations for project partners in Poland, i.e. EKO DOLINA and the Municipality of Nowa Karczma.  Background information (desk study) on innovative waste treatment options for municipalities and waste companies for consideration in developing ISWM solutions.

This Handbook, together with the Design Manual and the Plan for Living Labs Test for WP4, are complementary to each other and set the stage for implementing Living Labs in WP4 of the Wasteman project.

Table of Contents Introduction ...... 2 EU policy and legislation for circular economy (CE) ...... 4 The EU initiatives supporting CE ...... 4 Linking CE initiatives to existing EU legislation ...... 6 The challenge on waste management ...... 7 Summary ...... 9 Introduction to Public Change Management ...... 10 Underpinnings ...... 10 Tactics ...... 11 Living Lab Approach at EKO DOLINA ...... 13 Background ...... 13 Description of the EKO DOLINA Plant ...... 14 Living Lab Approach at Nowa Karczma ...... 16 Main streams of municipal waste ...... 19 Waste Collection in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma ...... 23 Overview and Further Steps ...... 31 Prospects for Innovation for a Circular Economy ...... 31 Innovative Waste Treatment Technologies ...... 34 Conclusions ...... 40 The American Approach to Food Waste ...... 41 Tips for households to reduce food waste ...... 42 Conclusions ...... 42 Appendix A: Data Sources and Terminology (Approach to Living Lab at Nowa Karczma) ...... 44

EU policy and legislation for circular economy (CE) By Stig Hirsbak, Aalborg University

Ideally, policies establish visions and overall strategies for societal developments across or within nations and bridging different stakeholder perspectives. Policies and legislation can thus stimulate new agendas like the transition to sustainability and circular economy. This chapter gives an overview of the development of the CE agenda on EU level and related policies and regulation from a generic (non- sector specific) perspective.

The EU initiatives supporting CE Over the last decade, the European Commission has developed several initiatives aiming at improving resource efficiency and, more recently, supporting the transition to a circular economy. Figure 1.The shows the initiatives.

Figur 1 - EU initiatives for improving resource efficiency.

The Flagship on resource efficiency sets out a policy framework that can support the change in Europe towards a resource efficient and low carbon economy, whereas the Roadmap to resource efficiency specify objectives and targets. Another important initiative is the publication of critical raw materials lists in 2011, 2014 and 2017. Critical raw materials are “raw materials with a high supply-risk and a high economic importance to which reliable and unhindered access is a concern for European industry and value chains” (European Commission, 2017).

In 2015, the European Commission published, “Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy”. The action plan defines circular economy as an economy where “… the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste minimized”. The transition to a more circular economy would make “an essential contribution to the EU's efforts to develop a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient and competitive economy” (European Commission, 2015).

In connection with the 2018 circular economy waste legislation package, the meaning of circular was further elaborated on in relation to product and material flows:

“In a circular economy, products and the materials they contain are valued highly, unlike in the traditional, linear economic model, based on a 'take-make-consume-throw away' pattern. In practice, a circular economy implies reducing waste to a minimum as well as re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products. Moving towards a more circular economy could deliver benefits, among which reduced pressures on the environment, enhanced security of supply of raw materials, increased competitiveness, innovation, and growth and jobs. However, it would also face challenges, among which finance, key economic enablers, skills, consumer behaviour and business models, and multi-level governance.”

Source: Briefing EU Legislation in Progress July 2018

The action plan from 2015 establish a coherent vision for developing a circular economy in EU including four key areas or strategies to close the loops in the circular economy: production, consumption, waste management and from waste to resources (see figure 2).

Figure 2 - EU Commission’s understanding of circular economy and the strategies for closing the loops.

The CE action plan also highlights five priority areas: plastics, food waste, critical raw materials, construction and demolition waste, and finally biomass and bio-based products (European Commission, 2015). As for construction and demolition, the EU Commission intends to develop actions to ensure recovery of valuable resources and adequate waste management, and to facilitate assessment of the environmental performance of buildings (European Commission, 2020).

Following the EU waste hierarchy, prevention, re-use and recycling present the most favourable options in terms of maintaining the highest possible value of products or components as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3 - The EU Waste Hierarchy.

As an example, the cascading use of renewable resources like wood, be it construction elements or wooden furniture, should be encouraged where appropriate with several reuse and recycling cycles.

Linking CE initiatives to existing EU legislation The Commission is rolling out a set of initiatives based on the Action Plan on CE, including yearly reviews and updates on the action plan. The initiatives and strategies are strongly linked to legislation and the set-up of the existing European regulatory framework. As an on-going process, the focus in the initiatives is to remove regulatory barriers and create requirements and incentives to support a circular economy. Many of the earlier policy instruments are now under revision to further support a transition to a circular economy.

A revision of the waste and product oriented legislation was initiated by the Commission at the same time the CE Action Plan was published in 2015. The result of this process was adopted in 30 May 2018 and published in Official Journal on 14th June of EU (L 150 volume 61), and required amendments to i.e. the following directives:

 Waste  Packaging  Landfill  End of life vehicles  Batteries and accumulators and  WEE directive

The considerations and the amendments to the waste and packaging directives emphasize leading the transition towards CE by focusing on prevention (extending lifetime of products), EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility), on packaging and on material management including quality standards for recyclable materials.

As illustrated in Table 1, the EU initiatives primarily regulate the waste management – and to some extent the production phase - of the product’s life cycles. However, regulation in the production phase primarily focus on energy, not on materials. The consumption phase is mostly regulated through voluntary initiatives.

Figure 4 - Table 1 (Source: Milios, 2018).

The challenge on waste management The amendments set specific recycling targets both in the amendment to the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) as well as in the Packaging Directive (PD) - see figure.

Additional to the already existing requirement on separate collection of paper and cardboard, glass, metals and plastic from municipal waste, there are added “shall´s” for separate collection of

 Hazardous waste by 2022  Bio-waste be 2023 and  Textiles by 2025

Finally, municipal waste landfilled shall be reduced to 10% by 2035. How the member states will implement the targets through national plans and national regulations that shall be into force shall be provided to the Commission not later than 5 July 2020.

Figure 5 - EU recycling targets for municipal waste and packaging waste.

Figure 5 below illustrates the gap between where we think we are and where the CE packaging wants us to be. The gap might even be bigger as the WFD amendment includes requirement to measure recycling in a harmonized way instead and losses between the source and the recycling facility e.g. deinking plant does not count as recycling any more, se figure 6. The Commission has drafted a decision on how to calculate and will be adopted with qualified majority through a Committee procedure in short time and will include third party quality assurance of measurement practices.

Figure 6 – Recycling of municipal waste in member states in 2013 and targets set out in the Circular Economy Package (Scharff, n.d.).

Figur 7 - How to calculate recycling of municipal waste (Danish EPA 2018).

Summary To summarize, these developments mean that for EU as such and for some member states it will require a giant step to reach the 65% recycling and 10% landfilling, it simply requires it paradigm shift – “business as usual is dead” in other words.

It also means, “prevention is better than cure” in terms of prevention of waste, which will be the most effective measure. However it requires much more citizen involvement and the whole value chain.

Added to this is the challenge on plastic and the coming directive on single use plastic.

Introduction to Public Change Management By David Christensen, BOFA

In the Wasteman project and for decision-makers in general who are interested in innovative waste solutions in alignment with CE principles and EU recycling targets, it is pertinent to approach MSWM sector challenges in recognition of their complexity, their systemic nature and their dynamics. What is called for is a systems approach, i.e. processes, methods and practices aimed at effecting system change.

In this light, planning for solutions in the MSWM sector to support the change from linear waste management to circular resource management can more adept and viable if understood as change processes, which embrace complex system dynamics. This is the basis of the Wasteman project, which accordingly draws inspiration from OECD guidance on public change management processes (OECD, 2017).

Underpinnings The aim of OECD’s guidelines on public change management is to provide an answer to how to account for uncertainty and greater complexity when delivering effective public services, an example of which is MSWM. CE principles and EU recycling targets are driving factors behind changes in physical and human systems where there are rarely any clear-cut solutions. New problem solving approaches are called for to tackle complex or so-called “wicked” problems, which are problems that are difficult to assess the true nature of, are unpredictable, and which require concerted, adaptive and carefully stewarded approaches.

Traditional management tools have limited capabilities when faced with problems of this type, leading typically to partial and transactional solutions. An alternative way to address them is to utilize systems approaches in order to understand the properties and dynamics of complex system. Systems approaches span a set of processes, methods and practices, e.g. design, design thinking, systems engineering and systems innovation that are increasingly gaining traction. These approaches assist in understanding a complex system and in addressing the “complexity gap” between institutional capacity and the problems faced. Some factors and preconditions are conducive to developing a systems approach:

1. The presence of an innovation agenda at government or departmental level 2. Inclusion of citizens in decision-making 3. Citizen-orientation overtaking an institutional orientation 4. Trust or demand in government for experimentation 5. Blurred lines between government and external stakeholders in execution and achieving impact 6. Champions committed to change 7. Capacity to experiment 8. Ability to engage internal and external stakeholders 9. Sufficient resources to delay business as usual

It is important to note that systems are joined together by dynamics, and changing the dynamics of well- established and complex systems is no easy task. Systems approaches often require multiple actors within and across levels of government to work together in order to effect systems change.

Tactics When carrying out public change management, OECD guidance identifies a “set of tactics” for government agencies, either unilaterally or together with partners, to work toward system change. These are:

People and Place

1. Having good people working in supportive spaces 2. Having a core team invested in both change and betterment of a system 3. Selecting individuals carefully to include lateral thinking capabilities and multiple disciplines 4. Bringing in external expertise for fixed periods 5. Engagement of those people who stand to lose from a system change so that they are allowed to redesign own roles in a new system 6. Having a physical space that is connected and public, and which enables long-term and dedicated collaboration

Dwelling

1. Investing the time to understand and articulate both the problem and the objective, allowing for sufficient exploration and in-depth perusal of topics and issues 2. Initiating a conversation about the purpose of something 3. Coping with information through alternate means and methodologies e.g. storytelling 4. Engagement processes whereby public officials interact in context with citizens and other stakeholders

Connecting

1. Gaining an understanding of citizens through getting close to them and their lives, their fears and their successes through lived experiences 2. Meaningful, respectful and generative engagement with citizens 3. Use of e.g. ethnographic and similar qualitative practices, which are central to design and systems methodologies 4. Ensure diverse representation of the public, without which co-creation processes can become biased

Framing

1. Getting to know what the problem actually is, including the identification of dilemmas and paradoxes that have prevented change from occurring 2. Utilizing a dynamic process to identify multiple outcomes and solutions 3. Consideration toward feasibility and ambition when linking desired outcomes with how a solution might be organized

Designing

1. Ordering information into concepts, logics and rationales 2. Creating processes that provide useful outcomes

Prototyping

1. Early stage testing of ideas well before a final product can be conceived, which is often possible at low cost 2. Testing of portions of solutions to see how an idea will perform according to certain factors 3. Documenting evidence while prototyping to gauge scale-up risks or investing in further refinement of solutions

Stewarding

1. Agile leadership that involves continual calibration between evolving contexts and desired outcomes 2. Careful balancing of resources across project stages in order to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise 3. Distribution of authority with respect to decision-making across all project phases 4. Utilizing open-ended timeframes as much as possible

Evaluating

1. Ordering of evaluation processes so as to have minimal impact on the work itself 2. Working with stakeholders throughout a project to co-develop a set of performance metrics during and well after a project 3. Balancing of quantitative and qualitative data and gathering of data from non-traditional sources and opportunistic means

Living Lab Approach at EKO DOLINA

By Marcin Paszkiewicz, EKO DOLINA

Background On the grounds of the Regional Installation of Municipal Waste Treatment (RIPOK) EKO DOLINA, as part of the project implementation, a research laboratory is being built to study the impact of effective microorganisms on the biological degradation process of selectively collected "bio" waste. This covers two types of waste: kitchen waste coming from households, and green waste. Depending on the results of the tests, the "bio" waste coming from the mixed municipal waste, sorted out at the EKO DOLINA sorting plant may also be tested. The tests will be carried out under anaerobic conditions with the presence of properly selected bacterial strains.

The purpose of the research is to determine whether in an anaerobic process fertilizer can be produced from the aforementioned waste which, if the legal quality requirements are met, can be placed on the market. In addition, the aim of the research is also to determine whether the waste subjected to the process of anaerobic digestion will have appropriate parameters for subjecting it to methane fermentation. The research will also cover the leachate produced at the EKO DOLINA plant.

The waste composting process currently carried out at the EKO DOLINA plant is, unfortunately, energy- consuming due to the necessity of frequent moving of piles (prisms) and generates a considerable odor. The aim of the research is also, therefore, to determine whether conducting anaerobic processes of waste treatment will cause a diminished emission of odorous substances into the atmosphere.

The laboratory will be located in two containers connected with longer walls. The building will consist of two laboratory rooms, a lobby, and a toilet. The facility meets all the requirements for human presence.

Laboratory equipment includes:

 Total organic carbon (OWO) analyzer  Set for determining the respiratory activity of microorganisms  Waste mill  Thermostatic chamber  Dryer  Waste incineration furnace  Sampling equipment  An analyzer for the determination of pH, REDOX potential, conductivity  Other small laboratory equipment

Some parts of the research, for example, about the gases generated in the conducted tests will be performed at the Institute of Fluid Flow Machinery in Gdansk.

On March 11, 2019, EKO DOLINA applied to the building supervision body for a building permit.

During the meeting with the project leader at EKO DOLINA, it was determined that the tests will be carried out on a fractional scale on material up to several cubic meters in volume. The examined piles (prisms) will be located in the EKO DOLINA plant. In order to ensure anaerobic conditions, the experimental piles (prisms) will be covered with tarpaulins of appropriate size. The installation will be

built into the piles (prisms) allowing the sampling of gases and leachate for testing. Regular temperature and humidity monitoring of the piles (prisms) will be carried out.

It was established that the project leader will develop a research plan as soon as possible.

Description of the EKO DOLINA Plant The "EKO DOLINA" Sp. z o.o. plant was built in the following stages. In the first stage implemented during the period 2003-2005, most technological installations were built, such as: the waste sorting plant, the green waste composting plant, segments for temporary waste storage, the waste disposal landfill B1, and the sewage and leachate pre-treatment plant.

In the second stage implemented during the period 2009-2010, a composting hall was built, and the waste sorting plant was expanded, and the capacity was increased twofold.

Both of these stages were implemented as part of the project No. 2000/PL/16/P/PE/002 "Waste management for the Reda and Chylonki Valley" and they received co-financing from the Cohesion Fund (formerly ISPA 2000), which amounted to 72% of eligible costs, or 15 000 804 €. Additionally, during the period 2010-2011, another waste disposal landfill B2 was built, the construction cost of which amounted to approximately 11 000 000 PLN.

In addition to the investments listed above, a number of smaller investment projects were carried out.

During the period 2007-2008, a biogas conditioning installation was constructed. In 2015-2016, the sewage and leachate pre-treatment plant has undergone a thorough modernization that modified the technology used and increased the capacity of the facility. In 2016, the sorting plant was modernized with an addition of a so-called short sorting line. Also, in 2016, a plant for desulphurization of the biogas was constructed and the expansion of the green waste composting plant, that was completed in 2017, was started. In 2018, the rainwater and snowmelt management system was also expanded.

The "EKO DOLINA" Sp. z o.o. plant currently has the following main facilities and technological installations:

 Waste sorting plant (capacity 150 000 Mg/year),  Temporary storage of hazardous waste (capacity 1 000 Mg/year),  Green waste composting plant (capacity 26 100 Mg/year),  Composting hall (capacity 30 000 Mg /year),  A segment for dismantling bulky waste (capacity 15 000 Mg/year),  Station for dismantling RTV/AGD waste (Capacity up to 350 Mg/year for refrigeration equipment and 200 Mg/year for other devices),  Segment for temporary storage of homogenous waste (volume 100 000 m3),  Segment for temporary storage of construction waste (capacity 70 000 m3),  Segment for processing construction debris (capacity 50 000 Mg/year),  Waste disposal landfill B2 (capacity over 1 200 000 m3),  A segment for biogas utilization (approx. 2.0 MW capacity),  Sewage and leachate pre-treatment plant (throughput 200 m3/ day).

The majority of waste is directed to the sorting facility, where, among others, the following items are segregated off: bulky waste, wood, secondary raw materials, hazardous waste, all of which are transferred for further utilization in other facilities.

The short sorting line is intended for segregation and separation of secondary raw materials (mainly plastic) from waste collected as part of selective sorting.

Organic waste from mixed municipal waste as well as from selectively collecting waste is directed to the composting hall. The composting hall is designed for an intensive composting process. The collected material is laid in the form of piles (prisms) and by adding water and moving the piles (prisms) an aerobic stabilization of waste is carried out.

Each type of waste is directed to the appropriate facility for its type, and thus: green waste goes to the green waste composting plant, bulky waste to the segment for dismantling bulky waste, construction waste to the segment for processing construction debris, etc.

Waste that cannot be processed in any way is directed to the waste disposal landfill.

Biogas, which is recovered from waste disposal landfill, is converted into electricity.

Leachate produced at the site is pre-treated at the pre-treatment plant, which uses technology such as membrane bioreactor (MBR), nanofiltration/ultrafiltration.

Living Lab Approach at Nowa Karczma By Andrzej Pollak, Municipality of Nowa Karczma

Nowa Karczma is a municipality located in the Kashubian Lake District, in the central part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is one of the eight municipalities of the Kościerzyna county. It is divided into 17 villages1. At the end of 2018, the municipality was inhabited by 6,941 residents. The area of the municipality's area is 11,309 ha, of which agricultural land constitutes over 7,800 ha and forested land about 2,030 ha.

In the center of the municipality is located the village of Nowa Karczma, situated at the crossroads of roads leading to Gdańsk, Starogard Gdański, Skarszewy, Kościerzyna and Kartuzy.

Figur 8 - The Nowa Karczma bird's eye view.

The municipality's area is characterized by a very varied relief, created as a result of the last glaciation, with frontal moraine strings, sandras and a large number of lakes with an area of almost 300 ha. The largest of them are lakes: Grabowskie, Grabówko and Małe Kamionki.

1 Będomin, Grabowo, Grabowska Huta, Grabówko, Jasia Huta, Liniewko, Lubań, Nowa Karczma, Nowy Barkoczyn, Rekownica, Skrzydłowo, Stary Barkoczyn, Szatarpa, Szpon, Sztofrowa Huta, Szumleś Królewski, Szumleś Szlachecki.

Figur 9 - View on Lubań and the lake: Kamionki and Grabówko.

Six areas have been established within the municipality, which belong to the NATURA 2000 European Ecological Network:

 Central Wietcisa Valley PLH 220009 - the area that covers the middle section of the Wietcisy valley,  Piotrowo PLH220091 - A refuge, which includes the erection of the bottom moraine, crossed by the valley of the Wierzyca river,  Szumleś PLH220086 – A refuge with a varied agricultural and peatland area with numerous fish stocks from an endangered species named lake minnow,  Lubieszynek PLH220074 – Hilly area, occupied by arable fields (96% / and grasslands (7%), with ponds scattered in the hollows and small peat bogs with numerous stands of lake minnow fish,  Dąbrówka PLH220088 - a refuge includes a fragment of the sand region and moraine upland,  Wielki Klincz PLH220083 - An area with slightly wavy terrain with arable fields (agricultural habitats occupy 92% of the area) and scattered farms. Meadow habitats occupy the remaining part of the area, in whose depressions there is a peat bog with a few ponds, dystrophic in which there is a lake minnow fish.

Characteristic beauty and uniqueness for the municipality are protected areas:

 Przywidz Protected Landscape Area,  The Protected Landscape Area of the Wietcisy Valley,  Kashubian Landscape Park.

As can be seen from the above statement, in the municipality of Nowa Karczma there are things that are protected, to convey the beauty of this land to future generations. The municipality's economy is dominated by agricultural production. To a lesser extent, the municipality's economy is supplemented

with tourism. The municipality has been developing over recent years and has recorded a nearly 13% increase in population since 2004 (in 2004, 6,163 residents lived, and currently - 6,941).

The municipal waste collection system in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma consists of three sectors:

1. Inhabitant - ensures segregation of waste in containers. 2. Association of Municipalities Wierzyca - is responsible for collecting waste from a inhabitant and delivering it to a recycling plant and for charging residents. 3. Municipal Waste Utilization Plant OLD FOREST - is responsible for waste management.

Association of Municipalities Wierzyca

Inhabitant Municipal Waste Utilization Plant

OLD FOREST

Nowa Karczma municipality belongs to the Wierzyca Municipality Association. In total, 11 municipalities belong to the union.

In the Waste Management Plan for the Pomorskie Voivodeship - the area of operation of the Wierzyca Municipality Association is the Southern Region.

This area includes 97,628 inhabitants of district:

 Kościerzyna,  Starogard Gdański,  Gdańsk.

Data sources and abbreviations used in the following are detailed in Appendix 1.

Main streams of municipal waste The municipal waste produced in the Nowa Karczma municipality can be divided into three waste streams:

 I stream - municipal wastes collected directly from the municipality's real estate;  II stream - wastes from municipal wastewater treatment plants;  III steam - municipal waste brought by residents to PSZOK

Municipal waste management system in the last 10 years in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality

In the past 10 years, the municipality can distinguish 3 periods of municipal waste management:

I period - until 30 June 2013 - when owners of inhabited and uninhabited real estate concluded directly with a company that deals in waste export, a contract for the collection and transport of waste to a landfill. At that time, a 2-container system was in force with the division into municipal waste:

 mixed waste and  raw material waste.

Within the municipality there were 1,807 containers for municipal waste and 47 street baskets in total (852 properties were equipped with 2 containers, and 103 properties had one container for mixed municipal waste).

This system was leaky, and the municipality did not have a great impact on the state of contracts concluded for the collection of municipal waste from property owners. At the end of June 2018, the waste collection system covered 955 properties in the municipality, on the required 1,735 properties that this obligation concerned, which meant that 38% of them were not covered by municipal waste collection.

II period - from July 1, 2013 to September 30, 2018.

Nowa Karczma municipality on November 22, 2012 joined the Wierzyca Union of Municipalitys, based in Starogard Gdanski, along with 20 other municipalities from the Kościerzyna, Starogard and Gdańsk poviats, entrusting ZGW with the organization of a new municipal waste management system (apart from wastewater) from day 1 July 2013.

The Nowa Karczma municipality has also become part of the Southern Region Municipal waste management with RIPOK under the name Municipal Waste Utilization Plant in the Old Forest near Starogard Gdański as part of the Voivodship Waste Management Plan of the Pomeranian Voivodship.

At that time, a 3-container system was created with the division into municipal waste:

 mixed waste  raw materials waste  biodegradable waste

and problem and construction waste collected from the property 1 to 2 times a year, in the so-called Mobile PSZOK. For a certain period, the initial missing containers were replaced with waste bags. All real estates in the Nowa Karczma municipality: inhabited and uninhabited, including holiday and recreation, have been included in the municipal waste management system. At the end of August 2013, waste was already collected from 1,525 properties, so that within a year of launching a new waste management system, obtain nearly 100% of the planned number of waste declarations and collection of waste from 100% of real estate in the municipality.

III period - from October 1, 2018

1. It was established on the basis of the amended regulations of maintaining order and cleanliness in the municipalitys-participants of the Wierzyc Municipality Association, that on the real estate of the municipality of Nowa Karczma there is a system of selective collection of the following waste fractions: a. Paper, b. Glass, c. Metals d. Plastics, e. Biodegradable waste, with particular reference to bio-waste,

f. Expired drugs, g. Chemical h. Used batteries and accumulators, i. Used electrical and electronic equipment, j. Furniture and other large-size waste, k. Used tires, l. Green waste, m. Construction and demolition waste that constitute municipal waste. 2. The requirements for conducting separate collection and collection of municipal waste from the real estate area have been established: a. the "Paper" waste fraction, which consists of paper waste, including cardboard, paper packaging waste and packaging waste made of cardboard, is collected in blue containers marked "Paper", in particular:  Newspapers  school and office paper  books and notebooks  envelopes  wrapping and decorative paper  cartons  paper rolls  cartons and cardboard. b. the 'Glass' waste fraction, which consists of glass waste, including packaging waste made of glass, is collected in green containers marked 'Glass', in particular:  glass bottles for drinks and food  glass jars for drinks and food  glass packaging for cosmetics, perfumes, etc.

c. the 'metals and plastics' waste fraction, which includes metal waste, including metal packaging waste, plastic waste, including plastic packaging waste, and multi-material packaging waste, is collected in yellow containers marked' Metals and plastics', in particular:  nets, bags, plastic bags  plastic bottles  plastic packaging for cleaning products and cosmetics  plastic flower pots  foils and foamed polystyrene  metal and aluminum cans  metal nuts, stoppers and caps  aluminum foil packaging  Tetra Pak packaging, eg after drinks and milk  packaging for coffee, sweets, chips, etc.  pots, tools, small scrap  deodorant packaging.

d. the "Bio" waste fraction, which consists of bio-waste, is collected in bronze-colored containers marked with the word "Bio", in particular: mown grass  leaves  garden flowers  potted plants  egg shells  branches of shrubs  peelings, vegetable skins and fruit  apple cores, rotten fruits  nut shells  tea bags  coffee filters, etc. e. the "residual" waste fraction, which consists of wastes other than segregated waste that are not hazardous waste, is collected in containers marked "Residual", in particular:  table glass, crystals, faience, porcelain  hygienic articles such as sanitary napkins, sticks, cotton swabs, etc.  disposable diapers  candles with wax content, leftovers of candles  meat and bone remains  remains of fish and seafood  kitchen leftovers  used paper towels and napkins  dirty and greasy paper  cold ash, also grilled  animal excrement.

The collection of individual fractions in the bags is allowed and practically applies to the factions "Paper" and "Glass".

3. The types of municipal waste accepted by PSZOK-i (nearest to PSZOK in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality are located in the city of Kościerzyna):  out-of-date medicines,  a chemical,  used batteries and accumulators,  used electrical and electronic equipment,  furniture and other bulky waste,  used tires,  green waste,  construction and demolition waste that constitute municipal waste,  paper,  glass,  Metals  plastics,  biodegradable waste, with particular reference to bio-waste.

4. Other methods of individual disposal of municipal waste were allowed: a. overdue medicines can be returned to a pharmacy with a container suitable for this purpose, b. used batteries and accumulators may be returned at a point of sale with a container suitable for this purpose, c. used electrical and electronic equipment may be returned to a specialized point of collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment or at a point of sale when purchasing a new one, d. furniture and other bulky waste can be handed over to specialized collection point, e. waste or at the point of sale when purchasing new ones, f. used tires can be taken to a specialized point of collection of this waste or at the point of sale when purchasing new ones. 5. The following requirements were defined limiting the amount of waste produced, reducing their volume and rationalizing the segregation process in the municipalities and participants of the Wierzyca Municipality Association: a. everyone who undertakes waste activities should take into account the appropriate hierarchy of waste management, in accordance with applicable regulations - in the first place should prevent and reduce the generation of waste, then reuse, recycle and recover, and in eliminate disputes; b. municipal mixed municipal waste and biodegradable green waste collected in the municipalities belonging to the Union of municipalities should be managed by transferring to the Regional Municipal Waste Processing Plant designated by the resolution of the Pomorskie Voivodship Assembly; c. before placing the waste in the container / bag - empty the packaging from their contents (product); d. before placing the waste in the container / bag - reduce their volume by crushing plastic bottles, multi-material and cardboard packaging; e. to reduce the volume of waste so-called green, from the care of gardens and green areas, such as: grass, weeds, residues after the acceptance of trees and shrubs, etc. - before placing them in a container / sack should be shredded; f. construction and demolition waste that are created during repairs, construction and demolition, constituting municipal waste - before placing them in a container / sack, they should be sorted according to separable groups, e.g. construction rubble, insulation material waste, wood, glass , plastics, etc. 6. The following annual limits of the amount of transfer of some waste to PSZOK apply:  Tires - up to 4 pieces and no more than 50 kg per year per household;  Large-size waste - up to 200 kg in a calendar year from a household;  Biodegradable waste - up to 480 liters, but no more than 150 kg per month from a household or holiday home or other real estate used for recreational purposes for part of the year;  Construction and demolition waste constituting municipal waste - up to 1,000 liters, but no more than 150 kg per month from a household or holiday home or other property used for recreational purposes for part of the year.

Waste Collection in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma

Municipal waste collected directly from the municipality's real estate

Municipal waste collected from real estate in the Nowa karczma municipality, for the years 2009-2018, is divided into the following waste groups in this presentation:

 BIO,  RAW MATERIALS,  MIXED,  PROBLEM and CONSTRUCTION,

Which were divided into:

 Hazardous  Large and tires  Electric and electronic,  Construction - demolition and renovation

The change in the structure of municipal waste collected from real estate in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma over the last 10 years is presented in the following graph:

Figur 10 - The amount of municipal waste collected in the municipality of Nowa Karczma in 2009-2018.

Biodegradable waste in the territory of Nowa Karczma Municipality in 2009-2018

Biodegradable waste from residential properties started to be collected after July 1, 2013. Their main component is green waste from the care of lawns and home gardens, and kitchen waste - biodegradable. At present, they constitute 13% of total municipal waste collected from real estate in the municipality. In 2018, 217 tonnes of BIO waste were collected from the property.

Figur 11 - Receipt of biodegradable waste in Nowa Karczma Municipality in 2009-2018.

Waste of raw materials in the territory of Nowa Karczma Municipality in 2009-2018

Raw material waste that is recyclable from real estate was collected throughout the entire period considered. At present, they represent 17% of total municipal waste collected from real estate in the municipality. In 2018, 283 tons of waste from the group of raw materials were collected from the property.

Figur 12 - Collection of waste from the group of raw materials in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma in 2009-2018.

Mixed waste in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality in 2009-2018

Mixed municipal waste from real estate was collected throughout the entire period considered. At present, they account for 67% of total municipal waste collected from real estate in the municipality. In 2018, 1,094 tons of waste from the "MIXED" group were removed from the property.

Figur 13 - Collection of mixed municipal waste in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma in 2009-2018.

From October 1, 2018, this group is referred to as municipal waste - residual waste. The collection of this waste group over the last years illustrates the above graph.

After taking over all the real estate in the municipality of Nowa Karczma by the municipal waste collection system in 2013, the amount of collected mixed waste does not want to fall below 1,000 tonnes and 50% of the total municipal waste collected in the municipality. The reason for this is, among others:

 the amount of fees for the lack of segregation of waste does not enforce this segregation,  lack of quality control of segregation on real estate in the municipality,  in the winter period, ash and slag from coal-burning are a big part of this waste group,  about 50% of property owners do not want to properly segregate municipal waste.

Problem and construction waste in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality in 2009-2018

In this waste group, the following waste subgroups are separated:

 Bulky waste and tires  Hazardous waste  Electric and electronic waste  Construction, demolition and renovation waste

Together, these wastes account for 3% of all waste collected in the municipality. In 2018, 43 tons of problem waste were collected. The collection of these wastes in the last 10 years in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality is presented below.

Bulky waste and tires

The waste of this subgroup is collected from residents from their real estate under the mobile PSZOK. The waste of this group did not reach the PSZOKs from the residents in the area of operation of the Wierzyca Municipality Association in Kościerzyna and in Starogard Gdański and in the Old Forest in the presented period.

Figur 14 - Collection of large-size wastes in the Nowa Karczma Municipality in 2009-2018.

The collection of this waste group began in the second half of 2013. Since 2014, it has been run twice a year and now once a year. Despite the forecasts that the volume of large-size waste collected will stop at 20 tons per year, they denied the last years ago. The establishment of an exchange point for used goods, including furniture in the municipality, should be considered. Automotive plastics (eg bumpers, etc.) were not picked up from residents during the collection of this group of waste.

Hazardous waste

During the collection of problematic waste, also wastes from residential real estate classified as hazardous waste were collected. The waste collection process in this group is depicted below.

Despite the drop in the number of recipients in this year of waste group, the weight of hazardous waste transferred increases from year to year. The structure of received hazardous waste in 2018 is presented below.

Figur 15 - Structure of hazardous waste in 2018 from residential real estate.

Electrical and electronic waste

During the collection of problematic waste, electrical and electronic waste is also collected from immovable property. There is an upward trend in the amount of waste transferred from year to year.

For the time being, the batteries and accumulators do not go into the system during traveling collections of this waste. There are no data on the number of batteries and electronic and electronic equipment they collect from the area of the municipality as part of their collections, recycling companies eg in schools.

Construction, demolition and renovation waste

Residents in the municipal waste collection system in the Wierzyca Union of Municipalities transferred construction and demolition waste and refurbishments directly to PSZOK in the Old Forest and Kościerzyna in 2014 and 2015. They sporadically used free collection of 1 m3 of construction waste per year from real estate residing in the so-called "Bick-bags."

Since 2016, virtually no waste is collected, but this does not mean that the problem does not occur. Part of the waste from repairs in connection with the above is thrown into mixed waste, now called residual waste.

One of the reasons for this was the lack of segregation of construction waste transferred to PSZOK in Stary Las. This is indicated by the example of 2016 depicted below, which indicates the lack of segregation of transferred construction waste.

Figur 16 - Structure of transferred construction waste from the municipality of Nowa Karczma in 2016..

Wastes from communal sewage treatment plant

Waste generated as a result of municipal wastewater treatment in a municipal wastewater treatment plant is depicted in the chart below.

Figur 17 - Wastes from municipal wastewater treatment in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma in the years 2014-2018.

The stabilized sewage sludge, constituting over 90% of waste from sewage treatment plants, after composting on its own at the municipal sewage treatment plant, is managed in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality.

Municipal waste brought by the residents of the Municipality to PSZOK

Due to the lack of a stationary PSZOK in the area of the Nowa Karczma Municipality and the implementation of the mobile PSZOKU, the delivery of waste to PSZOKs located in Kościerzyna or the Old Forest was not very popular in the past period due to the distance of waste transport. The total amount of waste delivered to PSZOKs did not exceed 20 tonnes and it was mainly construction waste.

Summary of the municipal waste management system in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma in the recent years

Considering the last 10 years of the municipal waste management system, this period should be divided into the period up to 30 June 2013 and the period after that date, when municipalities in Poland were entrusted with municipal waste management.

Below are summarized in the table municipal waste transferred from real estate inhabited and uninhabited in the period 2013-2018 for utilization and recycling as well as development in the area of Nowa Karczma Municipality.

Area of the Nowa Karczma YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR Municipality 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Lp. The name of the waste group

1 "BIO" 3 15 118 172 208 217

2 " raw material waste " 82 170 212 235 280 283

3 "Mixed waste" 984 1.175 1.095 1.130 1.188 1.094

4 Hazardous 2 4 3 5 6 9

5 Bulky waste and tires 5 13 16 24 21 32

6 Electric and electronic 0 0,4 0,2 1,7 1,1 1,7

Construction and demolition 7 0 9 16 0 0 0 waste and renovation

TOTAL WASTE REMOVED FROM 8 1.076 1.387 1.459 1.568 1.703 1.637 THE PROPERTY:

including: problem and 6 27 35 30 28 43 construction

% problem and construction 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% % BIO 0% 1% 8% 11% 12% 13%

% raw material waste 8% 12% 15% 15% 16% 17%

% Mixed waste 91% 85% 75% 72% 70% 67% % TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 9 sewage sludge 401 421 449 526 361 506

10 Total municipal waste 1.477 1.807 1.908 2.093 2.064 2.144

Population at the end of the year 6.776 6.771 6.804 6.818 6.896 6.941

Municipal waste collection indicator Total per capita in [kg / person / year] 159 205 214 230 247 236 (excluding sewage sludge)

Figur 18 - Municipal waste in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma in 2013-2018.

Overview and Further Steps Summarizing the last 10 years of municipal waste management in the municipality of Nowa Karczma, it should be noted:

 Only in the area of waste generated from wastewater treatment in two communal sewage treatment plants, it manages to manage over 90% of this type of waste in the municipality in accordance with the principles of circular economy.  The amendment of the law on maintaining cleanliness and order in municipalitys in 2012 and given over to municipal waste management allowed for the municipal waste management system to be extended by the end of 2013 to all property owners in the municipality.  It is estimated that about 10% of generated waste on residential real estate is managed by their owners through: repairs, transfer of used equipment and devices to other residents of the municipality for use, composting of green waste, but also a part of municipal waste on real estate is burned in boilers for solid fuels. The gradual replacement of boilers for boilers with new generation furnaces will prevent the burning of furniture parts and other fragmented municipal waste. That is why you should expect the next summer with a further increase in the amount of municipal waste collected.  About 50% of the municipality's inhabitants do not fully care about the principles of municipal waste segregation and do not segregate waste or do it inappropriately, despite repeatedly carried out educational campaigns in the municipality  The sharp increase in segregated raw materials from communal waste in the municipality from 2013 as well as their further increase after October 1, 2018 - due to the increase in the number of factions segregated by residents - should be read positively, but the long-awaited 50% recovery of waste is still a long way off.

Considering the above, one should draw conclusions from previous achievements, and look towards organizational and systemic as well as educational solutions, which;

 Support better segregation of municipal waste by residents of the municipality;  Will allow further introduction of elements of circular waste management in the municipal area;  Further the education of residents, who will contribute to reducing the amounts of their generated waste.

Prospects for Innovation for a Circular Economy

Circular Economy The circular economy (English name: circular economy) is also known as the circular economy (GOZ). It is a model of the economy modeled on the functioning of nature, in which there is no phenomenon of waste collection. In natural conditions, all leftovers and residues are managed. Remnants of food, fallen leaves, branches of trees, dead plants, dead animals undergo natural decay and are finally absorbed by soil or water, giving life to other organisms and circulating in nature in a closed cycle. Currently, the most-existing type of economy in European countries, including Poland, is: line economy, in which we deal with the line: we produce, use, and throw away. The result of such activities is the generation of waste and depletion of natural resources, which is particularly dangerous for non- renewable raw materials. The paradox of the linear economy is that some of the resources that can be recovered can be found in landfills. It requires constant extraction of huge amounts of raw materials, and the resulting consumption generates significant amounts of waste.

The circular economy (GOZ) is ecologically oriented, which significantly limits its negative impact on the environment. The model of the circular economy already assumes at the design stage that the circulation of materials and products should biologically ensure that their waste can be safely reintroduced into the biosphere, and the technical materials intended for circulation are of high quality and processed in a way that does not harm nature.

It requires proper product design and planning at every stage to ensure easy recovery of all raw materials. The extraction of new raw materials and the amount of waste generated is to be kept to a minimum. Modern production methods and technologies of the future will allow us to almost completely eliminate waste generation.

The circular economy is to contribute to the durability of products and their optimization in terms of ease of repair and reuse and to reduce consumption and waste of natural resources.

According to the principles (laws) of thermodynamics, in an isolated system that does not exchange energy or matter with the environment, energy is preserved (first law). In such a system, each transformation of matter or energy is accompanied by irreversible dissipation, called entropy, in a dispersed and disordered form a part of this energy in the form of heat (second principle). In this context, the Earth is not an isolated, but closed system in which energy enters and exits, but the material is not (except for rare meteorites), as is the case in an open system.

To avoid such a negative global entropy balance in our structured distributed systems, including biological ecosystems and human societies, there is an absolute need to optimize this process by reducing, reusing and recycling (3 "R") in a circular economy of products and services that we use, and thus to preserve natural, non-renewable resources.

REDUCTION OF THE PREVENTION OF QUANTITY OF WASTE WASTE MANUFACTURED

During the education of residents, their participation in the proposed in the European Union countries, including Poland, implementation of sustainable consumption and production practices while designing their behavior and life activities should be implemented.

Waste should first be transferred for re-use, further recycled or other recovery methods, finally disposal processes (directed to landfills).

Through their choices, residents of the municipality can support or inhibit a successful transition to a circular economy, with improved new types of products and services. The main obstacle will be the attitudes and consumer behavior of residents affected by the marketing of entrepreneurs and traders, and fashion than the fear of obsolescence, eg clothing, furniture, etc.

Circular Economy in Nowa Karczma Municipality

Considering the assumptions of implementing the circular economy, apart from the current way of dealing with waste after treatment of municipal sewage in the municipality, the following activities that

can be carried out in the municipal waste management in the Municipality of Nowa Karczma should be considered:

1. Continuous information and education campaign for the residents of the municipality. 2. Establishment of PSZOK in the municipality in the following variants:

I variant - PSZOK stationary with an educational hall and a collection and storage point for objects suitable for re-use (eg furniture, household appliances, etc.) and in the case of objects (large-size waste) requiring minor repairs, in the repairs corner they will be prepared for re-use, through give these objects functional properties. In the room for re-useable items, items delivered by residents, which are suitable for re-use by other people, will be collected and stored. This will minimize the amount of waste generated. The creation of the point will reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and increase the level of recovery and recycling of municipal waste.

II variant - A mini network of PSZOKs in the municipality with 1 point collection and storage of objects suitable for re-use and a repairs room, eg large-size waste, etc.

3. Use of biodegradable waste in the municipality for development along with sewage sludge for compost in a municipal composting plant or biogas plant.Further promotion of BIO waste management through composting in residential real estate on which they are created. 4. Further promotion of BIO waste management by composting in the residential real estate on which they are created. 5. Applying to state authorities for the restoration of the rules for the receipt of packaging products, etc. by producers of materials and equipment as well as the organization of packaging collection at stores and commercial chain facilities, etc. 6. Action to reduce the target cost of municipal waste management for households, by promoting a municipal waste management model consisting of a 2-container system for waste MIXED and BIO on residential properties + transfer of residual waste by residents directly to PSZOK / PSZOK as well as waste collection points at and in shops, shopping centers or Mini-PSZOK in the estate.

The key will be raising the awareness of residents and increasing and proactive role and their behavior in the implementation of the circular economy.

Innovative Waste Treatment Technologies By Adam Cenian and Bartosz Pietrzykowski, IMP-PAN

Innovative technologies of waste transformations are discussed here in relation to the EU legal framework. The technologies include:

 Mechanical – heat treatment (in large autoclave),  Biodrying, depolymeriztion,  Extrusion of mixed waste,  Extrusion of mixed polymers,  Methane fermentation,  Hydroseparation,  Gasification  Pyrolysis (biocoal production).

Some of these technologies represent a full waste treatment process (from substrate to product). Others can be considered as a partial method or solution. Among fully innovative processes are:

 Depolymer-ization,  Extrusion of mixed polymers,  Methane fermentation or gasification and  Pyrolysis (biocoal production)

We do not consider combustion as this process is already well developed and not fully in line with new EU regulations. Other technologies can be regarded as partial solutions and will be discussed first.

Figur 19 - Autoclaves Envipa and Bioelectra Group.

(i) Mechanical – heat treatment (in autoclave)

This solution has been known for many years but lately applied for municipal waste treatment. The process based on mechanical-heat treatment of mixed waste under temperature around 160⁰C and pressure of a few bars results in odor and pathogen elimination - see Figure 19. The process should later be continued in order to separate materials to be recycled.

(ii) Biodrying This process is related to composting i.e. intensive self-heating of the organic fraction under influence with oxygen (from air) but without addition of water. The temperature in collected prisms reaches a level

of 70 - 80⁰C leading to fast drying (taking about 2 weeks) of the biomass. The resulted decrease in mass and volume make for easier transportation to e.g. combustion facility or fermentation in a Periodical Anaerobic Bioreactor. Biodrying is a partial process which leads to waste treatment hardly complying with EU regulations.

(iii) Hydroseparation The process is based on mechanical separation of mixed waste using a water stream. Separation is achieved through the different mass density of various materials. Light fraction e.g. plastics may stay near the surface while minerals and metals settle at the bottom. The organic fraction is located in between (in the water).

Plastics, metals and glass (recovered up to 90%) will be recycled, organic matter can be supplied to a local fermentation facility. The treatment can be a very useful partial process in the technological cycle in line with EU regulation.

(iv) Extrusion of mixed communal waste VMPRESS Ltd (Italy) has proposed separation technology for mixed communal waste. The process uses a high pressure chamber (600 - 1000 bar) with holes in the wall – Fig. 5. The organic fraction of the mixed wastes is pressed through the holes and can be used later as a substrate in a biogas installation. The dry fraction which stays inside the chamber can be combusted or gasified. The energy efficiency of the process is about 40%. There is some doubt about the possibility of achieving the recycling levels stipulated in the EU regulations. There is no available information Figur 20 - Pulper firmy BTA Int. about paper, plastics, glass and metal separation.

Figur 21 - Extruder VMPRESS company.

(v) Depolimerization Depolimerization is a process which transforms sorted fractions (biodegradable organic fraction or polyolefin). It is used in order to transform the biopolymers into easy transportable fuels. The

hydrothermal depolimerization (sometimes described as HTDP or TDP) enables conversion of organic materials into products, which are presently produced using fossil based materials from petroleum refinery (Demirbas, 2005; U.S. Department of Energy, 2008). The process imitates the natural geological processes leading to creation of fossil fuels under high pressure and temperature conditions.

In the process of thermal depolymerisation the feedstock material is first ground into small chunks, and mixed with water if it is especially dry. It is then fed into a reactor vessel where it is heated to around 500K and subjected to 4 MPa for approximately 15 minutes, after which the pressure is rapidly released to boil off most of the water and some gases. The result is a mix of crude hydrocarbons and solid minerals, which are separated out. The hydrocarbons are sent to a second-stage reactor where they are heated to ~750K, further breaking down the longer chains.

The various feedstock material has been subject of TDP process, including: biomass (remnants of food and paper industry, of agriculture, of forestry), plastics, heavy products of refinery (heavy fuel oils, tars, …) medical waste or sewage sludge.

Among the products of this process are gases (mainly methane, propane, butane) 6 –16%, liquids (light fuel components: methylbenzene, methyl-ethyl-benzene, cyclohexane, cyclopropane, etc.) 26–70% and solids (coal, minerals) 5 – 8%. Although elements on the inlet and outlet of the process are conserved the chemical composition of the products depends strongly on thermodynamic parameters and of the duration of this particular part of processing. Quality of products, specially their heating value is a function of carbon and hydrogen fraction in the overall mass of a charge.

The volume of liquid products grows with an increase of biomass oils including animal fats, fish and poultry oils, plant oils, and recycled cooking greases. In contrast a greater proportion of carbohydrates in the feedstock results in a growing amount of gases and carbon in the products.

It is known that most biomass oils contain about 95% triglycerides with small amounts of phosphatides, sterols, antioxidants, and other minor compounds. Triglycerides are composed of three long hydrocarbon chains called fatty acids (containing 6 to 24 carbons) with carboxyl ends attached to a glycerol molecule.

There are three processes leading to biodiesel formation: hydrolysis, decarboxylation and product degradation. The first one called hydrolysis leads to disconnection of the fatty acids (e.g. palmitic acid - one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in animals and plants) from the glycerol backbone. The second process of decarboxylation proceeds according to the scheme - for the palmitic acid:

CH3-(CH2)14-COOH => CH3-(CH2)13-CH3 +CO2 (1) The third process, product degradation is necessary to explain the presence of carbon and low BTU gas in the products from TDP.

CH3-(CH2)13-CH3 => 7C + 8CH4 (2) In the case of ideal TDP process (i.e. without degradation) the yield of liquid hydrocarbon products is ~ 79%. It falls to 63 % in real TDP process due to mentioned degradation.

(vi) Extrusion of mixed polymers (mainly polyethylene and polypropylene)

Using process of extrusion mixed plastics from municipal waste can be transformed into construction materials including cabling chambers – see Fig. 6. There is a US patent describing the production of various products.

Figur 22 - Extruded elements from mixed waste polymers.

(vii) Methane fermentation

Figur 23 - Wet fermentation of separated communal waste in Linkoeping – Sweden. There are two main fermentation concepts for communal waste:

a) Fermentation of unsorted wastes using technologies represented by dry processes (above 15% of d.m.) Periodical Anaerobic Bioreactor , STRABAG Umwelttechnik GmbH, DRANCO or dry/wet technology with percolation of GICON or wet technology (less than 15% d.m.) after e.g. extrusion of organic matter or sorted fraction from RotoSTERIL process. b) Fermentation of waste sorted at source - postulated in EU Directive 2008/98/EC due to easier applicable digestate - see Figure 23.

Two-stage GICON fermentation combines dry fermentation (I phase hydrolises) and wet (II phase methanization) - see Figure 24. The first stage uses the percolation method.

The problems with application of digestate produced from municipal waste lead to intensive investigations of hydrothermal lyses resulting in decrease of amount of digestate and increased biogas production (Cenian et al., 2015).

Figur 24 - Scheme of GICON fermentation installation.

(viii) Gasification and pyrolysis (biocoal production)

Gasification is an optional process (next to combustion) for utilization of dry waste with calorific value above 6 MJ/kg. There has been extensive R&D work related to the development of small installations for gasification of pre-RDF for distributed thermal treatment of dry waste.

Figur 25 - 400 kW container-like gasification for pre RDF utilization.

Figur 26 - Project and realization of Xenenergo reactor. An Innovative container-like installation with power in syngas 400 kW has been built in Zakładzie Zagospodarowania Odpadów, Nowy Dwór (near Chojnic) - see Figure 25. This gasification installation is being built by IMP PAN group (prof. D. Kardas et al.) in the frame of the WFOS RX 09/25/2014 project, financed by Wojewódzki Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska, Zakład Zagospodarowania Odpadów Nowy Dwór Sp. z o.o., Eco-Construction Sp. z o.o. and IMP PAN. Installation results from R&D of distributed energy and heat production from waste including municipal waste. Another example is the Xenergo reactor built by polish-Swedish company Mӧ reMaskiner, Warszawa – see Figure 26, with a rated power of 1 MW.

Figur 27 - Biochar (Wikipedia, n.d.) However, it should be underlined that according to EU regulations combustion and gasification should be limited in order to maximize the level of recycling, because energy recovery is a category lower than recycling.

The thermal process which can be qualified as recycling is related to bio-coal production by method of pyrolyses - see Figure 27. Biochar is a very valuable product similar to charcoal and can be produced from forest residues, agricultural biowaste, sewage sludge and communal waste. Biochar can be used in energetics, as fertilizer in agriculture (increasing sorption), in environmental protection to remove water pollution, etc. Especially important is the possibility of producing biocoal from sewage sludge and

its application as a fertilizer. Research by Białowiec, Malińska and Dach (2015) show that biocoal can increase the rate of organic matter mineralization and methane production.

Figure 28 presents the idea of circular economy proposed by Dr. Vogt from Wrocław University.

Figur 28 - A scheme of exemplary circular economy installation.

Conclusions EU regulations challenge the standard waste management technologies and methods. The high target of recycling (70%) for 2030 challenges the easy solution i.e. 'combust all' or dispose to landfill. Only a small residue, after sorting plastics, metals, papers, glass and biodegradable organic waste, can be combusted or gasi-fied. Besides, small distributed cogeneration using pre-RDF enables local waste companies to gain some income from energy and heat production. Also long dis-tance transportation of waste is far from being a sustainable solution.

The most effective technology should be based on separation at source bio-degradable waste and its fermentation, which enables use of the digestate as fertilizers and phosphorus economy. In the case of mixed waste additional separation of biowaste by hydroseparation set-up is needed. The RotoSTERIL technology looks like another possible solution.

The American Approach to Food Waste By Andrius Laucius, Municipality of Tauragé

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2010, the average American generated about 99 kg of food waste. There are two cities that accomplished progress in waste management: The City of Minneapolis and New York City.

The City of Minneapolis initiated an organics collection pilot in 2008, then expanded coverage in 2009 and 2010. These initial pilots were critical to determining the level of participation in a free opt-in programme (e.g. sign up), assessing the effectiveness of the city’s outreach methods (e.g. mailings, neighbourhood events), and developing efficient collection routes based on the number of stops and weight of the organics 13. In 2012, the city requisitioned a study to evaluate options for moving the organics programme forward. In 2014 followed the establishment of several organics collection drop-off sites around the city to engage early adopters and educate the broader public. The low-cost drop-off sites comprised 96 gallon rolling carts in parking lots with combination locks; residents that signed up to use the carts received the lock code via e-mail 14. That same year, the Hennepin County Board approved a measure for Minneapolis to begin collecting food scraps city-wide in 2015. More than 45,000 households - equating to 43 percent of the eligible single-family households and small apartment buildings.

In 2015, the City Council approved goals calling for recycling and/or composting for 50% of city-wide commercial and residential waste by 2020, then increasing to 80% by 2030 18.

New York City (NYC) has been targeting organics since the late 1980s with its first law requiring the Department of Sanitation of New York (DSNY) to collect and compost leaves and seasonal yard waste. In 2006, DSNY released its ‘Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan’ that emphasized the need to address the organic portion of the city’s waste stream and also created a Compost Facility Siting Task Force.

Under the NYC commercial organics rules, segregation of food waste is mandatory for businesses that meet the below criteria: ¬ Food service establishments with a floor area of at least 15,000 square feet:

 Food service establishments that are part of a chain of 100 or more locations in the city of New York, and  Retail food stores with a floor area of at least 25,000 square feet.

The USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created an easy to follow Food Recovery Hierarchy ranking the most to least preferred methods to prevent and divert wasted food. The preferred method is source recovery, or purchasing food more accurately to minimize unnecessary excess. If food is leftover and has been kept in safe storage conditions, the next best option is to donate it to a food pantry or food bank. If the food is not suitable for human consumption, many local farmers are willing to pick up the scraps to feed to their livestock – saving money while reducing wasted food. If the food is not suitable for livestock consumption, donating wasted food scraps and oils to companies who can convert it into usable energy is the next best option. Next on the hierarchy is composting. Composting diverts wasted food from landfill and uses it to enrich soil. Composting also helps reduce methane emissions from landfill. Last on the list is the landfill. Throwing away food contributes to both economic and environmental losses.2 All along the food supply chain there are programs and resources to help reduce wasted food and its associated impacts. While not all wasted food is edible, much of it can be

recovered and repurposed. Following are examples of current efforts occurring to reduce waste along the food supply chain.

Tips for households to reduce food waste So many people don't realize how much food they throw away. About 94 percent of the food we throw away. In 2015 there was about 37.6 million tons of food waste. By managing food sustainably and reducing waste, we can help businesses and consumers save money, provide a bridge in our communities for those who do not have enough to eat, and conserve resources for future generations.

The United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has defined a strategy of how to reduce wasted food (U.S. EPA, n.d.). There are a few tips: Planning, prepping, and storing food.

1. Planning: By simply making a list with weekly meals in mind, you can save money and time and eat healthier food. If you buy no more than what you expect to use, you will be more likely to keep it fresh and use it all. 2. Preparing: Prepare perishable foods soon after shopping. It will be easier to whip up meals or snacks later in the week, saving time, effort, and money. 3. Storage: It is easy to overbuy or forget about fresh fruits and vegetables. Store fruits and vegetables for maximum freshness; they’ll taste better and last longer, helping you to eat more of them Benefits of reducing wasted food: saves money, Reduces methane emissions, Reduces methane emissions, Supports your community.

Conclusions Food waste managing helps our nature not only directly but indirectly as well. Uncomposed food means that some cost is wasted as well, plastics that’s wrapped around goods, shopping bags other resources that it’s needed to reach consumers. We don’t need to forget water waste that’s is used to produce food which is also wasted or polluted in our economy.

There is no easy way to control food waste in respect with USA cities made programs that let citizens and city managers to control food waste as best as they can. Mayors and administration have opportunities to reduce food waste by using funds of taxpayers to create programs that can help city to be oriented as a green place to live in meanwhile there are many opportunities to households to be effective food users United states environment protection agency (EPA) indicated few steps, it’s: planning, preparing and storage.

Literature

Białowiec A Malińska K., Dach J., Biowęgiel jako materiał pomocniczy w procesie produkcji biogazu, Inżynieria Ekologiczna 2015 (41): pp. 117-124.

Cenian, A., Zimiński, T., Dach, J., Lewicki, A. 2015. Hydrothermal lyses as the means to control amount of biogas and digestate production, Paper presented at the Conference on Monitoring & Process Control of Anaerobic Digestion Plants, March 17-18, 2015, Leipzig, Germany

Demirbas, A. 2005. Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass to Liquid Products in the Aqueous Medium. Energy Sources 27 (13): pp. 1235-1243

European Commission. 2015. Communication on Closing the loop – An EU action plan for the Circular Economy. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52015DC0614&from=EN

European Commission. 2017. Communication on the on the 2017 list of Critical Raw Materials for the EU. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/GA/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2017%3A490%3AFIN

European Commission. 2020. EU Circular Economy Action Plan. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/index_en.htm

Milios, L., 2018. Advancing to a Circular Economy: three essential ingredients for a comprehensive policy mix. Sustainability science 13 (3): pp.861-878.

OECD. 2017. Working with Change: Systems approaches to public sector challenges. OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation

Scharff, C. No Date. The EU Circular Economy Package and the Circular Economy Coalition for Europe. Holocene 351: from p. 6269

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. No Date. Reducing Wasted Food at Home. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home

U.S. Department of Energy. 2008. Biomass Program. Agricultural mixed waste biorefinery using Thermal Conversion Process (TCP). Retrieved from https://www1.eere.energy.gov/bioenergy/pdfs/agricultural_waste.pdf

Wikipedia. No Date. Biochar. Retrieved from https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biowęgiel

Appendix A: Data Sources and Terminology (Approach to Living Lab at Nowa Karczma)

Data sources for the study

The basis of this study are materials and data from:

 Nowa Karczma municipality  Association of Municipalities Wierzyca  Municipal Waste Utilization Plant in Stary Las  the Central Statistical Office

Terminology

The abbreviations used in the text mean:

 RIPOK – Regional Installation of Waste Processing  PSZOK – Point of Selective Collection of Municipal Waste  ZUOK – Municipal Waste Utilization Plant in the Old Forest  ZGW – Association of Municipalities Wierzyca  Ton = 1 Mg = 1.000 kg