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Dr. Namil Um

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Guest Editor

Environmental Resources Research, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea
Interests: waste management; waste policy and regulation; circular economy; circular resources; environmental impact assessment; recycling and reuse; minimization; disposal method; field monitoring
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Waste treatment has emerged as a major concern, owing to unsustainable waste generation causing a serious burden on the environment. To solve this problem, establishing “Sustainable Waste Management (SWM)” based on the circular economy concept is essential. Thus, the purpose of this Special Issue is to explore the minimization of generated wastes through circular systems with products, consumption, discharge, and recycling (disposal), while also reducing the dependence on natural resources and ensuring that any materials from nature are reused as many times as possible. SWM is also a way to pursue a safer environment through “Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)”, which assesses the environmental consequences of a plan, method, design, or policy framework before a decision to move forward with the proposed action. The invited contributions include those on the following topics:

Technology and method, plan, design, and policy frameworks for SWM with the concept of a circular economy;
Method, program, procedure, and policy frameworks of EIA for SWM;
The field monitoring of wastes in a circular system with production, consumption, discharge, and recycling (disposal);

Country reports introducing success stories in different countries for the topics.

Dr. Namil Um
Guest Editor

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Keywords

waste
sustainable management
circular system
recycling and reuse
minimization
environmental assessment
policy and regulations
planning, design and program
storage
collection
transport and transfer
landfill disposal
economic analysis

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 717 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Network Analysis of the Disaster Response Systems in the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling Center in South Korea

by Sudong Kim and Jihwan Park

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10254; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141610254 - 18 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1438

Abstract

Since dust and flammable gas are generated during the waste recycling process, there is always a risk of a fire accident. However, research on disaster management at recycling facilities deals only with the problem of processing systems from a technical standpoint and does not suggest concrete alternatives from a management aspect. Therefore, this study analyzed the influence of the disaster response network of a Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling center at the organizational level based on the concept of the cognitive accuracy of a network considering administrative aspects. Accordingly, a survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire targeting 47 employees at the WEEE recycling center in South Korea and by applying the two-mode network analysis method using UCINET software, the centrality of the actor and the density of the network were quantitatively analyzed. Through this analysis, we confirmed that factors affecting the influence of the network exist, such that the entire network and the networks of different levels of position are different. We suggest that this can be improved by deploying safety and health management managers who perform formal tasks at the center of the network so that everyone can agree on the political approach and by empowering the safety and health management manager to conduct active education and training. Furthermore, we suggest that the network structure should be reorganized, centering on the person in charge of safety and health management to have a network system that matches each position. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Management and Environmental Impact Assessment)

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14 pages, 12470 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recycling and Material-Flow Analysis of End-of-Life Vehicles towards Resource Circulation in South Korea

by Yong-Chul Jang, Kyunghoon Choi, Ji-hyun Jeong, Hyunhee Kim and Jong-Guk Kim

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1270; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14031270 - 24 Jan 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5008

Abstract

The sustainable resource management of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) towards a circular economy has become an issue of concern around the world. An understanding of recycling and the quantitative flow of ELVs is important because of their potential for resource recovery as well as the environmental impacts posed by their toxic chemicals upon disposal. In this paper, the generation and recycling system of ELVs in South Korea has been discussed based on a review of the available statistics and literature and site visits to ELV-recycling facilities. A material-flow analysis (MFA) for ELVs was performed to elucidate the resource recovery from recycling, while the substance flow of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in automobile shredded residues (ASR) was also determined for proper management. Approximately one million tons of ELVs in 2020 were processed by dismantling and shredding treatment for the recovery of reusable and recyclable materials (803,000 tons), resulting in 78,300 tons of ASR. Approximately 97 tons of PBDEs as flame retardants were generated mainly from ASR in 2020 and processed via combustion, either with energy recovery (59.8%) or without heat recovery (39.2%). The monitoring of brominated dioxins and furans by unintentional release during the incineration processes of ASR is required in order to prevent the dispersion of the chemicals in the environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Management and Environmental Impact Assessment)

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