What attributes of mandatory waste management policy can enhance the separation intention of residents in China? A behaviour choice experiment

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - China is facing a severe waste siege. Notwithstanding the several years of mandatory policy implementation, the residents’ waste separation...     

What is the acceptable margin of error for the oxygen uptake method in evaluating the reactivity of organic waste?

The acceptable margin of error for the organic waste reactivity measured by the oxygen uptake method was assessed. Oxygen uptake was determined by the Dynamic Respiration Index (DRI) (mgO₂/kgVS h). The composed uncertainty (uC) of the experimental set up used for the DRI test was evaluated and the uncertainty (u) of all the components of the apparatus was evaluated. A procedure for calculating the uC of the apparatus is proposed. The components affecting the uC of the DRI to a more significant extent were the one of the oxygen mass rate and the u of the amount of VS in the sample analyzed. For a confidence level of 99.73%, the extended uC (UC) interval for a DRI = 1024 mgO₂/kgVS h was ±440 mgO₂/kgVS h, whereas for a DRI = 3489 mgO₂/kgVS h, the UC interval was ±1288 mgO₂/kgVS h. When oxygen consumption and VS content become lower than 600 mgO₂/h and 0.9 kg, respectively, the UC interval is similar to the measured DRI.     

Integration of the informal sector into municipal solid waste management in the Philippines – What does it need?

The integration of the informal sector into municipal solid waste management is a challenge many developing countries face. In Iloilo City, Philippines around 220 tons of municipal solid waste are collected every day and disposed at a 10 ha large dumpsite. In order to improve the local waste management system the Local Government decided to develop a new Waste Management Center with integrated landfill. However, the proposed area is adjacent to the presently used dumpsite where more than 300 waste pickers dwell and depend on waste picking as their source of livelihood. The Local Government recognized the hidden threat imposed by the waste picker’s presence for this development project and proposed various measures to integrate the informal sector into the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) program. As a key intervention a Waste Workers Association, called USWAG Calahunan Livelihood Association Inc. (UCLA) was initiated and registered as a formal business enterprise in May 2009. Up to date, UCLA counts 240 members who commit to follow certain rules and to work within a team that jointly recovers wasted materials. As a cooperative they are empowered to explore new livelihood options such as the recovery of Alternative Fuels for commercial (cement industry) and household use, production of compost and making of handicrafts out of used packages. These activities do not only provide alternative livelihood for them but also lessen the generation of leachate and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions from waste disposal, whereby the life time of the proposed new sanitary landfill can be extended likewise.     

What makes residents more willing to participate in source separation of waste masks under the COVID-19 pandemic?

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the generation of a large amount of medical waste brought a rude shock to the existing solid...     

What is left behind when the lights go off? Comparing the abundance and composition of litter in urban areas with different intensity of nightlife use in Mar del Plata,Argentina

Nightlife activities represents an important source of urban litter; the latter often being left behind or abandoned in public places and streets. Mar del Plata is a very important city on the Atlantic coast of Argentina and is the main tourism destination in the South Atlantic region of South America. However, few studies on urban litter related to nightlife activities have been conducted in the area. Here we assessed (i) the abundance and composition of litter, and (ii) the spatial and temporal variations of its abundance, diversity, richness and evenness in urbanized areas with different intensity of nightlife activities from April 2008 to March 2009. An overall of 13,503 items were counted. Around 92% of the total litter was comprised by cigarette butts, papers and plastics. We found significant spatial differences in the abundance of litter between sampling sites, with the greatest amounts of litter at the Alem site followed by the Hipólito site (both with an intensive nightlife activity) compared with the Chauvin site (a quiet high-income neighborhood). The composition of litter of the Alem and the Hipólito sites was relatively similar and both sites differ with respect to the Chauvin site. Cigarette butts, papers, and plastics were the items that contributed most to the dissimilarity between sampling sites. The diversity of litter was the single community parameter that significantly differed from the other seasons. We discussed the potential effect of nightlife activities on the amounts and quality of urban litter in the city of Mar del Plata.