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The circular economy concept is gaining increasing attention as a potential way to raise prosperity on the one hand and reduce the consumption of primary materials and energy and decrease waste generation on the other. One of the main principles of a circular economy is designing without waste ? the target is to ?close the loop? of the product life cycle. In particular, this concerns sectors such as the automotive industry, both because of its strategic economic importance and due to the potential and significance...

This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary literature review of issues related to Circular Economy, waste management, recycling, eco-innovation, decision-supporting and environmental management that help to identify the key expectations, opportunities and problems related to decisions supporting waste management under the Circular Economy concept. The research findings enable identification of the areas of waste management based on the Circular Economy concept and the functions of the information syste...

Sustainable use of natural resources and recycling/reuse of wastes are two of most current upcoming environmental problems, and they play an important role in the circular economy, as recycling of waste can give an important contribution to the reduction of natural resources. Ceramic tiles production is one of the industrial activities involved in using natural resources like clays and sands. On the other hand, in Italy, sanitary landfills are, nowadays, the main place, where bottom ashes are finally treated. This...

Circularity metrics are useful for empirically assessing the effects of introduction of circular economy principles at product and company level. Due to the fact, that the concept of circular economy is new, one standardized method for measuring the circularity of products and company has still not been developed. For that reason, in this article the multidisciplinary literature review was carried out for indicating existing methods, tools and indicators dedicated to measure the circularity. This analysis has prov...

Countries that largely base their production of electricity and thermal on coal, are exposed to a significant burden of the environment, mainly through the emission of harmful substances into the environment, including the production of large quantities of solid waste: including fly ashes, slags, ash, slag mixes etc. However, the waste generated in combustion processes does not have to be a burden to the environment. Due to the changes in legal regulations they may become a by-product (i.e. Coal Combustion Product...

According to the European Commission, critical raw materials are defined as ?those which display a particularly high risk of supply shortage in the next 10 years and which are particularly important for the value chain?. Therefore, when considering a raw material criticality, two main parameters are taken into account: its economic importance and supply risk. Technologies which a decade ago were considered high tech became current today, and raw materials once considered as minor, have gained importance. Particula...

Circular economy, i.e. a closed-loop economy, is an idea in which the value of products and materials is retained as long as possible. A concept that minimizes the environmental impact of the products created, through such choice of components and design that will allow them to be reused. Speaking of circular economy, it is impossible not to mention the role of alternative fuels. According to the EN-15359: 2005 standard - Solid recovered fuels. Specification and classes, alternative fuels are flammable wastes, def...