How can we further develop our understanding of key waste materials?
Background
Question Group: Focused on advancing circular economy practices through systems thinking, behavioural insights, and material analysis.
Sub-questions: -How can analytical techniques be developed and improved to determine waste composition and biodegradability?
-What do we need to understand about the lifecycle of current and future products and materials, including how product and design decisions shape resource use and demand, and end-of-life outcomes?
-How can we improve understanding of chemical recycling of plastics, and how will design for recyclability enable or constrain these technologies?
-Which are Scotland's key or critical raw materials for a circular economy future?
-What opportunities exist for improving the performance of commercial waste and recycling services in Scotland, including learning from international best practice and considering how upstream product and system design can reduce waste generation and processing barriers?
-What aspects of radioactive waste policy require support at the devolved Scottish level?
Next steps
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Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Environment natural resources agriculture research strategy 2027 2032
Research fields
Related UKRI funded projects
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Waste Insights - A Downstream Supply Chain Revolution
One of the biggest barriers to scaling the circular economy is maintaining visibility and control over manufactured materials when they enter the waste system. The circular economy dictates that this material or product ...
Funded by: ISCF
Lead research organisation: TOPOLYTICS LTD
Why might this be relevant?
This project focuses on turning the waste system into a downstream materials supply chain, enabling identification and recovery of waste materials, aligning with the goal of understanding key waste materials.
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Finding materials efficiencies with WasteMap®
One of the biggest barriers to scaling the circular economy is maintaining visibility and control over manufactured materials when they enter the waste system. The circular economy dictates that this material or product ...
Funded by: ISCF
Lead research organisation: TOPOLYTICS LTD
Why might this be relevant?
Similar to the previous project, this project aims to turn the waste system into an efficient materials supply chain, aligning with the goal of understanding key waste materials.
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FARRM: Fiberight Advanced Recovery and Recycling of Materials
Covid-19 has impacted many sectors; one such sector is the waste management and recycling industry. The sector is facing many challenges; increasing levels of waste generated by households during the pandemic and disrupt...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: FIBERIGHT LIMITED
Why might this be relevant?
While this project focuses on advanced recovery and recycling of materials, it does not directly address the specific questions related to understanding waste composition, biodegradability, and circular economy practices.