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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2019) | Viewed by 70567

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xianlai Zeng

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Guest Editor

School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: urban mining; resource evaluation; E-waste management; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jujun Ruan

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Guest Editor

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: e-waste recycling; circular economy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid urbanization and global industrialization are experiencing serious environmental pollution and rapid resource depletion. Many countries are approaching limits to growth. To fight against this situation, circular economy is increasingly regarded as an effective solution. A circular economy is an industrial system focused on closing the loop for material and energy flows and contributing to long-term sustainability for the environment and resources.

Many efforts have been carried out in clean production and waste recycling. However, circular economy around the world is still facing many challenges: (1) fundamental science in material, chemistry, health, and ecology; (2) technical processes: Metallurgy, and environmental engineering; (3) regulation and policy: legislation system, economic and environmental policy. Therefore, this Special Issue will focus on the latest progress in circular economy, mainly involving:
• Waste recycling and urban mining
• Resource recycling and sustainability
• Regional environment and sustainability
• Environmental improvement and health
• Green chemistry and material
• MFA, LCA, and BCA
• Material and urban metabolism

Dr. Xianlai Zeng
Dr. Jujun Ruan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

resource sustainablility
waste recycling
urban mining
environmental policy
public health
life cycle

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 761 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Hinders the Development of Green Building? An Investigation of China

by Zezhou Wu, Mingyang Jiang, Yuzhu Cai, Hao Wang and Shenghan Li

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3140; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173140 - 28 Aug 2019

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 5496

Abstract

With the rapid development of the economy, people are paying more and more attention to the environmental problems. In this circumstance, the concept of a circular economy is proposed for making efficient use of resources and minimizing the production of waste and other emissions. Each year, the construction sector consumes a vast volume of resources and makes impacts on the environment. To align with the development of the circular economy, the concept of green building is proposed. In China, though the concept of green building has been promoted for decades, the development status is far from optimistic. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the barriers that hinder green building development (GBD) in China. Through a systematic review and semi-structured interviews with experienced industrial practitioners, 24 potential barriers of GBD in China were identified. A questionnaire survey was then conducted for data collection. After descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was established to investigate the impacts of different barriers on GBD. Results showed that the lack of policy and industry guidance, the immature market environment, and the lack of environmental awareness are the most important GBD barriers in China. This research can assist stakeholders in better understanding the status of GBD in China and enable decision-makers to formulate appropriate strategies to promote green building. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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21 pages, 2357 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainability Indicators Concerning Waste Management for Implementation of the Circular Economy Model on the University of Lome (Togo) Campus

by Lucía Salguero-Puerta, Juan Carlos Leyva-Díaz, Francisco Joaquín Cortés-García and Valentín Molina-Moreno

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(12), 2234; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122234 - 25 Jun 2019

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 7411

Abstract

The circular economy aims to reduce the volume of waste generated in the world, transforming it into resources. The concept of indicator of circular economy was introduced to evaluate the improvement obtained regarding efficiency in terms of reduction, reuse and recycling of waste generated on the campus of the University of Lome (Togo). These indicators showed that 59.5% of the waste generated on the campus in 2018 could be introduced into the circular economy paradigm through composting, and 27.0% of the energy consumed could be replaced by clean energy obtained from biogas. The entire plastic fraction can be introduced into the circular economy paradigm by reusing plastic bottles and selling the rest in the port of the city. Thus, the income obtained could range from €15.5/day in 2018 to €34.5/day in 2027. Concerning old tires, 1.5% of the rubber needed to pave the entire roadway of the campus could be replaced by the waste generated by the tires currently existing there. Consequently, waste management on the campus could be controlled thanks to these indicators, and this could serve as a model for the rest of the country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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Graphical abstract

10 pages, 1948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Life Cycle Assessment of Plywood Manufacturing Process in China

by Liangliang Jia, Jie Chu, Li Ma, Xuemin Qi and Anuj Kumar

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(11), 2037; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112037 - 08 Jun 2019

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6655

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been an important issue in the development of a circular economy. LCA is used to identify environmental impacts and hotspots associated with plywood manufacturing. Based on our results and a literature review of LCA studies involving plywood, a sustainable and environmentally friendly scenario was proposed for the plywood processing industry to improve environmental performance and sustainability. This study covers the life cycle of plywood production from a cradle-to-gate perspective, including raw material preparation and plywood manufacturing and processing to analysis of environment impacts and hotspots. Analysis of abiotic depletion (ADP), acidification effect (AP), primary energy depletion (PED), freshwater eutrophication (EP), global warming potential (GWP), and particulate matter (RI) were selected as major impact categories in this study. All data were obtained from on-site measurements (plywood production) and investigations of the Eco-invent database and CLCD database (upstream data of materials and energy). These data can be ignored when environmental contributions comprise less than 0.001% of environmental impact and auxiliary material quality is less than 0.01% of total raw material consumption. An eco-design strategy with eco-alternatives was proposed: pyrolysis bio-oil can be used to produce green resin to replace traditional phenolic formaldehyde (PF) resin to decrease the impacts of GWP, PED, AP, PM, and especially ADP and EP. A new technology of gluing green wood was used to replace conventional plywood production technology; wood waste could undergo a gasification process to produce resultant gas rather than combusting. Plywood was also compared with other wood-based panels in China to identify additional scenarios to improve environmental sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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Graphical abstract

26 pages, 6237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Municipal Waste Collection Routing: Impact of Industry 4.0 Technologies on Environmental Awareness and Sustainability

by Tamás Bányai, Péter Tamás, Béla Illés, Živilė Stankevičiūtė and Ágota Bányai

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(4), 634; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16040634 - 21 Feb 2019

Cited by 90 | Viewed by 11592

Abstract

The accelerated movement of people towards cities led to the fact that the world’s urban population is now growing by 60-million persons per year. The increased number of cities’ population has a significant impact on the produced volume of household waste, which must be collected and recycled in time. The collection of household waste, especially in downtown areas, has a wide range of challenges; the collection system must be reliable, flexible, cost efficient, and green. Within the frame of this paper, the authors describe the application possibilities of Industry 4.0 technologies in waste collection solutions and the optimization potential in their processes. After a systematic literature review, this paper introduces the waste collection process of downtowns as a cyber-physical system. A mathematical model of this waste collection process is described, which incorporates routing, assignment, and scheduling problems. The objectives of the model are the followings: (1) optimal assignment of waste sources to garbage trucks; (2) scheduling of the waste collection through routing of each garbage truck to minimize the total operation cost, increase reliability while comprehensive environmental indicators that have great impact on public health are to be taken into consideration. Next, a binary bat algorithm is described, whose performance is validated with different benchmark functions. The scenario analysis validates the model and then evaluates its performance to increase the cost-efficiency and warrant environmental awareness of waste collection process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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20 pages, 777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decisions of the Dual-Channel Supply Chain under Double Policy Considering Remanufacturing

by Dingzhong Feng, Lei Ma, Yangke Ding, Guanghua Wu and Ye Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(3), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16030465 - 05 Feb 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3438

Abstract

Considering the preference of green consumers for remanufactured products, a dual-sale-channel supply chain model with government non-intervention, government remanufacturing subsidy policy, and carbon tax policy is constructed, respectively. The difference of the optimal decision between the firm and the government under the two policies is discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, we analyze the influence of green consumers on the government’s optimal decision, based on social welfare maximization. It is found that without government intervention, social welfare is the lowest. The carbon tax policy is better when the proportion of green consumers and the environmental coefficient are extreme or moderate at the same time. Otherwise, the subsidy policy is better. The carbon tax policy is more effective than the subsidy policy in controlling carbon emissions. Profit-sharing contracts should be established by enterprises and governments to achieve win–win results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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18 pages, 2596 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fair but Risky? Recycle Pricing Strategies in Closed-Loop Supply Chains

by Jianhong He, Lei Zhang, Xiao Fu and Fu-Sheng Tsai

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2870; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122870 - 14 Dec 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2814

Abstract

We argue that a Nash bargaining model with behavioral factors (i.e., fairness concern and risk aversion) should be introduced to the price strategizing process in the context of a closed-loop supply chain. We consider three different pricing models: The first is when both the manufacturer and the retailer have fairness concerns; the second is when both the manufacturer and the retailer have risk aversion; and the final is when the manufacturer has risk aversion but the retailer has both risk aversion and fairness concern. Then we examine the model with game theory. The results have shown that fairness and risk aversion change the optimal pricing strategy, which affects the expected profits of retailers and manufacturers. The impacts of two (relatively irrational) behavioral factors on the wholesale and retail prices of new products, the recycle price and recycle transfer price of the waste products, are not the same. For new products, the wholesale price is most affected by behavioral factors and the sales price scores second. For waste recycling products, the transfer price is most affected by behavioral factors and the recycle price scores second. When considering fairness and risk aversion in retail, fairness concern is good for both manufacturers and retailers. This innovative pricing strategy model adds implications for sustainability in supply chain operations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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28 pages, 5529 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drivers of China’s Industrial Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Joint PDA and LMDI Approaches

by Feng Dong, Xinqi Gao, Jingyun Li, Yuanqing Zhang and Yajie Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2712; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122712 - 01 Dec 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3104

Abstract

As the world’s top carbon-emitting country, China has placed great emphasis on understanding the driving factors of carbon emissions and developing appropriate emissions reduction policies. Due to the obvious variations in carbon emissions among various industries in China, corresponding policies need to be formulated for different industries. Through data envelopment analysis, this study introduced the Shephard distance function into the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) for decomposition analysis, built a carbon emissions decomposition model of 23 industries in China during 2003–2015, and analyzed the impact of 10 factors driving carbon emissions. The main results are as follows. (1) Potential gross domestic production (GDP) is a crucial factor for increasing carbon emissions, whereas potential energy intensity and technological advances of carbon emissions have a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emissions; (2) the technological progress of energy usage and the technological advances of GDP output are manifested by inhibiting carbon emissions at the early stage of development and increasing emissions at the later stage; (3) the structure of coal-based energy consumption is difficult to change in the long term, resulting in a weak effect of energy mix on carbon emissions and an increase in carbon emissions due to the potential energy carbon intensity factor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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14 pages, 3029 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Worldwide Research on Circular Economy and Environment: A Bibliometric Analysis

by José Luis Ruiz-Real, Juan Uribe-Toril, Jaime De Pablo Valenciano and Juan Carlos Gázquez-Abad

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2699; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122699 - 29 Nov 2018

Cited by 96 | Viewed by 8330

Abstract

The relevance of circular economy to environmental science has led to a notable increase of research works during the last few years. It is very important to know the evolution of the publications that relate these two concepts, as well as the main areas of knowledge in which these investigations are framed. The purpose is to understand and highlight the state of art of circular economy and the role and relationship of the environment. Bibliometric analysis allows to evaluate developments in knowledge on a specific subject and assesses the scientific influence of researches and sources. This paper analyses the worldwide research dynamics on circular economy in the period from 2006 to 2017. A bibliometric analysis of 743 articles was completed. The most productive journals in this field were Journal of Cleaner Production. The five most productive countries were China, United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. Works on the circular economy and environment has considerable potential and it is open to research fields as sustainability or industrial production. The findings of this study could prove useful for studies into environmental circular economy, as they show a global sight of this line of study. Thus, the article represents a contribution to identify the main trends in circular economy research and environment and, from there, propose future research initiatives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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16 pages, 605 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Subsidies and Tax Deductions on Promoting the Construction of Long-Life Quality Houses in Japan

by Ken’ichi Matsumoto, Yuki Yamamoto and Nao Ohya

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(11), 2376; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112376 - 26 Oct 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3470

Abstract

Securing a quantity of houses for citizens has been the priority of housing policies in Japan. However, these policies shifted from quantity to quality in the 21st century, including the promotion of “long-life quality housing (LLQH)”, which contributes to a sustainable and healthy society for the residential sector. Since then, various policies have been introduced at the national and prefectural (local) levels to promote the construction of LLQH. Using panel data for 47 prefectures across seven years, this study aims to analyze the factors that Japanese households choose when constructing LLQH. Although various research on LLQH and similar housing exists, this study is the first attempt to empirically explore the factors that promote LLQH. We found that policy measures covering only LLQH were generally effective in promoting the construction of LLQH, and these policy measures were more effective than those covering both LLQH and other types of housing. National-level measures tended to be effective, whereas prefectural-level measures were not. Furthermore, although the effects of individual measures differed, the overall effects of policy measures were confirmed. In conclusion, providing economic incentives had a positive effect on promoting LLQH, and such measures were successful in achieving the intended purpose. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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22 pages, 2132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Environmental Quality Improvement and Emission Reduction Targets Be Realized Simultaneously? Evidence from China and A Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression Model

by Feng Dong, Yue Wang and Xiaojie Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(11), 2343; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112343 - 24 Oct 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2773

Abstract

The reductions of industrial pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are important actions to create an ecologically stable civilization. However, there are few reports on the interaction and variation between them. In this study, the vertical and horizontal scatter degree method is used to calculate a comprehensive index of industrial pollution emissions. Then based on carbon density, a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is developed to examine the interaction between industrial pollution emissions and carbon emissions. The results specify that there exists spatial autocorrelation for carbon density in China. Overall, the average effect of industrial pollution emissions on carbon density is positive. This indicates that industrial pollution emissions play a driving role in carbon density on the whole, while there are temporal and spatial differences in the interactions at the provincial level. According to the Herfindahl index, neither time nor space can be neglected. Moreover, according to the traditional division of eastern, central and western regions in China, the situation in 30 provinces is examined. Results show that there is little difference in the parameter-estimated results between neighboring provinces. In many provinces, the pull effect of industrial pollution emissions on carbon density is widespread. Thus, carbon emissions could be reduced by controlling industrial pollution emissions in more than 60% of regions. In a few other regions, such as Shanghai and Heilongjiang, the industrial pollution emissions do not have a pull effect on carbon density. But due to spatial and temporal heterogeneity, the effects are different in different regions at different times. It is necessary to consider the reasons for the changes combined with other factors. Finally, the empirical results support pertinent suggestions for controlling future emissions, such as optimizing energy mix and reinforcing government regulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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20 pages, 1804 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Industrial Structural Adjustment Improve the Total-Factor Carbon Emission Performance in China?

by Zhonghua Cheng and Xiai Shi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(10), 2291; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102291 - 18 Oct 2018

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3173

Abstract

How to improve the industrial total-factor carbon emission performance (TCPI), or total-factor carbon productivity, through industrial structural adjustment, is crucial to China’s energy conservation and emission reduction and sustainable growth. In this paper, we use a dynamic spatial panel model to empirically analyze the effect of industrial structural adjustment on TCPI of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2015. The results show that most of the provinces with high TCPI are located in the eastern coastal areas, while the provinces with relatively low TCPI are to be found in the central and western regions. The spatial auto-correlation tests show that there are significant global spatial auto-correlation and local spatial agglomeration characteristics in TCPI. The regression results of the dynamic spatial panel models show that at the national level, the structure of industrialization, the industrial structure of heavy industrialization, the coal-based energy consumption structure and the endowment structure have significant negative effects on the improvement of TCPI. The expansion of industrial enterprise scale, on the other hand, is conducive to an improvement in TCPI while the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) structure and ownership structure on TCPI are not significant. At the regional level, there are certain differences in the effects of different types of industrial structural adjustment on TCPI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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14 pages, 1216 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temporal and Spatial Differentiations in Environmental Governance

by Benhong Peng, Yue Li, Guo Wei and Ehsan Elahi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(10), 2242; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102242 - 12 Oct 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2550

Abstract

With the general degradation of environmental carrying capacity in recent years, many developing countries are facing with the dual task of economic development and environmental protection. To explore the issue of urban environmental governance, in this research, we establish a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to investigate the environmental governance regarding temporal and spatial efficiency. Further, we deconstruct environmental governance efficiency into comprehensive efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency and develop a Tobit model to analyze the influencing factors affecting urban environmental governance efficiency. In addition, the above DEA, Tobit model, and deconstruction of efficiency have been applied to study environmental governance efficiency for the Yangtze River urban agglomeration. Findings include: (1) The gap in environmental governance efficiency between cities is highly noticeable, as the highest efficiency index is 0.934, the lowest is only 0.246, and the comprehensive efficiency index has fallen sharply from 0.708 to 0.493 in the past 10 years; (2) Environmental governance efficiency is basically driven by technological progress, while the scale efficiency change index is the main driver of the technological progress change index; (3) For environmental governance efficiency, urbanization and capital openness are irrelevant factors, economic level and urban construction are unfavorable factors, and industrial structure and population density are favorable factors. These findings will help urban agglomerations to effectively avoid the adverse effects of environmental governance efficiency in economic development, and achieve a coordinated development of urban construction and environmental governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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21 pages, 2949 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Competition among Supply Chains and Governmental Policy: Considering Consumers’ Low-Carbon Preference

by Xujin Pu, Zhiping Song and Guanghua Han

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(9), 1985; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15091985 - 12 Sep 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3416

Abstract

Many manufacturers and retailers have cooperated for low-carbon production in various industries. This study examines the role of consumers’ low-carbon preference in this cooperation. We construct four scenarios to investigate the effects of consumers’ low-carbon preference on the market equilibrium of supply chains’ product selection strategy. Based on the game theoretic models, optimal solutions for the two supply chains are derived with different consumers’ preference for low-carbon products. Through the discussion, we uncovered the influence of consumers’ preference on price and demand and the relationship between the influence coefficient of retailers’ promotional effort on consumers’ utility and retailer profits. In addition, given the increase of government’s low-carbon production subsidy, two supply chains will both more likely choose low-carbon production. Interestingly, under the government subsidy, the profit of manufacturer will increase or decrease more than its retailer and the market structure will not change if the two supply chains have chosen low-carbon production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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23 pages, 2094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Going Green or Going Away? A Spatial Empirical Examination of the Relationship between Environmental Regulations, Biased Technological Progress, and Green Total Factor Productivity

by Xueli Wang, Caizhi Sun, Song Wang, Zhixiong Zhang and Wei Zou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(9), 1917; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15091917 - 03 Sep 2018

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 5274

Abstract

China’s economic development has resulted in significant resource consumption and environmental damage. However, technological progress is important for achieving coordinated economic development and environmental protection. Appropriate environmental regulation policies are also important. Although green total factor productivity, environmental regulations, and technological progress vary by location, few studies have been conducted from a spatial perspective. However, spatial spillover effects should be taken into consideration. This study used energy consumption, the sum of physical capital stock and ecological service value as total capital stock, the number of employed people as inputs, sulfur dioxide emissions as undesired outputs, and green GDP as total output to obtain green TFP through a slacks-based measure (SBM) global Malmquist-Luenberger Index. This study also estimated China’s biased technological progress under environmental constraints from 2004 to 2015 based on relevant data (e.g., green GDP, total capital stock, and employment figures). The relationship between green total factor productivity (GTFP), technological progress, and environmental regulation was then examined using a spatial Durbin model. Results were as follows: (1) Based on the complementary elements, although the labor costs gradually increase, the rapid accumulation of capital leads to technological progress that is biased toward capital. However, technological progress in the labor bias can significantly increase GTFP. (2) There is a u-shaped relationship between existing environmental regulations and GTFP. Technological progress can significantly promote GTFP in the surrounding areas through existing environmental regulations. (3) Under spatial weight, the secondary industry coefficient was negative while human capital stock and FDID had positive effects on GTFP. Technological progress is the source of economic growth. It is therefore necessary to promote biased technological development and improve labor-force skills while implementing effective environmental regulation policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy from Process to Policy)

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