Global waste management & knowledge transfer

In a globalised world economy, products and waste also end up in regions without a corresponding waste management infrastructure, causing massive global and local problems. For example, littering and the improper handling of plastic waste leads to the pollution of beaches and rivers as well as bioaccumulation and accumulation in the food chain.

The global waste management industry must meet these challenges through interdisciplinary research. At ABF-BOKU, this is addressed by means of a systematic consideration of material flows and processes, taking into account the entire value chain from prevention, collection, recycling, treatment to disposal. In this way, adapted technologies and waste management systems optimised in this respect can be designed for low-income countries. Concepts developed at ABF-BOKU include technological and organisational measures as well as training programmes in the university and non-academic sector. A major research focus at ABF-BOKU is the collection and evaluation of data on informal waste management systems in order to assess and quantify their importance. The integrative view of this sector enables the analysis and finding of potential solutions in terms of professionalisation, legalisation and formalisation of informal actors.

Contact:
Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Allesch Astrid