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Adelaide is one of the high-consuming cities of the world that has developed and implemented a zero waste strategy to achieve optimum resource recovery from waste. Many similar cities are adopting a zero waste strategy with a key goal of 100% diversion rate of waste from landfill. This study argues that achieving a 100% diversion rate will be inadequate and does not reflect the core concept of the zero waste philosophy. In a previous study, the Zero Waste Index (ZWI) was presented as an alternative waste management performance assessment tool for zero waste management systems. The ZWI is a new indicator to measure and compare virgin material replacement by urban zero waste management systems. In addition, the ZWI quantifies energy, material and water conservation through recycling efforts rather than simply measuring waste diverted from landfills. In the current study, waste management performance in Adelaide during the years 2003–2010 is analysed using the proposed Zero Waste Index tool and thereby Adelaide's performance in waste management in 2015 and 2020 is predicted. The study indicates that waste composting is increasing significantly in Adelaide and by 2015 the amount of waste composted should be higher than that going to landfill. For this reason, the biological waste treatment infrastructure, particularly in waste composting facilities, should be stimulated in Adelaide. In addition, the study identifies that despite the zero waste strategy being in place, overall waste management performance in Adelaide may not reach the targeted zero waste goals, particularly in optimum resource recovery from waste. The projected results indicate that by 2020, if similar waste diversion rates continue, Adelaide should have reached a diversion rate of over 82% of municipal solid waste from landfill and the Zero Waste Index would then be 0.45 (around 45% material substitution from its current ZWI = 0.41 with a 72% diversion rate). The study also involved an online survey on the views of local waste experts in metropolitan Adelaide. By combining the waste performance and survey findings, the study identifies the most important priority areas for future waste management strategies in Adelaide. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Waste is the symbol of inefficiency of any modern society and a representation of misallocated resources. Significant progress has been achieved in reducing waste but it varies from city to city. Currently, cities use their waste diversion rate as a tool to measure the performance of their waste management systems. However, diversion of waste from landfill does not give a holistic picture of zero waste performance. This paper conceptualises the concept of the ‘zero waste city’ and proposes a new tool to measure the performance of waste management systems called the ‘zero waste index’. The zero waste index forecasts the amount of virgin materials, energy, water and greenhouse gas emissions substituted by the resources that are recovered from waste streams. Three high consuming cities (Adelaide, San Francisco and Stockholm) were analysed using the zero waste index. The zero waste indexes in Adelaide, San Francisco and Stockholm were found to be 0.23, 0.51 and 0.17 respectively (i.e. around 23%, 51% and 17% of resources were recovered and potentially substituted for virgin materials). In addition, the zero waste index estimated the potential energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) and water savings due to resource recovery from municipal solid waste in each of the three cities. It is evident that the zero waste index is an innovative tool to assess waste management performance and materials substitution by waste management systems in different cities. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Waste is a symbol of inefficiency in modern society and represents misallocated resources.This paper outlines an ongoing interdisciplinary research project entitled ‘Integrated ETWW demand forecasting and scenario planning for low-carbon precincts’ and reports on first findings and a literature review. This large multi-stakeholder research project has been designed to develop a shared platform for integrated ETWW (energy,transport, waste, and water) planning in a low-carbon urban future, focusing on synergies and alternative approaches to urban planning. The aim of the project is to develop a holistic integrated software tool for demand forecasting and scenario evaluation for residential precincts covering the four domains (ETWW), using identified commonalities in data requirements and model formulation. The authors of this paper are overseeing the waste domain, while other researchers in the team have expertise in the remaining domains.A major component of the project will be developing a method for including the impacts of household behaviour change in demand forecasting. In this way the overall carbon impacts of urban developments or redevelopments of existing precincts can be assessed effectively and efficiently. The resulting tool will allow urban planners,municipalities, and developers to assess the future total demands for energy, transport,waste, and water while in the planning phase. The tool will also help to assess waste management performance and materials flow in relation to energy and water consumption and travel behaviour, supporting the design and management of urbansystems in different city contexts. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Application and development of municipal solid waste treatment technology depends on various socio-economic and environmental factors. All those factors are work as development drivers for waste management systems. The study aims to identify key drivers from case studies of waste management development trend in Sweden. Social, economic and environmental drivers are identified and presented in this study. The study identifies personal behaviour, local waste management practice, consumption and generation of waste as the key social drivers. Resource value of waste, economic benefit from waste treatment facilities and landfill tax have been acknowledged as economic drivers for developing waste treatment technology. Moreover, global climate change, environmental movement and awareness have been working as environmental drivers for developing various waste treatment methods in Sweden. In addition, the study aims to analyse emerging waste treatment technologies based on a number of literature review and questionnaire survey. Dry composting, pyrolysis-gasification, plasma arc, and anaerobic digestion have been identified as potential emerging technologies for waste management systems in Sweden. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Managing life-cycle information presents a critical challenge for footprint assessment and performance measurement in supply chains. Extant literature and supply chain collaboration models fall short in providing an interactive platform to enable cross-organisational life-cycle information gathering, sharing and management. This paper proposes a cloud-based life-cycle assessment (LCA) platform that enables dynamic life-cycle data collection and exchange, and supports supply chain collaboration for environmental footprint assessment. Using green supply chain management of cotton T-shirts as an example, the paper further illustrates the potential of the proposed cloud-based model in helping supply chain stakeholders to address the implications of managing life-cycle information and to improve the timeliness of their carbon footprint assessment. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Refereed/Peer-reviewed The consumption-driven society today produces an enormous amount of waste, which puts pressures on land, pollutes the environment and creates economic burden. 'Zero waste' concept, a whole system approach aiming to achieve no waste along the materials flow through society, has become one of the most visionary concepts for tackling growing waste problems. System Dynamics (SD) approach is applied in the proposed framework for designing the waste management in a zero waste residential precinct. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is incorporated to supplement the SD framework to evaluate the total cost and benefit of waste and resources throughout the material flow chain. The authors proposed a list of parameters under the categories of process, technology and infrastructure, socio-economic and institutional, social- environment, to be tested in future case study of Bowden village, SA, Australia. The framework provides an inventory of leverage points that helps policy-makers design waste policies and allocate resources effectively, with minimum environmental impact and optimum social benefits. It also helps planning professionals and business stakeholders better understand the costs and benefits of different scenarios for achieving a zero waste residential precinct.

The currently consumption-driven society produces an enormous volume of waste every day. Continuous depletion of natural finite resources by urban populations is leading the globe to an uncertain future. Therefore, to prevent further depletion of global resources, sustainable consumption and a strategic waste management system would be required. It is evident that a significant number of global non-renewable resources such as cadmium, mercury and tellurium will experience permanent shortfall in global supply within the next two to three decades. Astonishingly, the current recycling rate of these very scarce metals is significantly low in all cities around the globe. The concept of the zero waste city includes a 100% recycling of municipal solid waste and a 100% recovery of all resources from waste materials. However, transforming currently over-consuming cities into zero waste cities is challenging. Therefore, this study aims to understand the key factors waste management systems in cities such as consumption, resource depletion and possible decoupling opportunity through implementing the “zero waste city” concept. The study proposes five significant principles for transforming current cities into zero waste cities in the context of long-term sustainability. A simultaneous and harmonized application of sustainable behaviour and consumption, product stewardship, a 100% recycling and recovery of resources, legislated zero landfill and incineration are required to transform current city into a zero waste city. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This report, 'Age-friendly City Standards: The City of Unley', describes a joint project between the University of South Australia and the City of Unley (Unley). It supports Unley's age-friendly initiatives. The project's objectives were to: (a) analyse the existing demographic, socio-economic, cultural and environmental issues in Unley; (b) develop and formulate standards for age-friendly communities; (c) identify the key indicators for developing a checklist for age-friendly communities; and (d) identify points for possible integration of age-friendly features in the 'Unley Central' precinct. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Australia is one of the highest food waste generating countries in the world per head of population with over 7.3 million tonnes of food waste generated in Australia in 2008.Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising and environmentally sustainable organic waste treatment technology which digests organic waste into a stabilise residue and generate biogas, which can be used to produce energy. Despite large-scale application of AD in the USA and Europe, AD has not been applied widely in Australia. This paper investigates the challenges and opportunities of managing organic waste in South Australia using AD. Following a comprehensive literature review of AD technologies in relation to challenges, barriers and scope of implication in the global context, the study forecast the bio-energy production potential in South Australia using AD. This paper finds that the small AD plant could generate 39kWh from around 589 tonnes of food waste annually. The study also forecast the bio-energy potential by 2021 and if 15% of South Australia’s food waste (of year 2021) were treated with AD, a 256kWh energy could be generated. The addition of poultry waste would dramatically increase the proposed plant size up to 3556kWh. This would be a large energy plant that would be a considerable contributor to the SA power grid, provide a level of SA energy security.The payback time for all plant sizes is between 2.5-3.5 years

The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is primarily responsible for collecting and managing waste in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A significant amount of waste in Dhaka is not collected due to lack of infrastructure, funds and collection vehicles. Despites Dhaka’s limited waste management service, community based door-to-door waste collection from households to local waste bins is considered as a success. Informal waste recycling systems is also highly effective in waste recycling and job creations for the poor. Even though both horizontal and vertical expansion is prevalent in Dhaka, there has been an increasing trend in vertical expansion of the city in recent years as horizontal expansion is not possible due to barriers such as the built up urban core and low lying flood plains. Very limited number of studies has been conducted on waste management system in high-rise residential buildings in Dhaka. Therefore, this study focuses on the waste management scenario of high-rise residential buildings in Dhaka. The study is particularly interested in the socio-demographic, cultural and environmental features in high-rise residential buildings. The study identified key areas in waste management systems in high-rise residential buildings which is the avenue for future studies for integrating waste management strategies in high density residential development in Dhaka. Based on the findings, the study recommends a further examination of the integration of waste management infrastructure in the high-rise residential building development in Dhaka. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Zero waste is a visionary concept for confronting waste problems in our society. The idea is being developed and implemented in various sectors including waste management and treatment, mining, manufacturing, and urban development. The zero waste concept has been embraced by policymakers because it stimulates sustainable production and consumption, optimum recycling and resource recovery. Professionals in waste management systems, however, perceive and apply it in different ways. This study aims to conceptualize zero waste development based on a critical review of available academic journal publications. Very few studies have been found in the domains of zero waste design, assessment and evaluation that have examined production, and sustainable consumption. This study reveals that the scope of the zero waste studies is diverse, and a zero waste concept is constantly developing through various programmes, plans, policies and strategies. The findings of this review study suggest that the zero waste programmes are applied in many countries without any holistic zero waste strategy. The study emphasizes that countries might be able to achieve zero waste goals by developing a national zero waste strategy and by integrating and promoting zero waste initiatives (in communities and industry) through waste management policy. This article presents a critical review of the major studies conducted by researchers on zero waste in the last decades. Based on the review findings the study concludes that zero waste concept has been applied widely in different phases of production and waste management systems. The findings of the study assist to identify priority areas of zero waste strategy and to develop national zero waste guidelines. Thus, this study can be useful to policy and decision makers in developing the evidence-based zero waste guidelines. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Currently, the world’s cities generate about 1.3 billion tonnes of solid waste per year and the volume is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025 [1]. Waste generation rates will more than double over the next twenty years in lower income countries. However, this current trend of generating waste is not a recent practice; it comes from the very early stages of modern society. So how would it be possible to transform current cities into zero waste cities?

The concept of ‘zero waste’ management has emerged as an innovative way to tackle waste problems. A number of researchers have already defined the concept in different ways. Zero waste management is a holistic waste management concept that recognises waste as a resource which is produced at the inter-mediate phase of the resource consumption process. To measure the performance and progress in zero waste management, it is important to have certain indicators that sketch different waste management systems and predict effective development scenarios. A number of indicators on waste management systems have already been developed by many researchers in many cities and countries. The currently available indicators are not yet sufficiently integrated and identified as key indicators for assessing waste management systems. Therefore, in a significant number of waste management researches, dissimilar reporting, data representation and assessment indicators have been used without a proper comparative benchmark.This study is aimed to identify the core zero waste indicators which could be used to assess the performance of the zero waste management systems. A set of indicators have been identified by waste experts as the key indicators for the zero waste management systems. After an intensive literature review, the zero waste indicators were broadly categorised in seven different domains such as geo-administrative, socio-cultural, management, economic, environmental, organisational and policy. A total of 238 indicators were identified as preliminary zero waste indicators and sent to the number of 650 highly experienced waste professionals around the globe for their feedback. About 31 (n = 31) professionals participated (response rate 4.8%) in the online survey and rated the indicators from not needed to very high priority. About 165 indicators were rated as potential indicators for the assessment of zero waste management. As 165 indicators are still very comprehensive, for practical application, 56 indicators were identified as the most important indicators for zero waste management systems and were rated as nearly very high priority indicators by the waste experts. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Waste is a symbol of inefficiency in modern society and represents misallocated resources. This paper outlines an on-going interdisciplinary research project entitled "Integrated ETWW demand forecasting and scenario planning for low-carbon precincts" and reports on first findings and a literature review. This large multi-stakeholder research project develops a shared platform for integrated ETWW (energy, transport, waste and water) planning in a low-carbon urban future, focusing on synergies and alternative approaches to urban planning. The aim of the project is to develop a holistic integrated software tool for demand forecasting and scenario evaluation for residential precincts, covering the four domains, ETWW, using identified commonalities in data requirements and model formulation. The authors of this paper are overseeing the waste domain. A major component of the project will be developing a method for including the impacts of household behavior change in demand forecasting, as well as assessing the overall carbon impacts of urban developments or redevelopments of existing precincts. The resulting tool will allow urban planners, municipalities and developers to assess the future total demands for energy, transport, waste and water whilst in the planning phase. The tool will also help to assess waste management performance and materials flow in relation to energy and water consumption and travel behavior, supporting the design and management of urban systems in different city contexts. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Waste-to-energy technologies are considered as one of the key waste treatment technologies due to their energy and heat recovery efficiencies from the waste. A number of research studies were accomplished to understand the potential environmental burdens from emerging waste treatment technologies such as pyrolysis-gasification (PG). The aim of this study was to examine the PG of municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment process through a life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The study also includes a comparative LCA model of PG and incineration to identify the potential environmental burdens from the existing (incineration) and emerging (PG) waste treatment technologies. This study focused on ten environmental impact categories under two different scenarios, namely: (a) LCA model of PG and (b) comparative LCA model of PG and incineration. The scenario (a) showed that PG had significant environmental burdens in the aquatic eco-toxicity and the global warming potential impact categories. The comparative scenario (b) of PG and incineration of MSW showed that PG had comparatively lower potential environmental burdens in acidification, eutrophication, and aquatic eco-toxicity. Both LCA models showed that the environmental burdens were mainly caused by the volume of the thermal gas (emissions) produced from these two technologies and the final residue to disposal. Therefore, the results indicate that the efficiency and environmental burdens of the emerging technologies are dependent on the emissions and the production of final residue to the landfill Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The consumption-driven society today produces an enormous amount of waste, which puts pressures on land, pollutes the environment and creates economic burden. 'Zero waste' concept, a whole system approach aiming to achieve no waste along the materials flow through society, has become one of the most visionary concepts for tackling growing waste problems. System Dynamics (SD) approach is applied in the proposed framework for designing the waste management in a zero waste residential precinct. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is incorporated to supplement the SD framework to evaluate the total cost and benefit of waste and resources throughout the material flow chain. The authors proposed a list of parameters under the categories of process, technology and infrastructure, socio-economic and institutional, social- environment, to be tested in future case study of Bowden village, SA, Australia. The framework provides an inventory of leverage points that helps policy-makers design waste policies and allocate resources effectively, with minimum environmental impact and optimum social benefits. It also helps planning professionals and business stakeholders better understand the costs and benefits of different scenarios for achieving a zero waste residential precinct. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The global gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 40% during 1960-2000; poverty and inequity have also increased over the same time [1]. Many social scientists and economists have indicted the existing monetary-based corporate social structures with their insignificant contribution to the problem solving and social development processes. Waste is one of the major problems in every city around the globe. This study explores policy instruments in existing profit maximizing business systems and proposes an alternative business approach for the zero waste management systems. The paper proposes a conceptualized social business model for waste management systems based on a case study of two different organizations working in waste management systems in low and high consuming cities. “Waste Concern”, on one hand, is a social business enterprise, promoting waste recycling activities through the community-based decentralized composting technology using public-private community partnerships model in a low consuming city i.e. Dhaka. “Finding Workable Solutions”, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that rehabilitates and empowers disabled peoples in high consuming city, i.e. Adelaide by collecting and transforming sellable household waste. This paper argues that waste management social business would be an opportunity for the corporate world to implement the strategy of extended producer responsibility in more successful way. Under this business model, producers can contribute more significantly in the social development process, promote value creation, ensure product stewardship and equity within the society. In addition, the conceptualized waste management social business model will endorse closed-loop resource flow in the society and will maximize resource utilization through recycling, reusing and re-gifting in the circular society. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Given our rapid depletion of resources, especially raw materials, and Australiaâs ever-increasing waste creation, itâs time to ask: what are the best ways to encourage resource recovery and recycling to get to âzero wasteâ? South Australiaâs money-back container recycling scheme is a success story, with bottle-recycling rates the highest in the country. But the question is whether we achieve zero waste through recycling alone. Our research says: no. The focus needs to be on avoiding waste creation in the first place. We have to re-think the way we design and construct products and buildings to make it easier to re-use or disassemble them at the end of their life.

Today, many developed cities such as Stockholm, and Adelaide are aiming to transform their current waste management practice into a more efficient and sustainable way, called zero waste practice. Increasingly people move from rural to urban environments due to the economic activities and quality of life provided to inhabitants, causing cities to expand. Over-crowded cities are compromising the quality of urban life due to their rapid growth and ever-increasing generation of waste. The concept of the " zero waste city" includes a 100% recycling rate and recovery of all resources from waste materials. However, transforming current over-consuming cities to zero waste cities is challenging. Therefore, this study aims to understand the key drivers of waste management and the challenges, threats, and opportunities in transforming traditional waste streams and optimizing practices toward zero waste practices. Part of this study is an in-depth case analysis of waste management systems in two cities, Adelaide and Stockholm. Cities from high consuming countries, such as Australia and Sweden, have been analyzed based on five waste management contexts: social, economic, political, technological, and environmental. In addition, key drivers are identified. Both Adelaide and Stockholm have the vision to become " zero waste cities". The study concludes that strategies based on tools, systems, and technologies can assist cities in their transformation into " zero waste cities" ; however, they must also be affordable, practicable, and effective within their local regulatory framework Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Sustainable waste management requires an integrated planning and design strategy for reliable forecasting of waste generation, collection, recycling, treatment and disposal for the successful development of future residential precincts. The success of the future development and management of waste relies to a high extent on the accuracy of the prediction and on a comprehensive understanding of the overall waste management systems. This study defies the traditional concepts of waste, in which waste was considered as the last phase of production and services, by putting forward the new concept of waste as an intermediate phase of production and services. The study aims to develop a demand forecasting tool called ‘zero waste index’ (ZWI) for measuring the natural resources recouped from municipal solid waste. The ZWI (ZWI demand forecasting tool) quantifies the amount of virgin materials recovered from solid waste and subsequently reduces extraction of natural resources. In addition, the tool estimates the potential amount of energy, water and emissions avoided or saved by the improved waste management system. The ZWI is tested in a case study of waste management systems in two developed cities: Adelaide (Australia) and Stockholm (Sweden). The ZWI of waste management systems in Adelaide and Stockholm is 0.33 and 0.17 respectively. The study also enumerates per capita energy savings of 2.9 GJ and 2.83 GJ, greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 0.39 tonnes (CO2e) and 0.33 tonnes (CO2e), as well as water savings of 2.8 kL and 0.92 kL in Adelaide and Stockholm respectively.