Module Code and Title:	MM9831 - Circular Economy & Resource Recovery from Waste
Assignment Title:	Applying the CVORR Methodology
Assignment Type:	Summative
Assignment Weighting	70% of Module marks
Word Limit	The written report should be no longer than 12 pages, formatted in “Calibri 11”, excluding the list of references, cover pages and contents page. Longer reports will be penalised with minus 10% per additional page.
Set Date	17/03/2023
Submission Date:	Submit your 2 pieces by: 02/05/2023 – 20:00pm UTC (21:00pm BST)
Submission Method:	On-line, via the VLE, one submission by each group, each group leader is responsible for submitting, 2 attempts to submit (in case anything goes wrong in the first attempt).
Feedback Date:	Written as comments on the two submission documents by 15/05/23
Type of Feedback:	See above.

Rationale

In this assignment, you are asked to demonstrate comprehensive understanding and tangible skills relevant to applying system assessment methodologies on a circular economy case study of the UK Plastics Pact. The UK Plastics Pact has ambitious targets aimed at transitioning the UK plastics production to a circular economy approach structured around increased recycling. However, the wider implications of meeting these targets is not clear, for instance, the cost of drastically increasing recycling or the impact on greenhouse gas emissions, jobs and plastic recyclability.

System assessment methodologies, such as the Complex Value Optimisation for Resource Recovery (CVORR) method used in this assignment, are an essential engineering technique for designing system-level interventions. CVORR allows the impact of interventions to be quantified across environmental, social, technical and economic domains. The CVORR approach is therefore ideally suited for assessing the impact of meeting the UK Plastics Pact, and enabling decision making. The transferable skill obtained and demonstrated here can be applies in any circular economy / resources recovery systems assessment.

Learning outcomes being assessed

This course work is directly assessing the module learning outcome 1: “Thorough understanding of science and engineering principles and practices in relation to current and emerging challenges that come under circular economy [,,,], including techniques at the forefront of systems analysis”. Additionally, the assignment is highly relevant to learning outcome 2: “Able to apply engineering techniques and design system-level interventions, taking into account the commercial, industrial and regulatory constraints and the social context of the challenge at hand, as applicable to circular economy of solid waste”. And part of the learning outcome 3: “Apply relevant problem solving and communication skills in specific cases […]”.

Assignment Guidance

This is a group project. There are 6 groups. The groups you are assigned to are listed in the VLE / opening presentation (L01) / MS TEAMS channels. Allocation into these groups was random.

Within each team: Apply the CVORR methodology to the case study of the UK Plastics Pact. This application involves three parts:

Part A: Modelling the system

Part B: The wider impacts

Part C: Future scenarios

Detailed guidance on the assessment is provided in Appendix 1 of this document.

Submission piece 1: A written report (Ms Word document) detailing and summarising your answers to the questions of PART A, B and C (see Appendix 1). The written report should be no longer than 12 pages, formatted in “Calibri 11”, excluding the list of references, cover pages and contents page. Longer reports will be penalised with minus 10% per additional page. The report should be separated into three PARTS (A, B, C), corresponding to the three parts of the assessment tasks. Results should be summarised with the use of tables, graphs or diagrams, with any further analysis in text.

The report must be produced as a group effort; formatted and written coherently with a single ‘voice’, as would be expected from any commercial consultancy report. Submissions that appear to have been written independently by different members of the team will not be marked favourably. Figures and graphs should be presented clearly and legibly.

Provide references when you refer to evidence obtained in the literature

Submission piece 2: MSExcel spreadsheet containing the calculations. Please take care to label all flows clearly and set it out in an easy to follow manner with annotations to describe your calculations. Please place any data you used in a sheet labelled “Data” and link the calculations to this sheet instead of inputting values directly into formulas. This will make it easier for us follow your working and assess if you have understood the tasks.  

Assessment Criteria and Process

Aspect of Assignment	Low score (0-3)	Medium score (4-6)	High score (7-10)
Submission piece 1 & 2
Part A – modelling the system – 30%	Little to no context / justification provided for investigation MFA with insufficient detail to complete the assignment or has major inadequacies / errors Calculations do follow basic principles such as conservation of mass. Methodology and assumptions unclear with no evidence of data outside of that provided / incorrect referencing	Limited context / justification provided for investigation MFA has sufficient detail to complete the assignment although has some errors. Calculations follow basic principles such as conservation of mass. Methodology and assumptions explained but with some uncertainties. Limited evidence of data outside of that provided. Mainly correct referencing but minor inconsistencies.	Clearly explained context / justification provided for investigation MFA has sufficient detail to complete the assignment with minimal errors. Calculations follow basic principles such as conservation of mass. Methodology and assumptions explained clearly. Evidence of extensive data sourcing outside of that provided. Correct referencing with little to no inconsistencies.
Part B – The wider impacts – 32%	Lack of understanding / explanation on methodology of applying CVORR approach for assessing value in system. Assumptions / data not acknowledged. Environmental, economic, social and technical assessments have major errors and poorly formatted figures / tables. Unconvincing narrative provided showing lack of understanding of approach and results.	Limited explanation on methodology of applying CVORR approach for assessing value in system. Some acknowledgement of assumptions / data behind result. Environmental, economic, social and technical assessments are largely correct with occasional errors. Figures and tables formatted reasonably well but some inconsistencies or errors. Basic narrative provided with key insights but lacks detailed understanding.	Good explanation on methodology of applying CVORR approach for assessing value in system. All assumptions / data acknowledged in method. Environmental, economic, social and technical assessments are largely correct with minimal errors. Figures and tables formatted professionally with only occasional inconsistencies. Insightful narrative provided showing detailed understanding.
Part C – Future scenarios – 38%	Minimal explanation of formulation of scenarios. Scenario MFAs have major errors / inconsistencies or lack sufficient detail. Graphs poorly formatted or incomplete. Limited to no critical evaluation of results or recommendations	Basic explanation of formulation of scenarios. Scenario MFAs have minor errors / inconsistencies but have sufficient detail. Graphs adequately formatted with some errors. Evidence of some critical evaluation of results and basic recommendations	Good explanation of formulation of scenarios. Scenario MFAs clearly presented with minimal errors. Graphs professionally formatted with only occasional errors. Evidence of insightful critical evaluation of results with thoughtful recommendations

All key background material needed is provided in the VLE and explained in class CW-01 Session.

You may also find useful the University guidance on skills and on academic writing / presentation: https://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills.

For delayed team submissions, there will be a penalty for the mark (10% per each delay day).

All assessment will be second marked.

There will be peer-assessment within each group, using the on-line toolkit Buddycheck available to the University. Details will be provided just after the submission of the coursework. Individual marks will be obtained based on the team mark and the peer assessment.

Assessment Rubric/Grid

The 70% marks are allocated as in Assessment Criteria table, in the section directly above.

Contact

For any enquiries please contact: Module convener: Dr Costas Velis: [email protected] and CC. Mr Ed Cook: [email protected] 

Academic misconduct and plagiarism

Leeds students are part of an academic community that shares ideas and develops new ones. You need to learn how to work with others, how to interpret and present other people's ideas, and how to produce your own independent academic work.

It is essential that you can distinguish between other people's work and your own, and correctly acknowledge other people's work.

All students new to the University are expected to complete an online Academic Integrity tutorial and test, and all Leeds students should ensure that they are aware of the principles of Academic integrity.

When you submit work for assessment it is expected that it will meet the University’s academic integrity standards.

Appendix 1

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Plastic packaging waste has become an important topic over recent years, with its use attracting criticism for poor recycling performance and pollution of marine and terrestrial environments. There is increasing pressure across society for a response from both commerce and government to improve resource efficiency of plastics, reduce marine pollution, and other environmental impacts. The responses have been varied, with a range of initiatives such as plastic bag bans, ‘plastic free aisles’ in supermarkets and proposed deposit return schemes.

The UK Government’s 25-year Environment Plan (HM Government 2018) has a key focus on plastics, committing the UK to eliminating avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042. This has also recently been strengthened in the Waste Strategy for England (Defra 2018b).

Industry has also responded to mounting public concern about the sustainability of plastic packaging. The UK Plastics Pact (WRAP 2018c) is a voluntary commitment by UK business initiated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017) as part of its New Plastics Economy initiative. As a result, more than 40 UK businesses have committed to a deadline of 2025, by which plastic packaging must be:

· 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable

· 70% effectively recycled

· 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging

Meeting these targets may result in considerable changes to the way that plastic packaging is produced and used, as well as how it is treated and disposed of when it becomes waste.

In this assignment you will be investigating the flow of plastic packaging waste from the point it is discarded, to its fate. You will examine the interlinkages between the different stages through the system in order to consider issues relating to climate change, resource recovery and waste management, as well as broader socioeconomic issues occurring within and outside of the UK.

1.2. Problem definition

Approximately 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste are generated in the UK each year, most of which becomes waste. Almost all of the waste is collected, and either recycled, incinerated or disposed of in landfill.

The term ‘plastics’ covers a broad range of material types which are formed into many shapes, sizes and which serve multiple purposes. When plastics are collected for recycling, they are almost always mixed which means that considerable effort is required to disaggregate the complex mixture. Plastics recyclers and sorters suffer from high loss rates, which can damage their business case, and ultimately, this has resulted in limited capacity for reprocessing of plastics in the UK and many other high-income countries.

Despite the UK’s limited reprocessing infrastructure capacity, collection rates have continued to increase, and therefore between 50% and 75% of collected plastics are exported to other countries each year. Exports of plastics waste have come under increasing scrutiny due to the theoretical link between environmental pollution in the recipient countries. In 2018, China banned the import of all types of post-consumer plastic waste which has led to significant shift in the secondary plastics markets to other countries.

1.3. Plastics systems

The illustration below depicts, in very simple terms, the flow of plastics through the various stages in the UK’s production, use and end-of-life phases; note that the true system is much more complex, and that only the main steps are shown here. One of your tasks will be to prepare a similar illustration to answer the research question posed below. You can see from the system representation that each process has various inputs and outputs.

1.4. Sources of information

Various sources of data are available which can assist with the material flow analysis:

Source	Detail	URL
uktradeinfo (HM Revenue & Customs 2020)	Provides UK customs data (imports and exports)	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/
UN Comtrade (United Nations 2020)	Provides customs data on global customs transactions	https://comtrade.un.org/
letsrecycle.com (2019) material prices	Prices paid for recyclates prior to sorting and after sorting	https://www.letsrecycle.com/prices/
WRAP gate fees report (WRAP 2018a)	Cost of treatment and disposal	http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/gate-fees-report-2018-comparing-costs-waste-treatment-options
Materials Facility Reporting Portal (WRAP 2019)	Sorting loss rates	http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/materials-facility-reporting-portal
Hestin et al. (2015)	Carbon factors, jobs, prices paid for material (after sorting and after recycling), operating costs, capital expenditure	https://743c8380-22c6-4457-9895-11872f2a708a.filesusr.com/ugd/0af79c_d3c616e926e24896a8b82b833332242e.pdf

1.5. Key systems assumptions 

The following key assumptions underpin the system above and the data provided:

Table 1: Proportion of specific rigid materials sent for either closed or open loop recycling in 2017 (refers only to material reprocessed in the UK)

Material	Open loop (as % of plastic recycled)	Closed loop (as % of plastic recycled)
Rigid PET (bottles, trays)	5%	95%
Rigid HDPE (bottles, trays)	25%	75%
Rigid PP (bottles, trays)	0%	100%
PS	0%	100%
Total	12%	88%

 

Table 2: Proportion of specific flexible materials sent for either closed or open loop recycling in 2017 (refers only to material reprocessed in the UK)

Material	Open loop (as % of plastic recycled)	Closed loop (as % of plastic recycled)
Films (C&I)	100%	0%
Total	100%	0%

The chart below shows how local authority collected waste is treated in the UK (Defra 2018a).

 

To use recycled plastic to make new plastic packaging which comes into contact with food, manufacturers must undergo strict risk assessment procedures to ensure that the recycled polymer doesn’t contain material which may be hazardous to human health. Part of this risk assessment involves understanding the material origin. For this exercise, it is assumed that only plastic from UK post-consumer sources can be used to make new plastic packaging.

1.6. Definitions

CAPEX (£/tonne processed)

The capital expenditure (CAPEX) incurred to design and construct a facility, process or operation divided by the number of tonnes which will be processed during its lifetime. Examples include storage (buildings, land, trucks, mechanical sorting equipment and handling equipment). In this exercise CAPEX is not the capital expenditure divided by the annual  capacity of the plant as is often the definition in the waste management sector (i.e. CAPEX per tonne annual capacity)

OPEX (£/tonne processed)

The operating expenditure (OPEX) constitutes the costs incurred as a result of the operation of plants, facility or process. Examples of operational costs include: fuel, labour, insurance, maintenance and electricity.

1.7. Scenario

You work for a small waste management consultancy which has won a contract with Defra to provide evidence on the impact of the UK Plastics Pact on the waste and resources sector. Defra wants your company to find out more about the social, environmental, financial economic, and technical implications of the Pact. It is concerned that the UK won’t be able to build enough infrastructure to process the amount of plastic that will be needed to make 30% of packaging recyclable. It is also interested to understand how much of the 70% of effectively recycled material will be processed domestically versus exported.

2. Assessment tasks

2.1. PART A: Modelling the system (30% of your assessment mark) 

Based on the system explained above and the assumptions outlined in Section 1.5, produce a baseline material flow analysis (MFA) that details the flow of plastic packaging in the UK in 2017, including any losses that occur and export destinations. The data in WRAP (2018b), WRAP (2019) and HM Revenue & Customs (2020) is sufficient to allow you to estimate the mass of each material flow in the system.

The MFA calculations should be conducted using Microsoft Excel and should be presented in a clear order with easy to understand titles, units and annotations. Alongside the Excel file, you are also required to produce a Word file which clearly explains the methodology used and any assumptions made, i.e. your calculations should be fully justified and explain the rationale of your approach. To make this easier to understand, you may refer to specific worksheets in the Excel spreadsheet file by name, for example “we used data on the amount of plastic packaging collected from the Excel worksheet ‘Data’ according to information from WRAP (2018b).”

Lastly, visualise the MFA in a diagram with clearly labelled processes, timeframes, system boundaries and flow rates. This can be produced using the freely available software STAN (www.stan2web.net).

You will be marked according to the following outputs:

1. Introduction including justification for the study

2. Production of material flow analysis

3. Outline of methodology and assumptions

4. Visualisation of MFA

2.2 PART B: The wider impacts (32% of your assessment mark)

The CVORR approach involves measuring value (both positive and negative) in a system, including environmental, social, financial economic or technical aspects. With this in mind, use your results from Part A alongside data published by Hestin et al. (2015) to evaluate and visualise the value across the system in 2017 in the following areas:

1. Environmental: CO₂ equivalent emissions

2. Financial economic: Costs incurred (CAPEX and OPEX) versus revenues from sale of plastic

3. Social: Number of jobs created or destroyed

4. Technical: Amount of recycled plastic used in new plastic packaging

The assumptions and methodology (including calculations) used for this analysis should be included in the Excel and Word files from part A.

2.3 PART C: Future scenarios (38% of your assessment)

As explained in Section 1.1, the UK Plastics Pact has set a number of targets to be reached by 2025, including:

1. 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted by 2025

2. 30% of the material in plastic packaging to be made from recycled content by 2025

Defra is interested to understand how these interventions, if realised, would affect the plastic recycling system. Specifically, it would like to be informed how value may change according to the four areas outlined in Part B. Marks will be given for:

3. Production of a MFA diagram for the year 2025 assuming the above two UK Plastic Pact targets are achieved

4. Calculation and visualisation of how this may affect the CO2e emissions, costs versus revenues, and jobs compared to the 2017 baseline scenario

5. Evaluation and discussion on:

a. The system wide impacts within the environmental, economic and social and technical domains if the above UK Plastic Pact targets were achieved.

b. The appropriation of value and balance of power within the system.

c. What assumptions the modelling is based on and how this may affect the uncertainty in the results.

d. How you would improve the modelling if you had more time and resources.

The assumptions, methodology (including calculations) used for this analysis and discussion should be included in the Excel and Word files from part A & B. Additionally, the MFA for part C should be presented in a diagram using the same format as that from part A.