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•Circular bioeconomy is elucidated through sustainable food waste management.•Global situations and policies of food waste management are comprehensively reviewed.•Research prospects ...of food waste management in bioeconomy are discussed.
Research attention is increasingly drawn on constructing a circular bioeconomy and enhancing the value of material flows. Circular bioeconomy aims to achieve sustainable consumption and production with reduction of greenhouse gas emission. This study identifies research gaps on how circular bioeconomy can be achieved through sustainable food waste management by comparing the similarities and differences in concepts of bioeconomy and circular economy, reviewing the benefits and limitations of the existing policies, and evaluating the global situations of food waste and its management on household and commercial basis to promote circular bioeconomy. Future development on food waste management is expected to capitalise on the multi-functionality of products, boundary and allocation in a circular system, and trade-off between food waste and resources. With future technological advances, food waste management in circular bioeconomy policy can facilitate the accomplishment of sustainable development goals.
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•Theory of planned behaviour for waste recycling is built on interview and questionnaire.•Regulatory compliance and Economic incentives determine recycling intention.•Industry ...concerns Regulatory compliance while Public concerns Economic incentives.•Recognition of Accreditation scheme is needed to facilitate closed-loop material flow.
Changing individual’s recycling attitude and behaviour is of utmost importance in achieving sustainable construction and demolition (C&D) waste management, yet it has often been underachieved. To understand the motivations for recycling, this study identifies and prioritizes the key factors that affect C&D waste recycling behaviour of various stakeholders in Hong Kong (i.e., representatives from construction-waste-related organizations, environmental consultants and contractors, and government engineers) in a quantitative manner using statistical tools. Different from traditional C&D waste behavioural determinants studies, this paper utilizes an integrated analytical method through semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaire on the basis of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Qualitative thematic analysis and quantitative frequency analysis were performed to analyse responses from semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, followed by correlation analysis to quantify the relationships between factors. Results indicated that four key factors: (i) regulatory compliance, (ii) economic incentives, (iii) accreditation scheme, and (iv) logistics and management incentives directly influenced recycling behaviour of individuals. Regulatory compliance was the most determining factor for consultants, contractors, experts, and government officials, whereas economic incentives were of great concern to the public. Under the factor of economic incentives, strong positive relationships were identified between disposal costs and collection and sorting costs, thus increasing waste disposal charging fee may promote recycling behaviour. In comparison, accreditation scheme deserved better recognition to facilitate a closed-loop material flow in the construction industry. These findings help to devise more effective and stakeholder-oriented policy tools to raise awareness and encourage behavioural change towards C&D waste recycling, and assist policy makers to establish regulations and practices for sustainable resource management.
Energy service companies (ESCOs) have emerged to carry out energy efficiency retrofit projects, playing an essential role in mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in China. However, it remains ...unclear how exactly ESCOs contribute to CO2 mitigation during urbanization and industrialization. We conducted regression analyses on data collected in 29 provinces in China as the first case study to investigate the moderating effect of ESCOs in relationships between urbanization, industrialization, and CO2 emissions. The results indicate that urbanization had a significantly negative influence on CO2 emissions. In contrast, industrialization displayed a statistically significant positive impact on CO2 emissions. ESCOs have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between industrialization, urbanization, and CO2 emissions. The analysis also revealed that ESCOs have a better performance in areas with lower industrialization and greater urbanization. ESCOs may invest more in regions with limited ESCO activities and huge CO2 emission reduction demand, while energy-saving technology innovation should be advocated in regions with sufficient ESCO activities.
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•Energy service companies (ESCOs) contribute to CO2 mitigation.•Relationships of industrialization, urbanization, and CO2 emissions are quantified.•Urbanization has a significant negative influence on CO2 emissions.•Industrialization shows a significant positive impact on CO2 emissions.•ESCOs exert an appreciable moderating effect on these relationships.
To tackle the crisis associated with the rising commercial food waste generation, it is imperative to comprehend how corporates’ recycling behaviour is influenced by different industry structures and ...economies. This study aims to fill in the information gap that various factors might be affecting corporates’ recycling behaviour in two different economies due to environmental inequality by comparing upper-middle-income region (Malaysia) and high-income region (Hong Kong), respectively. A questionnaire survey regarding food waste management according to the Theory of Planned Behaviour was conducted with representatives coming from diverse industries of the hotel, food and beverage, and property management. The questionnaire responses were evaluated based on quantitative structural equation modelling and correlation analysis. The analysis results showed that the model fit the data well, explaining 78% of the variance in recycling behaviour. The findings demonstrated that the most substantial factor on individual’s recycling intention by Malaysian commercial food waste generators was perceived behavioural control, and logistics and management incentives. Subjective norms demonstrated significant and adverse effects on the behaviour of food waste recycling. The variable of administrative incentives and corporate support presented strong positive correlations with moral attitudes as well as logistics and management incentives. Hotel industries from both Hong Kong and Malaysia have a higher acceptance level on human resources regarding food waste recycling. In comparison, food and beverage industries from both regions have a lower acceptance level. These findings could enrich our knowledge of the concerns in establishing regional policy strategies to encourage economic behavioural changes for sustainable development.
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•Commercial food waste recycling behaviour is compared in Hong Kong and Malaysia.•Latent variables’ relationships of recycling behaviour are revealed and quantified.•Malaysian concerns perceived behaviour control more than Hong Kong.•Malaysian food and beverages industry shows a higher acceptance in recycling costs.•Administrative incentives and corporate support are positively related to moral attitudes.
Extensive research has devoted to facilitating sustainable construction and demolition waste management. Waste disposal charging scheme is an effective tool in fostering waste reduction and ...minimising environmental burden. However, the determination of waste disposal charging fee was mostly designed for cost recovery at present rather than meeting the future needs. This study develops a generic system structure for determining an optimum waste disposal charging fee for sustainable development and elaborates dynamic relationships between social/economic factors and waste disposal charging fee. A comprehensive system dynamics model was constructed to predict the optimum waste disposal charging fee by integrating quantitative and qualitative factors from the literature and questionnaire survey, which was then validated with the historical data in Hong Kong. The use of this model assesses and projects the structure, interactions of the complex system in waste disposal charges in an integrated and holistic manner. Two sets of policy scenario analysis were conducted for evaluating the effects of the newly modified waste disposal charging fee implemented by the Hong Kong government and identifying an optimum range of waste disposal charging fee. The simulation results indicated that the newly modified waste disposal charging fee is ineffective to achieve construction and demolition waste reduction in the long term. To devise policy strategy for sustainable waste reduction, the optimum increment percentage on original landfill and public fill charging fees should not exceed 250% and 400%, respectively. The proposed model serves as a scientific approach for decision-makers to better design the architecture in the complex system of construction and demolition waste management.
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•Behavioural dynamic relationships of charge and waste management are identifed.•System dynamics model can be adopted to determine optimum waste charges.•Newly revised waste charge is insufficient to achieve sustainable waste reduction.•Optimum increases in landfill disposal and public fill fees are within 250% and 400%.•Understanding of generic system structure facilitates waste charge determination.
In recent years, the government and community have focused extensive attention on food waste recycling to achieve sustainable waste management. However, the motivation of stakeholders from the ...commercial and industrial sector to change recycling behaviour has not received enough attention. This study aimed to identify, prioritise, and quantify the relationships between key latent variables that affect the food waste recycling behaviour of relevant industries in Hong Kong (i.e. representatives from the hotel, food and beverages, and property management industries). This study integrated semi-structured interviews and a survey questionnaire on the basis of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, setting it apart from conventional studies on food waste behavioural factors. Qualitative content analysis and quantitative structural equation modelling were performed to analyse the interview and questionnaire responses, followed by correlation analysis to quantify the relationships between variables. The results demonstrate that food waste recycling behaviour is determined by three latent variables—administrative incentives and corporate support, logistics and management incentives, and economic incentives. Administrative incentives and corporate support demonstrate significant effects on recycling behaviour. Moral attitudes show a strong positive correlation with administrative incentives and corporate support. Similarly, there is a significant positive correlation between moral attitudes and logistics and management incentives. Administrative incentives and corporate support is the determining variable for the hotel and food and beverages industries, whereas logistics and management incentives are of the highest concern to property management representatives. These findings can facilitate the development of stakeholder-oriented policy to encourage corporate behavioural change towards food waste recycling for sustainable resource circulation.
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•Theory of planned behaviour is extended for food waste recycling.•Structured interviews and questionnaires reveal latent variables of recycling behaviour.•Hotel and Catering industries concern administrative incentives and corporate support.•Property management industry concerns logistics and management incentives.•Moral attitudes are positively correlated with the identified variables.
AIM: To compare the short term outcome of endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD) with that of laparoscopic colorectal resection(LC) for the treatment of early colorectal epithelial neoplasms that are ...not amenable to conventional endoscopic removal. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of all consecutive patients who underwent ESD for endoscopically assessed benign lesions that were larger than 2 cm in diameter from 2009 to 2013 were collected. These patients were compared with a cohort of controls who underwent LC from 2005 to 2013. Lesions that were proven to be malignant by initial endoscopic biopsies were excluded. Mid and lower rectal lesions were not included because total mesorectal excision, which bears a more complicated postoperative course, is not indicated for lesions without histological proof of malignancy. Both ESD and LC were performed by the same surgical unit with a standardized technique. The patients were managed according to a standard protocol, and they were closely monitored for complications after the procedures. All hospital records were reviewed, and the following data were compared between the ESD and LC groups: patient demographics, size and location of the lesions, procedure time, shortterm clinical outcomes and pathology results. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2013, 65 patients who underwent ESD and 55 patients who underwent LC were included in this study. The two groups were similar in terms of sex(P = 0.41) and American Society of Anesthesiologist class(P = 0.58), although patients in the ESD group were slightly older(68.6 ± 9.4 vs 64.6 ± 9.9, P = 0.03). ESD could be accomplished with a shorter procedure time(113 ± 66 min vs 153 ± 43 min, P < 0.01) for lesions of comparable size(3.0 ± 1.2 cm vs 3.4 ± 1.4 cm, P = 0.22) and location(colon/rectum:59/6 vs colon/rectum: 52/3, P = 0.43). ESD appeared to be associated with a lower short-term complication rate, but the difference did not reach statistical significance(10.8% vs 23.6%, P = 0.06). In the LC arm, a total of 22 complications occurred in 13 patients. A total of 7 complications occurred in the ESD arm, including 5 perforations and 2 episodes of bleeding. All perforations were observed during the procedure and were successfully managed by endoscopic clipping without emergency surgical intervention. Patients in the ESD arm had a faster recovery than patients in the LC arm, which included shorter time to resume normal diet(2 d vs 4 d, P = 0.01) and a shorter hospital stay(3 d vs 6 d, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: ESD showed better short-term clinical outcomes in this study. Further prospective randomized studies will be required to evaluate the efficacy and superiority of colorectal ESD over LC.
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