Weekes, Colleen

Profile Picture
Position / Title
PhD Candidate SISSTEM (Junior Researcher & Junior Lecturer)
Contact Information
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Waste-to-Energy Technology
Life Cycle Assessment
Material Flow Analysis
Waste Valorisation
Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Policy
Degrees
General research area(s)
Last updated September 19, 2024
Introduction
Expertise
Biography
Colleen Weekes is a junior researcher and lecturer at the University of Aruba and a doctoral candidate within the Chemistry for Energy and Materials Recovery in Thermal Systems (ChEMaRTS) research group. Her academic interests focus on the development of sustainable municipal solid waste management systems in the context of small island states. at KU Leuven. She contributes to two courses within the SISSTEM program: Fundamentals of Geosciences and Sustainable Energy Production.

Filters

20211
Reset filters

Settings

Citations

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Publication
    Sustainable strategies for materials and energy recovery from municipal solid waste in small island states: a case study of Aruba.
    (2021) Weekes, Colleen; Mijts, Eric; Van Caneghem, Jo
    The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) presents a perennial problem for small island states (SIS). Geographic isolation from key markets, narrow economic bases, as well as institutional shortcomings are key factors which stymie the development of critical waste management infrastructure. Given these specific challenges, strategies for improved MSW management cannot simply be translated from mainland contexts. This necessitates innovative approaches to ensure that interventions are sustainable and appropriate for the SIS in which they will be implemented. With a steadily growing population and a resource-intensive tourism sector, the island of Aruba exhibits several of the abovementioned characteristics. Located in the southern Caribbean, Aruba generates approximately 103,900 metric tonnes of MSW per annum; the majority of which is landfilled after minimal pre-treatment. While some materials are recovered from MSW for processing abroad, recycling remains in an incipient phase and there are significant opportunities for maximising the intrinsic value of the island’s waste. A baseline is first formulated to examine the operation and efficiency of Aruba’s current MSW management sector with focus placed on waste composition, volumes, mass flows and existing processing systems. Three novel strategies for increased materials and energy recovery are then investigated using material flow analysis. Results suggest that each proposed alternative can substantially improve the current recycling rate of 11%. Given the sizeable share of biogenic wastes present in Aruba’s MSW, anaerobic digestion and composting figured prominently in scenario development. The analysis indicates that incineration with energy recovery, export for co-processing in neighbouring countries, and sustainable landfilling are all feasible options for the treatment and disposal of residual wastes in Aruba. When these technologies are compared on the basis of mass balance, incineration with energy recovery best achieves the objectives of landfill minimisation and resource recovery. The MFA results suggest that export for co-processing can potentially result in a 93% reduction in landfilling as compared to the status quo. While an overall recycling rate of 38% can be achieved even with the use of sustainable landfilling, this scenario presents the least compelling alternative for MSW management in Aruba.