Report: environmental assessment of Darmstadt (Germany) municipal waste incineration plant.

The focus of this study was the emissions from waste incineration plants using Darmstadt (Germany) waste incineration plant as an example. In the study the emissions generated by incineration of the waste were considered using three different approaches. Initially the emissions from the waste incineration plant were assessed as part of the impact of waste management systems on the environment by using a Municipal Solid Waste Management System (MSWMS) assessment tool (also called: LCA-IWM assessment tool). This was followed by a comparison between the optimal waste incineration process and the real situation. Finally a comparison was made between the emissions from the incineration plant and the emissions from a vehicle.     

An assessment of the current and future options for domestic waste management in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The main purpose of this study was to carry out a retrospective analysis of solid waste generation in Kaunas city from 1994 to 2003 and to calculate the theoretical waste generation in the future. This paper also presents measurements of the annual variations of waste amounts and calculations on a theoretical waste incineration facility. Two waste treatment scenarios were considered. Scenario A: waste deposit at the landfill with 'implementation of domestic waste separation and recycling'. Scenario B: waste removal to a landfill with 'multi-treatment: household separation, recycling and energetic recovery'. Three levels of waste treatment were proposed. The first level was implementation of the recycling system, which included household waste separation. The next step involved mechanical-biological treatment. The third level was the construction and operation of a new waste incineration plant in Kaunas. Two sites in Kaunas city were proposed; however, more detailed analysis, including the economic factors, will need to be done.     

Health impact assessment of Roma housing policies in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparative analysis

Marginalised Roma communities in European countries live in substandard housing conditions the improvement of which has been one of the major issues of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, the ongoing intergovernmental European Roma programme. The paper presents EU-funded health impact assessments of national Roma housing policies and programmes in 3 Central and Eastern European countries in light of the evaluation of a completed local project in a fourth CEE country so as to compare predicted effects to observed ones. Housing was predicted to have beneficial health effects by improving indoor and outdoor conditions, access to services, and socioeconomic conditions. Negative impacts were predicted only in terms of maintenance expenses and housing tenure. However, observed impacts of the completed local project did not fully support predictions especially in terms of social networks, satisfaction with housing and neighbourhood, and inhabitant safety. In order to improve the predictive value of HIA, more evidence should be produced by the careful evaluation of locally implemented housing projects. In addition, current evidence is in favour of planning Roma housing projects at the local rather than at the national level in alignment with the principle of subsidiarity.