Waste is a natural consequence of life and human economies. While living systems have mechanisms to manage waste, it remains a significant challenge for human societies.
Mingzhen Lu, an Assistant Professor at New York University, and former SFI Omidyar Complexity Fellow, highlights the tendency of society to overlook the negative aspects of production.
Lu and SFI Professor Chris Kempes co-authored a paper in Nature Cities that delves into waste production in urban systems.
Kempes raises the question of whether waste is produced more or less efficiently as systems grow, and the subsequent recycling burden.
The authors utilized scaling theory to analyze waste products from over one thousand cities worldwide, including municipal solid waste, wastewater, and greenhouse gas emissions. This theory, commonly used in biology, provided valuable insights into how waste production scales with urban growth.
2024-01-18 20:00:03
Link from phys.org