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Moving towards a circular economy requires well-functioning recycling systems but also the implementation of effective product-life cycle extension schemes such as re-use, repair or refurbishment. A web-based analysis of the websites dedicated to informing the citizen about the private delivery of recyclables to the local recyclables collection centre (recycling centre) was conducted. All cities in Germany with a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants were considered (80 cities in total). Clarity of informati...

According to FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, global annual charcoal production amounts to 52 million metric tons. Around half of the population in South America depends on forest-sourced resources (firewood, charcoal) to cover their basic energy needs, and in some countries large-scale industrial charcoal usage is further common, e.g. in Brazil in the production of pig iron for steel. To limit adverse impacts on forest health, sustainability of charcoal production merits high atte...

Cogeneration, or combined heat and power production (CHP), delivers both electricity and heat simultaneously, which achieves high overall energy efficiency. Although CHP technologies are state of the art, and advantages of their adoption are well known, 70% (European Union) to 80% (worldwide) of the existing potential remains untapped. Initiatives fostering more widespread uptake of cogeneration so far often focus on large scale electricity supply schemes combined with the operation of district heating, while the ...

Ethanol is the most common alternative transport fuel. The current standard market product bioethanol is criticised for limited environmental sustainability as it is largely based on utilisation of food crops. Cellulosic ethanol, derived from lignocellulosic biomass including organic wastes and residues, as well as biomass grown on marginal land, is considered clearly more sustainable under environmental criteria compared to first generation ethanol, and it makes use of highly abundant, low cost organic material. ...

End-of-life solar photovoltaic (PV) panels represent a waste stream that will show high and rapid increase from 2020 onwards. Annual quantities could rise by a factor of 25 or higher in the period 2020 to 2050, turning waste PV panels into a material stream that will account for a significant share of waste electrical and electronic equipment occurrence. Assessing the types of modules on the market displays a high and further growing variety of PV panels, showing differences in design, basic technology and used co...