Recovering resources from wastewater: Supporting End-of-Waste strategies – Glasgow Caledonian University

BACKGROUND

Investment in the circular economy has grown rapidly in the past decade as governments and industry recognise the importance of recycling resources to ensure planetary health (Kirchherr et al., 2017). In the water sector, wastewater offers an array of potential sustainable resources and hence opportunities to develop new products with a wide variety of applications e.g. energy, biofuels, and biopolymers (Kehrein et al., 2020). These potential resources recovered from wastewater can also address scarcity emerging in some existing industrial processes due to a variety of social drivers, including an increasing global population (Dagilienė et al., 2021). In addition, the circular economy develops profitable sustainable alternatives to synthetic products, for example, livestock manure as fertiliser (Awasthi et al. 2022). Furthermore, circular practices can be sustainable and effective solutions to challenges in a number of other ways, including reducing operating costs, offsetting carbon footprints, and increasing energy efficiency (e.g. Kehrein et al., 2020; Gherghel et al., 2019).

The European Commission’s Waste Framework Directive guides the transition of recycled resources from waste to marketable product through a process using end-of-waste criteria. Specific requirements must be met for safety and quality assurance, including ensuring product standardization, to ensure legal compliance and encourage manufacturer and consumer confidence (Zorpas, 2016). However, this has proved problematic across member states due to the diverse approaches and capacities across regions (Johansson and Forsgren, 2020). Complexities in defining ‘acceptable risk’ and demonstrating risk to environmental and human health further complicate this, and there remains no homogenous approach to defining ‘safe’ for the diversity of new innovations requesting end-of-waste status. Therefore, with this difficulty in understanding and demonstrating ‘acceptable risk’ and ‘safety’, unfair competition between secondary and raw materials emerges and potentially undermines this important shift towards embracing circularity.

Furthermore, there is uncertainty amongst innovators over when to apply for end-of-waste status, and an absence of strategies to support this, so there is an opportunity to gather and share ‘best practice’ approaches to managing end-of-waste status across EU countries. However, there will be no single solution that fits all situations or potential products. Due to regulatory complexities, in many regions significant time and resources are required to obtain certification from understandably risk-averse governing agencies. However, where a straight-to-market route without this approval is adopted as in the Netherlands, consumer and client perceptions around using self-certified recycled waste present a further significant market challenge. There is a pressing need for research to map these challenges and their potential solutions.

AIMS

In this context, the main objectives of this PhD are:

1) To conduct a comparative study of end-of-waste strategies in five selected case study nations – the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany;

2) To explore approaches within each country to investigate which approaches are selected for different recoveries;

3) To analyse the above and, if possible, create a generic framework for resource recovery from wastewater.

The project is part of a collaborative project entitled Biopolymers in the circular economy (BICE) funded by Ofwat Innovation Fund. This project aims to recover biopolymers from wastewater treatment plans and use them to replace synthetic and procured chemicals from multiple industries (https://waterinnovation.challenges.org/winners/bice/). The student will benefit from access to and potential support from consortium partners, including a leading end-of-waste consultancy based in the Netherlands.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Applicants should hold a first degree (at least a 2.1) ideally in social sciences e.g. social policy, politics, law, or a closely related discipline. A minimum English language level of IELTS score of 6.5 (or equivalent) with no element below 6.0 is required.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Applicants should complete the online GCU Research Application Form, stating the Project Title and Reference Number (listed above). They are requested to submit a more detailed research proposal (of a maximum of 2000 words) on the project area as part of their application. Please also attach to the online application, applicant’s CV, copies of academic qualifications (including IELTS if required), 2 references and a cover letter.

Please send any enquiries regarding your application to: researchapplications@gcu.ac.uk Applicants shortlisted for the PhD project will be contacted for an interview. For more information on How to apply and the online application form please go to https://www.gcu.ac.uk/research/postgraduateresearchstudy/applicationprocess/

The closing date for this opportunity is 12noon on Friday 10 May 2024. Interviews will be conducted during the week commencing 10 June 2024.

REFERENCES

Awasthi, S.K., Kumar, M., Sarsaiya, S., Ahluwalia, V., Chen, H., Kaur, G., Sirohi, R., Sindhu, R., Binod, P., Pandey, A. and Rathour, R., 2022. Multi-criteria research lines on livestock manure biorefinery development towards a circular economy: from the perspective of a life cycle assessment and business models strategies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 341, p.130862

Dagilienė, L., Varaniūtė, V. and Bruneckienė, J., 2021. Local governments’ perspective on implementing the circular economy: A framework for future solutions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 310, p.127340.

Gherghel, A., Teodosiu, C. and De Gisi, S., 2019. A review on wastewater sludge valorisation and its challenges in the context of circular economy. Journal of cleaner production, 228, pp.244-263.

Johansson, N. and Forsgren, C., 2020. Is this the end of end-of-waste? Uncovering the space between waste and products. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 155, p.104656.

Kehrein, P., Van Loosdrecht, M., Osseweijer, P., Garfí, M., Dewulf, J. and Posada, J., 2020. A critical review of resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants–market supply potentials, technologies and bottlenecks. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 6(4), pp.877-910.

Kirchherr, J., Reike, D. and Hekkert, M., 2017. Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, conservation and recycling, 127, pp.221-232.

Zorpas, A.A., 2016. Sustainable waste management through end-of-waste criteria development. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(8), pp.7376-7389.