Current use of bioremediation for TCE cleanup: Results of a survey

In 1995 the University of Tennessee's Waste Management Research and Education Institute and Canon Inc. began an analysis of the extent to which remediation firms and research centers have implemented bioremediation strategies, particularly for the cleanup of trichloroethylene (TCE) in soil and groundwater. The research involved the mailing of surveys to a select, representative group of environmental professionals involved in TCE cleanup activities. The survey was divided into two parts. Part I gathered cost information for TCE cleanup, using both bioremediation and “conventional” cleanup technologies. Part II asked the survey recipients to relate their opinions on the use of nonindigenous microorganisms for bioremediation, especially their assessment of the effectiveness, reliability, safety, and predictability of this approach. The results of this survey are discussed in this article.     

Academic research on solid waste in Sweden 1994-2003

A small desk survey was conducted in the spring of 2004 to get an overview on the development of waste research. The survey targeted the last 10 years of waste research at Swedish academic institutions trying to identify the total amount of research and trends over time with regard to issues, volume and distribution over academic disciplines. In the survey, only the theses written at major Swedish universities were considered. All post-graduate theses from major Swedish universities were reviewed. Data were obtained from the homepages and search engines of the various libraries as of May 13 2004. Altogether 90 theses were identified from nine universities, i.e., an average of 1 thesis per University per year. The results of the survey indicate that: (1) the academic waste research is very small in comparison to the R&D performed by the industry; there seems to be a lack of interaction between industry and academia; (2) waste research is slowly getting into established academic environments and gains in quantity and diversion over time; (3) in addition to being driven by environmental protection legislation, there also seems to be emerging more industry interest from a production perspective.     

Maximising household waste recycling at civic amenity sites in Lancashire, England

In the UK, all local authorities have been set statutory performance standards for the recycling and composting of household waste. As part of their strategy for achieving these standards, Lancashire County Council (LCC) has made a number of alterations to the layout and facilities available at civic amenity sites (renamed Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs)) in the county and tried to create a more positive image of the sites for members of the public. This study consisted of two surveys carried out in order to establish how to maximise household waste recycling at the 26 HWRCs in Lancashire. A telephone survey was carried out amongst all Lancashire's HWRC attendants in order to establish the effects of recent site improvements and to provide an indication of overall customer satisfaction. An on-site questionnaire survey was conducted amongst HWRC customers on five selected sites, over three separate seasons, incorporating comparative weekend and weekday surveys at each site. This survey investigated public opinion of HWRCs in Lancashire, as well as exploring effective methods that would assist customers in maximising the amount of recycling at HWRCs. The attendants' survey revealed that site attendants were actively encouraging customers to segregate waste more efficiently at the HWRCs, and that a recycling-related bonus scheme had provided an incentive towards this effort. Site attendants have a key role in educating the public about waste segregation and the effective use of HWRCs. Lancashire HWRC users were mostly male, used private cars to transport waste and showed high levels of customer satisfaction. Practical changes to encourage more recycling at HWRCs were clearly identified in the customers' survey; these include longer opening hours and the provision of boxes to enable pre-separation of waste. The study has clearly shown how the results of user surveys can provide practical assistance in the development of improved sustainable waste management strategies.     

Survey on the status of imported wastes used as raw material in China

 A survey was conducted on the status of imported waste steel–iron scrap and paper–cardboard, and their environmental impacts were analyzed based on the survey results. It was concluded that the importation of wastes will continue, and that it can be helpful to meet the steel–iron and paper-market demands. Some suggestions are offered to address these issues. Received: May 1, 2001 / Accepted: October 1, 2001     

Solid waste treatment opportunities in the Palestinian authority areas

Municipal services in the Palestinian Authority (PA) areas, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS), are facing serious difficulties that have been intensified following the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in late September 2000. The solid waste management services, being the most essential services provided by the municipalities and village councils, are mostly affected by the ongoing harsh situation and hence proper solutions that take into account the actual amount of generated municipal solid waste and its composition is a pre-requisite for planning proper treatment. Hence, a study was carried out to identify the actual status of solid waste in eight West Bank districts. A social survey was also conducted to collect information concerning the level of public awareness among communities surveyed to the perception of solid waste recycling and reuse. The results of the survey conducted in 2001–2002 were later reviewed during July–October 2008 to assess if the trend of domestic solid waste generation had changed. Based on the survey and post-assessment, it is found that political and economic conditions have both significantly impacted the trend of generated municipal solid waste and since no improvements in either condition are forthcoming, it is concluded that survey results could be used in a planning study. A possible handling of the generated wastes may entail transferring the recyclable waste to Israeli recycling industries, and in constructing three composting plants in different accessible locations in the West Bank.     

BMP compliance monitoring programs in the Eastern United States

An important aspect of a best management practices (BMP) program is providing credible information on the extent to which BMPs are being applied within the state. This paper, summarizing the responses of a survey to states about their BMP monitoring program, indicates nearly three of four states in the eastern U.S. have monitoring programs to determine if voluntary or mandatory forest practices are being applied. BMP compliance monitoring programs vary extensively among states in such areas as: the agency(s) responsible for undertaking the monitoring, the types of practices monitored, reasons for establishing the monitoring program, and the frequency and costs of compliance monitoring implementation. The survey found that information from compliance monitoring is used to modify forest practice rules or guidelines, redirect education and training programs, and inform policy makers and the general public of forest practice application rates. Major issues associated with implementing compliance monitoring programs as indicated by the survey include: specifying the types of information to be gathered, selecting harvest sites, accessing private property, determining monitoring responsibility, and reporting and using the information collected.     

Estimating the public preferences for solid waste management programmes using choice experiments in Macao.

This paper reports on the potential to apply the choice experiment method to understand the public's preferences for solid waste management programmes in Macao. A random sample survey of 260 respondents in Macao was conducted during the summer in 2004. The survey data was analysed using conditional multinomial logit models. The study results indicate that Macao residents prefer: (1) waste segregation and recycling at source; (2) noise reduction during waste collection and transportation and (3) lower garbage fees. The study concludes that choice experiment is a reliable tool in the analysis of respondents' preferences for developing a suitable solid waste management programme in Macao.     

Industrial Tailings in Traunsee (Austria) Revisited: The Status of 1999

Alkaline tailings from a salt work and a soda plant have been pumped into the southernmost part of Traunsee at Ebensee for many decades. A survey in 1981 showed an accumulation of more than 3 × 10⁶ m³ alkaline mud in the Bay of Ebensee and the existence of slumping structures and turbidites in the profundal zone of the lake. A new survey of the industrial tailings has been performed in 1999. Compared to the earlier survey, the accumulation in the Bay of Ebensee has grown to >4 × 10⁶ m³, which suggests an average yearly input of 90 000 m³. Slumping structures and turbidites document the unstable situation of the tailings near the waste inlet. The lake area occasionally affected by the turbidity currents in the profundal zone has increased to 19%. Within the central profundal area these tailings reach <1 m in thickness.     

利用生活垃圾填埋场上建设飞灰固化物填埋场适宜性探讨

针对利用原有生活垃圾填埋场改扩建飞灰固化物填埋场,从勘查设计和建设角度,通过与常规生活垃圾填埋的安全和环保各相关因素对比,分析扩建前后填埋场稳定性、防渗及导排系统等勘察设计要点,研讨扩建工程新老填埋堆体基础层、防渗及导排系统等安全环保关键技术及扩建的适宜性,为扩建的可行性研究提出较为系统的技术论证思路.     

Survey on readability of online information for upgrading understandability of biomass energy technology

Waste management contributes to renewable energy such as biodiesel production from processes of various types of biomass including vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste of edible oil. Successful waste management effort is influenced by people concern about benefit of waste management including for renewable energy from biomass. It involves their understanding initiated by literacy on biomass energy. To help increase literacy on waste recycle and biomass energy technology, we study readability of online information regarding biomass energy in Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia). Indonesia is considered as one of biomass-rich country with a little utilization for energy. The readability is studied by combining two approaches: measurement by readability standard and survey on readability confirming measurement by the standard. This study focuses on the confirmation survey readability standard measured on biomass online information in Indonesian language. In the survey, 19 online text materials were read by respondents and they were asked to give their impression whether the texts are easy or difficult to understand. From this study, what factors influence understandability of text information are shown. The results could be a guidance for preparing text information to raise people concern on waste recycle and renewable energy in general.     

Attitudes and behaviour towards waste management in the Dublin,Ireland region

The hypothesis of this research was that attitudes about the management of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) are spatially variable, even within a city of modest (1.2 million) population. For a select number of representative electoral districts in the Dublin, Ireland region, residents were surveyed regarding attitudes towards waste management in general, and BMW management in particular. A total of 850 survey responses were collected. Door-to-door interviews produced 688 responses in the residential sector; these were supplemented by 162 responses to a web-based survey.The surveys revealed that the majority of households use local authority, rather than private, waste collection services (both are available). The majority of residents, regardless of the local authority in which they live, were satisfied with their waste management service. “Reducing the quantity of waste generated” was regarded the most important future issue for 28% of residential respondents. Statistical analyses of the survey responses showed that the local authority in which respondents resided significantly influenced most responses (including waste collection service used, waste service satisfaction and backyard composting activity). Many responses (including waste service satisfaction, waste management influences) were also significantly related to the respondents’ personal characteristics (e.g., education level, type of accommodation, age, etc.). These statistical results proved the hypothesis of the research and demonstrated that waste management initiatives designed for one area of the city (or, indeed, for uniform application to the city as a whole) could ignore the needs of other areas. The survey responses suggest that targeted intervention strategies would lead to improved diversion rates of BMW from landfill, a requirement of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC.     

Analysis of factors influencing waste separation behavior of Hanoi citizens with consideration to societal elements

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this empirical study, a questionnaire survey targeting Hanoi City was conducted, gathering 778 samples from the whole metropolitan area. Using...     

An analysis on e-waste generation in Chandigarh: quantification,disposal pattern and future predictions

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this study, an assessment of e-waste management in Chandigarh, India was done. A structured questionnaire based survey was used to know about...     

2015年我国废钢铁总资源及可获量的推定

概述了国内资深专家对我国废钢铁资源现状和发展前景的看法,并对我国2015年废钢铁总资源及可获量进行推定。     

A qualitative descriptive case study on home medical waste management in Brazil

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This work presents a survey on the management of the home medical care waste (HMCW) from the municipality of Caruaru, an important medical and...     

郑州热电厂水务管理现状及节水措施

在对郑州热电厂水务管理现状调查分析的基础上，对其节水潜力进行了分析，提出了废水利用的可行性方案，目前该方案正在实施之中。     

再生资源回收行业经营现状及政策建议

在充分调研的基础上,分析阐述了再生资源回收行业新税收政策实施一年来,对再生资源回收行业产生的巨大影响。为促进行业健康发展,提出了完善再生资源回收行业税收政策的建议。     

Charging systems for municipal solid waste: experience from the Czech Republic

The paper presents results of research into municipal waste treatment in the Czech Republic. Its special focus is on the impacts of various municipal solid waste charging systems on separating and recycling efforts of municipalities and households. The municipal solid waste charging systems are shortly described first, including the principles of the relevant Czech legislation. It shows that the Czech waste legislation provides space for implementing Pay-as-You-Throw (PAYT) models in the Czech Republic. The main results of representative surveys conducted by the authors within the EU PAYT project in 2003 in selected Czech municipalities and Prague households are shown. The survey confirmed that in municipalities that apply the PAYT charging system, citizens separate more waste and produce less residual waste. The survey data analysis has also shown which factors contributing to satisfactory waste separation are relevant and should be taken into the account when providing policy recommendations for introducing PAYT charging systems in other cities.     

Maersk Navigator oil spill in the great channel (Andaman Sea) in January 1993 and its environmental impact

Observations on oil slicks, tar residues and dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons (DPH) shortly after the oil spill resulting from the tanker accident in January 1993 showed negligible impact on the Indian EEZ of the Great Channel (Andaman Sea). DPH were between 0.31 and 1.85 μg l⁻¹ in the area examined. Tar residues were absent throughout the study area. Prevailing NE wind with resultant SW surface current appears to have pushed the oil patches out towards the open Indian Ocean.A follow-up survey of the same area was carried out in September-October 1993 and observations similar to those made during the earlier survey were recorded. The zooplankton biomass had increased considerably during the interval between the two surveys, but this was probably due to seasonal changes and natural variability.The spill did not cause any perceptible impact on the environment.     

2012年我国废钢铁将继续供不应求

概述了2011年我国废钢铁市场和进口废钢市场的运行情况,对我国废钢铁资源酌供需形势进行分析,预测了2012年我国废钢铁市场的发展趋势;并针对目前废钢铁市场供不应求的局面,提出几点建议。