Supporting decision making to achieve circularity via a biodegradable waste-to-bioenergy and compost facility.

Bioproducts, such as energy and fertilizers, are strongly interrelated with the biodegradable waste treatment processes, within a holistic management strategy. Although different forms of biological treatment technologies are available, anaerobic digestion represents a process of major importance in the overall management strategy of biodegradable waste. This paper presents a methodology to support decision making for efficient management of biodegradable waste. The decision support framework provides the background towards the selection and design of a biodegradable waste installation with emphasis on the recovery of energy and organic fertilizer. The discrete steps are analytically defined and illustrated to assist managers and policy makers to organize their decision making in the whole spectrum of procedures required to promote sustainable biodegradable waste management programs. The methodological approach developed can be generically applied by public authorities, producers and stakeholders following essential basic steps regarding safe and environmentally friendly production of high-quality final product. Moreover, a demonstration is performed for a real-case study for the Region of Serres, Greece. The proposed installation is expected to manage 3,285 t of biodegradable waste and generate approximately 160,000 m3/a of biogas, 400 MWhel/a and 450 MWhthermal/a. The final bioproduct exceeds 3 kt of digestate that will be valorized in arable land close to the installation. Crucial interactions and managerial insights are also highlighted. The decision support framework aims to assist the research community, the private sector and decision makers to produce affordable and sustainable compost/digestate recovered from waste, also supporting the transition to a low carbon future and sustainable -circular- development.

Externalities of energy sources: The operation of a municipal solid waste-to-energy incineration facility in the greater Thessaloniki area, Greece.

There is much debate around promoting waste to energy incineration facilities in many communities globally, mainly because of social opposition against potential negative health effects of the operation of these installations close to urban areas. In this paper, a novel decision support approach is developed and its applicability is demonstrated for the greater Thessaloniki area, Greece. In this area, the incineration facilities are hotly debated, mainly due to the "Not In My Back Yard" syndrome related with health considerations. The exclusive method of treatment is landfilling. Health impacts and corresponding externalities attributed to the operation of an incineration facility are reliably estimated. Three potential alternative sites and three scenarios of emission rates are considered, depending on the abatement technology used. The estimated externalities are compared to the corresponding ones attributed to other pressures in the area. The "Years of Life Lost (YOLL)" indicator attributed to the operation of the facility is 2.8 YOLL in the worst-case scenario. This corresponds to a minimal added implication in comparison with the 11,044 YOLL estimated for the area due to the other environmental pressures (road traffic, space heating, industrial activity). The externalities ratio (externalities due to incineration facility/total externalities) for the region is approximately 0.03%. Thus, the impact of this operation on human health is negligible -and preferable to landfilling- even in the case that maximum emission rates are considered. Efforts should be targeted towards enhancing public awareness and militating the widely acknowledged "Not In My Back Yard" syndrome by local communities.