The Symposium is encouraging the submission of papers dealing with the following topics and other relevant ones:
1. CONCEPTS IN SAVING, RECOVERY AND RECYCLING OF MATERIAL RESOURCES
Circular Economy, Urban Mining, Prevention, Footprint, Zero Waste, Closing the loop, Sustainability, Role of Energy recovery in Circular Economy, newest findings etc.
2. PREVENTION, MINIMISATION AND PREPARING FOR REUSE
Avoidance best practice, Ecodesign, New business models, Industrial symbiosis, Lengthened longevity, broadened use of consumer products, Repairability and reuse, Takeback programs such as refund, service sharing, leasing concepts, dematerialization, Remanufacturing products and components, Disassembly, Refurbishment, Valorisation of components, Marketing of remanufactured products and components, etc.
3. SOURCES AND CHARACTERISATION OF VALUABLE MATERIALS
Sources and characterization of materials in urban areas (MSW, commercial waste, special waste, end of life vehicles, used oils, bilge waters, domestic wastewater, etc.)
4. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FOR MATERIALS RECOVERY AND VALORISATION
Source segregation and separate collection, sensor-based sorting, technologies for the extraction of valuable materials, mechanical, biological, chemical and thermal treatment, sensor based application to different materials flows, biorefinery, remanufacturing, etc.
5. SPECIFIC MATERIAL FLOWS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Plastics, Paper, Glass, Metals, WEEE, Construction and demolition wastes, Scrap tires, ASR-Automotive shredded residues, Textiles, Food waste and other putrescible waste, Municipal sewage sludge, Critical raw materials, others)
6. ENHANCED LANDFILL MINING
Preliminary surveys, excavation procedures, sorting and treatment of excavated material, valorization and destination of different fractions, regulatory and administrative issues, etc.
7. QUALITY CONTROL ALONG RECYCLING CHAIN
Control of contaminants products, Control and fate of contaminants in recycling, Quality of recycled products, Carbon and water footprint of material recycling, Health protection issue, etc.
8. CLOSING MATERIAL LOOPS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Mass balance approach, recirculation pathways and markets, quantity and quality of final residues, treatment and disposal options, final sinks and environmental impact control, role of sustainable landfilling, etc.
9. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS
Waste focused circular business models and ecosystems, networks for circular innovation, Full costs accounting, Economic and Environmental Performance management, Management fees, Financial incentives, Effectiveness of bans and fines, Flexibility of markets, organizing the circularization of waste flows and stocks, etc.
10. POLICIES AND LEGAL ASPECTS
Interfaces between the different scientific disciplines, comparison of regulations for waste and products, by products, End of waste (regulations, problems, criticism, intermediate products), regulation addressing national and international transport of waste materials, legal and illegal circular economic activities, etc.
11. TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS FOR PROJECTS EVALUATION
Material Flows Analysis (MFA), Circularity index/indicators, Cost-benefit analysis, LCA, Environmental Impact assessment, carbon accounting, carbon emission reduction, carbon neutral, Energy balance, etc.
12. EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION, SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Educational private and public projects, Participatory approaches and dispute management, Communication campaigns, Factors influencing individual behaviour in minimization, source segregation, recycling, use of recycled products, etc.
13. DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY
AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning), IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data, cloud and edge computing, specific software for product design, manufacturing (including supply chains for procurement), logistics, sales e-trading, business analytics and any other circular economy steps, etc.
14. WASTE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN SPACE
Design of facilities for separate collection systems, vacuum waste collection systems and integration in the urban space, Architecture of Circular Economy facilities (Reuse centres, Ecopoints, Tip shops, Waste Banks, Treatment plants), Recovery of abandoned waste disposal areas, etc.
15. BLUE TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Phytoreduction, use of Black Soldiers Fly in putrescible waste treatment, etc.
16. URBAN MINING AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONCEPTS IN EMERGING AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Economic and technical feasibility under limited financial resources, appropriate technology, capacity building, legal and illegal informal sector issues, etc.
17. COMPANIES FORUM
Sorting and treatment technologies, case studies in Circular Economy and Urban Mining, how to support transition of industrial processes towards circularity, etc.
