Glossary

Actuators

An actuator is a component of a machine that is responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system.

Business model

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural, or other contexts. The process of business model construction and modification is also called business model innovation and forms a part of business strategy.

Cascading

Cascading is a term that is used to demonstrate that material cycles are not perfect. Each time a material has to be recycled, its quality is downgraded. Energy recovery is only the last step to terminate the cascade for biogenic materials. The challenge is to define the optimal cascade in order to minimize resource and energy consumption as well as environmental impact. Source: From ISWA [1]

Circular economy

There is no single commonly accepted definition of the term "circular economy," but different definitions share the basic concept of decoupling of natural resource extraction and use from economic output, having increased resource efficiency as a major outcome. The authors prefer this definition. "Circular economy is an economic system that replaces the 'end-of-life' concept with reducing, alternatively reusing, recycling and recovering materials in production/distribution and consumption processes. It operates at the micro level (products, companies, consumers), meso level (eco-industrial parks) and macro level (city, region, nation and beyond), with the aim to accomplish sustainable development, thus simultaneously creating environmental quality, economic prosperity and social equity, to the benefit of current and future generations. It is enabled by novel business models and responsible consumers." Source: From Kirchherr et al. [2].

Closed loops

Closed-loop recycling is focused on supply chain sustainability. It is a process where waste is collected, recycled, and used to make new products that are the same as before. It is common in specialized industries such as computing that use complex parts that cannot easily be broken down post-consumption into individual materials. Closed-loop recycling focuses on bringing the products back to the manufacturer so that they can be reused or refurbished without a loss of material.

Cloud

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The term is generally used to describe data centers available to many users over the Internet. Large clouds, predominant today, often have functions distributed over multiple locations from central servers.

Digital platforms

Digital platforms are online businesses that facilitate commercial interactions between at least two different groups - with one typically being suppliers and the other consumers. Airbnb, Amazon, BlaBlaCar, Deliveroo, Facebook, Google, TaskRabbit, Uber, and Xing are all platforms, but they have different business models, and they interact with end users and other businesses in different ways. Consequently, each platform has created different rules to optimize these interactions. Some important distinctions are the degree to which a platform relies on advertising revenue versus fees, its rules for managing suppliers and content, and its relationship with consumers. Source: From ITIF Technology Explainer [3].

Disposal

Disposal means any operation that is not recovery even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy. Source: EU Directive 2008/98 [4].

Dumpsite

The term "open dump" (or dumpsite) is used to characterize a land disposal site where the indiscriminate deposit of solid waste takes place with either no, or at best very limited measures to control the operation and to protect the surrounding environment. Source: From ISWA [5].

Entropy

Entropy is a measure of the randomness or disorder of a system. The value of entropy depends on the mass of a system. A highly ordered system has low entropy.

Final sink

The term final sink applies to the following: sinks are defined as water, air, and soil receiving anthropogenic material flows. They are necessary for accommodating emissions and residues from anthropogenic activities such as primary production (e.g. tailings), processing and manufacturing, and consumption. The permissible capacity of a sink for holding a particular substance is determined by the geogenic concentration of the material in the sink: For example, the atmosphere is an appropriate sink for molecular nitrogen, the oceans for water and chlorides, and the soil for carbonates. For trace metals such as cadmium or lead, the capacity of air, water, and soil as a sink is very limited. Source: From Baccini and Brunner [6].

Industry 4.0 and fourth industrial revolution

A new generation of smart and partly autonomous production systems are evolving around us. The fourth industrial revolution is a complex transformation with multiple outcomes for every sector and industry. An important part of this revolution is the concept called Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 is not a historical fact. It is a possible outcome, an invention in the making, something that is still ahead of us. The term itself was coined in a 2011 research project initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. They were asked to identify how new technologies and trends could improve the world and boost productivity. The result was a conceptual invention of a process that connects mechanical and virtual into holistic systems.

Informal recyclers of informal recycling sector

The informal solid waste sector refers to individuals or enterprises who are involved in recycling and waste management activities but are not sponsored, financed, recognized, or allowed by the formal solid waste authorities, or who operate in violation of or in competition with formal author.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

Material flow analysis

Material flow analysis is a quantitative procedure for determining the flow of materials and energy through the economy. It uses input/output methodologies, including both material and economic information. It captures the mass balances in an economy where inputs (extractions?+?imports) equal outputs (consumption?+?exports?+?accumulation?+?wastes). It is based on the laws of thermodynamics. MFA asks whether the flow of materials is sustainable in terms of the environmental burden it creates. Urban metabolism simply quantifies the flows; it does not engage in analysis of environmental burdens. Source: From Pincetti [7].

Open innovation

Open innovation is a term used to promote an information age mindset toward innovation that runs counter to the secrecy and silo mentality of traditional corporate research labs. The benefits and driving forces behind increased openness have been noted and discussed as far back as the 1960s.

Open loops

Open-loop recycling is where the recycled materials are converted into both new raw material and waste product typically in the manufacturing sector. This usually involves processing various types of product of similar material make-up and changes the properties of the material itself often through heat, chemical reactions, or crushing. Open-loop recycling is often referred to as "downcycling" as each time a product is recycled it degrades the material.

Recovery

Recovery means any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials that would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy. Source: From EU Directive 2008/98 [4].

Recycling

Recycling means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials, or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material but does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations. Source: From EU Directive 2008/98 [4].

Reuse

Reuse means any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived. Source: From EU Directive 2008/98 [4].

Sanitary landfill

Sanitary landfill is an acceptable waste management method, with controlled emissions and limited health and environmental impacts, while open dumps or dumpsites are exactly the opposite. In between an open dump and a sanitary landfill there is a grey area usually named as "controlled dump" with varying levels of engineering and environmental controls. Source: From ISWA...