Recycling and Ecology of Materials an der Hochschule Rhein-Waal

It's the scientific study of the relationship that living organisms have with each other and with their natural environment

Ecology is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology, earth science and human science. 

Process of changing waste materials into new products

"means any recovery operation by which wastematerials  are  reprocessed  into  products,  materials  or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material"

• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle

"EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme "

• is a management instrument developed by the European Commission for companies and other organizations to evaluate, report, and improve its environmental performance.
• Organisations have to implement new action plan over the course of a year
• Org. have to provide a yearly report on their efforts
• Reports get reviewed by 3rd party auditors and published
• Org. can be registered to gain benefits and the EMAS label

Registration

Evalutation

Authorization

Restriction of Chemicals

• A process to improve the protection of human health and the environment. 
• Places responsibility on the industry to provide information on risks and safety
• Allows producers, importers, and downstream users to stay informed.
• Created to catalogue chemicals within the EU

1. A requirement is to collect, collate and submit data to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) on the hazardous properties of all substances (except Polymers and non-isolated intermediates) manufactured or imported into the EU in quantities above 1 tonne per year. Certain substances of high concern, such as carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive toxic substances (CMRs) will have to be authorized.
2. Chemicals will be registered in three phases according to the tonnage of the substance evaluation:
   • More than 1000 tonnes a year, or substances of highest concern, must be registered in the first 3 years;
   • 100-1000 tonnes a year must be registered in the first 6 years;
   • 1-100 tonnes a year must be registered in the first 11 years.

In addition, industry should prepare risk assessments and provide controls measures for using the substance safely to downstream users.

Urban Mining is the integral management of the anthropogenic stock with the goal of recovering secondary raw materials from durable products, buildings, infrastructures and deposits.

• Pre-industrial times: Dustmen collected ash from wood and coal fires to make bricks
• 1800: beverage bottles were recycled with a refundable deposit in GB
• 1813: Benjamin Law turned rags into shoddy wool -> material which combines recycled fibers with wool
• 1884: Official recycling system for bottles with refundable deposit was established in Sweden by law (1982 aluminum cans followed)
• In general: in war promotion campaigns to donate metals and conserve as a patriotic act
• 1970s: Increase of recycling bc. rising energy costs

In war promotion campaigns to donate metals and conserve as a patriotic ac

• products and services have wide ranging environmental, economic and social impacts on the world around us 
• humanity faces: environmental challenges (e.g. climate change), growing population and various social issues
• for a long time sustainability was not a top priority for most people and corporations
• also a missing holistic approach when analyzing effects of products on the environment
• impact from cradle to grave

The main goals of life cycle thinking are to reduce a product’s resource use and emissions to the environment as well as improve its socio-economic performance throughout its life cycle and to avoid moving the responsibility between life cycle stages or between geographic areas.