In the era of lacking raw materials, the energy and resources are getting precious; these factors raise our concern on environmental protection issues and take good care of the only earth. Resource recycling has been built in our daily life, as a result. Upon government¡¦s initiatives and policies, what private sectors can play to maximize the impact? We believe the structure of ¡§recycling channel¡¨ is the most effective operational model with speed. And it will retrieve the valuable resources from consumers, eventually distribute to related industries for recycling. This study targets on Taiwan first island-wide resource recycling channel firm¡¦s innovative business model, and his competition strategy to extend his coverage in mainland China. We analysis and compare the business model and core competence between two firms with different background and industry¡¦s characters Our target firm has been in the business for 8 years, however it still lacks of experience or cases that is similar to our assumption. Our methodology is to interview with experts, review theories, study target firm¡¦s management system, and correlate with my own experience in this industry. We adopt SWOT, Porter¡¦s Five-Force Analysis, Strategy Matrix, and strategy structure to be the framework for this research. We try to propose a solution to target firm for the possible business strategy adjustment, and study the feasibility of copying Taiwan experience onto China. After SWOT analysis, the case company has the competitive advantage of ¡§management system, IT solution, and quality talents¡¨. In order to enlarge the business scale, business strategy should be shifted from ¡§market penetration¡¨ to ¡§diversification¡¨ gradually. To allocate organizational resources align with weighted growth strategy, and utilize current products and services to serve new markets. In the future, the company can move onto the strategies of ¡§sales development and training, seeking alliance inside or outside recycling industry, creative and customized service model, and market segmentations¡¨. To sum up, the case company should choose ¡§differentiation strategy¡¨, and to be recognized and supported by customers. This is the way to avoid price war and secure the profits. Without protection by government resources and policies, Taiwan experience can¡¦t be transplanted to China, due to the nature of different political situation and culture gap.

Over the course of the last several decades, an increase in the level of concern surrounding the various health and environmental consequences of current, popular waste disposal methods, including landfilling and incineration, have resulted in an increase in municipal recycling efforts. These efforts take place primarily at the residential and commercial levels, while the availability of recycling in public spaces like sidewalks, transit stops, parks and other areas is not something that is often encountered in cities around the United States. This thesis studies the implications and opportunities for public space recycling through the action research process during which I conducted case study research of existing public space recycling programs in Portland, Oregon, and New York, New York, alongside the planning and implementation of a pilot program for transit stop recycling in Austin, Texas. The aim of this thesis is to examine and establish various goals and common strategies for the implementation of public space recycling programs and ultimately make a case for this arguably invaluable, yet often overlooked, recycling initiative. Working under the theoretical framework of the urban metabolism and Karl Marx’s theory of the metabolic rift, the reimagining of waste disposal practices to include widespread materials recycling is one avenue for the restructuring of the relationship between the city and the natural environment. The expansion of recycling practices into public spaces forwards the overall mission to make recycling an integral part of daily life. If implemented properly, the widespread implementation of recycling programs like public space recycling could begin to heal the fragmented urban metabolism and ensure the longevity of the ever-evolving urban and natural environments. The conclusions of this research revolve around the importance of context for public space (and other) recycling practices. This research shows that for public space recycling to succeed as a strategy for the mainstreaming of recycling practices and the reparation of the metabolic rift, the unique characteristics of each individual public space must be taken into consideration upon the implementation of a public space recycling program. / text

No description available.

No description available.

The research carried out and the results of the Master Thesis “Comparison of packaging collection systems in Latvia” give an overview about level of the development of packaging collection systems, as well as possible ways to improve their performance. In Latvia, there are two packaging collection systems implemented for management of recyclable waste in different towns. In this study, sorted packaging collection system is described (advantages, disadvantages, costs of performance, the amount and quality of the collected material), followed by the corresponding description of the mixed packaging collection system. The systems are compared and ways to upgrade both systems are offered. During the course of the thesis the author collected necessary information about the packaging recycling systems in Europe and Latvia, obtained the necessary details and information from the staff of the Ministry of Environment of Latvia and waste handling organizations and held a social enquiry. The information obtained during the research reveals data on the flow of the waste packaging and its components, as well as the activity of the residents in the recycling process. Data analysis made it possible to analyze the costs of integrating and maintaining the systems, as well as to propose the measures which can help to improve them in order to make their performance more effective and socially acceptable. The figures and information obtained during the research can be used for upgrading of the Waste management plans in the regions of Latvia or for a successful introduction of a new collection system in a town or region. The results show that at the moment it is not possible to clearly state which one of the two systems is better for Latvia because performance of each system depends on a list of factors, such as social, e.g. residents’ involvement in the process, and economical factors. A conducted survey revealed that residents are more likely to participate in a recycling process if they do not have to sort packaging by types. Data analysis showed that there is a substantial difference in transportation and sorting expenses between these two systems, however this difference is too small to make any of the systems profitable for recovery of paper and plastic material. Only collection of glass material proved to be economically profitable in both systems.

Environment and sustainable development are very current topics in today's society, both national and international. The government's bill 2004/05:150 ”Swedish environment objectives - a common commission” contains several environmental quality objectives, that in turn is divided up in smaller secondary objectives. One of the secondary objectives says: “Latest year 2010 shall at least 35% of the food waste from households, restaurants, largescale kitchens and shops be recycled through biological treatment. The objective intends source separated food wastes to composting at home as central treatment”. The aim with the project is to investigate which initiatives are required in order for Halmstads municipality to achieve the secondary objective concerning 35% recycling of food wastes. During the sorting of household combustible waste in Halmstads municipality today, there is no sorting of food waste. This means that only food waste from restaurants and large-scale kitchens are collected for further biological treatment. Systems for handling waste are complex and many factors play a part when choosing the most favourable collection system for each municipality. An inventory shows that recycling of 5500 tons of food waste is required in order to fulfil the secondary objective. There are several different solutions to collect this amount. My proposal is to use a two vessel system in households, restaurants and large-scale kitchens. This means that the waste is separated into two different containers. The waste will be sorted into sealed plastic vessels of which one is for biological waste, and the other for combustible. In order to keep the two vessels a part, two different colours could be used. For example, a brown vessel for biological waste and a green one for combustible. The households should also be able to use home composting as a complement. At restaurants and large-scale kitchens there should be the possibility to an alternative collection through a garbage disposal unit with a container. When the vessels are emptied, the combustible waste goes to incineration and the food waste is taken to a biogas facility.

No description available.

Two complex wastes were considered for biological conversion into a marketable product. One waste, peat runoff water (the waste-water that remains after the mining of peat), was found to be unsuitable for biological conversion to any product since it contained an insufficient quantity of carbon. The other waste, NVR (non-volatile residue, the major waste from the manufacture of nylon 6$ sp prime 6 sp prime$), was found to be a suitable carbon and energy source for the production of PHB (poly-$ beta$-hydroxybutyric acid) by Pseudomonas cepacia ATCC 17697. A general approach to the development of complex toxic wastes as fermentation substrates was formulated. / NVR was found to be toxic to microorganisms. None grew in enrichment culture containing 2.0% NVR. P. cepacia was the most resistant microorganism found. It could grow well in up to 1.3% NVR. It also grew on butanoic, pentanoic, and hexanoic acid as well as 6-hexanolactone. These were found to be the major toxic components of NVR. P. cepacia was grown in a NVR-limited chemostat with a NVR feed concentration well in excess of the toxic NVR concentration. In nitrogen-limited, batch fermentation on fructose, P. cepacia accumulated PHB in excess of 50% of its dry weight. A 2-stage chemostat process for the production of PHB from NVR by P. cepacia was investigated with encouraging results.

No description available.

No description available.