Waste Management

The working group Future Waste & Waste Management is primarily concerned with systemically oriented issues of waste management and the life cycle assessment of waste management material flows and processes.

One focus of the working group is the systematic recording and evaluation of fire events in waste and resource management.

In addition, ways and implementation potentials are sought and researched in order to make waste management companies and their processing, treatment and recycling processes more sustainable or climate-neutral.

Future Waste

Wastes of the future (so-called Future Wastes) are characterized by the fact that they

1. potentially show scientific and technological advances,
2. are often technologically very complex, and
3. have already entered the anthropogenic stock within a (short) period of time or will do so in the near future.

This usually results in special waste management conditions such as

1. the lack of specialized treatment and recovery pathways,
2. low initial volumes but high rates of increase in waste generation, and
3. resulting major challenges for disposal and recycling operations.

The working group therefore focuses on the challenges of these partly "novel" waste streams and their special characteristics.

Three successfully completed research projects in the field of "Future Wastes" are highlighted here as examples:

1. LIBRES & LCA
2. BAT-Safe - Impacts and risk analysisBAT-Safe of batteries in waste management systems
3. PVRe2 - Sustainable photovoltaics