Cities in Transition towards Zero Waste: A Case Study of Aalborg Municipality
Translated title
Byer i overgangen til Zero Waste: Et casestudie af Aalborg Kommune
Author
Schwarz, Sebastian Florian
Term
4. semester
Publication year
2014
Submitted on
2014-06-10
Pages
67
Abstract
Verdens befolkning vokser hurtigt, og det meste af væksten sker i byer. I 2009 boede cirka 5 ud af 10 i byer; i 2050 forventes omkring 7 ud af 10. Byer er store forbrugere af ressourcer og følger ofte en lineær model, hvor man tager ressourcer, fremstiller produkter og derefter bortskaffer dem. Efterhånden som byerne udvides under denne model, vil affald og udledninger sandsynligvis stige. Samtidig gør knaphed på ikke-fornyelige ressourcer det mere attraktivt at genvinde materialer fra affald. Byer verden over sætter initiativer i gang for at forebygge, minimere og genvinde affald. Overgangen mod Zero Waste, som sigter mod at forebygge affald gennem bedre design, genbrug og genanvendelse, er vanskelig, fordi affaldssystemer er komplekse og veletablerede og derfor modstandsdygtige over for forandringer. Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Aalborg i Danmark arbejder med en sådan omstilling på tværs af forskellige dele af bylivet. Det anvender transitionsteorier, altså rammer til at forstå, hvordan store systemer ændrer sig over tid, for at belyse, hvordan skiftet kan styres, og for at pege på potentialer, der kan fremskynde udviklingen. Undersøgelsen viser, at Aalborg primært følger en teknisk vej med fokus på ændringer i affaldssystemets struktur, snarere end at adressere de bredere samfundsmæssige ændringer, som Zero Waste forudsætter. Ikke desto mindre er der lovende udviklinger i Aalborg, som kan styrke omstillingen.
The global population is growing rapidly, and most of this growth is urban. About 5 in 10 people lived in cities in 2009; by 2050 it is expected to be about 7 in 10. Cities are major resource consumers and often follow a linear model that takes resources, makes products, and then disposes of them. As cities expand under this model, waste and emissions are likely to increase. At the same time, scarcity of non-renewable resources makes recovering materials from waste more attractive. Cities around the world are launching efforts to prevent, minimize, and recover waste. Moving toward Zero Waste, which aims to prevent waste through better design, reuse, and recycling, is difficult because waste systems are complex and well established, and therefore resistant to change. This thesis examines how the Danish city of Aalborg is pursuing such a transition across different parts of city life. It applies transition theories, that is, frameworks for understanding how large systems change over time, to explore how the shift can be managed and to identify opportunities that could accelerate progress. The study finds that Aalborg mainly takes a technical route, focusing on changes to the structure of the waste system, rather than addressing wider social changes that Zero Waste requires. Even so, promising developments are underway in Aalborg that could strengthen the transition.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
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