Organic fraction municipal solid waste (OFMSW) has a high potential for energy and value-added product recovery due to its carbon- and nutrient-rich composition; however, traditional value chains have treated OFMSW as an undesired by-product. This study focuses on value chain optimisation to assist the transition to resource recovery value chains. To achieve this, this work combined two stage stochastic mathematical optimisation with geographical spatial analysis and time series waste generation analysis. Existing infrastructure in England, including anaerobic digestion plants and road transportation networks, were included in the model. To account for uncertainty in waste generation, multiple scenarios and their associated probabilities were developed based on environmental variables. The optimisation problem was solved to further advance the understanding of economically optimal waste-to-resource value chains under waste generation variability. The pertinent decision variables included sizing, technology selection, waste flows and location of thermochemical treatment sites. The model highlights the potential reduction in system profitability as a result of different operating constraints, such as minimum plant operating capacity factors and landfill taxation. The latter was shown to have the largest impact on profitability as overconservative systems designs were implemented to hedge against the waste variability. Such computer-aided models offer opportunities to overcome the challenges posed by waste generation variability and waste to resource value chain transformation.

The Karnaphuli River is one of the prime and most important streams in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. The favorable water current and the geographic location have rendered the Karnaphuly River estuary a suitable habitat and a breeding ground for diverse fish species. Reversely, this estuary has been polluted by discharges from many point and non-point sources due to its location in the catchment area of a heavily industrialized area, Chattagram port city. However, published research concerning the status of toxic and trace elements in some commercially important benthic and pelagic coastal fish species in Karnaphuli River estuary was not found in the existing literature. Therefore, it's an important field of study on the assessment of toxic and trace elements concentration in the commercially important benthic and pelagic coastal fish species and their health taxation in the Karnaphuli River Estuary. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) was used to quantify trace metal concentration in edible parts of the fish species. This study revealed that the rank of the trace metals concentration was as follows (mg/kg): Zn (37.1) > Mn (16.12) > V (11.16) > Cu (9.49) > Rb (5.62) > Pb (2.98) > Cr (1.59) > Co (1.17). The F-test showed that a significant difference at 95 % confidence level in the distribution pattern of trace metals concentration among the examined fish species in the study area. The metal pollution index (MPI) in the muscle of fishes were found to be in the following order: L. bata > P. monodon > T. cirratus > M. bleekeri > O. pabda > H. nehereus > L. calcarifer > P. argenteus > P. paradiseus > T. toli, and the MPIs for most of the benthic fish species were higher compared to the pelagic fishes. On the other hand, the examined fish species were significantly bio-accumulative with the highest bio-accumulation factor value for benthic species. The multivariate analysis identified that the sources of the trace metals were associated with anthropogenic activities. For the human health risk assessment concern, estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient and cancer-causing risk were estimated. The results for non-cancer hazardous index values were found to be lower than unity. On the other hand, the total cancer risk data ranging from 1.24E−05 to 1.70E−05 were fallen within the range for the threshold values (1.0E−06 to 1.0E−04). However, considering the suggested values set by the environmental and regulatory agencies, it has been recommended that no significant non-carcinogenic and cancer-causing health risk for humans was seen due to the consumption of the studied fish species.

Great Lakes states are increasingly faced with questions regarding how plastic debris is impacting marine and coastal ecosystems. This is especially evident along the southern beaches of Lake Erie, where high population and industrial development have contributed to the plastics problem. In Ohio, the most common items found are cigarettes and other smoking related materials, including plastic cigar tips. Given the growing awareness of the issue, and the impact of plastics on beaches throughout the Great Lakes, a focus group convened to investigate strategies to help address the problem. The group was comprised of individuals with practical knowledge of plastic cigar tip use and disposal issues, including representatives of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, community groups, and local academic institutions. This report represents the exploratory results of the focus group, complete with information regarding the what, why, and how of plastic cigar tip debris in the region, guidance on the material and social barriers to sustaining desired behaviors (cessation of use by minors and/or proper disposal), strategies to overcome those barriers, and suggestions for management and policy actions moving forward. Group members suggest that a combination of education and government-supported financial incentives may be the most effective approach, with community-based positive messaging backed by local taxes on smoking items that have plastic tips and rebates or other rewards for properly disposing of debris.

In this work, we study a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) where the manufacturer sells the new products via one fair caring retailer in the traditional channel and distributes the remanufactured products through her own direct channel in the presence of the carbon tax regulation. After solving the single-period Stackelberg game model by backward induction and analyzing the impacts of key parameters on the optimal pricing strategies and the performance of channel members, a multi-period dynamic Stackelberg game model with heterogeneous players is further established. The local stability of the Nash equilibrium point and complexity properties of the model are investigated by numerical simulation. The results reveal that (1) the retailer’s fairness concern degree is negatively related to the optimal wholesale price as well as positively related to the optimal retail price of the new product. A high level of consumer discount perception for the remanufactured product is conducive to the manufacturer obtaining more profits while it is detrimental to the retailer. (2) The excessive value of the price adjustment speed, carbon tax rate or retailer’s fairness concern degree has a strong destabilization effect on the system’s stability. (3) The manufacturer suffers profit loss while the retailer’s utility levels are elevated when the system falls into periodic cycles and chaotic motions. (4) The delay feedback control method can eliminate the chaos effectively in the dual-channel CLSC system.

The balance between economic development and environmental governance has always been the focus of attention, and this has become a key issue facing in China. In recent years, the means of improving the environment through taxation are common, and it is more in line with China’s national conditions. Carbon tax and fuel tax are considered to be effective environmental supervision measures, and the implementation of this policy is bound to have a critical impact on the advance of economic level. However, the implementation effects of these two mechanisms may be different, and they may also have various effects on regional development. Therefore, based on the panel data of China’s 29 provinces from 2008 to 2018, we adopt the spatial autocorrelation method to explore the relationship between the economic levels of various areas. Then, establishing the panel spatial econometric model of economic growth and carbon tax, economic growth and fuel tax respectively to compare the implementation effects of the two tax policies. It turns out that there is a positive correlation between the economic growth of 29 provinces in China. And whether choosing to levy carbon tax or fuel tax, they all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Finally, according to the results of empirical analysis results, some relevant policy suggestions are put forward.

This paper assesses the multiplexing efficiency of environmental taxes in ensuring environmental, energy, and economic security which is an integral part of sustainability in six European countries that are leaders in the Environmental Performance Index. This study aims to confirm the hypothesis that environmental taxes and payments could simultaneously affect changes in important environmental, energy, and economic security as well as sustainability parameters. Not all the previously selected taxes, which affect the parameters of all three areas of environmental, energy, and economic sustainability and security can ensure their simultaneous growth. Calculations made for the period 1994–2019 showed that in the system of environmental taxation of Denmark, five environmental taxes and fees provide an increase in the integrated level of environmental, economic, and energy security and sustainability; in Belgium, two environmental taxes are characterized by multiplex efficiency; in France, seven environmental taxes and payments; in Austria, four; in Finland, one; and in the UK, four. The paper’s findings could create the basis for improving environmental taxation systems in the countries to increase comprehensive national security growth and ensure sustainable development path of the countries.

Construction 4.0 has become a buzzword since the penetration of building information modeling (BIM), cyber-physical systems, and digital and computing technologies into the construction industry. Among emerging technologies, distributed ledger technology (DLT), or blockchain, is a powerful business enhancer whose potential can disrupt projects, AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) firms, and construction supply chain, and in a broader sense, the whole construction industry. This technology has not reached the plateau of productivity due to several barriers and challenges. Previous studies have started to investigate the barriers to implementing DLT in various sectors and segmentations. However, we still need further surveys in the construction industry. This study evaluates the applicability of identified challenges and barriers based on a sustainability perspective. Precisely, we will answer which challenges need to be addressed for the sustainability of the construction industry. To meet the research objective, the ordinal priority approach (OPA) in multiple attributes decision-making (MADM) was utilized. This novel method determines the weight of sustainability attributes and barriers simultaneously. The results show that DLT implementation needs (i) infrastructure for data management, (ii) advanced applications and archetypes, and (iii) customers’ demand, interest, and tendency, and (iv) taxation and reporting. Solving high-ranked challenges is the key to social sustainability from the aspects of “supply chain management and procurement”; “transparency, anti-corruption, and anti-counterfeiting”; and “fair operation and honest competition.”

This study attempts to investigate the environment cleanness between the total factor productivity, natural resources and green taxation on Malaysia’s clean environment. Using the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, this study employs the bootstrap quantile estimates based on the annual data series covering the period of 1970–2018 to analyse the quantile effect factors affecting environment cleanness in Malaysia. The empirical estimates of this study reject the EKC hypothesis throughout the quantile levels, while the green taxation shows a negative sign which indicated government fiscal policies are reducing carbon emission in the upper quantiles. There is also homogeneity slope equality effect between total factor of productivity and green taxation on carbon emissions in the middle and upper quantile levels, while natural resources are indication heterogeneity effect on all quantile levels. From the policy point of view, if Malaysia wants to get environment cleanness, there is a need for comprehensive policies of total factor of productivity with environment innovation-friendly and technological improvement in all major economic sectors of the country.

This article estimates the ties between green fiscal policies and energy efficiency in COVID-19 era. For this purpose, data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach is considered and applied. The study findings show that green fiscal policies, such as public supports and tax rebates, have significant role in reducing energy poverty of different international countries by advancing energy efficiency. Therefore, a panel data ranging from 2010 to 2020 is used. Our findings indicate that the aggregate degree of green fiscal policies help to decline energy poverty. Renewable energy companies had larger series of net fiscal competence and size efficiency, and their levels of energy efficiency were greater than 0.457%, with the 16% effect of current public supports and 11% effect of taxation rebates supported to diminish energy poverty with 29.7% in different international economies. This is a positive effect by green fiscal policies. The study also presented policy implications suggesting effectively implementing green fiscal policies for more efficient carbon reduction and making climate change supportive for peoples in post COVID-19 period.