Refine
Year of Publication
Document Type
- Report (11)
- Peer-Reviewed Article (4)
Language
- English (15) (remove)
This study presents in detail: the use of plastic products and the opportunities for recyclate use in the construction sector, quantities of plastic used, take-back systems, recycling techniques, current recyclate use and plastic construction product packaging.Potentials for increasing high-quality recyclate use were identified. Existing hurdles and options for action for industry and politics are presented. Current recyclate use as well as its potential use are strongly dependent on the application area of plastics. The biggest hurdles for the use of recycled materials are product life time, dismantling and technical requirements.
The environmental impacts of mobile computing : a case study with HP ; final report ; Digital Europe
(2003)
This report includes the results and calculations of the HP case study within the Digital Europe project. This case study investigates the environmental effects of mobile computing devices as an element of the growing ICT infrastructure for applications such as ecommerce, egovernment and telework. Specifically, the resource intensity of a notebook computer and a handheld device will be analysed and discussed.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has matured over the past decades and become part of the broader field of sustainability assessment. To strengthen LCA as a tool and eventually increase its usefulness for sustainability decision-making, it is argued that there is a need to expand the ISO LCA framework by integration and connection with other concepts and methods. This paper explores the potential options for deepening and broadening the LCA methodologies beyond the current ISO framework for improved sustainability analysis. By investigating several environmental, economic and social assessment methods, the paper suggests some options for incorporating (parts of) other methods or combining with other methods for broadening and deepening the LCA.
Supply risks and environmental concerns drive the interest in critical raw material recycling in the European Union. Globally, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is projected to increase by almost 40% until 2030. This waste stream can be a source of secondary raw materials. The determination of the economic feasibility of recycling and recovering specific materials is a data-intensive, time-consuming, and case-specific task. This study introduced a two-part evaluation scheme consisting of upper continental crust concentrations and raw material prices as a simple tool to indicate the potential and limitations of critical raw material recycling. It was applied to the case of light-emitting diodes (LED) lamps in the EU. A material flow analysis was conducted, and the projected waste amounts were analyzed using the new scheme. Indium, gallium, and the rare earth elements appeared in low concentrations and low absolute masses and showed only a small revenue potential. Precious metals represented the largest revenue share. Future research should confirm the validity and usefulness of the evaluation scheme.
Resource-efficient construction : the role of eco-innovation for the construction sector in Europe
(2011)
This manual sets out to be an instruction guide for the implementation of analyses according to the MIPS concept. MIPS stands for Material Input Per Service unit, a measure developed at the Wuppertal Institute, which serves as an indicator of precautionary environmental protection. However, this publication is not a comprehensive description of the methods used, but should rather be seen as supplementing existing publications, in particular, the MAIA Handbook. This practical guide contains additional information, which cannot be part of a methodological description, but which is indispensable for the practical work. This manual is directed at enterprises and persons, who wish to carry out MIPS or a material analysis in relation to products or services. It gives a general impression of what MIPS is, and how MIPS is calculated.
Calculating MIPS 2.0
(2013)
The Wuppertal Institute developed, in the early 1990s, an input-oriented lifecycle-wide resource accounting method, the "Material Input per Service-Unit" concept (MIPS), today also referred to as "Material Footprint". The official handbook applicable to products, services, and processes describes a MS Excel-based sequential approach for calculating MIPS. Today's computing power, available to every researcher, and access to software and databases dedicated to lifecycle analysis make calculating MIPS using matrix inversion possible. This also opens up possibilities for enhancing MIPS-models programmatically: parameterizing the foreground and background systems, batch modeling for producing time series, and computational algorithms enhancing interpretation. The article provides (1) an overview of the methods and tools used for calculating MIPS from its origins to today, and (2) demonstrates some of the programmatically enhanced capabilities offered to MIPS-practitioners.