Design of experiments to evaluate pH and temperature parameters with different inoculums in domestic biodigester

The comprehensive management of organic urban solid waste is a concern due to its direct and indirect impact on the environment. Anaerobic Digestion (AD) has been recognized as an alternative and environmentally friendly technology for waste disposal, converting them into organic fertilizers and renewable energy. This research presents an experiment involving four reactors fed with household organic waste, three inoculated with canine, goat, and rabbit manure, and one without inoculum. The experiment was observed for 30 consecutive days to analyze the pH and temperature parameters involved in the AD process in domestic reactors. Statistical methodology, including one-way analysis of variance for assessing the effect of the type of inoculum, Tukey's simultaneous confidence intervals for mean differences, and 90 % confidence intervals for μ in temperature and manure, was utilized. Additionally, main effects analysis of the factors of average temperature and pH were conducted. The results of the one-factor experiment show that the type of inoculum does not significantly influence the variation in pH, while temperature remains relatively stable throughout the AD process. However, the analysis of main effects indicates that goat manure tends to stabilize the temperature with minimal variation, whereas variation is more heterogeneous in the other experiments.

Changes in urban soil yeast communities after a reduction in household waste during the COVID-19 pandemic

The soils of streets, urban parks and suburban areas were examined for yeasts in the summer of 2020 on the territory of the southern cities of Russia and the Republic of Crimea: Krasnodar, Maykop, Sochi and Simferopol. The results of this study are compared with the results of a previous study carried out in these cities in 2019. This study was conducted three months after the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a sustained decline in household waste deposition in these areas. The number of tourists visiting these southern cities decreased significantly, and the number of walkers and visitors to urban parks fell sharply. In 2020, after the decline of household waste loads, the yeast abundance was slightly but reliably higher than in 2019. A total of 30 yeast species were observed - 11 ascomycetes and 19 basidiomycetes. This was more than in 2019 and was caused by twice as many autochthonous basidiomycetous yeast species (natural core community), which were found in urban soils only after the reduction in household waste in the environment - Apiotrichum dulcitum, A. laibachii, Saitozyma podzolica Solicoccozyma terricola. And at the same time, the proportion of clinically significant (opportunistic) yeasts, Candida sake and Meyerozyma guilliermondii, was much lower in 2020 than in 2019. Thus, the observed changes in yeast communities in urban soils could be a short-time response of the microbial community to a reduction in household waste.

Ecotoxic emissions generated by illegal burning of household waste

The practice of burning household waste including different types of plastic is illegal in Hungary, still an existing problem. As environmental consequences are hardly known, this study attempts to give an initial estimation of the ecotoxicity generated during controlled combustion of different waste types. These samples included polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), oriented strand board (OSB) and rag (RAG). Ecotoxicological profiling was completed using the following test battery: Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition assay, Daphnia magna immobility test and the seedling emergence assay. Also, genotoxicity of plastic waste samples was assessed using the SOS Chromotest. Concerning main pollutants in the samples, the samples could be distinguished as 'PAH-type' and 'heavy metal-type' samples. PVC, PU and PS samples showed the highest toxicity in the Vibrio and Daphnia assays. The PVC sample was characterized by an extremely high cadmium concentration (22.4 μg/L), PS, PP and PU samples on the contrary had high total PAH content. While Vibrio and Daphnia showed comparable sensitivity, the phytotoxicity assay had no response for any of the samples tested. Samples originating from the controlled burning of different plastic types such as PU, PVC, PS and PP were classified as genotoxic, PS sample showed extremely high genotoxicity. Genotoxicity expressed as SOSIF showed strong correlation with most of the PAHs detected.

Challenges associated with household solid waste management (SWM) during COVID-19 lockdown period: a case of ward 12 Gweru City, Zimbabwe

The research assessed the challenges associated with household solid waste management during COVID-19 lockdown period. A mixed method approach was used triangulating both quantitative and qualitative methods. Ten-percent sample size of 1690 households (target population) participated in the research. Stratified random and purposive sampling methods were used to select the participants. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16 and content analysis were used to analyze the data. Chi-square test was used to test whether education level determines the disposal strategy used during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Research findings demonstrates that compulsive use of personal protection equipment such as masks, spending more time at home, bulk buying, and storage of food has skewed the trend of waste generation resulting in the increase in quantity of waste produced daily. COVID-19 lockdown period resulted in reduced waste collection since waste refuse collectors were not operating during lockdown period leading to illegal dumping and burning of waste. On average amount of waste produced weekly per household level was 73 kg (organic waste 35.2 kg, toxic waste 10 kg, and recyclable waste 26.8 kg). A chi-square p value of 0.35 was obtained, showing that there is a relationship between waste disposal strategy used during COVID-19 lockdown period and level of education of the respondents. The research concludes that COVID-19 has greatly affected waste management strategies from generation, collection, transportation, and disposal. It is recommended that the responsible authorities must prioritize collection of waste during the lockdown period as well as ensuring that waste recyclers and collectors are among the essential service providers during the pandemic.

The first mile problem in the circular economy supply chains - Collecting recyclable textiles from consumers

This paper presents the first mile problem of the circular economy supply chains: organizing the collection of used materials from individual consumers. Efficient solving of this problem is a prerequisite for recycling, as it ensures that adequate volumes of used materials, in this study end-of-life textiles, can be transformed into high-quality raw materials. Textile features affect the collection system design and make used textiles differ from other household waste fractions, such as glass or plastic. The aim is to investigate how to collect textile waste from consumers in a way that addresses the specific features of textiles, and the scarce resources of the collector organizations, but results in the largest collected yields to eventually drive up the recycling rates of used textiles. The study takes a supply chain view to reverse flows of textiles. Key experts from a sample of textile organizations were interviewed to understand their collection practices and possible future solutions, and a data analysis model was constructed to provide accurate prediction of end-of-life textile volumes. This study proposes how the first mile problem of end-of-life textiles, the collection from households, can be modelled in a situation where no historical volume data is available. The practical contribution lies in the urgent need for textile collection solutions, as municipal actors and waste companies in Europe are searching for efficient solutions to respond to the requirement of separate used textile collection by 2025. The study demonstrates how a circular economy problem with multiple unknows and uncertainties can be modelled quantitatively.

Weight-based pay-as-you-throw pricing model: Encouraging sorting in households through waste fees

Municipal solid waste is associated with different systemic challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and ocean plastic pollution. European countries are striving towards more circular material use and the European Commission has advocated the use of economic incentives to boost recycling. The pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) scheme is an economic instrument that applies the 'polluter pays' principle by charging for waste according to the actual amount of generated waste. Volume-based PAYT fees have shown to be potentially less effective in waste prevention and recycling than weight-based fees. This paper illustrates how waste management operators can price residual waste with weight-based fees that encourage recycling, are fair with respect to service levels, and cover the current income for municipal waste operators. The result, obtained by forming equations satisfying the above conditions, is a model with a linear, discrete price function, where the price of the residual waste generated by the citizen is a function of the service level. This model encourages efficient source separation through internal subsidies, wherein a citizen can decrease the price of household waste by 32% if they increase the sorting efficiency from a default of 40% to 80% efficiency. The application of the model was illustrated in a case example. The model developed in this study can be used to implement weight-based PAYT schemes locally, thereby supporting the formulation of waste management systems that facilitate waste reduction and recycling.

The COVID-19 pandemic and single-use plastic waste in households: A preliminary study

The Coronavirus pandemic promoted an unprecedented change in consumption habits, especially as lockdowns contributed to the increase in online shopping and in delivery services. One of the consequences is the substantial amounts of plastic waste produced, which can undermine the efforts to reduce plastic pollution. In this context, this commentary explores, as a preliminary study, the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic in relation to single-use plastic waste in households by means of an international survey with 202 participants distributed over 41 countries worldwide.

Review of biological risks associated with the collection of municipal wastes

In many countries, the management of household waste has recently changed with an increased focus upon waste sorting resulting in lower collection frequency for some waste fractions. A consequence of this is the potential for increased growth of microorganisms in the waste before collection, which can lead to an increased exposure via inhalation for waste collection workers. Through a review of the literature, we aimed to evaluate risks caused by waste collecting workers' exposure to bioaerosols and to illuminate potential measures to reduce the exposure. Across countries and waste types, median exposure to fungi, bacteria, and endotoxin were typically around 10⁴ colony forming units (cfu)/m³, 10⁴ cfu/m³, and 10 EU/m³, respectively. However, some studies found 10-20+ times higher or lower median exposure levels. It was not clear how different types of waste influence the occupational exposure levels. Factors such as high loading, ventilation in and cleaning of drivers' cabs, increased collection frequency, waste in sealed sacks, and use of hand sanitizer reduce exposure. Incidences of gastrointestinal problems, irritation of the eye and skin and symptoms of organic dust toxic syndrome have been reported in workers engaged in waste collection. Several studies reported a correlation between bioaerosol exposure level and reduced lung function as either a short or a long term effect; exposure to fungi and endotoxin is often associated with an inflammatory response in exposed workers. However, a better understanding of the effect of specific microbial species on health outcomes is needed to proceed to more reliable risk assessments. Due to the increasing recycling effort and to the effects of global warming, exposure to biological agents in this working sector is expected to increase. Therefore, it is important to look ahead and plan future measures as well as improve methods to prevent long and short-term health effects.

A novel methodology for household waste characterization during the COVID-19 pandemic: case study results

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a large number of the world's cities to establish quarantines. Much has been said about the environmental impacts of the confinement; however, very little data have been collected related to household waste generation and composition. In this study, the authors propose a novel methodology for the characterization of household waste without having to leave home, by using virtual training and completing forms. The results of the evaluation carried out in late September 2020 in three districts in the Arequipa province, Peru (Districts A, B and C) are presented. A total of 246 people participated in a survey on waste generation and segregation habits, and 44 people participated in the waste characterization study. Taking into account the error of the study, it can only be stated with certainty that waste generation decreased only in District B. The percentage of organic waste declined in Districts A and B, and increased in District C. Composition of hazardous and sanitary wastes increased significantly in all three districts. Each household generated an average of two to four masks and one pair of gloves per week.

Insights into hazardous solid waste generation during COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable management approaches for developing countries

The recent emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the drastic production and use of healthcare and personal protective equipment, leading to the release of a huge quantity of hazardous medical and solid wastes in the environment. Meanwhile, these solid wastes may contribute to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 viral particles when disposed of without proper treatment and care. Since SARS-CoV-2 could persist on different material surfaces including plastic, steel, paper, cardboard, cloth, and wood, proper management of these hazardous solid wastes has become a challenging task during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, an overview of the consumption of COVID-19-related healthcare and personal protective equipment along with the production of hazardous solid waste is presented. The efficient management of these wastes is necessary to prevent the entering of SARS-CoV-2 in various environmental compartments. Therefore, some preventive measures including the use of biodegradable materials for manufacturing personal protective equipment, minimizing the use of non-biodegradable materials, efficient pre- and-post planning, careful segregation, and disposal are, therefore, proposed for their sustainable management. The findings reported in this paper contribute to tackling the problems associated with hazardous solid waste management, particularly for low- and middle-income countries.

A characterization of bioaerosols in biowaste pretreatment plants in relation to occupational health

Occupational exposure to microorganisms can be associated with adverse health outcomes. In this study, we assessed exposure to bioaerosols in two biowaste pretreatment plants in Denmark, which differed in location (city or countryside) and how they were built ('closed-off processes' or 'open processes'). Bioaerosol exposures were characterized by microbial concentrations in personal, stationary, sedimented dust, and hand samples, and their size distribution was assessed. Furthermore, species were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and inhalable dust, endotoxin, biofilm production, the total inflammatory potential, and fungicide resistance to four fungicides (amphotericin B, caspofungin acetate, itraconazole, voriconazole) were determined. Bacterial and fungal concentrations were on average (GM) in the order of 10⁴ cfu/m³, but ranged from 10² to 10⁸ cfu/m³. Several species which may cause health problems were identified. Personal endotoxin exposures were on average 28 EU/m³, but both personal and stationary samples ranged from 0.6 to 2035 EU/m³. Bioaerosols had the potential to form biofilms and to induce inflammation as measured in a human cell line. Exposures were higher in the plants that outdoor reference values. Higher exposures were found in the 'open process' plant, such as in microbial concentrations, species richness, endotoxin, biofilm production, and the total inflammatory potential. Six out of 28 tested Aspergillus fumigatus isolates were resistant to fungicides (amphotericin B and voriconazole). In conclusion, there is a high exposure to bioaerosols during work in biowaste pretreatment plants, however, results also suggests that how the plant is built and functions may affect the exposures.

The impact of COVID-19 outbreak and perceptions of people towards household waste management chain in Nepal

The spread of COVID-19 is posing significant challenges to the household (HH) waste management sectors putting waste personnel and concerned bodies under massive pressure. The chain of collection, segregation, recycling, and disposal of household generated wastes is interrupted. This study aimed to assess how the household waste management chain was disrupted by novel coronavirus in Nepal and find the perception of the people towards the existing household waste management system (HHWMS). A descriptive online survey was carried out among 512 people using a cross-sectional research design and data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire method. Both descriptive, as well as inferential tests, were conducted using SPSS software. The finding of this study showed that 62.3% of respondents were not satisfied with the present HHWMS. Furthermore, there was a significant association of the satisfaction level of household waste management during coronavirus outbreak with gender, waste volume change in lockdown, PPE for waste collectors, and education on waste handling techniques provided by the government sector at 5% level of significance (p < 0.05). Proper HH waste management has become a challenge, and to address this some innovative works such as awareness programs for people, health and hygiene related support to waste workers, and effective policy formulation and implementation should be done by the Government of Nepal.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the household waste flow during the containment period

The first COVID-19 case in Algeria, was registered on February 25, 2020, it concerns an Italian national. On November 5, 2020, the total number of infected persons reached 60169 cases and keeps on rising to the point that the curve does not follow the normal law. The present work tries to illustrate another implication caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We focus on the amount of waste produced during the containment caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Targeting three engineered landfill centers (ELCs) located in northeastern Algeria occupying three important wilayas (states) that are Guelma, Eltaref and Annaba, in different population densities. A variable trend increase in household waste quantity is determined during this study. Guelma shows an increase of about 20%, however, Eltaref shows an increase of 11%, while Annaba shows an increase of about 14%. An increase of the quantities of waste entering the landfills during the pandemic, which will have enormous impacts on technical management, on the leachate flow with its heavy environmental impacts and which will cause an early saturation of the cells, especially with the stopping of the recycling process due to security measures. This study highlights the need to re-examine the current management system in order to better manager similar crises in the future.

Impact of COVID-19 on household waste flows, diversion and reuse: The case of multi-residential buildings in Toronto, Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous environmental consequences, including impacts on municipal waste management systems. Changes in consumption and waste disposal patterns and behaviours during the lockdown period have produced new challenges for solid waste management and waste diversion activities. This paper develops a conceptual model that reflects short-term changes in waste flows from households that are due to COVID-19 disruptions, focusing on the case of multi-residential buildings in Toronto, Canada. Multi-residential buildings are of interest because they differ from single family homes in several key ways that can produce some slightly different impacts of COVID-19 on waste flows and practices. Primary research for the study included interviews with 19 staff, residents and property managers of ten multi-residential buildings. All of the research took place while Toronto was still in partial-lockdown. Analysis of the interviews revealed five themes around the impact of COVID-19: (1) changes in garbage, recycling and organics flows, (2) new health and safety concerns, (3) changes in reuse and reduction practices, (4) changes in special waste and deposit-return bottle collections, and (5) changes in waste diversion and reduction education. Given the time frame of our study, we recognize these as short-term impacts and call for future research to determine how many of the changes are likely to perpetuate over the medium and longer term.

Discrepancies in N2O emissions between household waste and its food waste and non-food waste components during the predisposal stage

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas (GHG) and an ozone-depleting substance. Municipal solid waste (MSW) management and treatment activities are some of the sources of GHG emissions. However, the biogenic GHG emissions during the predisposal stage of MSW management, during which waste is transferred to garbage cans and then transported to disposal sites, have received little attention. In this study, household waste was divided into food and non-food waste, and the effects of these types of waste and different oxygen concentrations (21%, 10%, and 1%) on N₂O emissions were investigated. A¹⁵N-labeled isotope experiment was conducted over three days to determine the contributions of nitrification and denitrification to N₂O emissions. The results showed that the N₂O fluxes first increased and then decreased during the three-day tests at different O₂ concentrations. The maximum N₂O flux of 1469.59 ± 1004.32 μg N·kg^-1 wet waste·h^-1 occurred during the predisposal of food waste at an O₂ concentration of 21%, with the total N₂O emissions reaching 20.26 ± 10.87 mg N·kg^-1 wet waste, which exceeds the emissions from some waste disposal processes, such as composting and landfills. The N₂O emissions decreased in the following order: food waste > household waste > non-food waste. For food waste, the peak value and total amount of N₂O emissions decreased significantly as the O₂ concentration decreased. In contrast, the N₂O emissions from non-food waste increased as the O₂ concentration decreased. Denitrification was the predominant biogenic source of N₂O emissions; it accounted for over 60% of N₂O production in all treatments. Nitrification also played an important role in N₂O emissions during the early predisposal stage.

Analysis of the relationship between the amount and type of MSW and population socioeconomic level: Bahía Blanca case study, Argentina

The amount and type of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Bahía Blanca (Argentina) were assessed and correlated with population socioeconomic level. In this sense, seven areas with different quality of life were selected. In addition, a parallel study on a control area was performed and validated for obtaining a representative result to provide analogous conclusions for the whole city. From this study, a combination of sorting methodologies is proposed in order to reduce the actual amount of waste sent to landfill. If these methodologies are implemented in Bahia Blanca city, MSW in landfill could be reduced at least 80%. The proposed strategy is to combine waste sorting at source and at destination. An alternative separation at source could be proposed as follows: packaging (including plastic, cans and Tetra Pak), other plastics, paper and glass. The rest of MSW could be included in a container which would be collected daily or three times a week without changing inhabitants' habits and promoting their collaboration. Then, it could be separated at destination for waste-to-energy, composting, and biogas obtaining. Residuals from incinerators and biogas/composting plants would be sent to landfill. On the other hand, regarding the relationship between the proposed strategy and population quality of life, obtained results from this study could be useful to size and to efficiently locate disposal bins/containers for source separation as well as to redesign routes of municipal solid waste collection. Also, this strategy allows to add value to different components of MSW, improving working conditions of waste workers and creating new jobs in Bahia Blanca city.

Solid waste quantification and characterization in university of Nigeria, Nsukka campus, and recommendations for sustainable management

Quantification and characterization of municipal solid waste are the bases for a proper solid waste management planning but the needed collection, transportation, characterization and disposal are grossly under-investigated and scarcely implemented in Nigerian Universities. This study, therefore, quantified and characterized the waste generated in the university of Nigeria, Nsukka campus using ASTM D5231-92 method, and recommended possible integrated solid waste management strategies for a sustainable management of the waste. The average daily solid waste generation in the university was estimated to be 2,218.66kg during the 6-month study period from 24^th February to 18^th August in 2017/2018 academic session with organic and polythene representing the largest portion at 32.36% and 34.29%, respectively. Glass/bottle, textiles/leather, rubber, wood, e-waste, sanitary, medical, polystyrene food pack and metal wastes represented 0.97%, 2.69%, 0.28%, 0.82%, 0.98%, 2.16%, 0.16%, 1.04% and 1.67%, respectively. The campus has a per capita solid waste generation rate of about 0.06kg/day. About 96.58% of the total waste is recyclable, and has about 51.85% biomass potential. Analysis of variance showed that differently dominated areas of the campus have different quantities and compositions of wastes mainly due to significant variation of organic and polythene components across the differently dominated areas. The barriers against effective solid waste management and recommendations for integrated solid waste management strategies were made to include solid waste generation reduction, re-usage, recycling, composting, and proper training and provision of incentive and other fiscal policies.

Effects of thermal hydrolytic pre-treatment on biogas process efficiency and microbial community structure in industrial- and laboratory-scale digesters

This study examined the impact of thermal hydrolysis process (THP) pre-treatment on anaerobic co-digestion of wastewater sludge and household waste and assessed whether THP was vital to achieve higher process capacity. Performance data were collected for both industrial- and laboratory-scale digesters and response in microbial community structure was evaluated by Illumina sequencing. Implementation of THP at the industrial-scale plant increased methane yield by 15% and enhanced substrate degradability. Possibility to extend the sludge retention time due to a higher solid content of the substrate, sanitisation of the digestate and improved fertiliser quality of the digestate were other industrial-scale benefits of THP installation. Continuously-fed laboratory-scale digesters were fed THP-treated or untreated substrate at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 5 g volatile solid (VS)/L/day, a feeding rate necessary at the corresponding industrial-scale plant to meet the estimated population increase within the municipality. The results indicated that the plant could have increased the capacity with unimpaired stability independently of THP installation, even though the retention time was significantly shortened during operation with untreated substrate. Microbial community analyses revealed increased contribution of the Clostridia class after THP installation in industrial-scale digesters and positive correlation between Firmicutes:Bacteriodetes and methane yield in all digesters. Differentiated profiles in laboratory-scale digesters indicated that a temperature increase from 37 to 42 °C in association with THP installation and altered substrate composition were strong determining factors shaping the microbial community. Overall, these findings can assist industrial-scale plants in choosing management strategies aimed at improving the efficiency of anaerobic digestion processes.

Socioeconomic Status and Temporal Urban Environmental Change in Accra: a Comparative Analysis of Area-based Socioeconomic and Urban Environmental Quality Conditions Between Two Time Points

The influence of area-based socioeconomic (SE) conditions on environmental quality conditions has recently been reported showing the precise spatial relationship between area-based SE conditions and neighborhood environmental quality in an urban area in a low-income setting. Nonetheless, there is still a lack of understanding of the nature of the relationship on a temporal scale. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic temporal relationship between area-based SE conditions and urban environmental quality conditions over a decadal period in Accra, Ghana. The results showed that there were differences in environmental quality across the SE quintiles in space (with regard to per capita waste generation (p < 0.012), waste collection/clearing (p < 0.01), and waste deposition (p < 0.001) and that the urban environmental quality conditions had changed dramatically over the decade for most of the environmental variables (p < 0.001). Despite the enormous urban development initiatives, some of the environmental quality indicators (e.g., proportion of households without flush toilet/Water Closet, connection to central sewer p < 0.001) appeared to have worsened in the high class quintile, suggesting that a high proportion of households were without acceptable sanitation facilities. The study concludes that urban development in low-income countries will need to follow strictly international best practice by observing standardized building codes and guidelines, if progress should be made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals targets.

Improvement of waste management practices in a fast expanding sub-megacity in Pakistan, on the basis of qualitative and quantitative indicators

This paper deals with an analysis of waste management practices in the fast-growing city of Gujranwala with 2.6 million inhabitants, with a fast growing middle income group of 56%, and an urbanization rate of 3.49% per annum. This city is like many other cities in the developing world, characterised by hardly any waste management infrastructure. The study comprises: (1) an inventory of current waste flows, per income group as well as per season, (2) an inventory of waste management shortcomings, (3)) a what-if analysis on the carbon footprint of three waste treatment techniques. The inventory of current waste flows is based on a comprehensive site study involving 776 samples in total. The waste management shortcomings have been qualitatively analysed by Wasteaware model, which deals with physical aspects (public health, environmental control, resource management) as well as governance factors (user & provider inclusivity, financial stability, institutions & policies). The what-if analysis of the carbon footprint has been based on an LCA-based tool. The findings of this study are that: (1) the optimum choice of waste treatment scenario differs for the seasons, (2) the high and middle income groups have nearly half of the share of the waste (3) the Wasteaware system appears to be a powerful tool to communicate the weak spots and to make stakeholders aware of the opportunities for improvement. The novelty of this paper is that it focused on the impact of household income groups in combination with seasonal differences while comparing different waste disposal scenarios.

Experimental data of designing an optimal system for storage, collection and transfer of household waste in the GIS environment: A case study of Tehran, district 22, Iran

This study was conducted to correctly manage the system of storage, collection and transfer of wastes in district 22, Tehran. After reviewing existing methods, an optimal system was designed in the GIS environment and appropriate solutions were suggested. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used. After extracting result criteria, these criteria were provided to 15 experts and managers by means of a Delphi questionnaire. Screening of the criteria was done using the criterion importance graph; a necessary condition to apply criteria and sub-criteria, is having at least half the numerical value of each vertical and horizontal vector. The results of the study showed that the most important criterion associated with the selection of waste transfer station is "distance from residential houses" with a final weight of 0.341. "Suitable traffic conditions" and "lack of noise pollution" are the next important criteria with weights of 0.259 and 0.118, respectively. Finally, "non-destruction of recreational facilities" was chosen as the least important (weight of 0.03). Transfer in this district is also 100% mechanized. At the district level, there are 10 garbage trucks, of which 7 collect during night and 3 during day. Given per capita of the district, it takes about 10 min to collect each ton of waste. In general, in order to investigate and plan specific methods in the study district, using Geographic Information System, the location of reservoirs in residential and commercial districts has been determined and suggested with a coefficient of 0.75.

Processing of biomedical waste in plasma gasifier

The problem of treatment of household and biomedical waste containing toxic substances is becoming increasingly important. In contrast to the conventional incineration, plasma gasification of the waste provides reliable destruction of highly toxic dioxins, benzo(a)pyrene and furans. This article presents the results of thermodynamic analysis and experiments on gasification of the waste of various origins in the plasma reactor. The calculations have shown that the maximum yield of synthesis gas in the waste plasma gasification in the air and steam medium was achieved at a temperature not higher than 1600 K. It is shown that in the process of air-plasma and steam-plasma gasification of bone tissue, it is possible to obtain synthesis gas with concentrations 53.4 and 84.9 vol.% having heat of combustion 3510 and 5664 kJ/kg, respectively. In the air and steam plasma gasification of household waste a high-calorific synthesis gas with concentrations 82.4 and 94.5 vol.%, respectively, can be obtained. Its heat of combustion amounts to 13,620 and 18,497 kJ/kg respectively for air and steam gasification. A comparison between the experiment and the calculations showed a good agreement. According to the results of investigations of the waste plasma gasification, no harmful impurities were detected. From the waste organic and mineral mass, respectively, high-calorific synthesis gas and a neutral slag were obtained.

Dataset on investigating an optimal household waste management in GIS environment and quantitative and qualitative analysis in Bumehen city, Tehran, Iran

The present data was carried out based on macro policies of the municipality in order to optimize the waste collection and transportation system in the city of Bumehen. The data of this research, the average weights, time taken for collection and transportation of municipal solid waste (MSW) was measured and each of these criteria was calculated and evaluated from environmental and time perspectives under the current management system. Then, data collection, identification of the general characteristics of the region and the type of waste management were conducted using field studies and GIS software was later used to generate maps of classes, route type, per capita waste generation. In the next steps and based on information such as density, population, waste generation capacity, available routes and existing route types, number, type and capacity of tanks, the site of temporary transfer stations was determined and the appropriate routes were designed for the garbage trucks. The data showed that distance from urban space, as a physical criterion, and noise pollution, as an environmental criterion, in the selection of urban waste transfer station of a relative weight of 0.594 is the most important indicator for the construction of a waste transfer station. Also, the qualitative analysis of the dry wastes of the city of Bumehen showed that plastics, cardboard and paper were 8.6%, 8.6% and 8.3% respectively, of the highest amount of waste the city Bumehen formed.

Household waste and health risks affecting waste pickers and the environment in low- and middle-income countries

Household waste has evolved into a core urban challenge, with increased quantities of waste being generated and with more complex material compositions, often containing toxic and hazardous elements. Critical systems theory understands cities as urban metabolisms, with different material and energy flows, highlighting the circularity in production, consumption, and discard. Waste pickers in low- and medium-income countries work on dumps and landfills, sifting through highly contaminated household waste and are exposed to health hazards. This paper discusses the risk factors, hazards, and vulnerabilities waste pickers are exposed to during collection and separation of recyclables, based on the review of literature on waste and environmental health and on findings from participatory research with waste pickers conducted in Brazil. We take a social and environmental justice perspective and identify the vulnerabilities and waste-borne hazards of household waste, associated with these workers, their communities, watersheds, and the environment. Household waste, although not always per se toxic or hazardous, can become a hazard if not collected or inadequately managed. Those communities where household waste is not collected or waste collection is insufficient are the most critical places. Informal and organized waste pickers, municipal or private waste collectors/workers, small waste traders and sometimes residents, particularly small children, may be considered vulnerable if exposed to waste-borne hazards. The results include recommendations to address household waste-borne hazards and vulnerabilities, according to waste workers involved in this research.

Model for the separate collection of packaging waste in Portuguese low-performing recycling regions

Separate collection of packaging waste (glass; plastic/metals; paper/cardboard), is currently a widespread practice throughout Europe. It enables the recovery of good quality recyclable materials. However, separate collection performance are quite heterogeneous, with some countries reaching higher levels than others. In the present work, separate collection of packaging waste has been evaluated in a low-performance recycling region in Portugal in order to investigate which factors are most affecting the performance in bring-bank collection system. The variability of separate collection yields (kg per inhabitant per year) among 42 municipalities was scrutinized for the year 2015 against possible explanatory factors. A total of 14 possible explanatory factors were analysed, falling into two groups: socio-economic/demographic and waste collection service related. Regression models were built in an attempt to evaluate the individual effect of each factor on separate collection yields and predict changes on the collection yields by acting on those factors. The best model obtained is capable to explain 73% of the variation found in the separate collection yields. The model includes the following statistically significant indicators affecting the success of separate collection yields: i) inhabitants per bring-bank; ii) relative accessibility to bring-banks; iii) degree of urbanization; iv) number of school years attended; and v) area. The model presented in this work was developed specifically for the bring-bank system, has an explanatory power and quantifies the impact of each factor on separate collection yields. It can therefore be used as a support tool by local and regional waste management authorities in the definition of future strategies to increase collection of recyclables of good quality and to achieve national and regional targets.

Towards sustainable consumption: A socio-economic analysis of household waste recycling outcomes in Hong Kong

Many high-density cities struggle to find space for disposing municipal solid waste. Hong Kong is one of these cities, seeking to scale up waste recovery efforts as an alternative to disposal. However, territory-wide recovery initiatives do not account for socio-economic variations across place, leading to mixed outcomes among diverse communities. This study aims to investigate socio-economic effects on recycling behavior in a sample of subsidized rental housing estates. It constitutes an improvement from previous studies by using the entire estate as a unit of analysis and analyzing actual recycling outcomes, which have received limited attention from researchers. The analysis focused on the volume of recyclables collected from 158 public housing estates in Hong Kong, with an average population of 12,285. Results suggest that recycling outcomes vary with a limited set of socio-economic factors. Housing estates managed by a private property management company and populated by better off households collected more recyclables from their residents. Measures of absolute and relative recycling intensity achieved similar results. The findings will be useful for identifying residential communities requiring additional support for promoting waste separation and recycling. Differentiated policies for economically disadvantaged communities are warranted.

Post-consumer plastic packaging waste in England: Assessing the yield of multiple collection-recycling schemes

The European Commission (EC) recently introduced a 'Circular Economy Package', setting ambitious recycling targets and identifying waste plastics as a priority sector where major improvements are necessary. Here, the authors explain how different collection modalities affect the quantity and quality of recycling, using recent empirical data on household (HH) post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PCPP) collected for recycling in the devolved administration of England over the quarterly period July-September 2014. Three main collection schemes, as currently implemented in England, were taken into account: (i) kerbside collection (KS), (ii) household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) (also known as 'civic amenity sites'), and (iii) bring sites/banks (BSs). The results indicated that: (a) the contribution of KS collection scheme in recovering packaging plastics is higher than HWRCs and BBs, with respective percentages by weight (wt%) 90%, 9% and 1%; (b) alternate weekly collection (AWC) of plastic recyclables in wheeled bins, when collected commingled, demonstrated higher yield in KS collection; (c) only a small percentage (16%) of the total amount of post-consumer plastics collected in the examined period (141 kt) was finally sent to reprocessors (22 kt); (c) nearly a third of Local Authorities (LAs) reported insufficient or poor data; and (d) the most abundant fractions of plastics that finally reached the reprocessors were mixed plastic bottles and mixed plastics.

Operationalisation of service quality in household waste collection

Since 2007, there has been intensive discussion at European and national levels concerning the standardisation of services including those in the sector of waste management. The drafts of the European standard prEN 16250 and the German preliminary standard DIN SPEC 1108 are intended to establish a uniform definition of corresponding services and their (minimum) service levels. Their binding application in practice requires that systematic inspections be provided to ascertain to what degree a service has been carried out as agreed upon. However, both standardisation projects give only a few examples of potential quality characteristics and offer no concrete information concerning methods of measurement. Because intersectoral or cross-service quality inspections do not exist, there is a need for the development of specific quality inspections. The study introduced in this article examines the question of how the service quality of door-to-door waste collection can be systematically measured. To this end, the quality concept applied to the process of waste collection was first concretised and then operationalised using indicators. Based upon this, the methods of the quality inspections were developed and subjected to a trial of their applicability in a German waste management company. The methods for measuring and evaluating take into account, in addition to the different boundary conditions of collection, also the possible customer influence on the collection process and consequently on the service performed by the collection crew. In order to avoid time- and therefore cost-intensive exhaustive surveys, a multilevel random-controlled selection of survey units was developed, too. Based on the analysis of the measurement data, it was possible to determine specific time requirement values for the regular performance of the data surveys, as well as minimum sample sizes as a function of the number of container locations of the waste collection tours. On the basis of this information, it has been possible to make initial statements concerning the personnel requirement for quality inspections. Moreover, it is possible to make recommendations concerning the daily working-time schedule for a quality manager in order to achieve the most efficient performance of quality inspections possible.

Pay attention to non-wastewater emission pathways of pharmaceuticals into environments

Pharmaceuticals have been widely detected in the aquatic environment and demonstrated to be potential risks to humans and the environment. Understanding emission pathways of pharmaceuticals is essential to the control of pharmaceutical contamination for environmental management. The present study is aimed at testing the hypothesis that non-wastewater pathway is also significant to the emission of pharmaceuticals into the environment. To this end, we compared the actual production with the amount of 12 antibiotics obtained by back calculation from sewage concentrations in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing. The results showed that for over a half of investigated antibiotics, the emission through non-wastewater pathways accounted for approximately 30-80% of the total emission, varying with individual antibiotics. It was revealed that non-wastewater emission pathways could be of significance for pharmaceuticals emitted into the environment, of which disposed by household waste could be among the most important non-wastewater pathways.

The influence of residents' behaviour on waste electrical and electronic equipment collection effectiveness

Government agencies have implemented regulations to reduce the volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment to protect the environment and encourage recycling. The effectiveness of systems through which waste electrical and electronic equipment is collected and recycled depends on (a) the development and operation of new programmes to process this material and (b) on information dissemination programmes aimed at manufacturers, retail sellers, and the consuming public. This study analyses these two elements. The main focus is to better understand household residents' behaviour in regards to the proper methods of handling waste electrical and electronic equipment and possible storage of the obsolete equipment that brings disturbances with collection of the waste equipment. The study explores these issues depending on size of municipality and the household residents' knowledge about legal methods of post-consumer management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Poland, where the collection rate of that type of waste is about 40% of the total mass of waste electrical and electronic equipment appearing in the market.The research was informed by various sources of information, including non-government organisations, Inspectorate of Environmental Protection and Central Statistics Office in Poland, questionnaires, and interviews with the household residents. The questionnaires were distributed to daytime and vocational students from different universities and the customers of an electronic equipment superstore. The results show that a resident's behaviour in regards to the handling of obsolete waste electrical and electronic equipment can significantly reduce the collection rate, especially when the waste is discarded improperly - mixed with municipal waste or sold in scrapyards. It is possible to identify points that are necessary to be improved to achieve a higher collection rate.

Search for a new economic optimum in the management of household waste in Tiaret city (western Algeria)

In household waste matters, the objective is always to conceive an optimal integrated system of management, where the terms 'optimal' and 'integrated' refer generally to a combination between the waste and the techniques of treatment, valorization and elimination, which often aim at the lowest possible cost. The management optimization of household waste using operational methodologies has not yet been applied in any Algerian district. We proposed an optimization of the valorization of household waste in Tiaret city in order to lower the total management cost. The methodology is modelled by non-linear mathematical equations using 28 variables of decision and aims to assign optimally the seven components of household waste (i.e. plastic, cardboard paper, glass, metals, textiles, organic matter and others) among four centres of treatment [i.e. waste to energy (WTE) or incineration, composting (CM), anaerobic digestion (ANB) or methanization and landfilling (LF)]. The analysis of the obtained results shows that the variation of total cost is mainly due to the assignment of waste among the treatment centres and that certain treatment cannot be applied to household waste in Tiaret city. On the other hand, certain techniques of valorization have been favoured by the optimization. In this work, four scenarios have been proposed to optimize the system cost, where the modelling shows that the mixed scenario (the three treatment centres CM, ANB, LF) suggests a better combination of technologies of waste treatment, with an optimal solution for the system (cost and profit).

System dynamics-based evaluation of interventions to promote appropriate waste disposal behaviors in low-income urban areas: A Baltimore case study

Inappropriate waste disposal is a serious issue in many urban neighborhoods, exacerbating environmental, rodent, and public health problems. Governments all over the world have been developing interventions to reduce inappropriate waste disposal. A system dynamics model is proposed to quantify the impacts of interventions on residential waste related behavior. In contrast to other models of municipal solid waste management, the structure of our model is based on sociological and economic studies on how incentives and social norms interactively affect waste disposal behavior, and its parameterization is informed by field work. A case study of low-income urban neighborhoods in Baltimore, MD, USA is presented. The simulation results show the effects of individual interventions, and also identify positive interactions among some potential interventions, especially information and incentive-based policies, as well as their limitations. The model can help policy analysts identify the most promising intervention packages, and then field test those few, rather than having to pilot test all combinations. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate large uncertainties about behavioral responses to some interventions, showing where information from survey research and social experiments would improve policy making.

Research challenges in municipal solid waste logistics management

During the last two decades, EU legislation has put increasing pressure on member countries to achieve specified recycling targets for municipal household waste. These targets can be obtained in various ways choosing collection methods, separation methods, decentral or central logistic systems, etc. This paper compares municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices in various EU countries to identify the characteristics and key issues from a waste management and reverse logistics point of view. Further, we investigate literature on modelling municipal solid waste logistics in general. Comparing issues addressed in literature with the identified issues in practice result in a research agenda for modelling municipal solid waste logistics in Europe. We conclude that waste recycling is a multi-disciplinary problem that needs to be considered at different decision levels simultaneously. A holistic view and taking into account the characteristics of different waste types are necessary when modelling a reverse supply chain for MSW recycling.

A global, comprehensive review of literature related to paper recycling: A pressing need for a uniform system of terms and definitions

A global, comprehensive review of terms and definitions related to paper recycling was conducted in this article. Terms and definitions related to paper recycling have varied in the course of time. Different terms and different definitions for the same thing are being used in different geographical regions and by different organizations. Definitions are different based on varying conceptions of waste paper as a raw material. Definitions of how to make various calculations related to paper recycling activity are inconsistent. Even such fundamental basic definitions like how to calculate recycling rate and paper consumption are not uniform. It could be concluded that there is no uniform system of terms and definitions related to paper recycling and the implications of this deficiency are profound. For example, it is difficult to reliably compare with each other statistics from different times and from different geographical regions. It is not possible to measure if targets for recycling activities are met if the terms describing the targets are not uniformly defined. In cases of reporting data for recycling targets, the lack of uniform terminology can, for example, impede the necessary transparency between different stakeholders and may allow for deception. The authors conclude there is a pressing need to develop a uniform system of terms and definition for terms related to paper recycling.

Municipal solid waste characterization and quantification as a measure towards effective waste management in Ghana

Reliable national data on waste generation and composition that will inform effective planning on waste management in Ghana is absent. To help obtain this data on a regional basis, selected households in each region were recruited to obtain data on rate of waste generation, physical composition of waste, sorting and separation efficiency and per capita of waste. Results show that rate of waste generation in Ghana was 0.47 kg/person/day, which translates into about 12,710 tons of waste per day per the current population of 27,043,093. Nationally, biodegradable waste (organics and papers) was 0.318 kg/person/day and non-biodegradable or recyclables (metals, glass, textiles, leather and rubbers) was 0.096 kg/person/day. Inert and miscellaneous waste was 0.055 kg/person/day. The average household waste generation rate among the metropolitan cities, except Tamale, was high, 0.72 kg/person/day. Metropolises generated higher waste (average 0.63 kg/person/day) than the municipalities (0.40 kg/person/day) and the least in the districts (0.28 kg/person/day) which are less developed. The waste generation rate also varied across geographical locations, the coastal and forest zones generated higher waste than the northern savanna zone. Waste composition was 61% organics, 14% plastics, 6% inert, 5% miscellaneous, 5% paper, 3% metals, 3% glass, 1% leather and rubber, and 1% textiles. However, organics and plastics, the two major fractions of the household waste varied considerably across the geographical areas. In the coastal zone, the organic waste fraction was highest but decreased through the forest zone towards the northern savanna. However, through the same zones towards the north, plastic waste rather increased in percentage fraction. Households did separate their waste effectively averaging 80%. However, in terms of separating into the bin marked biodegradables, 84% effectiveness was obtained whiles 76% effectiveness for sorting into the bin labeled other waste was achieved.

Quantitative assessment of distance to collection point and improved sorting information on source separation of household waste

The present study measures the participation of households in a source separation scheme and, in particular, if the household's application of the scheme improved after two interventions: (a) shorter distance to the drop-off point and (b) easy access to correct sorting information. The effect of these interventions was quantified and, as far as possible, isolated from other factors that can influence the recycling behaviour. The study was based on households located in an urban residential area in Sweden, where waste composition studies were performed before and after the interventions by manual sorting (pick analysis). Statistical analyses of the results indicated a significant decrease (28%) of packaging and newsprint in the residual waste after establishing a property close collection system (intervention (a)), as well as significant decrease (70%) of the miss-sorted fraction in bags intended for food waste after new information stickers were introduced (intervention (b)). Providing a property close collection system to collect more waste fractions as well as finding new communication channels for information about sorting can be used as tools to increase the source separation ratio. This contribution also highlights the need to evaluate the effects of different types of information and communication concerning sorting instructions in a property close collection system.

Destined for indecision? A critical analysis of waste management practices in England from 1996 to 2013

European nations are compelled to reduce reliance on landfill as a destination for household waste, and should, in principle, achieve this goal with due recognition of the aims and principles of the waste hierarchy. Past research has predominantly focused on recycling, whilst interactions between changing waste destinies, causes and drivers of household waste management change, and potential consequences for the goal of the waste hierarchy are less well understood. This study analysed Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW) for England, at national, regional and sub-regional level, in terms of the destination of household waste to landfill, incineration and recycling. Information about waste partnerships, waste management infrastructure and collection systems was collected to help identify and explain changes in waste destinies. Since 1996, the proportion of waste landfilled in England has decreased, in tandem with increases in recycling and incineration. At the regional and sub-regional (Local Authority; LA) level, there have been large variations in the relative proportions of waste landfilled, incinerated and recycled or composted. Annual increases in the proportion of household waste incinerated were typically larger than increases in the proportion recycled. The observed changes took place in the context of legal and financial drivers, and the circumstances of individual LAs (e.g. landfill capacity) also explained the changes seen. Where observed, shifts from landfill towards incineration constitute an approach whereby waste management moves up the waste hierarchy as opposed to an attempt to reach the most preferred option(s); in terms of resource efficiency, this practice is sub-optimal. The requirement to supply incinerators with a feedstock over their lifespan reduces the benefits of developing of recycling and waste reduction, although access to incineration infrastructure permits short-term and marked decreases in the proportion of LACW landfilled. We conclude that there is a need for clearer national strategy and co-ordination to inform and guide policy, practice, planning and investment in infrastructure such that waste management can be better aligned with the principles of the circular economy and resource efficiency. If the ongoing stand-off between national political figures and the waste sector continues, England's waste policy remains destined for indecision.

Waste container weighing data processing to create reliable information of household waste generation

Household mixed waste container weighing data was processed by knowledge discovery and data mining techniques to create reliable information of household waste generation. The final data set included 27,865 weight measurements covering the whole year 2013 and it was selected from a database of Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, Finland. The data set contains mixed household waste arising in 6m(3) containers and it was processed identifying missing values and inconsistently low and high values as errors. The share of missing values and errors in the data set was 0.6%. This provides evidence that the waste weighing data gives reliable information of mixed waste generation at collection point level. Characteristic of mixed household waste arising at the waste collection point level is a wide variation between pickups. The seasonal variation pattern as a result of collective similarities in behaviour of households was clearly detected by smoothed medians of waste weight time series. The evaluation of the collection time series against the defined distribution range of pickup weights on the waste collection point level shows that 65% of the pickups were from collection points with optimally dimensioned container capacity and the collection points with over- and under-dimensioned container capacities were noted in 9.5% and 3.4% of all pickups, respectively. Occasional extra waste in containers occurred in 21.2% of the pickups indicating the irregular behaviour of individual households. The results of this analysis show that processing waste weighing data using knowledge discovery and data mining techniques provides trustworthy information of household waste generation and its variations.

Household waste compositional analysis variation from insular communities in the framework of waste prevention strategy plans

Waste management planning requires reliable data regarding waste generation, affecting factors on waste generation and forecasts of waste quantities based on facts. In order to decrease the environmental impacts of waste management the choice of prevention plan as well as the treatment method must be based on the features of the waste that are produced in a specific area. Factors such as culture, economic development, climate, and energy sources have an impact on waste composition; composition influences the need of collecting waste more or less frequently of waste collection and disposition. The research question was to discover the main barriers concerning the compositional analysis in Insular Communities under warm climate conditions and the findings from this study enabled the main contents of a waste management plan to be established. These included advice to residents on waste minimisation, liaison with stakeholders and the expansion of kerbside recycling schemes.

Food waste minimization from a life-cycle perspective

This article investigates potentials and environmental impacts related to household food waste minimization, based on a case study in Southern Sweden. In the study, the amount of avoidable and unavoidable food waste currently being disposed of by households was assessed through waste composition analyses and the different types of avoidable food waste were classified. Currently, both avoidable and unavoidable food waste is either incinerated or treated through anaerobic digestion. A hypothetical scenario with no generation of avoidable food waste and either anaerobic digestion or incineration of unavoidable food waste was compared to the current situation using the life-cycle assessment method, limited to analysis of global warming potential (GWP). The results from the waste composition analyses indicate that an average of 35% of household food waste is avoidable. Minimization of this waste could result in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 800-1400 kg/tonne of avoidable food waste. Thus, a minimization strategy would result in increased avoidance of GWP compared to the current situation. The study clearly shows that although modern alternatives for food waste treatment can result in avoidance of GWP through nutrient and energy recovery, food waste prevention yields far greater benefits for GWP compared to both incineration and anaerobic digestion.

An innovative recycling process to obtain pure polyethylene and polypropylene from household waste

An innovative recycling process, based on magnetic density separation (MDS) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI), to obtain high quality polypropylene and polyethylene as secondary raw materials, is presented. More in details, MDS was applied to two different polyolefin mixtures coming from household waste. The quality of the two separated PP and PE streams, in terms of purity, was evaluated by a classification procedure based on HSI working in the near infrared range (1000-1700 nm). The classification model was built using known PE and PP samples as training set. The results obtained by HSI were compared with those obtained by classical density analysis carried in laboratory on the same polymers. The results obtained by MDS and the quality assessment of the plastic products by HSI showed that the combined action of these two technologies is a valid solution that can be implemented at industrial level.

Public practice regarding disposal of unused medicines in Ireland

BACKGROUND

Over recent years, a global increase in the use of pharmaceutical products has been observed. EU directives state that "Member states shall ensure that appropriate collection systems are in place for medicinal products that are unused or have expired" (Directive 2001/83/EC and Directive 2004/27/EC).

OBJECTIVES

There is no published data on how people in Ireland dispose of unused medicines; therefore the purpose of this study is to establish baseline information on storage and disposal of medicines.

DESIGN

Data was collected over two 2-week periods a year apart. People in the streets of Galway and Cork were approached randomly and invited to participate by filling out a questionnaire.

RESULTS

The questionnaire was completed by 398 individuals (207 in Galway and 191 in Cork). Unused medicines were kept in the home by 88% of the respondents. The most cited reason for keeping unused medicines was "in case they are needed later" (68%). Of the respondents who had disposed of medicine in the past, 72% had done so inappropriately. Environmentally inappropriate disposal methods were through general waste disposal and via the sewage system. Interestingly, of the people who had received advice on disposal practices from a healthcare professional, 75% disposed of their medicine appropriately.

CONCLUSIONS

There is little awareness among members of the public regarding appropriate ways to dispose of unused medicines. Our findings suggest that effective communication and established protocols will promote appropriate disposal practices.

The impact of Local Authorities' interventions on household waste collection: a case study approach using time series modelling

At a local Government level there have been many interventions and changes made to household waste collection services to meet new regulatory requirements. These changes include separate collection of recyclable and organic materials. This paper has used a time series model to quantify the success of interventions introduced by a LA. The case study was a medium sized UK LA, Charnwood Borough Council (CBC), the research analyses monthly data of quantities of recyclates, garden waste for composting and residual waste for landfill disposal. The time series model was validated with a five year data set and used to measure the impacts of the various changes to identify which intervention was the most successful, while controlling for season and number of working days. The results show the interventions analysed both had abrupt and permanent positive impacts on the yield of recyclable materials, and a corresponding negative impact on the residual waste. The model could be added to the National data base to help LAs to compare interventions and to understand which schemes encourage householder participation and improve recycling performance.

Physical knowledge of household waste in Algeria: generation and composition in the town of Annaba

We investigated the physical composition of household waste in the town of Annaba, Algeria. The study was based on an adequate sampling protocol that takes into account the constraints of Algerian cities. Annaba was taken as a case study to check the situation in Algeria. Ninety to 120 kg was sorted for each type of habitat in the city during four seasons, from 2010 to 2011, according to 11 components of household waste. Variations in the production ratio and percentages of all components were recorded according to the seasons and the type of habitat during the four campaigns of characterization. Analysis of variance showed a significant difference of the waste composition by habitat type. A pairwise multiple comparisons using the Tukey test of the sampled habitat types was also carried out, which indicated no significant differences between the habitat type concerning paper, plastic, composite and glass variables. But for the remaining components, the study revealed, with a significance limit of 0.05, a clear difference in the average composition of the waste according to the type of habitat.

The changing character of household waste in the Czech Republic between 1999 and 2009 as a function of home heating methods

The authors of this paper report on the changing character of household waste, in the Czech Republic between 1999 and 2009 in households differentiated by their heating methods. The data presented are the result of two projects, financed by the Czech Ministry of Environment, which were undertaken during this time period with the aim of focusing on the waste characterisation and complete analysis of the physicochemical properties of the household waste. In the Czech Republic, the composition of household waste varies significantly between different types of households based on the methods of home heating employed. For the purposes of these studies, the types of homes were divided into three categories - urban, mixed and rural. Some of the biggest differences were found in the quantities of certain subsample categories, especially fine residue (matter smaller than 20 mm), between urban households with central heating and rural households that primarily employ solid fuel such coal or wood. The use of these solid fuels increases the fraction of the finer categories because of the higher presence of ash. Heating values of the residual household waste from the three categories varied very significantly, ranging from 6.8 MJ/kg to 14.2 MJ/kg in 1999 and from 6.8 MJ/kg to 10.5 MJ/kg in 2009 depending on the type of household and season. The same factors affect moisture of residual household waste which varied from 23.2% to 33.3%. The chemical parameters also varied significantly, especially in the quantities of Tl, As, Cr, Zn, Fe and Mn, which were higher in rural households. Because knowledge about the properties of household waste, as well as its physicochemical characteristics, is very important not only for future waste management, but also for the prediction of the behaviour and influence of the waste on the environment as the country continues to streamline its legislation to the European Union's solid waste mandates, the results of these studies were employed by the Czech Ministry of Environment to optimise the national waste management strategy.