Environmental planning vs. systems analysis: four prescriptive principles vs. four descriptive indicators.

Four principles for a systems approach to sustainability, which have been suggested as prescriptive, normative and desirable, are analysed. Limitations in the principles are observed. The four principles are developed into descriptive indicators, metrics or tools that can be used in sustainability systems analysis to study important properties of all complex systems.

Management of old landfills by utilizing forest and energy industry waste flows.

The lack of landfill capacity, forthcoming EU waste disposal and landfill management legislation and the use of non-renewable and energy intensive natural resources for the end-treatment of old landfills increase pressures to develop new landfill management methods. This paper considers a method for the end-management of old landfills in Finland, which is based on the utilization of forest and paper industry waste flows, wastes from paper recycling (de-inking) and wastes from forest industry energy production. Fibre clay wastes from paper mills, de-inking sludges from de-inking of recovered waste paper and incineration ash from forest industry power plants serve to substitute the use of natural clay for the building of landfill structures for closed landfills.