Research on solid waste management system: to improve existing situation in Corlu Town of Turkey

Over the past decades, uncontrolled population growth and rapid urbanization and industrialization have resulted in environmental problems in Corlu Town, Turkey. One of the most important problems is solid waste due to inadequate management practices. Nowadays, increasing public awareness of the environment compels local authorities to define and to adopt new solutions for waste management. This paper presents a general overview of current solid waste management practices in Corlu Town and principles of the recommended municipal solid waste (MSW) management system. In Corlu, 170 tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated each day, or 1.150 kg per capita per day. Approximately one-half of the municipal solid waste generated is organic material and 30% of the MSW consists of recyclable materials. The recommended system deals with maximizing recycling and minimizing landfilling of municipal solid waste, and consists of separation at source, collection, sorting, recycling, composting and sanitary landfilling. This study also analyzed the recommended system with respect to feasibility and economics. To evaluate whether the suggested system is cost effective or not, the operating cost of the recommended system and market prices of recyclable materials were compared, and the results show that the recommended system will reduce required landfill volume up to 27% of compared to the present situation. The profit of the recommended system is estimated to be about 80 million US dollars.     

In vivo genotoxicity assessment of titanium,zirconium and aluminium nanoparticles,and their microparticulated forms,in Drosophila

As in vivo system, we propose Drosophila melanogaster as a useful model for study the genotoxic risks associated with nanoparticle exposure. In this study we have carried out a genotoxic evaluation of titanium dioxide (TiO₂), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) and aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles and their microparticulated forms in D. melanogaster by using the wing somatic mutation and recombination assay. This assay is based on the principle that loss of heterozygosis and the corresponding expression of the suitable recessive markers, multiple wing hairs and flare-3, can lead to the formation of mutant clones in treated larvae, which are expressed as mutant spots on the wings of adult flies. Third instar larvae were feed with TiO₂, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ nanoparticles, and their microparticulated forms, at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 10 mM. Although a certain level of aggregation/agglomeration was observed in solution, it must be noted than the constant digging activity of larvae ensures that treated medium pass constantly through the digestive tract ensuring exposure. The results showed that no significant increases in the frequency of all spots (e.g. small single, large single, twin, total mwh and total spots) were observed, indicating that these nanoparticles were not able to induce genotoxic activity in the wing spot assay of D. melanogaster. Negative data were also obtained with the microparticulated forms. This indicates that the nanoparticulated form of the selected nanomaterials does not modify the potential genotoxicity of their microparticulated versions. These in vivo results contribute to increase the genotoxicity database on the TiO₂, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ nanoparticles.     

Spatial variability of depth and salinity of groundwater under irrigated ustifluvents in the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey

Information on the potential risk for soil salinity buildup can be very helpful for soil salinity management in irrigated areas. We evaluated the spatial and temporal variability of groundwater salinity (GWS) and groundwater depth (GWD), which are two of the most important indicators of soil salinity, by indicator kriging technique in a large irrigated area in northern Turkey. GWS and GWD were measured on a monthly basis from irrigation season (August 2003) to rainy season (April 2004) at 60 observation wells in the 8,187-ha irrigated area. Five indicator thresholds were used for GWS and GWD. The semivariogram for each of the thresholds for both variables was analyzed then used together with experimental data to interpolate and map the corresponding conditional cumulative distribution functions (CCDF). Risk for soil salinity buildup was greater in the irrigation season compared to that in the rainy season. The greatest risk for soil salinity buildup occurred in the eastern part of the study area, suffering from poor drainage problem due to malfunctioning drainage infrastructure, as indicated by the CCDF of GWS and GWD obtained in both seasons. It was concluded that a combination of mechanical and cultural measures should be taken in high-risk locations to avoid further salinity problems.     

Estimation and uncertainty analysis of groundwater quality parameters in a coastal aquifer under seawater intrusion: a comparative study of deep learning and classic machine learning methods

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Excessive withdrawal of groundwater for agricultural irrigation can cause seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers. Such a case will in turn results...     

Quantitative SWOT analysis for prioritizing ecotourism-planning decisions in protected areas: Igneada case

As environmental problems and pressures on natural resources escalate, awareness building and efforts to protect natural areas have also became a major goal to ensure sustainability. Ecotourism is one of the major activities to protect natural and cultural resources, while also providing economic benefits to both local people and government. Successful ecotourism planning is a function of establishing sound goals and criteria. In this paper, we have presented the example of Igneada, Turkey, as a case to elaborate this point. Igneada a coastal town, located on the north-west Black Sea region of Turkey, was declared a national park in 2007. The park is well known for its longos forests (flooded), lagoons, endemic and endangered species, and wildlife. However, currently, unsustainable economic activities, overgrazing, and urbanization cause threats to its sensitive ecosystems. Promoting ecotourism is a sustainable approach to balance economic, social, and environmental aspects in the development of Igneada.

The aim of this study is to define a set of ecotourism criteria and propose an ecotourism vision for Igneada. The methodology in this research involves field observations and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis with an Analytical Hierarchy Process. A survey study is conducted with both local people and experts to define a framework to generate a priority ranking for ecotourism-planning decision. The research generated 5 main criteria and 14 subcriteria, among which ‘Proposal of Igneada in Turkey’s 2023 Tourism Strategy Plan’ was the highest ranked opportunity for ecotourism planning and development in the town.     

Changes in some soil properties at different incubation periods after tobacco waste application

In this study changes in organic carbon (OC), basal soil respiration (BSR), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), electrical conductivity (EC) and aggregate stability (AS) of a clay loam soil due to tobacco waste (TOW) application were monitored for 240 days. After incorporating 5% TOW into soil according to oven dry weight basis, soil samples were incubated at field capacity for 20, 40, 80, 140 and 240 days under a greenhouse condition. TOW application significantly increased all soil properties over the control treatment Soil OC and AS values had significant positive correlations each other and with the other soil properties. Soil OC, BSR and AS values significantly increased from 0.12%, 0.03 microg CO2-C g(-1) dry soil 24 hr and 20.7% in control treatment to 1.13%, 3.7 microg CO2-C g(-1) dry soil 24 hr and 54.4% in TOW treatment, respectively in 20 days. While the highest NO3-N (1780 ppm) was found in 40 days, the highest EC (3.35 dS m(-1)) was in 240 days after TOW application. Disaggregation occurred in all treatments after 20 days of incubation due to probably the more substrate demands of microorganisms in soil.     

Predictive modelling and seasonal analysis of water quality indicators: three different basins of Şanlıurfa,Turkey

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The objective of this paper is twofold. First; we demonstrate the application of data mining techniques to predict quality indicators (TDS, Hardness,...     

Electrospun Composite Nanofibers Based on Poly (ε-Caprolactone) and Styrax Liquidus (Liquidambar orientalis Miller) as a Wound Dressing: Preparation,Characterization, Biological and Cytocompatibility Results

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - In this study, styrax liquidus (sweet gum balsam) extracted from Liquidambar orientalis Mill. incorporated PCL fibrous scaffolds were prepared using the...     

Income inequality and CO2 emissions: nonlinear evidence from Turkey

The income inequality-economy link has been argued by researchers a long time. But the impact of income inequality on environmental pollution is a new investigation topic for developing countries. Turkey is well known as an emerging economy which has a high level of income inequality and CO₂ emissions. Therefore, this paper concentrates on the income inequality-CO₂ emissions link in Turkish economy by applying a nonlinear analysis. This paper integrates economic growth and financial development to the CO₂ emissions specification over the period of 1987–2019. We employ the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach to explore the long-run nonlinear linkages between the series. Our findings reveal an asymmetric cointegration among variables. Positive and negative income inequality shocks positively affect CO₂ emissions implying that positive and negative shocks of income inequality enhance CO₂ emissions in the long run. Negative economic growth shocks decrease CO₂ emissions, while positive shocks to financial development increase CO₂ emissions in the long run. We provide important policy suggestions that might be useful to the policymakers to decrease CO₂ emissions in Turkey.