The influence of a voluntary fee in the consumption of plastic bags on supermarkets from Madeira Island (Portugal)

Since 2007, some supermarkets in Portugal have voluntarily abolished the free distribution of plastic bags, implementing a symbolic charge of €0.02 each at the same time that others still offer free plastic bags. This study assesses the influence of this voluntary measure on the reduction of plastic bags consumption, comparing clients from supermarkets that have adopted it with others who have free distribution. The reutilisation of bags reached 37% in supermarkets where customers pay a fee and was absent in supermarkets where plastic bags are free. Even the abstention of using bags, when clients buy only few products, is significantly higher in supermarkets where there are charges for plastic bags. The 2 cents charged has also induced a significant increase in optimal use of plastic bags since 52% of clients that pay for plastic bags use them so they are almost full, but only 17% do the same when they are free. Taken together, the different effects of charging for plastic bags represents a potential reduction of 64%. A mandatory tax on plastic bags is an important measure to reduce substantially the number of plastic bags consumed and to improve sustainability through the reduction of environmental, economic and social costs of pollution and waste management.     

“限塑令”政策实施效应与对策研究

分析了"限塑令"的政策安排、实施效果,以及"限塑令"的实行对塑料袋生产、销售、使用相关各方的影响,讨论了政策执行中存在的政策实施目的偏差、缺乏配套政策、回收利用产业发展缓慢、垃圾袋和替代品不环保等问题,提出了保证"限塑令"政策有效实施的对策建议,即应依照少用、回收、替代、降解的原则对待塑料袋的使用。     

DETRITUS ABUNDANCE AND BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE CATCH IN ARTIFICIAL SUBSTRATE SAMPLES FROM MOUNTAIN STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: Artificial substrates were designed using rock filled polyethylene bags which were perforated with holes. The substrates trapped waterborne sediment and detritus which enhanced microhabitat complexity. Colonization was compared in side-by-side tests with multiple plate samplers in mountain streams ranging from second to seventh order. After 41 days the bag samples contained more sediment and detritus and more animals than did multiple plates. Plastic bags exceeded multiple plate samples by a factor of nearly 8 for individuals and 1.5 for taxa expressed as numbers/sampler. Although detritus amounts differed significantly between samplers, catch composition was similar in habitat preference and functional groups. Most taxa were “lotic erosional” or “lotic erosional-depositional” detritivores. The plastic bags better represented the streambed fauna judged by their greater similarity to dip net samples. Bag samplers had 4.5 × the colonization area of multiple plates, hence would be expected to support more species. Catch/m² of colonization area was not significantly different between samplers. Functionally the plastic bags act as detritus retention devices, offering a diverse, highly dynamic microhabitat for colonization. Results are interpretable in terms of research on microdistribution of stream benthos and the river continuum model. This study supports the conclusion that stream benthos abundance and diversity are related to the amount of detritus. Maximum diversity and numbers of individuals occurred in samples from third and fourth order streams. Grazers reached peak abundances in the same streams where the continuum model predicts P>R Shredders reached maximum abundances in third and fourth order streams where the riparian canopy was greatest. Predator abundance changed little with stream size. Although bag samples required more sorting time, the samplers are catch effective, inexpensive, and adaptable.     

干法脱硫袋除尘器滤袋袋底破损原因研究

针对烟气干法脱硫配套布袋除尘器部分滤袋袋底破损问题,进行原因分析研究,提出了滤袋伸长率的概念,通过试验和理论计算分析,确定了干法脱硫配套布袋除尘器的滤袋和袋笼最佳配合设计尺寸,以保证滤袋的使用寿命和除尘器的长期高效运行。     

“限塑令”对塑料袋回收利用影响的分析

针对我国塑料袋回收利用的现状及案例调研显示,“限塑令”对塑料袋的回收利用具有促进作用;但“限塑令”实施的预期效果目前尚不明显。“限塑令”有待进一步推广,相应的回收利用体系也亟待建设与健全。     

袋式除尘新技术在机立窑烟尘治理中的应用

介绍了袋式除尘新技术在机立窑烟气治理中的应用,多台机立窑采用一台唧玻纤袋除尘器集中除尘,其技术已经非常成熟,可以说是机立窑玻纤袋除尘技术的重大突破,也是一次飞跃式的发展。文章对袋式除尘器的技术发展等做了论述。     

Bias of Tedlar bags in the measurement of agricultural odorants

Odor regulations typically specify the use of dynamic dilution olfactometery (DDO) as a method to quantify odor emissions, and Tedlar bags are the preferred holding container for grab samples. This study was conducted to determine if Tedlar bags affect the integrity of sampled air from animal operations. Air samples were collected simultaneously in both Tedlar bags and Tenax thermal desorption tubes. Sample sources originated from either a hydrocarbon-free air tank, dynamic headspace chamber (DHC), or swine-production facility, and were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O). Several background contaminants were identified from Tedlar bags, which included the odorous compounds N,N-dimethyl acetamide (DMAC), acetic acid, and phenol. Samples from the DHC demonstrated that recovery of malodor compounds was dependent on residence time in the Tedlar bag with longer residence time leading to lower recovery. After 24 h of storage, recovery of C3-C6 volatile fatty acids (VFA) averaged 64%, 4-methylphenol and 4-ethylphenol averaged 10%, and indole and 3-methylindole were below the detection limits of GC-MS-O. The odor activity value (OAV) of grab samples collected in Tedlar bags were 33 to 65% lower following 24 h of storage. These results indicate that significant odorant bias occurs when using Tedlar bags for the sampling of odors from animal production facilities.     

浅谈袋式除尘器废旧滤袋的处置

袋式除尘器是目前世界上应用最多、最为成熟的除尘设备。由于其除尘效率高、结构简单、适应性强、工作稳定、可回收干料等特点已广泛应用到各行各业中。而随着袋式除尘器的广泛应用,大量破损的废旧滤袋的处置也成为难以解决的棘手问题。本文分析了国内滤袋市场现状以及废旧滤袋难以有效处置的原因。     

静电激发型袋除尘器的机理及应用前景

静电激发型袋除尘器有别于常规的电袋结合除尘器,其是将电除尘器的预荷电原理作用于烟气后,利用袋除尘器的滤袋做收尘极板来收集粉尘。本文通过分析Max-9^TMESFF的结构介绍了其除尘机理,并分析了它的应用前景。     

A critical review on plastic waste administration

The management of plastic waste through various methods such as landfilling, recycling, and incineration has several inherent shortcomings, such as a lack of resources, preparation, motivation, financial power, and expertise. Additionally, these methods are unable to handle the quantity and types of plastic waste, nor do they increase the public's interest in plastic waste management practices. According to research, environmental, economic, and social factors are the main drivers for reducing plastic waste. Experts from around the world have identified four significant areas of concern for which solutions have been proposed: methods of plastic waste reduction and management, the amount of plastic waste, the quality of waste/plastic, and awareness of plastic waste management/cost of plastic waste management. However, individual solutions proposed for these key areas of concern are facing several challenges, leading to delays in their adoption or less popularity globally. The review has identified the reasons for the less popularity of existing plastic waste management methods, which are less environmentally friendly and have a complex process, hence requiring serious reconsideration from technocrats and researchers to develop more sustainable and efficient procedures that do not produce more hazardous by-products. This study also found that financial incentives are one of the main drivers to ensure the mass participation of lower and working-class people.     

A comprehensive waste collection cost model applied to post-consumer plastic packaging waste

Post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PPW) can be collected for recycling via source separation or post-separation. In source separation, households separate plastics from other waste before collection, whereas in post-separation waste is separated at a treatment centre after collection. There are also two collection schemes, either curb side or via drop-off locations. These different schemes have impact on total costs of collection at the municipal level. It can also influence the facility choices and network design. Therefore, a method which can compare costs of various collection schemes is needed.A comprehensive cost model was developed to compare costs of municipal collection schemes of PPW. The ‘municipal waste collection cost model’ is based on variables including fixed and variable costs per vehicle, personnel cost, container or bag costs as well as on emission costs (using imaginary carbon taxes). The model can be used for decision support when strategic changes to the collection scheme of municipalities are considered. The model takes into account the characteristics of municipalities, including urbanization degree and taxation schemes for household waste management.The model was applied to the Dutch case of post-consumer plastic packaging waste. Results showed that that in general post-separation collection has the lowest costs and curb side collection in urban municipalities without residual waste collection taxing schemes the highest. These results were supported by the conducted sensitivity analysis, which showed that higher source separation responses are negatively related to curb side collection costs. Greenhouse gas emission costs are a significant part of the total costs when collecting post-consumer plastic packaging waste due to the low density to weight ratio of the materials collect. These costs can amount to 15% of the total collection costs.     

电袋复合除尘器高效捕集微细粉尘 PM2.5的机理探讨

电袋复合除尘器捕集粉尘除了静电凝并作用外,滤袋表面的二次粉尘层和一次粉尘层中粉尘颗粒之间的微米级间隙,以及滤料纤维层中纤维间距的微距,加上荷电粉尘层形成的（内）电场力和（或）外加电场的作用,使微细粉尘发生极化、库伦和电场吸附,是实现高效捕集微细粉尘PM2.5的重要机理。     

Stability of odorants from pig production in sampling bags for olfactometry

Odor from pig production facilities is typically measured with olfactometry, whereby odor samples are collected in sampling bags and assessed by human panelists within 30 h. In the present study, the storage stability of odorants in two types of sampling bags that are often used for olfactometry was investigated. The bags were made of Tedlar or Nalophan. In a field experiment, humid and dried air samples were collected from a pig production facility with growing-finishing pigs and analyzed with a gas chromatograph with an amperometric sulfur detector at 4, 8, 12, 28, 52, and 76 h after sampling. In a laboratory experiment, the bags were filled with a humid gas mixture containing carboxylic acids, phenols, indoles, and sulfur compounds and analyzed with proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry after 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h. The results demonstrated that the concentrations of carboxylic acids, phenols, and indoles decreased by 50 to >99% during the 24 h of storage in Tedlar and Nalophan bags. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide decreased by approximately 30% during the 24 h of storage in Nalophan bags, whereas in Tedlar bags the concentration of sulfur compounds decreased by <5%. In conclusion, the concentrations of odorants in air samples from pig production facilities significantly decrease during storage in Tedlar and Nalophan bags, and the composition changes toward a higher relative presence of sulfur compounds. This can result in underestimation of odor emissions from pig production facilities and of the effect of odor reduction technologies.     

袋式除尘技术在我国燃煤电厂的应用

对国内10个典型燃煤电厂应用袋式除尘技术的情况进行了调研;综合分析了电厂袋式除尘器的运行情况,以及滤袋使用寿命、除尘器电耗及运行费用、维管工作量、对后续脱硫装置的影响及脱汞效果等情况;结论认为,袋式除尘技术能够有效控制燃煤电厂的烟尘排放,并能够在火电行业普遍推广应用,为火电行业的节能减排和PM2.5治理作出贡献。     

Prediction of odor from pig production based on chemical odorants

The present work was performed to investigate the use of odorant measurements for prediction of odor concentration in facilities with growing-finishing pigs and to analyze the odorant composition in facilities with different floor and ventilation systems. Air was sampled in Nalophan bags, odor concentrations were measured by dilution-to-threshold olfactometry, and concentrations of odorants were measured by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Olfactometry and chemical analyses were synchronized to take place at identical time intervals after sampling. A principal component analysis revealed that different facilities for growing-finishing pigs can be distinguished based on the odorants. Pit ventilation comprising a small amount of the total ventilation air (10-20%) in facilities with both room and pit ventilation can be used to concentrate odorants, whereas the room ventilation contains lower concentrations of most odorants. A partial least squares regression model demonstrated that prediction of the odor concentration based on odorants measured by PTR-MS is feasible. Hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, trimethylamine, and 4-methylphenol were identified as the compounds having the largest influence on the prediction of odor concentration, whereas carboxylic acids had no significant influence. In conclusion, chemical measurement of odorants by PTR-MS is an alternative for expressing the odor concentration in facilities with growing-finishing pigs that can be used to increase the understanding of odor from different types of facilities and improve the development of odor reduction technologies.     

基于排放源分析的我国六氯苯管理对策研究

根据文献调研和资料分析,系统总结了我国六氯苯(hexachlorobenzene,HCB)的可能排放源,根据排放因子和行业状况分析了我国农药使用、工业生产以及燃烧过程等污染源的非故意六氯苯排放状况和趋势,总结并探讨了六氯苯排放相关行业的管理措施和政策.结果表明:目前,我国六氯苯的主要来源是含六氯苯杂质的农药使用、废弃物...     

The Influence of Knowledge and Motivation on Sustainable Label Use

Sustainable labels are considered the best way for consumers to identify brands with environmental or social attributes on the shelves, and therefore promoted as a means to develop the so-called “ethical markets”. However, little is known about how consumers use these brands. This paper tries to offer complementary theoretical insights on the determinants of sustainable label use by drawing on the economic model of information search; in particular, it examines the influence of two factors on the purchase of such labels: motivation and knowledge. Information was gathered through a structured questionnaire in personal interviews with 289 primary buyers. The study found that education influences directly knowledge, while Motivation influences Label use both directly and indirectly, via Label knowledge. This study concludes that Motivation is the most powerful factor to explain Label use; knowledge is a necessary but not sufficient condition. Even more, consumers may not have a good understanding of sustainable labels and still use them in their purchasing decisions. This suggests that there is a dual processing mode of sustainable labels, both systematic and heuristic.     

A comparison of in situ methods for measuring net nitrogen mineralization rates of organic soil amendments

In situ incubation methods may help provide site-specific estimates of N mineralization from land-applied wastes. However, there are concerns about the reliability of the data generated by the various methods due to containment artifacts. We amended a sandy soil with either poultry manure, biosolids, or yard-waste compost and incubated the mixtures using four in situ methods (buried bags, covered cylinders, standard resin traps, and "new" soil-resin traps) and a conventional laboratory technique in plastic bags. Each incubation device was destructively sampled at 45-d intervals for 180 d and net N mineralization was determined by measuring the amount of inorganic N that accumulated in the soil or soil plus resin traps. Containment effects were evaluated by comparing water content of the containerized soil to a field-reference soil column. In situ incubation methods provided reasonable estimates of short-term (< 45 d) N mineralization, but long-term (> 45 d) mineralization data were not accurate due to a variety of problems specific to each technique. Buried bags and covered cylinders did not retain mineralized N due to water movement into and out of the containers. Neither resin method captured all of the mineralized N that leached through the soil columns, but the new soil-resin trap method tracked field soil water content better than all other in situ methods evaluated. With further refinement and validation, the new soil-resin trap method may be a useful in situ incubation technique for measuring net N mineralization rates of organic soil amendments.     

Health benefits valuation of regulatory intervention for air pollution control in thermal power plants in Delhi,India

This study estimates minimum marginal health benefits (morbidity reduction only) of air pollution control and total health benefits arising from regulatory intervention regarding the adoption of the World Bank emission guidelines (WBEG) for thermal power plants (TPPs) in Delhi. The Industrial Source Complex-Short-Term Version–3 (ISCST3) model has been used to estimate the contribution to air pollution from TPPs. The household health production function (avertive behaviour) has been used to value health benefits of air pollution control. The study revealed that the ambient air pollution due to TPPs is reduced by between 62.17% to 83.45% by adopting the WBEG. Annual marginal benefit due to reduction in exposure to air pollution by 1 μg m^?3 is estimated to be US$0.353 per person. Total annual health benefits for adopting the WBEG for TPPs are estimated at US$235.19 million. This study provides a novel methodology to evaluate health benefits of regulatory intervention.     

Application of modeling and simulation tools in costs and pollution monitoring

This paper presents the development and application of process modeling and simulation tools to aid in the monitoring and measuring of pollution from industry, and investigate a plant's overall performance. A case study of a generic reduction plant is investigated, taking into account the underlying principles that determine the amount of fluoride emissions released from the plant's processes. The simulation study includes the investigation of the gas cleaning system within the plant, such as the system's operating relationships between the scrubbing efficiency, wear of the scrubber filter bags, maintenance costs and its response to the change of scrubbing circulation. Two sets of simulation runs are performed to seek a balance for the plant's overall system performance, taking into account environmental issues (fluoride emissions) and cost. The final simulation result demonstrates that cost savings can be achieved when the plant operates in a cleaner manner.