Drivers and barriers to successful solid waste management: assessing through an aggregated indicator

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Solid waste management is the main topic of the circular economy and remains a challenge for public management, because despite the recent economic...     

Trends in Fenton and photo-Fenton processes for degradation of antineoplastic agents in water matrices: current knowledge and future challenges evaluation using a bibliometric and systematic analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Antineoplastic agents present potential hazards to human health and the environment. For this reason, these compounds have attracted a great deal of...     

Mitigating energy production-based carbon dioxide emissions in Argentina: the roles of renewable energy and economic globalization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The energy sector of Argentina is predominantly reliant on fossil fuels. Consequently, such fossil fuel dependency within the nation’s power...     

A model for estimation of potential generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Brazil

Sales of electrical and electronic equipment are increasing dramatically in developing countries. Usually, there are no reliable data about quantities of the waste generated. A new law for solid waste management was enacted in Brazil in 2010, and the infrastructure to treat this waste must be planned, considering the volumes of the different types of electrical and electronic equipment generated.This paper reviews the literature regarding estimation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), focusing on developing countries, particularly in Latin America. It briefly describes the current WEEE system in Brazil and presents an updated estimate of generation of WEEE. Considering the limited available data in Brazil, a model for WEEE generation estimation is proposed in which different methods are used for mature and non-mature market products.The results showed that the most important variable is the equipment lifetime, which requires a thorough understanding of consumer behavior to estimate. Since Brazil is a rapidly expanding market, the “boom” in waste generation is still to come. In the near future, better data will provide more reliable estimation of waste generation and a clearer interpretation of the lifetime variable throughout the years.     

Vegetable fibres from agricultural residues as thermo-mechanical reinforcement in recycled polypropylene-based green foams

Novel lightweight composite foams based on recycled polypropylene reinforced with cellulosic fibres obtained from agricultural residues were prepared and characterized. These composites, initially prepared by melt-mixing recycled polypropylene with variable fibre concentrations (10-25 wt.%), were foamed by high-pressure CO₂ dissolution, a clean process which avoids the use of chemical blowing agents. With the aim of studying the influence of the fibre characteristics on the resultant foams, two chemical treatments were applied to the barley straw in order to increase the α-cellulose content of the fibres. The chemical composition, morphology and thermal stability of the fibres and composites were analyzed. Results indicate that fibre chemical treatment and later foaming of the composites resulted in foams with characteristic closed-cell microcellular structures, their specific storage modulus significantly increasing due to the higher stiffness of the fibres. The addition of the fibres also resulted in an increase in the glass transition temperature of PP in both the solid composites and more significantly in the foams.     

Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast

Geographical areas constitute the basic implementation locus for integrated coastal zone management strategies and activities. Because the definition of territorial planning objectives may be affected by socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, one of the main steps in the process involves dividing the coast into homogeneous environmental management units (HEMUs). This article presents a general and simple method for regionalizing the landside of a coastal zone into HEMUs and illustrates it through application to the Catalan coast. Socioeconomic and natural (biophysical) subsystems were selected as the most appropriate dimensions of the regionalization process. Dimensions were described using 11 spatial themes, which were managed in a geographic information system environment that proved to be an adequate tool for the purpose. A final coastal zone map of four classes of HEMUs connected to local administrative units was obtained, and because it reflects the current natural and socioeconomic dynamics, it can be considered as an initial step in the planning process for the Catalan coast. Although the proposed method was developed based on the characteristics of the Catalan coast, it is general enough to be adapted and applied to most developed or developing coastal areas.     

Park isolation in anthropogenic landscapes: land change and livelihoods at park boundaries in the African Albertine Rift

Regional Environmental Change - Landscapes are changing rapidly in regions where rural people live adjacent to protected parks and reserves. This is the case in highland East Africa, where many...     

Influence of humic substances on the photolysis of aqueous pesticide residues

The present work investigated the direct and indirect photolysis of pesticide residues (atrazine, imazaquin, iprodione), in aqueous solutions and under UV-visible radiation (280-480nm). Different kinds of humic substances (HS) were added to samples in order to evaluate their behaviour as possible photocatalysts and their effect on the photolysis of pesticides. The fulvic acids were purchased from the International Humic Substances Society, and they were added to samples in concentrations ranging from 1 to 150 mgl(-1). Titanium dioxide was used as the photocatalyst, in concentration ranging from 10 to 150 mgl(-1). Pesticides photolysis were measured by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and differential pulse polarography with all used pesticides, reaching total degradation after 2h of irradiation, thus indicating a fast direct photolysis. Photocatalysis by TiO(2) could increase the pesticides photolysis rate up to 40%. This effect, however, was not observed for imazaquin photolysis. Again, except for imazaquin, HS presence showed a positive effect in increasing pesticide degradation, but only within specific concentration ranges (below 10mg l(-1) for iprodione and about 30mgl(-1) for atrazine). Above these ranges HS induce a decrease in the pesticides photolysis rate. Spin-trapping measurements by electronic paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, using the spin-trap DMPO, showed that HS are able to photogenerate hydroxyl radicals, increasing the pesticides molecule degradation. However, the HS also react with the photogenerated hydroxyl radical, influencing the pesticide photolysis, leading to a decrease in the photolysis rate and causing it to be strongly dependent on the nature and concentration of residues in the water to be treated.     

Measuring sustainable development knowledge,attitudes, and behaviors: evidence from university students in Mexico

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Current trends such as imminent overpopulation and the take-make-waste economic model are largely responsible for the planet’s dire situation....