In the Environmeter waste is included in the environmental impact graph and there are key figures for waste separation and, for example, kg waste/employee. The environmental impact of a waste stream is determined on the basis of the extent to which the waste is recycled, incinerated and / or landfilled. We therefore view waste from the perspective of the Circular Economy. The more there is reused, the lower the environmental burden.
Waste is not visible in the CO2 meter and in the CO2 footprint. This is because we believe that waste should not be viewed from a CO2 perspective. This is explained below.
All CO2 emission factors are based on the well-to-wheel principle. This means that the emission factor takes into account both the combustion and the production of the fuel (from inflating the oil to the emission of the burnt fuel via the exhaust). If we were to look at emission factors for waste in this way, these would be wheel-to-well. Calculations pick up after ‘the exhaust’ (as soon as the container is picked up at a company) and continue calculating until the waste is used as a secondary raw material.
The CO2 emissions associated with the waste roughly consist of:
- Fuel needed for transportation of the waste.
- Energy consumption during (interim) storage, processing and recycling (think of energy consumption of warehouses, sorting plants and crushing machinery)
- Energy gain during processing (think of energy gains when incinerated in an AVI which produces electricity and delivers heat to a district heating network.
- Material gains in useful application as a secondary raw material, where you can often talk about avoided CO2 emissions (making aluminum from waste costs 99% less energy than from bauxite)
As more and more waste reaches the final stage in which it is reused as a secondary raw material, a CO2 profit is often attributed to it. Waste collectors present this as profit in the chain, which is very logical and correct from the perspective of the collector/processor. However from the perspective of the disposer (the company that uses the Envirometer) this does not make sense, because the company has also bought the waste somewhere as raw material.
In short, we advise not to analyze waste as a CO2 theme, but especially as a raw material theme. Aim for a circular economy with high-quality reuse and recycling.