| Title: | Zero waste initiatives in Slovenian municipalities : a material flow and life cycle assessment analyses |
|---|
| Authors: | ID Brglez, Kristijan (Author)
ID Kovačič Lukman, Rebeka (Author)
ID Gumzej, Roman (Author) |
|---|
| Files: |  brglez_zero_waste_initiatives_2025.pdf (4,52 MB)
MD5: A6F8536E2F0CCB801E7D10D9473E9E3B
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825002435?via%3Dihub
|
|---|
| Language: | English |
|---|
| Work type: | Scientific work |
|---|
| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
|---|
| Organization: | FNM - Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
FL - Faculty of Logistic
|
|---|
| Abstract: | The European Union (EU) has implemented several strategies, including the zero-waste initiative, to minimize waste generation and enhance resource efficiency. Slovenia demonstrates this policy with the “Zero Waste Municipalities” project, which has shown notable success, but also highlights opportunities for further improvement. This study assesses the effectiveness of zero-waste initiatives and municipal solid waste management (MSWM) strategies across Slovenian municipalities using Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). MFA results from eight municipalities indicate that biowaste (averaging 42.49 %) and paper (21.78 %) constitute the largest fractions of collected municipal waste. LCA results highlight that, on a per capita basis, environmental impacts in urban areas are generally lower than in rural areas for glass, wood, biowaste, and plastic waste streams, but higher for metal and paper. Scenario modelling for Ljubljana demonstrates that meeting the EU recycling targets for 2025 and 2030 would lead to substantial reductions in environmental impacts—especially in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP). Specifically, achieving the 2030 targets could reduce CO 2 emissions from paper, plastic, and wood waste by 52 %, 25 %, and 77 %, respectively, compared to current baseline recycling ratios. The integration of MFA and LCA provides a comprehensive and quantitative assessment and insight into current waste management practices in Slovenian municipalities, accelerating a transition towards zero waste and circular municipalities. The findings offer valuable information for decision-makers, researchers and stakeholders aligning local waste management strategies with broader EU objectives. |
|---|
| Keywords: | zero waste initiatives, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, municipal solid waste management, environmental impacts, Slovenia |
|---|
| Publication status: | Published |
|---|
| Publication version: | Version of Record |
|---|
| Submitted for review: | 11.01.2025 |
|---|
| Article acceptance date: | 30.10.2025 |
|---|
| Publication date: | 26.11.2025 |
|---|
| Publisher: | Elsevier Ltd. |
|---|
| Year of publishing: | 2025 |
|---|
| Number of pages: | Str. 1-12 |
|---|
| Numbering: | Letn. 29, št. članka 101120 |
|---|
| PID: | 20.500.12556/DKUM-96163  |
|---|
| UDC: | 504.4(497.12) |
|---|
| ISSN on article: | 2666-7908 |
|---|
| COBISS.SI-ID: | 259897859 |
|---|
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.clet.2025.101120 |
|---|
| Publication date in DKUM: | 19.12.2025 |
|---|
| Views: | 172 |
|---|
| Downloads: | 2 |
|---|
| Metadata: |    |
|---|
| Categories: | Misc.
|
|---|
|
:
|
Copy citation |
|---|
| | | | Average score: | (0 votes) |
|---|
| Your score: | Voting is allowed only for logged in users. |
|---|
| Share: |  |
|---|
Hover the mouse pointer over a document title to show the abstract or click
on the title to get all document metadata. |
