Important notice
The course guide is provisional.
The PDF version of the course guide may take a few days to become available in the DDD.
Waste Management
Code: 42408Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability | OP | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Aglaia Gomez D Alessandro
- Email :
- aglaia.gomez@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Cristina Sendra i Sala
Teaching staff (external to UAB)
- Oscar Prado
- Vanessa Abad
- Aglaia Gomez
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge required.
Objectives
To provide the necessary knowledge to manage materials and energy as resources, and to rethink the concept of waste, to move from negative impacts associated with its management to positive impacts, within the framework of the Circular Economy.
Learning outcomes
- CA11 (Develop sustainable management solutions in the waste sector, applying environmental assessment tools.) Develop sustainable management solutions in the waste sector, applying environmental assessment tools.
- CA12 (Work in interdisciplinary and international teams to address complex challenges in sustainable materials and waste management.) Work in interdisciplinary and international teams to address complex challenges in sustainable materials and waste management.
- CA13 (Propose measures to reduce economic, territorial and gender inequalities associated with waste management.) Propose measures to reduce economic, territorial and gender inequalities associated with waste management.
- KA11 (Explain the origin, typology and flows of waste, as well as the basic operations for its management and use within the context of the linear economy.) Explain the origin, typology and flows of waste, as well as the basic operations for its management and use within the context of the linear economy.
- KA12 (Describe the principles of the circular economy and distinguish its models and potential impact on the sustainable management of urban, agricultural and industrial materials.) Describe the principles of the circular economy and distinguish its models and potential impact on the sustainable management of urban, agricultural and industrial materials.
- KA13 (Define the characteristics and emissions associated with waste treatment systems, both in the context of the linear economy (landfills, incineration) and circular economy (wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion, composting).) Define the characteristics and emissions associated with waste treatment systems, both in the context of the linear economy (landfills, incineration) and circular economy (wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion, composting).
- SA13 (Evaluate the possibilities of reducing environmental impacts and greenhouse gases (GHG) through the application of new technologies, methodologies and waste management and use systems.) Evaluate the possibilities of reducing environmental impacts and greenhouse gases (GHG) through the application of new technologies, methodologies and waste management and use systems.
- SA14 (Select the relevant actors in the waste management value chain for the design of circular economy strategies.) Select the relevant actors in the waste management value chain for the design of circular economy strategies.
Contents
Block 1. Linear economy. Context of the economic model and its externalities. Origin and typology of urban and industrial waste and current management systems.
- Waste in the linear economy: characteristics and potential impacts
- Classification systems for different types of urban and industrial waste according to European framework regulations.
- Urban solid waste collection systems and their transport: typologies, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages
- For the following treatment systems, analysis of: Origin and inflow and outflow of materials and waste, types of treatment systems and characteristics and potential applications of the resulting materials
- Landfills. Includes estimation of its emissions (modelling with Landgem or others)
- Incineration (energy recovery)
Block 2. Sustainable management of materials at urban and industrial level. Circular economy. Characteristics of circular models and their potential for impact on externalities.
- Waste in the recycling economy and in the circular economy. Quantitative, economic and environmental impacts.
- Product design and business model characteristics relevant to the minimization of waste and generation of valuable secondary materials.
- For the following treatment systems, analysis of: Origin and inflow and outflow of materials, types of treatment systems and characteristics and potential applications of the resulting materials o Wastewater treatment o Anaerobic digestion o Composting o Sorting and recycling plants for containers and packaging, glass and other types of inorganic materials (e.g. construction waste).
- Visit (potentially virtual) to the Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Plant
- Inorganic Materials Recycling Case Study Seminar (Potentially Virtual) for a Next High-Value Application
- References and tools in relation to ecodesign, industrial ecology or biomimetics and impact measurement
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading reports & articles; and studying | 35 | 1.4 | CA11, CA12, CA13, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| Visit to industrial plant | 3.5 | 0.14 | KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13 |
| Tutoring | 5 | 0.2 | CA12, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13 |
| Master classes | 19 | 0.76 | CA12, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| Classroom practice, including interactive discussions and exercises | 6.5 | 0.26 | CA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| Individual and collaborative reporting | 35 | 1.4 | CA11, CA12, CA13, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| Preparation of Seminars/Oral Presentations | 15 | 0.6 | CA11, CA12, CA13, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| Case Study Analysis | 5 | 0.2 | KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13 |
| Practical exercises developed by students autonomously | 15 | 0.6 | CA11, CA12, CA13, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
Master classes / oral presentations
Reading reports, articles and other documents of interest
Classroom practice, including interactive discussions and exercises.
Preparation of Seminars/Oral Presentations Preparation of reports, individual and collaborative
Practical exercises developed by students autonomously
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral presentations and related activities | 30 | 4 | 0.16 | CA11, CA12, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| In-class quizzes, problem solving, and other assessable tests | 40 % | 0 | 0 | KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
| Reports delivery | 30 % | 7 | 0.28 | CA11, CA12, CA13, KA11, KA12, KA13, SA13, SA14 |
This subject will be evaluated continuously.
40% of the grade will be obtained by completing questionnaires and assessable activities throughout class hours based on the class syllabus.
The remaining 60% will be obtained through the completion of activities related to group work and their oral presentation in class, 30% related to written tasks and 30% to oral tasks, respectively.
This module does not offer the Single Assessment modality, in accordance with the coordination of the degree and with the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences.
Students who do not complete the final project and the corresponding oral presentation will not be assessed. Students who cannot appear on the day of the oral presentation with reasoned justification, must have sent a recording of the presentation prior to the date defined for this task. In cases of force majeure, a personalized analysis will be carried out. The evaluation will be made only for the tasks carried out, being able to reach the maximum score corresponding to these tasks.
In the event of not passing the subject with continuous assessment, and provided that at least 2/3 of the tasks required throughout the subject have been completed (without the need to have achieved a minimum average grade), students must complete a paper and present it on the recovery date defined by the university.
For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information search, text correction or translations (for other uses, consult the teaching staff beforehand). The student should clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used, and include critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity.
Plagiarism is totally prohibited, when you want to make textual reference to other people's content, it will be done by means of correctly referenced quotations. The authorship of the text will be validated by similarity recognition software. The non-transparency of the use of AI in the assessable activities and the existence of plagiarism will be considered academic dishonesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the affected activity, or greater sanctions in cases of severity.
Bibliography
- Materials from the UAB virtual campus. (UAB intranet, virtual campus)
- Handbook Zero Waste, ZERO WASTE PROJECT (1G-MED08-533). http://icta.uab.cat/ecotech/zero_waste/Handbook/Final_Handbook.pdf
- Cara Brower; Rachel Mallory; Zachary Ohlman. 2005. Experimental Eco>Design. Switzerland. Editorial Rotovision. ISBN 2-88046-817
- Han Brezet, Carolien Van Hemel. 1997. Ecodesign. A promising approach to sustainable production and consumption. United Nations Publications, Paris Henrik Wenzel; Michael Hauschild; Leo Alting.1997. Environmental Assessment of Products (vol.1). Methodology, tools and case studies in product development. Chapman & Hall
- Bilitewski, B., Härdtle, G., Marek, K., Weissbach, A., Boeddicker, H. Waste management. 1997. Springer (Germany).
- Lund, H. F., McGraw-Hill Manual of Recycling. McGraw-Hill/Interamericana de España. 1996. (Madrid).
- Landreth, R. E., Rebers, P. A. Municipal Solid Wastes. Problems and Solutions.CRC Press, Inc., 1997. (USA)
- Solid waste processing and resource recovery. Handbook of environmental engineering. Flight 2. Lawrence K. Wang and Norman C. Pereira. Clifton (1980).
- Perry's Chemical engineer's handkook. (section 26-31).
- Roger Tim Haug. Composite engineering. Principles and practice. Technomic Publishing C.Inc. 1980. (Lancaster).
- Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H., Vigil, S. Integrated solid waste management. McGraw-Hill. Madrid (1994).
- Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute www.c2ccertified.org
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation, https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
- Donut Economy, https://doughnuteconomics.org/
- Regenerative Agriculture. Example of approach: Regeneration International, https://regenerationinternational.org/why-regenerative-agriculture/
Software
Not applicable.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | English | first semester | afternoon |
| (VEXTm) Visites externes a entitats (màster) | 1 | English | first semester | afternoon |