Waste Management & Research最新文献

At present, both emerging and developed economies have faced the challenge of higher healthcare waste generation. Developed countries are using these technologies to manage healthcare waste and cope with the challenge. Emerging economies are still struggling to understand and implement digital technologies in healthcare waste management, posing a danger to partners handling toxic and hazardous waste. The proper handling of healthcare waste is essential for social and environmental sustainability. Digital technologies that drive digital transformation in the healthcare sector impact the traditional way of managing healthcare waste. Digital technologies include artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things, sensors, data analytics and radio frequency identification. These technologies can potentially address vehicle route planning and scheduling problems, resource optimisation, real-time tracking and the visibility of healthcare waste management. Apart from economic and environmental concerns, the operational workforce also takes care of societal well-being and implements waste management strategies and policies. Past research has focused on integrating blockchain technology to enhance traceability and transparency in waste collection and disposal activities. However, the application and impact of these technologies for managing different operations of healthcare management with sustainability is a gap bridged by the present study. This study adopts a systematic literature review to identify research trends, applications and implications of digital transformation. It proposes a digital technology-driven framework for healthcare waste management for further research.

Globally, household food waste alone accounts for about $700 billion in environmental costs owing to the resources expended in producing discarded or uneaten food, along with social costs reaching approximately $900 billion. Reducing this waste by 25% could potentially feed 821 million chronically undernourished individuals. This systematic review examines household food waste behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Comprehensive searches were conducted in PubMed and EMBASE using Elsevier supplemented by additional articles from the reference lists. The procedure followed the PRISMA flowchart. A descriptive analysis was conducted to summarize the characteristics of the 42 included studies from 17 countries. Significantly, 95% of these articles were published between 1 January 2010 and 19 April 2024, in Scimago Q1 ranked journals. The findings demonstrate an intersection of TPB components in explaining household food waste behaviour. This study suggests that a holistic strategy targeting attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control is essential for effectively reducing household food waste. Additionally, tailored interventions that consider demographic and socioeconomic factors are necessary to address the diverse needs of different populations. The study concludes that public education targeting mindful consumption, effective policies and community initiatives can significantly reduce food waste.

International literature is lacking quantified information about the impact of raising demands for attractive appearances and the private standards on food loss and associated effects on the economy, the environment and social issues. Given the global scale and significance to food consumption and health, fresh apples were selected for researching the issues. By focusing on China, the major production region of fresh apple in the world where the effects of aesthetic preference and shape abnormality are substantial, the present study aims to gain insights into the on-farm grading processes and different marketing channels for fresh apples in China. It was discovered that 35% of the volume in China's major production areas of fresh apples were graded by aesthetic characteristics such as ripeness, colour, fragrance, bruising, intactness and appealing appearance. About 17.1% of production on average were considered as food losses mainly caused by such grading schemes. Favouring 'perfect' appearance; however, the grading did not yield economic benefits for smallholders. Lastly, direct procurement by supermarkets had a depressive effect on the price of fresh apples at the farm gate. The study has a unique value for global debates and actions against food loss and waste as it quantifies on-farm post-harvest losses of fresh apples by different agri-food chain organizations in China with respect to mass and economic value.

Biodegradable plastics have certain challenges in a waste management perspective. The existing literature reviews fail to provide a consolidated overview of different process steps of biodegradable plastic waste management and to discuss the support provided by the existing legislation for the same. The present review provides a holistic overview of these process steps and a comprehensive relative summary of 13 existing European Union (EU) laws related to waste management and circular economy, and national legislations plus source separation guidelines of 13 countries, to ensure the optimal use of resources in the future. Following were the major findings: (i) numerous types and low volumes of biodegradable plastics pose a challenge to developing cost-effective waste management infrastructure; (ii) biodegradable plastics are promoted as food-waste collection aids, but consumers are often confused about their proper disposal and are prone to greenwashing from manufacturers; (iii) industry-level studies demonstrating mechanical recycling on a full scale are unavailable; (iv) the existing EU legislation dealt with general topics related to biodegradable plastics; however, only the new proposal on plastic packaging waste and the EU policy framework for bioplastics clearly mentioned their disposal and (v) clear disparities were observed between disposal methods suggested by national legislation and available source separation guidelines. Thus, to appropriately manage biodegradable plastic waste, it is necessary to develop waste processing and material utilization infrastructure as well as create consumer awareness. In the end, recommendations were provided for improved biodegradable plastic waste management from the perspective of systemic challenges identified from the literature review.

Accurate assessment of the dynamic strength characteristics of mechanically-biologically treated (MBT) waste is crucial for the construction and safe operation of landfill sites. Herein, samples of MBT waste from the Hangzhou Tianziling landfill were collected and subjected to consolidated undrained cyclic triaxial tests under four confinement levels and six cyclic stress ratios (CSRs). Under cyclic loading, the MBT waste exhibited a critical CSR. If the CSR exceeds the critical value, the MBT waste specimen rapidly undergoes deformation and failure. Dynamic strength of MBT waste decreases with an increase in the number of cyclic vibrations and increases with an increase in confining pressure. Considering the influence of cyclic vibrations and confining pressure, a formula for dynamic strength in terms of cyclic vibrations and confining pressure has been established. The dynamic shear strength parameter ranges for MBT waste were obtained under different seismic magnitudes. We compared the dynamic and static shear strength parameters of MBT waste and municipal solid waste. These study findings can serve as a reference for the dynamic stability analysis of MBT waste landfills.

The integration of mineral-based waste materials is crucial for achieving a sustainable and circular construction sector. Whilst technological and economic aspects receive attention, this mini review spotlights overlooked legal 'regulatory hurdles'. It explores major barriers within the European Union, aiming to compress the current ~30-year material development pipeline. Significant hurdles include the absence of harmonized end-of-waste criteria (Waste Framework Directive), the need for consensus-building in chemical risk assessments (REACH & CLP), scarcity of up-to-date harmonized product standards (Construction Products Regulation) and precision values for limit state analysis in structural codes (Eurocodes). This mini review serves as a practical manual, outlining the intricate regulatory landscape for industry experts, regulators and researchers. Emphasizing the parallel importance of environmental safety considerations and performance, our study presented in this mini-review, underscores the necessity for a multi-stakeholder approach to alleviate regulatory barriers. By illuminating regulatory intricacies, this mini review establishes the foundations for wider discussions and in-depth analysis as to the future outlook for consensus development procedures in a rapidly changing and challenging global construction sector. The manuscript also provides stakeholders with vital insights for informed decision-making, helping to facilitate the paradigm shift towards a sustainable and circular construction sector.

The textile industry along with construction, electronics and plastic generate huge amounts of waste posing challenges to the adoption of the circular economy. This research presents a sustainable and low-cost recycling technology for conversion of post-consumer textile (denim) wastes to useful insulation materials. To accomplish the objective, nonwoven materials were produced using varying proportions of post-consumer recycled denim (r-denim) fibre and hollow polyester (PET) fibre using different punch densities in the needle punching process. Kowalski, Cornell and Vining mixture design, a special type of design of experiments, was adopted to develop the samples. Developed nonwoven materials were characterised for thermal resistance and tensile properties. The results show that nonwoven materials containing the minimum proportion (20%) of r-denim fibres exhibited the highest thermal resistance (0.131 W^-1m²K). However, by adjusting the process parameter of the nonwovens, that is, the punch density, the same thermal resistance (0.131 W^-1m²K) is also achieved even with 39% r-denim fibres. Additionally, the nonwovens produced from this blend proportion (r-denim:PET = 39:61) demonstrate a reasonable strength of 2.43 cN/tex. Environmental benefits of the developed r-denim/PET nonwovens have been evaluated by the life cycle assessment approach. Results show that the use of ~40% r-denim fibre has reduced the environmental burden significantly. Therefore, the nonwoven materials produced from post-consumer textile wastes hold tremendous potential as an alternative to synthetic fibres in thermal insulation applications. This recycling approach has immense potential to contribute to the efficient utilisation of post-consumer textile waste materials paving the way for environmental sustainability.

Medical waste management is an essential component of healthcare delivery globally due to the toxic and contagious potentials on human health and the environment. There are resource limitations in developing nations when it comes to the appropriate handling of medical wastes. In this article, we examined previous studies to evaluate the practices of medical waste management in China and Nigeria. Contextually, this work addresses medical waste practices in the context of waste generation, segregation, collection, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal. In addition to reviewing additional important aspects of medical waste management, the current study addresses potentials and challenges for efficient medical waste management in both countries. For this study; Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, Agencies, Conferences, National and International Conventions were searched from 1998 up to 2023 for all studies reporting medical waste management in China and Nigeria. To further guarantee that only resource materials with similar research interests in medical waste management were selected, a double screening process was employed. The challenges of medical waste management in both countries are limited financing, inadequate training, ineffective legislation, ineffective medical waste transport system and insufficient treatment technology. Furthermore, this study offers practical recommendations by identifying the particular areas that require attention and development, such as training of healthcare workers, adequate financing of medical waste management projects, including research and development on efficient toxic emission reducing technologies, and partnership with other relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure enforcement of national and local legislation.