https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6496-3311
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ABSTRACT
The valorisation of urban biowaste can contribute to a circular and sustainable resource management. However, biowaste valorisation is not inherently sustainable. This study employs the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to investigate the sustainability implications of biowaste valorisation. A narrative literature review provided an overview of the current scientific knowledge on interactions between biowaste valorisation and selected SDG targets. Then stakeholder interviews yielded insights into such interactions in a national context. Our findings show the potential for 19 synergies and 11 trade-offs between biowaste valorisation and 20 selected SDG targets that are addressed in detail. Although the synergies outnumber the trade-offs, different context-dependencies influence the nature and strength of the interactions. We highlight three types of context-dependencies relating to governance. This study informs the scientific community and decision-makers on planning for sustainable biowaste valorisation that addresses context-dependencies. The insights can guide countries and cities at early transition stages towards biowaste valorisation.
Keypoint Highlights
Evidence to support the scientific community and decision-makers towards sustainable biowaste valorisation (BV)
Analysis of BV context-dependencies relating to governance
Horizontal and vertical policy coherence are prerequisites for sustainable BVInterdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration essential towards sustainable BV
BV and bioeconomy strategies must address context-dependencies
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Greek stakeholders, who agreed to be interviewed, for sharing their valuable time and insights, including stakeholders from the following organisations: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Center for Renewable Energy Sources-Biomass Department (CRES), Energy Community of Karditsa (ESEK), Greenpeace, National Green Fund (Prasino Tameio), and stakeholders from other organisations that wish to remain anonymous. The authors would also like to thank Francesco Fuso Nerini for his guidance on SDG interactions analysis in the initial stages of the study. Finally, we thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript.
List of abbreviations
| AD | = | Anaerobic digestion |
| BV | = | Biowaste valorisation |
| CE | = | Circular economy |
| EU | = | European Union |
| IACGB | = | International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy |
| LCA | = | Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment |
| LCSA | = | Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment |
| LR | = | Literature review |
| MSW | = | Municipal solid waste |
| RQ | = | Research question |
| SDG | = | Sustainable development goal |
| SI | = | Stakeholder interviews |
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Eftychia Ntostoglou: Conceptualisation, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Visualisation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing Daniel Ddiba: Methodology, Visualisation, Writing – review & editing, Dilip Khatiwada: Methodology, Supervision, Visualisation, Writing – review & editing, Viktoria Martin: Methodology, Supervision, Visualisation, Writing – review & editing Rebecka Ericsdotter Engström: Methodology, Writing – review & editing, Maryna Henrysson: Writing – review & editing, Katia Lasaridi: Writing – review & editing
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2024.2319795
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Eftychia Ntostoglou
Eftychia Ntostoglou is a PhD candidate at the Division of Energy Systems, Department of Energy Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Her research explores the transition to sustainable systems for biowaste valorization in the urban context. Her broader research interests include the transitions to sustainable cities and bioeconomies and the development of transdisciplinary collaboration towards such goals.
Daniel Ddiba
Daniel Ddiba is a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute in Sweden working on the Sanitation and Health research area. He holds a PhD from the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. His research focuses on sanitation, waste management and integrated natural resource management.
Dilip Khatiwada
Dilip Khatiwada is an Associate Professor at the Division of Energy Systems, Department of Energy Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. His research provides insights into the sustainability of renewable energy, decision support tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA), energy systems optimization, and their potential roles in the mitigation of climate change, improved energy security, and sustainable development in different development contexts, as well as methodological contributions for assessing the sustainability in connection with energy and climate policies.
Viktoria Martin
Viktoria Martin is a Professor in Energy Technology at the Division of Energy Systems, Department of Energy Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Her research addresses renewable energy implementation and related technologies like thermal energy storage, heat driven heat pumping technology, district heating and cooling, cogeneration/polygeneration, techno-economic systems modelling and optimization to aid planning and policy development.
Rebecka Ericsdotter Engström
Rebecka Ericsdotter Engström is a Post-doctoral researcher at the Viable Cities Programme hosted by KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She works on exploring and conceptualizing how cities can demonstrate systemic change in the energy system beyond pilot and demo projects - for example in system demonstrators - and how their transformative potential can be evaluated along the way. She also builds on her previous research on how climate adaptation, resilience and risk perspectives can be built into the transition work in cities from different perspectives.
Maryna Henrysson
Maryna Henrysson is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Energy Systems, Department of Energy Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Her research interests lie in sustainability transformations, specifically at the intersection of climate action, energy systems, and governance. She explores how socio-ecological and socio-technical systems respond to unsustainable production, consumption, and investment patterns, investigating drivers of transformation, resistance to change, and necessary shifts for societal alignment.
Katia Lasaridi
Katia Lasaridi is a Professor in Environmental Management and Technology at the Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. She works on all aspects of waste management in the context of Circular Economy with emphasis on food waste prevention, valorization and treatment, WEEE management, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where she has extensive research and consultancy experience. She has served as President of the Board of the Hellenic Recycling Agency, and in Harokopio University as member of the Governing Board, Deputy Rector, and Head of the Geography Department. She is currently member of the Scientific Committee of the Hellenic Institute of Local Authorities.