Cleaner Waste Systems最新文献

In this study, we designed and tested a household food waste intervention in the County of Wellington, Canada. This small study compared control households (n = 20) to those receiving an intervention package (n = 32). Food waste generation rates and composition were observed through waste composition audits before and after the intervention, and participants’ feedback on the intervention was received through a survey (n = 7). We found that although the informational campaign was generally not successful in reducing food waste generation at the community scale (possibly due to intention-behavior gaps), there is potential for such interventions to encourage a sub-set of individuals toward reduction behaviors when appropriately targeted and delivered.

Currently, South American countries face social and environmental challenges that can be addressed through the transformation of food purchasing and preparation patterns. This study aims to enhance comprehension regarding personal factors influencing sustainable food consumption, by examining the impact of moral reasoning and environmental concern on this behavior. The responses of 233 Chilean university students to an online self-report survey were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The results have shown that moral reasoning and environmental concern positively impact sustainable food consumption behaviors, such as opting for food with minimal packaging, conserving energy during cooking, and repurposing food waste. Additionally, significant gender differences in these effects were observed. These novel findings provide further evidence supporting the necessity of bolstering moral education and environmental consciousness to foster the adoption of sustainable food consumption practices among university students in developing South American nations. Furthermore, the results underscore the importance of considering gender distinctions in education, particularly in light of entrenched family and societal roles.

Ghana has been experiencing a lot of challenges in waste management mainly due to the effects from the growth of its population and their incrementing demand for urban infrastructure. This paper examines the effectiveness of incorporating Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) for the improvement of waste management in Ghana. With the given situation of current waste management problems like low rates of proper utilization of waste bins and uncollected waste burning, this review has come up with serious concerns. Using a narrative approach to conducting this research, the review of literature was sourced from academic databases to assess the ITK contribution to cleaner waste systems. Key facts identified concurred with previous empirical evidence indicating the sustainability of traditional approaches regarding waste management and community participation. Recommendations call for the incorporation of ITK into national policies by highlighting key features of community participation and government support. Therefore, despite various limitations such as relatively scarce empirical evidence and differences in regional practices, integrating ITK opens up new opportunities for the long-term, environmentally friendly waste management in Ghana as part of the global environmental protection effort.

The global generation of electronic waste (e-waste) has been increasing alarmingly, posing significant environmental and health risks. Urban mining, which involves extracting valuable resources from e-waste, has emerged as a promising solution to address these challenges and promote sustainable resource management. This study explores urban mining as a transformative practice for e-waste management, examining its alignment with sustainable development goals (SDGs) and identifying the associated challenges and opportunities. It underscores the critical importance of comprehensive regulations in effectively managing e-waste. The study aims to achieve the following specific objectives: 1) Scrutinize the state of the art of e-waste and urban mining practices, as documented in the literature; 2) Assess the relation between urban mining and circular economy; 3) Explore what kind of wastes are more explored in urban mining; 4) Examine the different case studies on urban mining; 5) Analyze data from collected documents and 6) propose a research agenda. The review synthesized 124 studies to gain insights into the effectiveness of urban mining and its potential contribution to sustainability. The findings reveal that urban mining is more frequently emphasized in the e-waste sector than in the construction sector, representing this study's essential contribution. Furthermore, the study highlights the technologies and research areas currently capturing the attention of researchers, as well as the gaps that need to be addressed in future studies. However, challenges remain, including adequate regulations, extended producer responsibility, and the inclusive participation of consumers and informal workers in urban mining. While urban mining holds significant potential to revolutionize e-waste management and contribute to sustainable resource management, realizing this potential will require robust regulatory support.

This study enhances municipal solid waste (MSW) characterization methodologies by introducing an innovative sampling approach that prioritizes organic content over traditional components like paper and cartons, particularly suited to developing countries like Egypt. This innovative method adapts the ASTM D5231 − 92 standard to capture the actual MSW profile in the Giza governorate, where this research was carried out. Focusing on organic waste, this approach ensures more relevant and accurate data for waste-to-energy (WtE) conversion processes. This research documents significant seasonal variability in waste composition, with organic content averaging 66 % in winter compared to 59 % in fall. The energy-rich fraction shows similar variability, with winter having an average of 28 % compared to fall's 30 %. Moreover, the calorific value is notably higher in winter at 10.3 MJ/kg, compared to 8.4 MJ/kg in fall. These variations are critical for optimizing energy recovery processes in WtE projects. The results from this case study contribute to the limited but growing body of knowledge on waste management in Egypt, demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of adapting standard characterization methods to local conditions. The insights gained from this research fill a notable gap in the regional waste management literature and enhance the scientific understanding of how seasonal factors affect MSW properties, providing a robust framework for improving waste management practices in similar settings globally.

Textile waste currently contributes about 780,000 tonnes of waste to landfill in Australia alone. Within landfill, biodegradable textiles take multiple years to decompose and most synthetic textiles are effectively not biodegradable. Blends of these fiber types are currently too costly to separate and recycle. Decomposition depends on the presence of suitable microorganisms already present in the landfill. This study aimed to investigate which fungi could best be used to pre-inoculate textile waste entering landfill (to reduce volume) or in a composting system (to recover non-biodegradable materials for re-use). Ten textiles were inoculated with 14 fungi well known for their degradative ability and incubated at 25–30°C for 1–2 months. Greatest weight losses (100 %) were achieved by Chaetomium globosum (Ascomycota), Trametes versicolor and Ganoderma species (Basidiomycota). In textiles with mixtures of cellulose with polyester or elastane, only the cellulose fibers were degraded and the other fiber types were left available for recycling. These results suggest that pre-inoculation with the most effective fungi could increase the rate of decay in cellulosic portions of textiles discarded into landfill, at the least reducing textile volumes quickly. Alternatively, aerobic fermentation of textile waste could recover non-biodegradable synthetic fibers for re-processing and re-use in a low-cost and environmentally benign manner, reducing the need for its manufacture de novo from petroleum derivatives.

The earthen construction sector attracts worldwide attention, and earthen bricks are widely used. The construction industry has also progressed in its use of natural green resources such as plant fibers to design building materials that are both economically and ecologically sustainable. However, the valorization of plant waste in construction represents a crucial environmental challenge. The present study focuses on the development and characterization of a new, low-cost earth-based building material stabilized with cement and corn straw fibers in southeastern Morocco. Different earth bricks stabilized with different cement contents and corn straw fibers were developed. The physico-chemical characterization of the soils used in the design of the bricks was carried out, using physico-chemical, mineralogical and geotechnical characterization, including X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The first results reveal that the predominant minerals in oasis soils include ferrous clinochlore, muscovite, calcite and quartz, which are mainly composed of silt and sand. Then, the eligibility of these soils for compressed earth brick (CEB) construction was assessed, adhering to established guidelines for the identification of suitable soil types. In addition, the thermal properties of the bricks were determined, finding that the use of corn straw fibers improves the thermal performance of the bricks, and cement stabilization leads to an improvement in the bricks' mechanical properties.

Recycling green waste through composting is a promising practice for the transition towards a bio-based circular economy in the floricultural sector of Africa, especially for Kenya where cut flower export accounts for nearly 14 % of its total export value in 2017. Rose waste is a large waste stream, but its intrinsic properties make it challenging to recycle. Composting on commercial scale was studied on a rose farm near Lake Naivasha, (Kenya). Three mixtures were examined: (1) rose waste (RW) only, (2) 80 % RW + 20 % tomato waste and (3) 90 % RW + 10 % mature rose compost. Trapezoidal piles of approximately 4000 kg green waste were composted following the turned windrow approach, samples were taken at six occasions. The nine-month composting study, including pesticide fate assessment, showed consistent performance across tested mixtures. All mixtures resulted in mature and stable compost with C/N ratios below 10 and a high fertilizing potential, meeting international sanitation requirements. Final average volume reduction was 82 %, total N values ranged between 8.1 and 8.9 mg g⁻¹ compost and pH values were alkaline (8.0–8.3). Out of the approximately 50 pesticides commonly used in rose cultivation only 8–12 pesticides could be detected in the matured composts with the highest contribution of flubendiamide and fluopyram. Scenario analysis showed the feasibility of closing the resource cycle in the African floricultural sector via continuous crop rotation over eight years with an amendment rate of 11.5 kg per m². Overall, this study provided straightforward implementable practices for rose waste management, which facilitates the re-use of valuable green waste in Africa and thereby contributes to the transition towards a global circular economy.