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. 2021 Oct 6;10(10):2373.
doi: 10.3390/foods10102373.

Waste Management: Valorisation Is the Way

German Gemar  1 , Ismael P Soler  2 , Eva M Sánchez-Teba  1
Affiliations

Waste Management: Valorisation Is the Way

German Gemar et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Waste management is one of the great problems in the world today. This study aims to analyse how scientific research has evolved in recent years in the field of waste management and what will be the key issues in the coming years, mainly in terms of recovery. The methodology used was longitudinal bibliometric analysis through scientific mapping using strategic maps and thematic networks. Among the findings, it was confirmed that the concept of incineration is fading due to social opposition and is changing to a much broader concept that encompasses it, such as valorisation. Being able to create a circular economy without waste should be the goal of policy makers. To achieve this, the waste hierarchy must be respected, which indicates that waste must be managed in this order: prevention, minimisation, reuse, valorisation, recovery and elimination.

Keywords: SciMAT; bibliometric analysis; incineration; municipal solid waste; valorisation; waste-to-energy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Municipal waste generated, 2005 and 2019. Source: Eurostat [7].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Municipal waste treatment, EU-27, 1995–2019. Source: Eurostat [7].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of documents per year of publication.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Strategic diagram and thematic network. Source: adapted from Cobo [19]. (a) Strategic diagram; (b) Example of thematic network.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Examples of thematic evolution. Source: Source: adapted from Cobo [19]. (a)Thematic evolution; (b) Stability between periods.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Sum of number of times cited per year.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Stability between periods. Overlapping graph of keywords from 1987 to 2021.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Thematic evolution map.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Strategic diagram and main thematic network, 1987–2010 period.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Strategic diagram and main thematic network, 2011–2015 period.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Strategic diagram and main thematic network, 2016–2021 period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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