19th century London dust-yards: A case study in closed-loop resource efficiency

The material recovery methods used by dust-yards in early 19th century London, England and the conditions that led to their development, success and decline are reported. The overall system developed in response to the market value of constituents of municipal waste, and particularly the high coal ash content of household ‘dust’. The emergence of lucrative markets for ‘soil’ and ‘breeze’ products encouraged dust-contractors to recover effectively 100% of the residual wastes remaining after readily saleable items and materials had been removed by the thriving informal sector. Contracting dust collection to the private sector allowed parishes to keep the streets relatively clean, without the need to develop institutional capacity, and for a period this also generated useful income. The dust-yard system is, therefore, an early example of organised, municipal-wide solid waste management, and also of public–private sector participation. The dust-yard system had been working successfully for more than 50 years before the Public Health Acts of 1848 and 1875, and was thus important in facilitating a relatively smooth transition to an institutionalised, municipally-run solid waste management system in England. The dust-yards can be seen as early precursors of modern materials recycling facilities (MRFs) and mechanical–biological treatment (MBT) plants; however, it must be emphasised that dust-yards operated without any of the environmental and occupational health considerations that are indispensable today. In addition, there are analogies between dust-yards and informal sector recycling systems currently operating in many developing countries.     

Comparative evaluation of a bioluminescent bacterial assay in terrestrial ecotoxicity testing

Despite the widespread and successful use of luminescence-based bioassays in water testing, their applications to soils and sediments is less proven. In part this is because such bioassays have mainly been carried out in an aqueous-based medium and, as such, favour contaminants that are readily water-soluble. In this study, aqueous solutions and soils contaminated with heavy metals (HM), polar organic contaminants and hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) were tested using a range of luminescence-based bioassays (Vibrio fischeri, Escherichia coli HB101 pUCD607 and Pseudomonas fluorescens 10586r pUCD607). For the first two chemical groups, the assays were highly reproducible when optimised extraction procedures were employed but for HOCs the bioassay response was poor. Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) obtained from aqueous solutions had a linear response although correlation for the chemicals tested using bacterial bioassays was significantly less sensitive than that of sublethal tests for Tetrahymena pyriformis. Bacterial and Dendrobaena veneta bioassay responses to extracts from HM amended soils showed that a clear relationship between trophic levels could be obtained. There is no doubt that the wide range of bioluminescent-based bioassays offers complementary applications to traditional testing techniques but there is a significant need to justify and optimise the extraction protocol prior to application.     

Short retention times of stomach temperature loggers in free-living seabirds: is there hope in the spring?

Stomach temperature loggers have proved useful for the study of feeding activity in free-living seabirds, but their usage has been restricted because they are frequently dislodged and lost during the seabirds' regular regurgitation of indigestible prey remains. In the present study we examine the incidence of spontaneous regurgitation (pellet production) in free-living seabirds, consider the effect this has on the likely retrieval of stomach temperature loggers and present a structural modification of the logger housings which leads to a much lower incidence of regurgitation. Systems were tested on albatrosses, cormorants, gannets and penguins. Received: 15 July 1997 / Accepted: 31 October 1997     

Solid waste management in Abuja, Nigeria

The new city of Abuja provided an opportunity to avoid some of the environmental problems associated with other major cities in Africa. The current status of solid waste management in Abuja has been reviewed and recommendations for improvements are made. The existing solid waste management system is affected by unfavourable economic, institutional, legislative, technical and operational constraints. A reliable waste collection service is needed and waste collection vehicles need to be appropriate to local conditions. More vehicles are required to cope with increasing waste generation. Wastes need to be sorted at source as much as possible, to reduce the amount requiring disposal. Co-operation among communities, the informal sector, the formal waste collectors and the authorities is necessary if recycling rates are to increase. Markets for recycled materials need to be encouraged. Despite recent improvements in the operation of the existing dumpsite, a properly sited engineered landfill should be constructed with operation contracted to the private sector. Wastes dumped along roads, underneath bridges, in culverts and in drainage channels need to be cleared. Small-scale waste composting plants could promote employment, income generation and poverty alleviation. Enforcement of waste management legislation and a proper policy and planning framework for waste management are required. Unauthorized use of land must be controlled by enforcing relevant clauses in development guidelines. Accurate population data is necessary so that waste management systems and infrastructure can be properly planned. Funding and affordability remain major constraints and challenges.     

Seeking,Thinking, Acting: Understanding Suburban Resident Perceptions and Behaviors Related to Stream Quality

Theories in risk, psychology, and communication suggest aiming to inform the public about basic ecological facts may not be enough to influence knowledge of risks or behaviors to mitigate water quality risks. The risk information‐seeking and processing model and the theory of planned behavior suggest several additional variables that are likely to influence risk‐mitigating behaviors. We used data from a survey of watershed residents in Ohio to explore a model of behavioral intentions to positively impact stream health. Residents' informational norms, or the perceived pressure to know about local stream health, strongly predicted their information‐seeking behaviors. Active‐seeking behaviors predicted positive attitudes toward behaviors impacting stream health, which predicted intentions to positively impact stream health. Implications for outreach include couching communication in terms of risk found important to the local community, here wildlife were seen as negatively influenced by water quality, as opposed to plain reports typically provided by utility companies. Increasing social pressure to feel informed by emphasizing the existing knowledge of stream ecology among residents could change the norm for the less informed. A low response rate limits the generalizability of findings here, but leveraging these findings in outreach efforts could prove more successful in engaging the public to improve stream health and support policies to improve stream health.