Topics

1. CONCEPTS IN SAVING, RECOVERY AND RECYCLING OF MATERIAL RESOURCES

Critical raw materials (scarcity, supply limitations, geopolitical uncertainty, ethical issues, etc.), Circular Economy, Urban Mining, Prevention, Footprint, Zero Waste, Closing the loop, Sustainability, Role of Energy recovery in Circular Economy, Ecological Economy, Social and Solidarity Economy, Greenhouse Gas Reduction through formal and informal recycling, etc.

2. PREVENTION, MINIMISATION AND PREPARING FOR REUSE

Avoidance best practice, Ecodesign, New business models, Industrial symbiosis, Lengthened longevity, Broadened use of consumer products, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Repairability and reuse, Takeback programs such as refund, Service sharing, Leasing concepts, Dematerialization, Remanufacturing products and components, Disassembly, Refurbishment, Valorisation of components, Marketing of remanufactured products and components, etc.

3. SOURCES AND CHARACTERISATION OF VALUABLE MATERIALS

Sources and characterization of materials in urban areas (MSW, C&D Waste, commercial waste, special waste, end of life vehicles, scrap tires, electric and electronic waste, windpower plant wings, photovoltaic panels, garden and park waste, used oils, fat oil and grease (FOG), bilge waters, domestic and commercial, sludge etc.)

4. RECOVERY OF RESOURCES FROM WASTEWATERS

Phosphorous from sludge, fat oil and grease (FOG), bilge waters, domestic and commercial wastewater, sludge etc., insects biomass

5. MATERIALS SORTING AND RECOVERY OF VALUABLE MATERIALS

Source segregation and separate collection, manual sorting, sensor-based application to different material flows, technologies for the extraction of valuable materials, AI applications

6. TREATMENT AND RECYCLING OF RECOVERED MATERIALS

Mechanical, biological, chemical and thermal treatment, biorefinery, remanufacturing, nature-based solutions for sustainable circular economy (phytoreduction, use of Black Soldiers Fly in waste treatment, etc.)

7. RECOVERY AND RECYCLING OF WASTE BIOMASS

Biomass quality, Segregation and recovery of biomass, Conversion technologies, Disposal of unsorted biomass, Biostabilisation indexes

8. ENHANCED LANDFILL MINING

Preliminary surveys, excavation procedures, sorting and treatment of excavated material, valorization and destination of different fractions, regulatory and administrative issues, challenges to landfill mining in the global South, etc.

9. QUALITY CONTROL ALONG RECYCLING CHAIN

Control of contaminants in original products, Control and fate of contaminants in recycling, Quality of recycled products, Carbon, water and energy footprint of material recycling, etc.

10. CONTAMINANTS FROM CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Contaminants and accumulation in recycled products, Accumulation in the environment, Microplastics and Forever Chemicals (PFAS) in products and in the environment, etc.

11. POTENTIAL HEALTH IMPACTS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Accumulation of contaminants in animals, plants and humans, Microbial features and biorisk prevention, Ecotoxicological risks, Potential health effects, Epidemiology, etc.

12. INTERACTION BETWEEN MATERIAL FLOWS IN SOCIETY AND NATURE

CLOSING MATERIAL LOOPS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, CLIMATE CHANGE; BIODIVERSITY
Mass balance approach, recirculation pathways and markets, quantity and quality of final residues, treatment and disposal options, final sinks, design and environmental impact control, role of sustainable land repository of residual waste, backfilling, biodiversity, impact on climate change and global pollution, etc.

13. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS

Waste focused circular business models and ecosystems, Networks for circular innovation, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Full costs accounting, Economic and Environmental Performance management, Management fees, Financial incentives, Effectiveness of bans and fines, Flexibility of markets, Organising the circularity of waste flows and stocks, Payment for environmental services in waste management (fees, taxes,etc.), Financial role of the governments (subventions, social comforting), Global trade impact on CE and embodied environmental impact (Producer responsibility for imported goods, taking back products and repair, control of export of used products (IT; textiles), Reuse and environmental impact of exported used products to DCs), etc.

14. POLICIES AND LEGAL ASPECTS

New EU regulations, Circular Economy under specific conditions (eg. Public events), Green procurements, Interfaces between the different scientific disciplines, public policies for social recycling, comparison of regulations for waste and products, by products, End of waste (public policies, regulations, problems, criticism, intermediate products), regulation addressing national and international transport of waste materials, legal and illegal circular economic activities, global policies and treaties on waste, how to better involve consumer product developers, etc.

15. TOOLS & INSTRUMENTS FOR ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Material Flows Analysis (MFA), Circularity indicators, Cost-benefit analysis, LCA, Environmental Impact Assessment, Carbon accounting, Carbon emission reduction, Carbon neutral, Energy balance, etc.

16. EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION, SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Educational private and public projects, Participatory approaches and dispute management, Communication campaigns, Factors influencing individual behaviour in minimization, Source segregation, Recycling, Use of recycled products, Waste related curricular concerns in formal education, Waste and Art, etc.

17. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY

AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning), IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data, cloud and edge computing, specific software for product design, manufacturing (including supply chains for procurement), logistics, sales e-trading, business analytics and any other circular economy steps, potentiality of the Augmented Reality (AR) in the field of Waste Management, etc.

18. ECOCITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Smart waste collection, Smart solutions for the management of waste in the city of the future, Waste recycling and social change, Waste energy recovery in small and big cities, Food waste reduction, E-waste management, New business model, Smart Waste Management and future international Partnership, Smart technologies for the improvement of reuse and recycling, Zero waste cities, etc.

19. WASTE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN SPACE

Design of facilities for separate collection systems, Vacuum waste collection systems and integration in the urban space, Architecture of Circular Economy facilities (Reuse centres, Ecopoints, Tip shops, Waste Banks, Treatment plants), Recovery of abandoned waste disposal areas, Redesigning Recycling stations, etc.

20. URBAN MINING AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONCEPTS IN EMERGING AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Economic and technical feasibility under limited financial resources, Appropriate technology, Capacity building, Legal and illegal informal sector issues, Landfill recovery under global South conditions, etc.

21. SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL MODELS

Ecotourism (Hotels, cruise ships, touristic places), Informal recycling, Recycling cooperatives, Integrated solutions in MSW management, Recycling networks, Waste picker movements, Social innovations, Grassroots organisations, Community-based recycling, Social valorization, etc.

22. SINKS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Role of sinks, types of sinks, quality limits for soil sinks, design of soil sinks

23. COMPANIES FORUM

Sorting and treatment technologies, Case studies in Circular Economy and Urban Mining, How to support transition of industrial processes towards circularity, etc. Why companies should have interest in the scientific research? Recruiting top qualified staff / Searching for innovative ideas / Joint research projects, etc.

24. ENERGY & CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Is Energy part of CE? Sustainable energy for CE. Residues from Energy Production; Optimise CE for materials, for emissions, for energy

25. CIRCULAR ECONOMY: COOPERATION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS AND THE LIVELY ARTS

Potential cooperation with Music, Painting, Sculpture, Music, Photography, Theater, Dance, etc. in the followings sectors:
Education, Communication, Joint performances (example: https://youtu.be/raDZvo8rF70?si=wcPfH89QwqX3rXqy)