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Planning for Sustainable Material and Waste Management

Ongoing Project

Promoting Environmental and Health Justice through Sustainable Food Service Products

❋ Role: Principal Investigator
❋ Project Period: 1/2/2024-12/31/2026
❋ Sponsor: US Environmental Protection Agency Pollution Prevention (P2)
❋ Brief description: Developing and promoting a systems approach for food service providers to adopt PFAS-free, reusable, and compostable products (in collaboration with Michigan Sustainable Business Forum)
Highlights

  • Integrates MWM with interrelated planning domains (e.g., environment, infrastructure, finance, economy, equity, data and technology)

  • Develops a web interactive tool for community-based food waste management planning and landfill diversion

  • Surveys various approaches that municipalities have adopted to manage MWM programs during economic recession

  • Develops scalable models of waste generation and characterization that can be adapted for different geographies, provide planning references for local communities where data challenges are common, and reveal social disparities related to MWM

Selected Publications

Ning Ai and Nancey Green Leigh. 2017. “Planning for Sustainable Material and Waste Management.” American Planning Association Planning Advisory Service (PAS) Report #587. ISBN 978-1-61190-195-5. https://www.planning.org/publications/report/9124041/

Ning Ai, Junjun Zheng, and Weiqiang Chen. 2019. U.S. End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Batteries: Dynamic Inventory Modeling and Spatial Analysis for Regional Solutions. Resource, Conservation, and Recycling, 145: 208-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.021

Ning Ai and Junjun Zheng. 2019. Community-Based Food Waste Modeling and Planning Framework for Urban Regions. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 9(1): 39-58. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2019.091.009

Ning Ai, Junjun Zheng, Matt Rundquist, and Taylor Gendel. 2021. Chicago Waste Generation and Characterization Update 2010-2020. Report submitted to the City of Chicago and Delta Institute on March 1, 2021. https://delta-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Characterization-Report-7.12.21.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=7f683a8d-7f80-483a-93ef-bffda4a0a8d5