Comparative Analysis of Transfer and Continual Learning for Vision-Based Particle Classification in Plastics Sorting for Recycling
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (12/2024)
In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of transfer and continual learning techniques for vision-based trash particle detection and classification in plastics recycling. This task poses unique challenges for vision-based methods due to the great variety of particles in recycling material flows, their variability over time, and the lack of real recycling industrial datasets available for research.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (12/2024)
In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of transfer and continual learning techniques for vision-based trash particle detection and classification in plastics recycling. This task poses unique challenges for vision-based methods due to the great variety of particles in recycling material flows, their variability over time, and the lack of real recycling industrial datasets available for research.
Measuring the Flow Properties of Secondary Plastics
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (12/2024)
Recycling of plastics, particularly in high-value applications, is essential for sustainable resource management and achieving climate targets. A critical challenge lies in developing robust processing methods that ensure consistent feeding of secondary raw materials into recycling machinery.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (12/2024)
Recycling of plastics, particularly in high-value applications, is essential for sustainable resource management and achieving climate targets. A critical challenge lies in developing robust processing methods that ensure consistent feeding of secondary raw materials into recycling machinery.
Environmental impact of the end-of-life scenarios of PET rigid packaging
in Austria
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (12/2024)
The European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposes a recycling rate of 55% for plastic packaging by 2030. Currently, Austria's recycling rate is 24,5%, mainly due to recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (12/2024)
The European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposes a recycling rate of 55% for plastic packaging by 2030. Currently, Austria's recycling rate is 24,5%, mainly due to recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles.
Odor Characterization of Post-Consumer PP Bottles after Different Washing Processes
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
The reprocessing of post-consumer plastic is of paramount importance for the preservation of our environment. Reprocessing, or recycling, can allow society to insert polymers into a circular economy, thus, consuming less raw resources and lowering the carbon footprint of plastic products (Meys et al. 2020).
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
The reprocessing of post-consumer plastic is of paramount importance for the preservation of our environment. Reprocessing, or recycling, can allow society to insert polymers into a circular economy, thus, consuming less raw resources and lowering the carbon footprint of plastic products (Meys et al. 2020).
Circularity Assessment of Packaging with the Packaging Cockpit
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
The landscape of European Packaging legislation is steadily getting more complex. At the EU level, the European Union plans to reduce the output of greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030. To achieve that goal, the European economy has to be transformed into a circular economy so that precious resources stay as long as possible in the material stream. These undertakings heavily impact the European Packaging Industry because packaging is often used only once and for a comparatively short time. So, there is a considerable generation of packaging waste of more than 178 kg per person in the EU and growing.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
The landscape of European Packaging legislation is steadily getting more complex. At the EU level, the European Union plans to reduce the output of greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030. To achieve that goal, the European economy has to be transformed into a circular economy so that precious resources stay as long as possible in the material stream. These undertakings heavily impact the European Packaging Industry because packaging is often used only once and for a comparatively short time. So, there is a considerable generation of packaging waste of more than 178 kg per person in the EU and growing.
A novel approach to environmental cleanup of inland water courses
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
Despite growing awareness and improving practices, littering is a worldwide challenge with catastrophic impact on the ecosystem. Inland waters in particular represent one of the main sources of pollution for the oceans. Detecting and retrieving this waste when still in rivers is an effective and efficient way to remediate the environment before the damage spreads over large areas. Implementing barriers faces a range of technical and economic challenges, leading to long and complex project developments. For this reason, the Italian company Mold S.r.l. decided to adopt a life-cycle perspective to study potential projects with their innovative barrier River Cleaning system and focus on the most impactful. In this paper we present LCA results done on exemplary regions and derive the learnings and criteria for future market developments of the system, linking thus life-cycle thinking and business development.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
Despite growing awareness and improving practices, littering is a worldwide challenge with catastrophic impact on the ecosystem. Inland waters in particular represent one of the main sources of pollution for the oceans. Detecting and retrieving this waste when still in rivers is an effective and efficient way to remediate the environment before the damage spreads over large areas. Implementing barriers faces a range of technical and economic challenges, leading to long and complex project developments. For this reason, the Italian company Mold S.r.l. decided to adopt a life-cycle perspective to study potential projects with their innovative barrier River Cleaning system and focus on the most impactful. In this paper we present LCA results done on exemplary regions and derive the learnings and criteria for future market developments of the system, linking thus life-cycle thinking and business development.
Residual municipal waste composition analysis – New methods for Czech waste management
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
Relevant information about MW composition and proper forecasting of MW composition is crucial for relevant technical and economical modelling and business planning in the field of waste management. These include techno-economical models of MW treatment units, e.g. sorting line, transfer station, energy recovery, waste collection and transport or a regional waste collection and treatment system modelling (Kropáč et al. 2018) and complex business models concerning specific investments in waste management. In this context, there is a project under the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
Relevant information about MW composition and proper forecasting of MW composition is crucial for relevant technical and economical modelling and business planning in the field of waste management. These include techno-economical models of MW treatment units, e.g. sorting line, transfer station, energy recovery, waste collection and transport or a regional waste collection and treatment system modelling (Kropáč et al. 2018) and complex business models concerning specific investments in waste management. In this context, there is a project under the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic.
Environmental effects of fireworks with special consideration of plastic emissions
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
In Germany, about 133 million Euro are spent annually for New Year’s Eve fireworks, which result in 38,000 to 49,000 Mg of total firework mass. By a com-bination of desk research with official fireworks approval statistics, a customer survey, dismantling experiments with fireworks debris and with packaging characterisation, the total nationwide polymer emission was estimated to be 3,088 Mg. Out of this total mass, a projected polymer debris mass of 534 Mg was identified, and about 270 Mg of polymer packaging material. The remaining 2283 Mg of polymer mass are parts that eventually may remain at the launching site.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
In Germany, about 133 million Euro are spent annually for New Year’s Eve fireworks, which result in 38,000 to 49,000 Mg of total firework mass. By a com-bination of desk research with official fireworks approval statistics, a customer survey, dismantling experiments with fireworks debris and with packaging characterisation, the total nationwide polymer emission was estimated to be 3,088 Mg. Out of this total mass, a projected polymer debris mass of 534 Mg was identified, and about 270 Mg of polymer packaging material. The remaining 2283 Mg of polymer mass are parts that eventually may remain at the launching site.
The circular packaging design guideline and holistic sustainability assessment in circular economy
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The FH Campus Wien Circular Packaging Design Guideline provide recommendations for circular design for the whole supply chain. Circular design is a necessary prerequisite to achieve the goals of the European Circular Economy Package which requires full recyclability of packaging by 2030. Circular packaging should re-duce resource consumption and environmental impacts of packaging. The assessment of packaging sustainability requires the calculation of direct and indirect environmental impacts and circularity at the same time. A method for holistic sustainability assessment of packaging has been proposed by FH Campus Wien and developed in an ECR-working group (Efficient Consumer Response) with the participation of a number of companies along the whole supply chain (brand owners, retailers, packaging manufacturers and packaging systems).
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The FH Campus Wien Circular Packaging Design Guideline provide recommendations for circular design for the whole supply chain. Circular design is a necessary prerequisite to achieve the goals of the European Circular Economy Package which requires full recyclability of packaging by 2030. Circular packaging should re-duce resource consumption and environmental impacts of packaging. The assessment of packaging sustainability requires the calculation of direct and indirect environmental impacts and circularity at the same time. A method for holistic sustainability assessment of packaging has been proposed by FH Campus Wien and developed in an ECR-working group (Efficient Consumer Response) with the participation of a number of companies along the whole supply chain (brand owners, retailers, packaging manufacturers and packaging systems).
Packaging recycling in EU member states – requirements from the circular economy package
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The EU has established concrete recycling targets for packaging waste for 2025 and 2030. Furthermore, the methodology for calculating the corresponding recycling rates has been amended. The new and stricter calculation methodology will potentially lead to decreases of the current rates. This will be particularly the case for plastic packaging, where denkstatt calculated a gap far above 10 % compared to smaller decreases (> 2 %) to be expected for glass or steel packaging.
© Lehrstuhl fĂĽr Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The EU has established concrete recycling targets for packaging waste for 2025 and 2030. Furthermore, the methodology for calculating the corresponding recycling rates has been amended. The new and stricter calculation methodology will potentially lead to decreases of the current rates. This will be particularly the case for plastic packaging, where denkstatt calculated a gap far above 10 % compared to smaller decreases (> 2 %) to be expected for glass or steel packaging.
