Solid Waste Management and Recycling for a Sustainable World

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce a new Special Issue, “Solid Waste Management and Recycling for a Sustainable World”, of the journal Sustainability.

Today's challenges to the development of civilization are extremely complex and multidimensional and concern social, economic, and environmental aspects. Currently, one of the biggest problems is overly intense climate change, which is most likely caused by ever-increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Attempts to embark on a sustainable development path require finding ways to promote economic growth without significantly degrading natural resources and the environment.

The development of civilization is closely linked to waste generation and management. Continuous population growth and intensification of consumption have led to an increase in the amount of waste generated, which calls into question the ability of current systems to manage it effectively. Seeking to minimize the environmental impact of our activities requires, among other things, the implementation of strategies such as waste reduction, recycling, composting, and the use of residual waste as an energy source in energy recovery processes.

Rational waste management also involves technological challenges and innovations. The development of new technologies that enable more efficient waste treatment is key to reducing its negative impact on the environment.

One of the necessary and key actions is the promotion of a circular economy, which reduces the use of new resources and the amount of waste generated by increasing the recovery and recycling of useful materials. It is only through concerted action at multiple levels that the challenges of waste generation and management can be effectively addressed, which is essential for a sustainable future.

We hope that this Special Issue of Sustainability will present interesting facts about the management of various solid wastes, the effects of implementing a circular economy, including the recycling of different waste groups, and the problems that inevitably arise in these areas of activity.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Solid waste management statistics;
• New/innovative recycling technologies;
• Issues of the circular economy;
• Case studies and analyses of waste management strategies;
• Urban waste management;
• Environmental and human health impacts of waste;
• Waste policy and regulation;
• Modern packaging, biodegradable and compostable materials;
• Digitalization in waste management;
• Education and environmental awareness;
• International cooperation in waste management.

Prof. Dr. Slawomir Stelmach
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• solid waste
• recycling
• circular economy
• waste policy
• waste management
• waste management costs