This project focuses on the Development of Waste-to-Energy Solutions using Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal as a case study. The rising population in KMC has caused an increase in an enormous volume of waste and energy demand. This study looks at the MSWM system in Kathmandu and its potential for energy production via cleaner technology. Challenges regarding the current waste management system based on literature and documents are pointed out. Further, Technologies to convert waste to energy are analyzed, and suggests strategies towards aligning KMC waste management with Nepal’s SDG agenda. This research is totally based on secondary information from literature and journals. Findings indicate that Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is the most appropriate method for organic waste in KMC because it generates a large fraction of organic waste. The recovery process is yet to be formulated in KMC so all this waste is transferred to a landfill. The new framework is developed in this study for MSWM integrating WTE technology for energy recovery in the waste hierarchy for a sustainable waste management approach. This will help in reducing the bulk of waste and generate renewable energy.

Authors: Bipana Puri, Nkechi Nwankwo, Titus Olaniyi

Published in: World Congress on Sustainable Technologies (WCST-2023)

• Date of Conference: 13-15 November 2023
• DOI: 10.20533/WCST.2023.0006
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-64-8
• Conference Location: St Anne’s College, Oxford University, UK

This paper explores the complexities of the energy system and its transition to sustainability. Energy is a pervasive human need and has underpinned human development and wellbeing. World energy use has grown dramatically since the rise of civilisation and is interwoven with discoveries of sources and uses of energy, especially the exploitation of fossil fuel resource stocks and the assembly of energy system infrastructures. The current energy system is based on fossil fuel which presents some sustainability challenges. These include its finite nature, environmental pollution, and geographical imbalance between energy resources and energy use creates uncertainty and instability of supply with implications on energy security. This calls for a need to transit for fossil fuel to a sustainable energy system. The energy system is a complex system that has multiple interactions between variable within its system and outside a larger system, therefore presents feedbacks, delays and non-linearity. Most countries are striving for sustainability and thus are revaluating their energy system, which at present is far from sustainable. Sustainability requires that social, technology, economic, environmental and political (STEEP) are considered in the process of this transition. The transition of an energy system from fossil fuel to sustainability presents many challenges as the energy system interacts with all sustainability dimensions, therefore making it a complex venture. A sustainable energy system is a holistic concept that encompasses, but extends well beyond, sustainable energy resource. This paper uses Systems Thinking methodology in analysing the energy system and explaining the complexities of its transition to a sustainable state. It is a holistic approach to analysis focused on the ways a system’s constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of a larger system. It posits that system behaviours results from the effect of reinforcing and balancing processes. It also pays attention to feedbacks and delays which could cause disruptions in the system. This paper utilises secondary data to analyse the current fossil fuel energy system with the aim of providing a better understanding to help policy makers with decision making on sustainable energy pathways.

Authors: Nkechiwetalu Nwankwo, Titus Olaniyi, Antony Morgan

Published in: World Congress on Sustainable Technologies (WCST-2022)

• Date of Conference: 6-8  December 2022
• DOI: 10.20533/WCST.2022.0006
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-57-0
• Conference Location: Virtual (London, UK)

This research focuses on minimising the impact of climate change through adaptation by exploring the role a Governmental Duty of Care to implement International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) can play in climate change adaptation in Westphalian Societies, with special focus on the Global South using Nigeria as a case study. Although it is a global issue, managing the impact of Climate change by adaptation requires a different approach from mitigation. A national Project development and implementation framework in conjunction with international environmental agreements is desired. However, the political will to implement this due to diverse reasons is absent in some Global South societies. As citizens are no longer content with government inertia, holding these States accountable by imposing a duty of care through litigation or as a consequence of ratifying international environmental agreements is a legal framework this research proposes.

Authors: Adekunle Oyelusi, Titus Olaniyi, Posi Olatubosun

Published in: World Congress on Sustainable Technologies (WCST-2021)

• Date of Conference: 7-9 December 2021
• DOI: 10.20533/WCST.2021.0006
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-41-9
• Conference Location: Virtual (London, UK)

Large festivals with over 50,000 participants have become a customary but hardly investigated practice in many countries across the world. Festivals management is increasingly being complicated because of their negative consequences such as solid waste accumulation and the destruction to the hosting city attractions. Recycling is an important process to reduce the negative consequences of the waste which public plays an extremely important role regarding its success. Therefore, this study is dedicated to explore campers’ environmental awareness and willingness to participate in the solid waste source separation during mega festivals in Kerbala city, Iraq. The outcome of a structured questionnaire survey completed by 20 camps’ managers during one mega festival showed low environmental awareness among the participants. On the other hand, the majority of the campers were willing to separate their wastes during mega festivals. These results can be invested in establishing a base for implementing a recycling scheme during such festivals.

Authors: Muhammad Abdulredha, Rafid AL khaddar, David Jordan, Ali Alattabi, Ali Alzeyadi

Published in: World Congress on Sustainable Technologies (WCST-2017)

• Date of Conference: 11-14 December 2017
• DOI: 10.20533/WCST.2017.0006
• ISBN: 978-1-908320-78-0
• Conference Location: University of Cambridge, UK