281
eration plants – to cases where these are necessary as operational buffers (e.g. when
an adjacent treatment plant is shut down for maintenance) or for waste streams
where recovery is not economically or technically viable (e.g. waste from road
sweeping). This policy is further supported by a suggested increase in landfi ll and
incineration taxes, historically lower than other Member-states (Watkins et al.
2012 ). The second vector aims to upgrade the materials recovered from MSW in
order to increase the uptake, in quantity and value, by upstream industries. From the
several actions proposed to achieve this, the priority was to strengthen collection
schemes to increase separation at source, thus reducing contamination and overall
unsorted MSW, to promote ecodesign through voluntary agreements with the packaging industry, and to review the regulatory framework concerning secondary
streams from the waste sector (Residue derived fuels – RDF, compost, biogas).
The concepts of cooperation and symbiosis in industrial systems are based on the
premise that a fi rm can divert unwanted materials from the waste system (or ecosystem) by having them used as resource in a different fi rm. The same reasoning can be
extended to the secondary wastes of waste treatment. For instance, the bottom ash
from MSW incineration can be used as secondary material for cement production
and the stabilized organic material from mechanical and biological treatment facilities (MBT) can be used to increase organic content in forest soil. Waste management systems can also be considered as necessary intermediary processes between
industries, i.e. enablers of industrial symbiosis at a larger scale, if some constraint
prevents the transformation process from occurring at the point of generation of the
waste (e.g. limitations by environmental protection legislation).
Other forms of collaboration occur when fi rms of the same sector share infrastructures. For instance, a MSW management fi rm can use a neighboring RDF preparation facility to avoid the deposition of residual streams from material recovery
facilities in landfi ll. A positive corollary of this approach is that it allows greater
economies of scale.
The principle of effi cient use of infrastructures is supported by the concepts of
symbiosis and cooperation in the Portuguese MSW sector. By restricting new infrastructures to situations where these are absolutely necessary, PERSU 2020 induces
cooperation between regional companies and the establishment of agreements with
fi rms from other sectors. Practical examples include the use of RDF in energy intensive industries or deposition of compost in vineyards, forest and other soils with low
organic content. The plan suggests that fi nancial support from available funding to
the MSW sector should be focused on processes that add value to MSW streams
(e.g. MSW separation at source, RFD preparation facilities).
To realize the vision, principles and objectives, it was necessary to develop a full
material fl ows model of the MSW management system from 2012 to 2020 in order
to evaluate the distance-to-target and identify challenges and opportunities in the
sector.
All 23 regional institutions responsible for local MSW management – MSW RMS
(MSW regional management systems) – were consulted in order to establish a
Business-as-Usual (BaU) scenario for MSW generation and management. The material fl ows expected to occur in 2020 are represented in Fig. 14.1 . It is clear that there
is a strong reliance on treatment operations for MSW from unsorted collection. This
14 Industrial Ecology and Portugal’s National Waste Plans
eration plants – to cases where these are necessary as operational buffers (e.g. when
an adjacent treatment plant is shut down for maintenance) or for waste streams
where recovery is not economically or technically viable (e.g. waste from road
sweeping). This policy is further supported by a suggested increase in landfi ll and
incineration taxes, historically lower than other Member-states (Watkins et al.
2012 ). The second vector aims to upgrade the materials recovered from MSW in
order to increase the uptake, in quantity and value, by upstream industries. From the
several actions proposed to achieve this, the priority was to strengthen collection
schemes to increase separation at source, thus reducing contamination and overall
unsorted MSW, to promote ecodesign through voluntary agreements with the packaging industry, and to review the regulatory framework concerning secondary
streams from the waste sector (Residue derived fuels – RDF, compost, biogas).
The concepts of cooperation and symbiosis in industrial systems are based on the
premise that a fi rm can divert unwanted materials from the waste system (or ecosystem) by having them used as resource in a different fi rm. The same reasoning can be
extended to the secondary wastes of waste treatment. For instance, the bottom ash
from MSW incineration can be used as secondary material for cement production
and the stabilized organic material from mechanical and biological treatment facilities (MBT) can be used to increase organic content in forest soil. Waste management systems can also be considered as necessary intermediary processes between
industries, i.e. enablers of industrial symbiosis at a larger scale, if some constraint
prevents the transformation process from occurring at the point of generation of the
waste (e.g. limitations by environmental protection legislation).
Other forms of collaboration occur when fi rms of the same sector share infrastructures. For instance, a MSW management fi rm can use a neighboring RDF preparation facility to avoid the deposition of residual streams from material recovery
facilities in landfi ll. A positive corollary of this approach is that it allows greater
economies of scale.
The principle of effi cient use of infrastructures is supported by the concepts of
symbiosis and cooperation in the Portuguese MSW sector. By restricting new infrastructures to situations where these are absolutely necessary, PERSU 2020 induces
cooperation between regional companies and the establishment of agreements with
fi rms from other sectors. Practical examples include the use of RDF in energy intensive industries or deposition of compost in vineyards, forest and other soils with low
organic content. The plan suggests that fi nancial support from available funding to
the MSW sector should be focused on processes that add value to MSW streams
(e.g. MSW separation at source, RFD preparation facilities).
To realize the vision, principles and objectives, it was necessary to develop a full
material fl ows model of the MSW management system from 2012 to 2020 in order
to evaluate the distance-to-target and identify challenges and opportunities in the
sector.
All 23 regional institutions responsible for local MSW management – MSW RMS
(MSW regional management systems) – were consulted in order to establish a
Business-as-Usual (BaU) scenario for MSW generation and management. The material fl ows expected to occur in 2020 are represented in Fig. 14.1 . It is clear that there
is a strong reliance on treatment operations for MSW from unsorted collection. This
14 Industrial Ecology and Portugal’s National Waste Plans