Measuring differences in efficiency in waste collection and disposal services from the EU targets in Campania municipalities

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - The study analyses the economic and environmental performance of the 353 municipalities in the region of Campania in waste disposal and collection...     

Habitat use of a multispecific seagrass meadow by green turtles Chelonia mydas at Mayotte Island

We investigated the habitat use in green turtles exploiting a 13-ha multispecific seagrass meadow at Mayotte Island, south-western Indian Ocean. A phyto-ecological survey shows the occurrence of eight seagrass species, dominated by Halodule uninervis and Syringodium isoetifolium, distributed according to four distinct seagrass communities along the depth gradient. Direct underwater censuses show that green turtles occurred all over the meadow. Yet when community relative surface area was taken into account green turtles preferentially frequented the most seaward, biomass-richer S. isoetifolium-dominated community, suggesting that green turtles compensate for their intrinsically nutrient-poor herbivorous diet. Additionally, smaller (<80 cm standard curved carapace length, SCCL) individuals also preferentially occurred in the most shoreward H. univervis-dominated community where no larger (>80 cm SCCL) individuals were sighted, suggesting habitat use is indicative of diet selection and may reflect size-specific food requirements and physiology.     

Measuring waste prevention

The Waste Framework Directive (WFD-2008/98/EC) has set clear waste prevention procedures, including reporting, reviewing, monitoring and evaluating. Based on the WFD, the European Commission and will offer support to Member States on how to develop waste prevention programmes through guidelines and information sharing on best practices. Monitoring and evaluating waste prevention activities are critical, as they constitute the main tools to enable policy makers, at the national and local level, to build their strategic plans and ensure that waste prevention initiatives are effective and deliver behaviour change. However, how one can measure something that is not there, remains an important and unresolved research question. The paper reviews and attempts to evaluate the methods that are being used for measuring waste prevention and the impact of relevant implemented activities at the household level, as the available data is still limited.     

Life Cycle Assessment of the MBT plant in Ano Liossia, Athens, Greece

The aim of this paper is the application of Life Cycle Assessment to the operation of the MBT facility of Ano Liossia in the region of Attica in Greece. The region of Attica is home to almost half the population of Greece and the management of its waste is a major issue. In order to explicitly analyze the operation of the MBT plant, five scenarios were generated. Actual operation data of the MBT plant for the year 2008 were provided by the region of Attica and the LCA modeling was performed via the SimaPro 5.1 software while impact assessment was performed utilizing the Eco-indicator’99 method.The results of our analysis indicate that even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Among the scenarios of MBT operation, the one with complete utilization of the MBT outputs, i.e. compost, RDF, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is the one that generates the most environmental gains. Our analysis indicates that the exploitation of RDF via incineration is the key factor towards improving the environmental performance of the MBT plant. Our findings provide a quantitative understanding of the MBT plant. Interpretation of results showed that proper operation of the modern waste management systems can lead to substantial reduction of environmental impacts and savings of resources.     

Radionuclide speciation and its relevance in environmental impact assessments

To assess the long-term environmental impact of radioactive contamination of ecosystems, information on source terms including radionuclide speciation, mobility and biological uptake is needed. A major fraction of refractory radionuclides released from nuclear sources such as nuclear weapons tests and reactor accidents is present as radioactive particles, whilst radionuclides are also present as colloids or low molecular mass species in effluents from nuclear installations. Low molecular mass species are more mobile (lower apparent K(d)) and bioavailable (higher apparent BCF) than colloids and particles. Soils and sediments act as sinks for particles and colloids. Due to particle weathering, associated radionuclides can be remobilised over time. Thus, information on particle characteristics such as composition, particle size, crystalline structures and oxidation states influencing weathering rates and subsequent mobilisation is essential. The present article summarises current knowledge on radioactive particles released from different sources, and the relevance of radionuclide speciation for mobility and biological uptake.