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Are municipal waste utilities becoming sustainable? A framework to assess and communicate progress

dc.contributor.authorFernández Braña, Álvaro
dc.contributor.authorSousa, Vítor
dc.contributor.authorFerreira, Célia
dc.date.accessioned2020-03-03T15:53:11Z
dc.date.available2020-03-03T15:53:11Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.date.updated2020-02-29T11:33:44Z
dc.description.abstractA framework of indicators to assess the progress towards sustainability of municipal waste management utilities is developed. Its purpose is to fulfil the need for assessing the performance of municipal waste (MW) management in a simple but comprehensive way—unlike indicators based on individual aspects such as recycling—and including aspects not well considered before, such as waste prevention. The framework is composed of a set of six single indicators, concerning the three dimensions of sustainability: reduction of effectively landfilled MW and reduction of MW generation (environmental component), balance between expenses and revenues and reduction of costs (economic component), accessibility to separate collection and number of complaints (social component). Each indicator consists of an evaluation of the current status of the variable in contrast to a previous situation, with a positive value in case of improvement or negative in case of decline. Then, the values of the individual indicators are combined to obtain a global result. This approach focuses on dynamic progress towards sustainability, complementing the common static indicators. Contrarily to the existing performance indicator schemes, the proposed framework aims at measuring the progress and not the absolute or relative achievement of a waste management utility. The framework was tested on two Portuguese municipalities, proving to be a straightforward application and reliable in guiding stakeholders. Results for the case study showed good performance on economic sustainability, while environmental and social performance were lower due to a lack of strategies for waste prevention and low source separation, affected by poor accessibility to separate collection.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipThis study was financially supported by LIFE+, the financial instrument of the EU for the environment, for funding the LIFE PAYT project [LIFE 15/ENV/PT/000609]. C. Dias-Ferreira was also financially supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through POCH (Programa Operacional Capital Humano) within ESF (European Social Fund) and national funds from MCTES [SFRH/BPD/100717/2014].pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipLIFE15 ENV/PT/000609
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s11356-019-05102-4pt_PT
dc.identifier.eid2-s2.0-85064810241
dc.identifier.eissn1614-7499
dc.identifier.issn0944-1344
dc.identifier.slugcv-prod-784406
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/9422
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.relationRAW - Recovering nutrients from wastes: eco-innovative solutions to transform waste into resources
dc.subjectPerformance indicatorspt_PT
dc.subjectProgress measurementpt_PT
dc.subjectSustainability assessmentpt_PT
dc.subjectWaste managementpt_PT
dc.subjectMunicipal waste utilitiespt_PT
dc.titleAre municipal waste utilities becoming sustainable? A framework to assess and communicate progresspt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleRAW - Recovering nutrients from wastes: eco-innovative solutions to transform waste into resources
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT//SFRH%2FBPD%2F100717%2F2014/PT
oaire.citation.titleEnvironmental Science and Pollution Researchpt_PT
person.familyNameFernández Braña
person.familyNameFerreira
person.givenNameÁlvaro
person.givenNameCélia
person.identifier.ciencia-id931E-FBDE-2098
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-0351-2664
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-7456-2538
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
rcaap.cv.cienciaid931E-FBDE-2098 | Célia Maria Dias Ferreira
rcaap.rightsrestrictedAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication51c08f79-5b4e-4482-9dbd-651866a1e2a4
relation.isAuthorOfPublicatione30010dd-0512-4da6-a0c9-910b47f18b4f
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoverye30010dd-0512-4da6-a0c9-910b47f18b4f
relation.isProjectOfPublicationbfc45dda-8ea4-41eb-a77f-052f571a7454
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscoverybfc45dda-8ea4-41eb-a77f-052f571a7454

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