Search

Reducing the environmental burden of production activities is an essential part of global efforts to ensure sustainable development. Achieving this trend requires effective resource management and waste handling, which are integral components of the circular economy. Successful waste management largely depends on understanding the causes of waste generation. This article focuses on examining the relationships between waste production, gross domestic product (GDP), and material consumption in European Union (EU) countries, with the aim of identifying waste management trends and highlighting the most high-risk economic sectors in this context. The research involved gathering data on the volume of waste produced by type and economic sector, GDP, and material consumption in individual EU member states over a nine-year period. Based on this data, a correlation and regression analysis was conducted to explore the interrelationships among these factors. The analysis examines whether more economically developed countries can manage waste more effectively, and identifies differences in waste production across various sectors. It also identifies the largest contributors to the overall volume of waste generated in individual EU countries. The research findings also allow for the identification of existing relationships between waste production and material consumption in different countries. These insights provide crucial information for the development of environmental policies and strategies that support sustainable economic growth and environmental protection in EU countries.

Responsible consumption and production is the 12th of the seventeen SDGs which is difficult for developing countries to achieve due to high waste production. Indonesia is the second largest producer of food waste in the world. Garbage is solid waste generated from community activities. Population density is an indicator to estimate the amount of waste generated in an area. The choice of West Java Province as the research area is based on the fact that this Province has the second highest population density in Indonesia. This study aimed to determine the predictors/factors that influence waste production in the districts/cities of West Java Province. The data used in this study are total waste as a response variable and GRDP (gross domestic product), total spending per capita, average length of schooling, literacy rate, number of MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and several recreational and tourism places, the number of people's markets, and the number of restaurants as predictors. The methods used in this research are spatial autoregressive regression/SAR, spatial Lag-X/SLX, and spatial Durbin/SDM. The results of this study show that the SAR is the best model with the lowest BIC (74.442) and pseudo-R-squared (0.7934). Factors that significantly affect total waste production are literacy levels, the number of MSMEs, the number of traditional markets, and the number of recreational and tourist places.

The dimension stone industry faces a significant environmental challenge due to the large amount of waste produced during the production process. About 51.3% of the materials extracted from dimension stone quarries worldwide end up as quarry waste. The presence of discontinuities and fractures primarily causes this waste. However, by examining the characteristics of these discontinuities and fractures and identifying in-situ blocks of the rock mass, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste produced during dimension stone quarrying. This study focuses on an abandoned quarry bench of the Lashotor quarries complex in the Isfahan Province, Iran. Due to high waste production, the quarry bench was left unused. The study aimed to identify the in-situ blocks of the quarry bench by examining the characteristics of the rock mass’s discontinuities and fractures. The authors used a modified algorithm to identify and grade all the quarry bench blocks based on the target market. The study revealed that some blocks in the abandoned quarry bench could be supplied to the target market, and the bench has the potential for block extraction. The algorithm’s modification based on the shape factor of blocks is an important innovation that increases the accuracy of block determination compared to previous methods. Overall, this algorithm can be used as a decision-making tool in extracting or not extracting the quarry bench of dimension stone quarries and implementing an optimal cutting pattern to reduce waste production.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Good health and a safe environment are essential for sustainable development, including the appropriate management of healthcare wastes. The study intends to assess the generation rate and management methods of healthcare waste in the regional hospital center and a private clinic in Tangier, Morocco, with a focus on potential risks to health workers from infectious diseases.METHODS: The study collected data on healthcare waste generation over a period of two months by measuring and analyzing general and hazardous waste using an electronic scale. The data was presented as averages in kilograms per bed per day and as percentages. A questionnaire was provided to 100 healthcare workers. It included questions on their sociodemographic characteristics and their knowledge and attitudes regarding healthcare waste management.FINDINGS: The case study revealed that the healthcare waste production in the two institutions varied, with the private clinic producing 0.76 kilograms per day per bed and the regional hospital center producing 1.84 kilograms per day per bed. The survey also discovered that the hazardous fraction of waste generated in the regional hospital center was 40 percent, which was much higher than the World Health Organization’s estimation. The daily amount of hazardous waste generated increased from 260.49 kilograms to 436.81 kilograms post-COVID-19. The survey found gaps in knowledge, attitudes, and daily challenges in waste management practices among the health workers in both facilities.CONCLUSION: The survey findings suggest that the healthcare waste management methods in Tangier are unsafe and may endanger the health workers and patients. The study found that the lack of monitoring and control contributed significantly to noncompliance with good practices. These findings can be used by the regional divisions of the Ministry of Health to develop specific protocols for managing sanitary emergencies and perform routine observation and training at all levels in the two facilities studied.

Resource depletion and food waste accumulation represent a tremendous socio-economic and environmental problem. One promising strategy involves the use of byproducts derived from food waste as ingredients for cosmetic products. The aim of this work is to propose clementine peels and olive leaf extracts as value-added bioproducts for a cosmetic cream. Extracts were obtained by super critical extraction showing an antioxidant activity of ca. 25%. No cytotoxic effects of the extracts were recorded on keratinocyte cells up to a concentration of 4% v/v ratio within 24 h. The incorporation of clementine peels and olive leaf extracts into creams did not compromise their stability, as demonstrated by Turbiscan analyses at room and extreme (40 °C) storage conditions. The safety profiles of the final cosmetic formulations were further in vivo demonstrated on human volunteers. We analyzed the trans-epidermal water loss and variation of the skin’s erythematous index, which showed profiles that almost overlapped with the negative control. Moreover, rheological analysis of the resulting creams evidences their suitable spreadability with similar pseudoplastic profiles, although a slight reduction of viscosity was recorded by improving the extracts’ concentrations. The proposed approach highlights the advantage of combining byproduct resources and supercritical fluid extraction to obtain a safe and eco-friendly face cream.

In the face of 21st-century environmental challenges, including climate change, migration pressures, and waste disposal issues, certain healthcare sectors, notably dentistry, pose a significant global environmental footprint with concerns about carbon emissions and waste production. This scoping review searches the paradox that healthcare, while dedicated to safeguarding health, inadvertently contributes to environmental degradation through waste accumulation and disposal. The analysis of the relevant literature emphasizes the imperative for an environmentally sustainable approach to dental waste measurement, disposal methods, and comprehensive education for stakeholders. Aligned with the World Conference on Sustainable Development and the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, the study adhered to PRISMA-ScR systematic review guidelines and the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations. The study utilized Medline/PubMed and international organization websites for data retrieval, employing Boolean operator queries in Medline. The systematic literature analysis identified six cross-sectional studies (2004–2023) highlighting variations in dental waste composition due to the lack of standardized identification methods. This heterogeneity underscores the need for a proposed research model, emphasizing comprehensive methodologies and healthcare staff training in waste management, thus transforming the analysis into a scoping review. The study advocates for environmentally conscious dental practices, contributing to broader sustainable healthcare goals through sharing of a research protocol for dental solid waste management.

In this paper, we compare the development and possibilities for improvement of waste management in three countries: Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Waste management is part of the circular economy. The circular economy is the basis for waste management today. This applies to municipal waste management, too. In this paper, we work with data available in the Eurostat database. We mainly deal with municipal waste in the three chosen countries. The output of this paper is an assessment of indicators such as recycling rates and waste production. The outputs are documented graphically.

The Slovak spirits industry has a stable position within the alcoholic beverages industry in the Slovak Republic. However, its production process causes significant environmental stress on nature. The industry can use roughly only 10% of the raw materials. This means a significant amount of waste is produced during the distillation process. We investigated the biogas production potential within the Slovak distilleries producing spirits for final consumption when we compared the production of spirits between the years 2010 and 2019. Biogas production potential is calculated as an ideal situation when all spent wash from spirits producing distilleries is used for biogas production. The potential energy gain is also calculated in kWh based on the already available research in the field of biogas production. We conducted that the total biogas potential of the Slovak spirits industry could reach 15,886,053 kWh in terms of electricity and 22,946,177 kWh in terms of heat energy if we calculate energy potential according to the spirits production in the year 2019. The total combined energy potential generated during the reuse of waste from distilleries could reach 38,832,230 kWh. The biogas production in these facilities has also a positive side effect. If distilleries use the heat energy for the distillation process, the amount of greenhouse emissions will also be declining.

Aim.The results of experimental studies produce siliсatеsodium composite binder of calcareous stone sawing waste, anhydrous sodium silicate, and based on them wood concrete using as an organic filler vine cuttings for the production of heat-insulating, heat-insulating, structural and structural wall material.Methods.The main technological operations of the developed arbalitconcrete are given : preparation of a composite binder; production of organic filler from the vine; preparation of arbolit concrete mass; formation of arbolit concrete mass; low-temperature treatment (drying).Results. It is found that the composite binder derived from waste stone sawing and anhydrous sodium silicate at their joint fine grinding (Ssp = 3000 cm2 / g), acquires binding properties and with the appropriate seal and heat treatment hardens and gains strength characteristics sufficient for making arbolitconcrete using crushed vine.Conclusion. It was determined that arbolitobeton obtained on the basis of the crushed vine and silikatnatrievogo composite binder strength exceeds arbolitobetona from other types of binders and organic fillers of vegetable origin.

The waste management is a dynamically progressive area, with the current trend leading to circular economy scheme. The development in this area requires quality prognosis reflecting the analysed timeframe. The forecast of the waste production and composition of waste is an important aspect with regards to the planning in waste management. However, the regular prognostic methods are not appropriate for these purposes due to short time series of historical data and unavailability of socio-economic data. The paper proposes a general approach via mathematical model for forecasting of future waste-related parameters based on spatially distributed data with hierarchical structure. The approach is based on principles of regression analysis with final balance to ensure the compliance of aggregated data values. The selection of the regression function is a part of mathematical model for high-quality description of data trend. In addition, outlier values are cleared, which occur abundantly in the database. The decomposition of the model into subtasks is performed in order to simpler implementation and reasonable time solvability. The individual algorithm steps are applied to municipal waste production data in the Czech Republic.

The article discusses the environmental problems of waste disposal on the tailings pond, "White sea" of "Kaprolaktam" plant, OJSC "SIBUR-Neftekhim", Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region. Currently there is a need for the elimination of the White sea slurry tank used for the storage of sludge from chlorine production plant "Caprolactam", due to its fill. The article presents General characteristics of the plant "Caprolactam", OJSC "SIBUR-Neftekhim" and the White sea slurry tank. Disclosed the production of the plant "Caprolactam", generated from business activities waste production and ways of their utilization. Selected problem areas of the plant "Caprolactam". Studies on the degree of negative impact on the environment of the White sea slurry tank, the amended proposal for the definition of the method of elimination of the tailings pond, "White sea" and presented the project and defined the necessary engineering and reclamation activities.

The forecast of waste production and disposal is an important requirement for a future waste management planning. The problem is very often a short time series of the database. This paper suggests an approach to forecast the production of multiple waste types in micro-regions taking into account this challenge by combining many techniques. The heuristic methodology consisting of few steps is formulated. First, the input data are transformed and the methods from cluster analysis are repetitively applied. The second step is about a determination of quality for trend functions based on historical data. In the last step is performed the testing. The di erent type of representatives from cluster analysis is used to calculate indices of determination which are compared. This procedure is repeated until the criteria hit. The proposed approach reduced the computational time and managed to aggregate micro-regions with a similar trend. The forecast should have contributions in terms of building new facilities or adaptations to the existing ones, where it is necessary to estimate the production of waste for several years in advance. The article includes a case study of production forecast for several waste types in territorial units of the Czech Republic. The forecast is based on data in years 2009{2014 and following year 2015 was used to assess the quality of the nal models. In the future, the database will expand and thus it will be possible to make more precise estimates and to develop statistical methods to measure this prognostic tool.

The ability of micro-organisms sensitive to the slightest changes in the environment and high enzyme activity can be used to indicate the status of ecosystems and degradation assessment of toxic compounds in them. Microbial analysis of different types of soil nutrient constructed of waste, natural zeolites and soil, indicate that in all kinds of soil nutrients to create optimal conditions for the microorganisms.

Processing of seeds before crop of microelements increases yield and quality of the products. The use of organic and mineral substances contained in the vermikomposts and rock provide a positive impact on sown quality, growth and development of plants, their resistance to adverse factors and can be performed in households without additional financial costs for their acquisition аnd for utilization waste production in the region.

The article provides a complex analysis of the effectiveness of non-traditional fertilizer on sown quality spring wheat. It is proved that the use of humus substances of vermicomposts based on waste production, and their organo-mineral derivatives has the greatest effect on seed quality of spring wheat «Daria» and is recommended to use this in production environment, because it solves the problem of waste production their biotechnological processing and get organic fertilizers and biologically active substances.

Manure production on grower/finisher swine operations in the United States was examined using data from 184 grower/finisher swine operations that participated in the United States National Animal Health Monitoring System's 1995 National Swine Study. Two methods were used: one, assuming that pigs produced 8.4% of their body weight in manure each day; another using the difference between feed fed and weight gained as a proxy variable to study manure production. Using this latter approach, a production function was developed. The function exhibited diminishing returns to scale when food waste was not fed to pigs, but constant returns to scale when food waste was included in their diets. The difference between feed fed and weight gained was lower on operations that restricted entry to employees only.A produção de dejetos em granjas de crescimento e terminação de suínos nos Estados Unidos foi avaliada utilizando dados de 184 granjas participantes de um estudo nacional de 1995 do "United States National Animal Health Monitoring System". Dois métodos foram usados: um considerando que suínos produzem 8,4% do seu peso corporal de dejetos por dia e o outro usando a diferença entre o alimento ingerido e o ganho de peso como um indicador para o estudo da produção de esterco. Através desse último procedimento, desenvolveu-se uma função de produção.