Hooper Bradshaw (printanime38)

Millions of tonnes of virgin (primary) plastic are produced annually, while recoverable (secondary) plastic rapidly accumulates as waste in landfills and the environment. Single-use plastics (SUPs) have short lifespans, and most of this waste is generated by packaging from global food industries. Food packaging waste comprises approximately one-third (8 million tonnes) of all Canadian municipal solid waste, and only 20% is recovered for reuse or recycling. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) strategies leverage corporate resources to reduce SUP waste generated by consumers. Implementation of EPR strategies allows local jurisdictions to gain greater control over their waste streams. Although Canada has had a national EPR strategy since 2009, it is currently only implemented for packaging in five provinces (e.g., British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec), and is currently under development in New Brunswick. In this short communication, a case example of EPR implementation in Nova Scotia is provided which highlights the potential economic benefits for municipalities ($14-17 M CAD in estimated savings), for improved solid waste management and for increasing recycling rates. Further, a regional EPR strategy is recommended for all Atlantic Canadian provinces (e.g., Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia) now that the Canadian federal government has announced a move towards zero plastic waste under the Ocean Plastics Charter.For sustainable growth, an economic model must tend toward a circular system, especially in the field of waste management. This work focuses on the valorization of spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst from oil refineries, which generate 400,000 metric tons of spent catalyst per year worldwide, most of which is sent to landfills. A new alternative to landfilling is proposed for this waste, based on the combination of acid leaching for the recovery of lanthanum, a valuable rare earth, and the reuse of the leached solid residue as a cement substitute. A comparative life cycle assessment was made, including four environmental impact categories, i.e. global warming, fossil resource scarcity, mineral resource scarcity and water consumption, in order to quantify the potential environmental benefits of secondary lanthanum recovery from industrial waste with respect to primary lanthanum extraction from mineral resources. A maximum of 85.6% La recovery was achieved and 15 wt% of cement can be substituted with leached solid residue without changing the original cement classification. The waste management process presented in this paper promotes the sustainable management of the spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst and contributes to the development of a new resource for a critical material such as lanthanum. The implementation of this novel waste management process could reduce global warming and mineral resource scarcity but would increase fossil resource scarcity and water consumption in comparison with primary La extraction.Bitumen ages in the short and long-term due to environmental conditions. As the bitumen ages, it loses its original properties and flexibility. Hardened bitumen causes certain distresses in pavement that may endanger traffic safety and reduce travel comfort. Bitumen is one of recoverable material, however some techniques may not be ecological due to considerable energy, time, and cost. On the other hand, recovering of aged bitumen might be eco-friendlier, energy-efficient, and economic by using bio-based waste materials such as waste vegetable cooking oils (WVCO). In this perspective, this paper was established on the idea of sustainable recovery of aged bitumen and WVCO. Base bitumen was aged in case of short-term (ST) and long-term (LT) in laboratory condition and modified with WVCO ranging from 2 to 10% by weight of bitumen. To determine the effect of WVCO modification on aged bitumen conventional and rheological test methods we