Waste prevention in communities – development of a framework for the implementation of sustainable resource management concepts

Waste prevention as one of the elements to realize a Circular Economy promises immense potential, especially in Germany. Although waste prevention was promoted as the first priority for all EU member states in 2008, the actual... [ view full abstract ]

Waste prevention as one of the elements to realize a Circular Economy promises immense potential, especially in Germany. Although waste prevention was promoted as the first priority for all EU member states in 2008, the actual implementation is hesitant. Within a two-year research project, we investigate the reasons for this neglect and develop a framework for the implementation of sustainable waste prevention concepts. Given the main challenges identified out of literature and practitioners knowledge, this framework incorporates the identification of activities as well as the assessment of these activities in terms of quantitative and qualitative waste prevention effects based on LCA. The research focusses on local authorities as regional representatives of the public sector.

The identification of potentials and according activities constitutes the first step within our framework. An empirical survey identifies key factors that influence engagement for waste prevention and provides solution-oriented insights on how to encourage action. The second step comprises the measurement of the related environmental impacts. The measurement approach is developed in a transdisciplinary setting in close cooperation with practitioners and features an activity-based analysis to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative aspects of waste prevention. Life Cycle Assessment methodology is adapted to the specific requirements of waste prevention and constitutes an essential part of this step. The final step of evaluation and communication includes the stakeholder-oriented preparation and presentation of results. The impact categories are chosen in line with the definition of waste prevention and with the communicability to stakeholders in mind.

We validate our framework by applying it to the target group of local authorities in Bavaria, Germany. The survey in the first step covers 386 Bavarian communities by questionnaire and features 33 additional personal in-depth interviews with executives and employees of public administration from three different local authorities. We find that the estimation of waste prevention potentials varies depending on the waste stream. A total of 70% of all respondents evaluate the potential for waste prevention of typical recycling materials, such as paper and plastic, as high or very high, while waste from building materials and construction components is considered to be hardly preventable. We identified over 30 possible activities to exploit these potentials. Out of these activities, five were chosen for quantification. These five real-world case studies include different waste streams and several areas of responsibility within public administration (e.g. electronical workstations, supply of drinking water and lighting systems). Results prove that waste prevention offers high potentials to reduce environmental impacts up to 96% for specific activities.

The proposed framework not only proves to ensure higher motivation and awareness of decision-makers and staff members, it also supports the communication of achieved sustainability effects. Additionally, the use of different environmental impact categories allows communities to select appropriate options to operationalize their overall ecological values.