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Amidst a world of never-ending waste production and waste disposal crises, scientists have been working their ways to come up with solutions to serve the earth better. Two such commonly found trashes deteriorating the environment are glass and tin can waste. This study aims to investigate the comparative suitability of response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) in predicting the mechanical strength of concrete prepared with fine glass aggregate (GFA) and condensed milk can (tin) fibers (CMCF). An experimental scheme has been designed in this study with two input variables as GFA and CMCF, and two output variables as compressive and splitting tensile strength. The results show that both variables influenced the compressive and splitting tensile strength of concrete at 7, 28, and 56 days (p

Copper-catalyzed divergent annulations between α-diketones and alkynyl α-diketones have been achieved, delivering a series of highly functionalized and biologically important cis-hexahydro-2H-cyclopenta[b]furan (HCPF) and 2-hydroxydihydrofuran-3(2H)-one (HDFO) products with high levels of stereoselectivity under identical conditions. The protocol features the use of earth-abundant copper catalyst, mild conditions, shortening synthetic routes in constructing different molecular frameworks, and reducing the corresponding possible waste production. The substituents of the nucleophilic α-diketones play crucial roles in switching the reaction pathways.

The possibility of utilization of inactive fly ash in road concrete compositions by bringing of ash into a non-equilibrium condition with increased reactivity by mechanical activation in a vibration eraser is investigated. It was revealed that the optimal content of binder and fly ash in samples of soil concrete was 8 and 10 wt. %, respectively. It is shown that, due to mechanical activation, the specific surface area of fly ash increases by 2 times, dehydration and carbonization occur and silicon is replaced by aluminum in silicon-oxygen tetrahedra. It has been established that an increase of the content of crystalline carbonate phases is the reason for an increase in the strength of ground concrete. It is determined that the introduction of mechanoactivated fly ash into the composition of soil concretes contributes to increasing their physical and mechanical characteristics to the maximum strength grade M100. This indicates the competitiveness of ground concrete and the possibility of direct use of inactive fly ash in road construction.

INTRODUCTION Sate of the art on the indications, methods of implementation and medico-economic considerations of reusable flexible ureteroscopes (URSr) vs single use (URSuu)? METHOD Review of the literature (Pubmed) on reusable and single-use ureteroscopes, as well as on the expertise of our center. A PubMed search and narrative review of the data was performed in July 2021. Only articles in French or English were selected. RESULTS The URSr and URSuu have similar technical characteristics and are suitable for the exploration of the upper urinary excretory tract: treatment of stones of the kidney

The ever-growing stream of waste production has become a critical issue for many metropolitan areas. An effective strategy to address this problem has been the concept of reverse logistics (RL). This paper seeks to develop an appropriate product recovery approach for electronic waste generated in an urban area. Consequently, we have proposed an integrated fuzzy RL model with buyback (BB) offers based on the condition of used-products (UPs) at the time of return. However, this strategy contains a significant challenge, which derives from unpredictability surrounding the return rate of UPs due to its dependency on multiple external factors. Hence, a novel fuzzy probability function is developed to approximate UPs’ chance of return. Besides that, the mathematical RL network’s inherent uncertainty prompted us to employ the fuzzy credibility-based method in the model. Afterward, the model’s objectives are locating and allocating collection centres to customer zones, determining flow between facilities and finding the optimal amount of gathered UPs and BB offers. Finally, we applied the model to a case study concerning product recovery in Mashhad city, Iran, and the results have proven its validity and utility.

Mass and rapid production of batik using synthetic color and printing techniques engenders environmental problems such as waste production, air pollution, water pollution, unhealthy and hazardous work environment, and a threat to the sustainability of hand-drawn batik. Clean production is one solution to this problem. This paper discusses the practice of batik with natural coloring based on the theory of clean production with an ecofeminist perspective. The method employed in this research is a case study with a one-unit production (cluster) approach of Putri Kawung batik community. The findings show that the practice of clean batik production in Putri Kawung batik community still focuses on the input and process of using natural coloring, material selection, and reuse of wax materials. This shows that the role of women through community gradually practices clean production, even though it has not yet extended to its output processing.

Danau Teluk Sub-District is one of the sub-districts in Jambi City. The waste production produced by Danau Teluk Sub-District based on DLH Jambi City data in 2020 reached 8,793.99 kg/day with a population of 12,563 people. In Danau Teluk Sub-District, the production of managed waste reached 71.05% and unmanaged waste reached 28.95%. Compared to other sub-districts, the percentage of managed waste is the lowest and the percentage of unmanaged waste is the highest. This research is conducted on influencing factors using distribution frequency and multiple linear regression, community and government involvement using distribution frequency and chi-square, and determining strategic priorities in household solid waste management using SWOT. Based on the results of the study, there are two factors that influence the management of household solid waste, namely behaviour and knowledge of local regulations, there are two factors that relate to the management of household solid waste, namely implementation and supervision, then the strategic are to carry out waste reduction starting from the source by reducing the use of goods that produce waste and providing data on waste management that is easily accessible to the public such as through social media, websites, television advertisements, bulletin boards, etc.

The brisk escalation in population, energy demand and waste production are the pivotal dilemma confronted world wide. Thus, gasification could be considered as a favorable, economical and ecofriend...

Currently, there are a variety of methods and technologies for water purification. One of them is the adsorption method. Today the adsorption method is widely used in the water treatment industry. The aim of the research is to create an effective multifunctional filtering composition suitable for complex physical and chemical water purification. For this, a cation exchanger developed on the basis of local raw materials, activated alumina and other local materials was used. The adsorption properties of the cation exchanger and aluminum oxide in the composition of this filter have been studied. Also, the parameters of the filter for water purification are determined.

Waste that is not managed properly can cause the environment to become dirty and cause silting of the river which results in flooding. The amount of waste production is in line with the large number of residents, the higher the population growth rate, the higher and the rate of waste production. Waste management cannot only be done downstream, but also starts from upstream. Many programs have been carried out in waste management, one of which is a waste bank. The waste bank program encourages people to do sorting before depositing inorganic waste in the waste bank. Inorganic waste that can be recycled, such as plastic bottles used for mineral water, can be economically valuable by being put in a tube in a waste bank, while organic waste such as vegetable and fruit residues can be further processed into eco-enzymes. This activity aims to transfer knowledge and technology for processing organic waste into eco-enzymes, so that the community can participate in preserving the earth. The method of activities carried out was counseling and demonstration. This activity achieved the target in accordance with the objectives; this can be seen from the participation and enthusiasm of the community during the activity.

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.

Monitoring and estimating solid mine waste produced during mining operations at a spatial–temporal scale plays a fundamental role in waste management and mitigation of environmental impacts. Iron ore mining and processing results in waste production that may cause environmental degradation, therefore, the need to estimate their volumes and extents. This research aims at mapping and estimating the areal extents and the volumes of solid mine waste produced during iron ore mining and processing. Contours were generated from control points with X, Y, Z information and interpolated to create a Triangular Irregular Network (TIN), which was rasterized to create a 3D Digital Elevation Model (DEM) that was used in volume estimation. Maximum-Likelihood Classification method (MLC) was used for classification at an accuracy of 74% to estimate the areal extents of the solid mine wastes, with a Kappa Coefficient of 0.65. Solid mine waste approximately covered an area of 591,100 m2 and a volume of 2694,670.55 Metric Tonnes. This research presents a fast and accurate method of mapping and estimating the areal extents and volume of solid waste dumped during mining and processing operations.

In recent years, mechanochemistry has been growing into a widely accepted alternative for chemical synthesis. In addition to their efficiency and practicality, mechanochemical reactions are also recognized for their sustainability. The association between mechanochemistry and Green Chemistry often originates from the solvent-free nature of most mechanochemical protocols, which can reduce waste production. However, mechanochemistry satisfies more than one of the Principles of Green Chemistry. In this Review we will present a series of examples that will clearly illustrate how mechanochemistry can significantly contribute to the fulfillment of Green Chemistry in a more holistic manner.

Coconut plants are very potential commodities, all parts of the coconut plant are beneficial to the needs of human life. All parts of coconuts are not wasted and can be used to produce industrial products. The partners are coconut farmers who sell peeled coconut and coconut flesh. Farmers in Margomulyo village have difficulty in handling the waste of untreated coconut water. Sometimes the coconut water causes inundated land without being used. Sometimes when the coconut water is not directly absorbed in the ground, it will cause bad odor in the environment. Therefore, the use of coconut water is a way to optimize the use of coconut fruit. The content of sucrose sugar in coconut water will be used by Acetobacter xylinum as a source of energy, as well as a carbon source to form metabolite compounds such as cellulose that form Nata de Coco. In conclusion, Nata de coco making training in Margomulyo village gave positive response for the community to establish business unit. The barrier to the implementation of this activity was that there was no solution for handling waste production of Nata de coco of which aroma was quite disturbing. Thus, the implementation of nata de coco waste treatment program will be overcomed in further implementation of community service program which will be held in the next period

A rapid, sensitive, and eco-friendly micellar high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique for the simultaneous analysis of cefoperazone and sulbactam in pure and vial pharmaceutical formulation was developed. Merck aluminum HPTLC plates covered with silica gel 60 F254 were used as the stationary phase; acetone‒ethanol‒ethyl acetate‒2% sodium dodecyl sulfate‒glacial acetic acid (3:2:4:1:0.5, V/V) were used as the mobile phase. This chromatographic system results in symmetric, compact peaks at RF values of (0.45 ± 0.015) and (0.69 ± 0.008) for cefoperazone and sulbactam, respectively. Densitometric scanning of the separated spots was done at 265 nm. The proposed method can quantitatively analyze cefoperazone and sulbactam in their laboratory prepared combinations and vials pharmaceutical formulation. The environmental greenness of the proposed HPTLC method was successfully assessed by the new green analytical procedure index. The method is considered to be a green eco-friendly HPTLC method because of its usage to green solvents, minimal waste production, and short time of analysis. The proposed method can also be helpful in the routine quality control analysis of the studied medications.

Vegetable and fruit wastes (VFW) comprise a large portion of wastes that contribute to pollution in different ways. This is because there is a large demand for such perishable products by all countries. The Turkish economy was mostly depending on agriculture before 40 years ago but due to globalization this has been changed into industrialization. Even though the industrialization dominates, the consumption of fruits and vegetables has been in an increasing trend in Turkey and its environs. The usage of such resources can be regulated by governments and organizations to avoid overusing them. Also, there are many ways for treating such inevitable wastes. To mention a few, extracting pigment, antioxidants, pesticides, producing single-celled proteins, enzymes, biofertilizers, green energy, and many others from the wastes can be done.

Adsorbent-based microextraction is a dynamic and simple sample preparation that allows for simultaneous extraction and enrichment of targeted analytes from a sample matrix. Its versatility, efficiency, and compliance with green analysis have contributed to its popularity against conventional solid-phase extraction. This review focuses on the current state of the art, future trends in experimental design, and critical aspects of adsorbent-based microextraction techniques considered for extraction and preconcentration of different classes of micropollutants in environmental waters. Despite solid-phase microextraction has shown exceptional flexibility in routine microscale extraction, the other adsorbent-based microanalytical work continues to experience an enormous increase in innovation. Discussions are focused on recent studies utilizing different modes include dispersive, magnetic, bar sorptive, membrane-protected, and thin film for introducing adsorbents in an aqueous media. Cogently, the developed micro-scale procedure using functionalized adsorbent has shown distinct advantages over conventional methods. Modifications were aimed at shortening the time for analysis, minimal waste production, and robustness over the complexity of sample matrices. Adsorbent selection is now widening from commercial materials like activated carbon to newly synthesized materials such as metal-organic framework. The final section discusses the current progress on hybrid approaches and the intended future directions to further explore and popularize the adsorbent-based microextraction. This review guides the audiences with an introductory, succinct discussion of the basic concepts of the adsorbent-based microextraction and the success story of the high-throughput real sample analysis.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is traditionally measured through dry combustion of soil but is inaccurate in soils recently limed or containing carbonates. Soils of south central Idaho contain carbonates therefore 3 alternative methods are typically used. Walkley-Black titration (WBTIT) has an extensive history but generates a large volume of hazardous waste for each sample analyzed. Low temperature loss on ignition (LOI360°C) may be utilized but requires frequent sample manipulation and is therefore prone to human error. A pressure calcimeter (Pcal) may be used, however the sample container may leak leading to inaccurate results. Therefore, a new method of SOC determination (WBSPEC) utilizing a microplate spectrophotometer was compared to LOI360°C, Pcal, and WBTIT in 75 south central Idaho soils and 10 standard soils. First, it was confirmed that soils of south central Idaho contain carbonates leading to inaccurate SOC determination by dry combustion. During the alternative method comparison, the WBSPEC method reduced waste production over the traditional WBTIT method by 89% while reducing sample handling over LOI360°C. The LOI360°C and WBTIT methods were most similar, however, the WBSPEC method performed adequately; the Pcal method often overestimated SOC compared to each other method. As the low SOC soils of south central Idaho were of particular interest, the methods were compared a second time on low SOC (

Quinolines are N-heterocyclic privileged scaffolds that find immense applications in biological domains and materials science. For example, they act as antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, antiviral, and anticancer agents. The nucleus of quinolines is abundant in natural products. Various classical approaches to synthesize quinolines are present in the literature. The majority of them involve low yield product formation, tedious workup, and large waste production, which ultimately adds to the environmental burden. Thus, the development of simple, mild strategies to forge such a potent nucleus is highly desirable. On the other hand, in the last five years, visible-light-mediated transformations have also caught significant attention as a greener and eco-friendly route by utilizing photons as a clean energy source. In this context, many researchers have experimented with the synthesis of quinolines under visible light irradiation. Thereby, this review is dedicated solely to the synthesis of quinolines enabled by visible light, wherein most of the described methodologies are accessible under the environment of a blue LED. This review covers the literature from the year 2015 to date.

Reducing waste and pollution are imperative needs of our time. Manufacturers, especially large, transnational companies, can lead the way by adopting more sustainable practices. One of the practices is the adoption of circular economy models in manufacturing enabling the transition from the current linear “take-make-dispose” model to closed loop economy models that reduce waste production. One of the largest, most innovative sectors in Europe is the automotive industry. The aim of this study is to formalise the main key performance indicators that actors across the value chain of the automotive industry need to monitor as they were brought forward from the EU funded H2020 research programme DigiPrime.

Waste production associated with the use of non-degradable materials in packaging is a growing cause of environmental concern, with the polyurethane (PU) class being notorious for their lack of degradability. Herein, we incorporate photosensitive ortho-Nitrobenzyl units into PUs to achieve controllable photodegradability. We performed their photolysis in solution and thin films which can inform the design of degradable adhesives.

Conventional agriculture often relies on bulky doses of fertilizers and pesticides that have adversely affected the living beings as well as the ecosystems. As a basic tenet of sustainable agriculture, minimum agrochemicals should be used so that the environment can be protected and various species can be conserved. Further, sustainable agriculture should be a low input system, where the production costs are lower and net returns are higher. The application of nanotechnology in agriculture can significantly enhance the efficiency of agricultural inputs and thus it offers a significant way to maintain sustainable development of agroecosystems via nanoparticles. In this regard, nano-plant growth promoters, nanopesticides, nanofertilizers, nano-herbicides, agrochemical encapsulated nanocarrier systems etc. have been developed for the potential applications in agriculture. These can have great benefits for agriculture, including higher production of crops, inhibition of plant pathogens, removal of unwanted weeds and insects with lesser cost, energy and waste production. However, there are several concerns related to the use of nanoparticles in agriculture. These include the approaches for synthesis, their mechanisms of penetration to applied surfaces and the risks involved. Though, advent of new technologies has significantly improved the synthesis and application of nanomaterials in agriculture, there are many uncertainties regarding nano-synthesis, their way of utilization, uptake and internalization inside the crop cells. Therefore, an elaborate investigation is required for deciphering the engineered nanomaterials, assessing their mechanistic application and agroecological toxicity. Hence, this review is aimed to critically highlight the NPs material application and points towards the vital gaps in the use of nanotechnology for sustainable agriculture.

Acting as a C1 building block, formaldehyde is of great significance in organic synthesis. It is also a key feedstock in several industries, such as resins, polymers, adhesives, and paints. Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have emerged as applicable tools in organic reactions because efficient MCRs allow the creation of several chemical bonds in one sequence without labor-consuming reaction condition optimization and work-up procedures, thus minimizing waste production, cost, and labor consumption. In this review, we mainly focus on the recent advances in the contribution of formaldehyde, which was herein used as a versatile C1 building block to produce either acyclic or heterocyclic molecules via MCRs with the potential to be more sustainable than lengthier alternatives and used as a divergent chemical thanks to its excellent reactivity, flexibility, and hydrophilicity.

This study aimed to examine the impact of poor solid waste management on student’s health care at Gondar University of “Tewodros” campus. The study used a mixed-method approach. To recruit sample respondents', both probability and non-probability sampling methods have been employed. In the meantime, the study revealed the sources of solid waste, it is understood that the poorly collected and managed solid wastes of the study area due to the lack of necessary materials and facilities of waste collection, lack of laborers engaged in street sweeping and daily removal of solid waste is now becoming the major causes of environmental problems such as surface and groundwater pollution problems. Besides, the student’s health office personnel in the interview approached the general health status of the students on the campus during this year. Accordingly, dysentery, common cold, and typhoid are the most frequently appear disease on the Tewodros campus. Therefore, there should be a “students committee “at the campus level to control illegal dumping and to develop practice and habits of poor waste handling and disposal in the community, and there must be apparent regulation and policy frameworks that prohibit poor waste management.

The average number of medical wastes in Haji Hospital Medan per month is 1,165 kg and the most inpatient space for waste production is class 3. Nurses segregate infectious and non-infectious medical wastes is not according to the provisions allegedly caused by factors of understanding, attitudes, limited facilities and information, and there has been no strict application of sanctions. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence factors to the nurses’ behavior in infectious and non-infectious waste sorting. The type of this research was an analytical survey with a cross-sectional study approach. The population was 59 nurses in class 3 inpatient rooms and all were used as research samples. The technique of collecting data was done by using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by univariate, bivariate and multivariate using multiple logistic regression tests at a significance level of 95%. The results showed that the factors of nurses’ knowledge (0.019), attitudes (0.035), availability of facilities (0.038), availability of information (0.033), and policy (0.011) had an effect on behavior in infectious and non-infectious waste sorting because it was smaller than 0.05, and educational factors (0.943) and length of work (0.256) have no effect. The most dominant variable was the policy with the value of Exp (B) 19,040. The conclusion is that policies, nurses’ attitudes, availability of information, availability of facilities and knowledge influence the behavior of nurses in infectious and non-infectious waste segregation while education and length of work have no effect. It is suggested that hospital management make a policy of sanctions and apply to nurses in the form of reprimand and administration by postponing periodic salaries, evaluating every month and completing waste sorting facilities and holding continuous training/socialization.

This study shows that the production of industrial and commercial waste should form part of normal organisational practices. When asked about waste prevention, representatives of food, textile, electronics and construction companies in Sweden have difficulties highlighting concrete waste-prevention objectives, measures and outcomes. Instead, they highlight economic, technical, and organisational barriers that prevent them from engaging in waste prevention, thereby endowing the production of waste with an economic, technical and organisational rationality. This triple rationalisation of waste production amounts to the managerial normalisation of waste that obstructs the implementation of waste prevention policies. Thus, we suggest that these policies aim to de-normalise industrial and commercial waste in similar ways to the measures used to de-normalise household waste.

Paper sludge is the water treatment waste, which produced during paper production. Paper sludge (PS) waste utilization is the common problem in the EU and internationally. According to the waste management directive No. 2008/98/EC, paper sludge waste should not be utilized in landfills. In the European Union, alone 93 million tons of PS generated yearly. Nowadays most of the paper sludge waste used as fuel for incineration power plants (up to 55 %). According to waste management legislation such waste management should be avoided as well. Very small portion (10 %) of PS is used in construction sector. In construction, paper sludge used as additive in concrete composite materials. Such legislation of waste management generates the motivation of this study. In this study authors propose to produce composite panels in which PS is the main material of composite. As the binding material, clay proposed due to its good binding properties and therefore its natural material. Such produced panels proposed to use it for sound absorption applications. To determine composites sound absorption coefficient standard ISO 10534-2 method was used. The sound absorption coefficient in different octave bands reached up to 0.59.

Objetivo: Descrever, a partir de um relato de caso, a atuação da nutrição clínica na redução da produção de resíduos por retorno de refeições (almoço) de pacientes hospitalizados não consumidas. Método: Após uma semana teste onde foi observado o quantitativo de refeições intactas que retornava do almoço diário dos pacientes, foram traçadas estimativas de desperdício diárias e mensais. Nesse momento foi realizado uma intervenção na atuação da nutrição clínica com objetivo de reduzir a compra de refeições evitáveis sendo esses dados coletados por três meses subsequente a intervenção. Resultados: Foi observado que o principal fator que influenciou no retorno da refeição foi o jejum seguido de alta hospitalar. Ao final do terceiro mês foi observado uma economia real de R$ 3.781,53 consequente do resultado da captação precoce das principais causas de retorno. No mês de fevereiro houve a maior redução na compra de refeições evitáveis e no mês de abril o menor retorno em número de refeições (28/mês totalizado 14 kg). Conclusão: Foi possível observar que a intervenção proposta apresentou resultado positivo na redução da produção de resíduos e custo.

The application of emerging technologies such as ultrasound, microwaves and high hydrostatic pressure, allows the extraction of compounds in a sustainable manner from a vegetable matrix with a high value such as jackfruit leaf proteins (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam). Currently, the main method of protein extraction is based on the precipitation with the use of an aggressive solvent, therefore it is necessary to optimize extraction methods with a minimum waste production. In the protein extraction of jackfruit leaves, we obtained a content of 84.1 mg/g using solvents. On the other hand, emergent extractions such as ultrasound, microwaves, and high hydrostatic pressure showed concentrations of 96.3, 95.6 and 147.3 mg/g, respectively. In addition, we found that the best extraction agent was 0.5 M NaCl, offering a range of possibilities that support green technologies as an imperative change in the food industry.

In recent years, Yokohama City, Japan, has seen substantial efforts to address socio-environmental issues. One such effort is the G-30 program, which has helped reduce garbage waste production by 4...

The first step in the biogas production process consists of analyzing how biomass alternatives are available in the locality and in the surroundings of the region where the biodigester is installed to make a selection that serves as an input for the system or food. Each biomass has different sources of nutrients, energy potential, chemical composition, processing, and ways of management that require decision making, which will be the option selected. This is often a problem for handlers, to safely decide which will be the best option for their reality. As a way to contribute to the solution of this problem, this study aimed to propose a mathematical method able to list the main criteria for selecting biomass, establishing a ranking ranging from the most preferable to the least preferable one. For the application of the multicriteria mathematical model (AHP–TOPSIS), the biomass of cattle (bovine), pigs (swine), sheep (ovine), chicken and horses (equine) were used as alternatives, taking into account the following criteria: (1) logistics cost, (2) potential for waste production from each herd, (3) the volume of biogas, and (4) energy capacity of each biomass. It was found a ranking for the alternatives and the consistency of the method was tested through sensitivity analysis.

It is not a secret that tourism plays an important role in the development of not just any specific country but the global economy in general. It also promotes urban development in such sensitive areas as coasts and islands, increased water consumption and waste production, fragmentation of habitats and loss of biological diversity. Tourism industry is also one of the reasons behind higher demand for transportation, particularly those types that damage the environment most – personal vehicles and aircraft. “In 2005 in Europe, about 59% of the tourists arrived to their destination by car, 34% by airplane”. According to UNWTO International Tourism Barometer, the international tourism was growing at the rate of 5% in the first nine months of 2013. The key driving force behind this growth is Europe (mainly Central and Eastern Europe) and Asia-Pacific region. Thus, tourism, while playing a truly significant role in the global economy, at the same time causes major damage to the environment. Hence the urgent need to eliminate negative consequences of tourism activities. This can be done by promptly regulating the activities of agents in this area. However, due to the global value of tourism, this process requires not just the local regulators getting involved, but joint effort by many countries. Therefore, international agreements between countries as the primary regulators of tourism activities are becoming increasingly important.

The hospital wastes could threaten the surface waters, ground waters, soil, air environment and humans’ health. This study was intended to investigate the management of medical waste generated in hospitals of Charharmahal and Bakhtiari province, located in south west of Iran. The samples came from all 9 province’s hospitals with 1156 beds. The data forms and questionnaires were completed. The questionnaire contained questions about the generation of waste and practices related to separation, collection, storage, transport, treatment and final disposal, and training and awareness. The highest generation rate on a bed basis of 3.22±0.4 kg/bed/day was found in Shohada hospital, and the lowest rate was 1.37±0.2 kg/bed/day for Sina hospital. There was significant variation (P

No âmbito das Unidades de Alimentação e Nutrição Hospitalares (UANSs) há produção de resíduos que são descartados durante a produção de refeições. Foi realizado um estudo transversal para levantamento das práticas de sustentabilidade de quatorze UANs hospitalares capital brasileira situa na região Nordeste. Para tanto foi aplicado um questionário digital aos nutricionistas responsáveis pelas UANs, que abordou aspectos sobre gestão, controle no consumo de água, energia, prática de coleta seletiva de resíduos, descarte de óleos e gorduras, oferta de alimentos regionais com aquisição proveniente da agricultara familiar. Foi realizada análise estatística descritiva e calculadas as frequências simples e relativas, com auxílio do software Microsoft Excel, versão 2013. As unidades adotam algumas práticas sustentáveis, em relação ao planejamento e elaboração do cardápio respeitando a sazonalidade dos alimentos, assim como a utilização de alimentos regionais. Contudo outras questões consideradas relevantes como as constantes capacitações dos funcionários, coleta seletiva, entre outras ainda não são realizadas nestas unidades. Diante da avaliação, observou-se que as unidades apresentam aspectos favoráveis à sustentabilidade ambiental, no entanto também foram identificadas práticas inadequadas à manutenção do ambiente, assim torna-se imprescindível a reformulação das condutas nesses locais visando à minimização dos impactos ambientais.

Healthcare waste is likely to increase with a rise in the global population and access to medical care. The main reasons to optimise waste management are the statutory duty of care, to reduce environmental impact, for the health and safety of personnel and to reduce financial costs. Working up the waste hierarchy, the priority must be the initial prevention of waste production. This article provides a guide to managing healthcare waste and ways to try and reduce its environmental impact.

Rising anthropogenic activities have increased waste production and, in turn, the concentration of contaminants in waters. In particular, endocrine disruptors are natural and synthetic contaminants that cause many health problems. Endocrine disruptors bioaccumulate and alter the endocrine systems of both humans and wildlife. Endocrine disruptors are health hazards even at low concentrations. Their recalcitrant properties make the current water and wastewater management system inefficient for their removal. Hence, new removal methods need to be designed and employed. Here, we review alternative technologies for the removal of endocrine disruptors from aqueous matrices, with focus on adsorption, membrane separation and biodegradation. The efficiency, materials, methods, advantages and disadvantages of these treatments are analysed and compared. The main endocrine disruptors include parabens, bisphenols, phthalates, estradiols, nonylphenols and some pesticides.

The rapid growth of industry and economy and the increase in incomes have led to the influx of people to big cities and thus a sharp increase in waste production. Inappropriate waste management dam...

Additive manufacturing is a new emerging technology which is ideal for low-to-zero waste production, and it is considered to be a green and clean process that has the potential to lower the cost and energy consumption of production. However, the cost of the feedstock for additive manufacturing and the additive manufactured parts is usually very high, which hinders the further application of additive manufacturing, especially for the metal additive manufacturing. The concept of circular metal additive manufacturing involves the recycling of the metal feedstock and the additive manufactured parts leading to the truly zero waste production and the most energy saving. This paper reviews the technologies that help the formation of a circular metal additive manufacturing through recycling of the feedstocks and the damaged metal parts. Reactive metals, such as titanium, tend to be contaminated easily during handling and production. Recycling of the titanium for achieving a circular titanium additive manufacturing is reviewed in detail.

California's landmark waste diversion law, SB 1383, mandates the diversion of 75% of organic waste entering landfills by 2025. Much of this organic waste will likely be composted and applied to farms. However, compost is expensive and energy intensive to transport, which limits the distance that compost can be shipped. Though the diversion of organic waste from landfills in California has the potential to significantly reduce methane emissions, it is unclear if enough farmland exists in close proximity to each city for the distribution of compost. To address this knowledge gap, we develop the Compost Allocation Network (CAN), a geospatial model that simulates the production and transport of waste for all California cities and farms across a range of scenarios for per capita waste production, compost application rate, and composting conversion rate. We applied this model to answer two questions: how much farmland can be applied with municipal compost and what percentage of the diverted organic waste can be used to supplement local farmland. The results suggest that a composting system that recycles nutrients between cities and local farms has the potential to play a major role in helping California meet SB 1383 while reducing state emissions by -6.3 ± 10.1 MMT CO2e annually.

Given the increase of Tunisia's car fleet and the high utilization of tires, waste production has risen sharply, causing enormous economic and environmental problems in this country. Our research team is in the process of developing different axes of valorization of this waste tires crumbs from the perspective of the field of civil engineering. This work presents the first results of the valorization in the road surface by producing a bituminous concrete (BC) containing aggregates coming from waste tires (crumbs). This study is carried out using the aggregates of DJebel El Oust showing that the addition of the rubber crumb reduces the mechanical strength, and on the other hand, the compactness increases and the resistance to water is improved. An environmental study was conducted on the modified bituminous concrete mixed with waste tires crumbs. It is recommended that in order to reduce the environmental impacts, the modified bituminous concrete is best used on acid Tunisian soils located mainly in the extreme North West region of the country.

PURPOSE To determine the amount of waste produced from phacoemulsification surgeries and ways to curtail the problem. SETTING Miri Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia. DESIGN Prospective study. METHODS Phacoemulsification surgery cases were included in this study; nonphacoemulsification surgeries were excluded. The waste was subdivided into 3 main categories, general waste, clinical waste, and sharps. The waste produced by ophthalmologists and trainees was accounted for separately. The mean weight of waste per case was obtained by dividing the total weight of waste produced with the total number of cases. RESULTS The total waste produced from a total of 203 cases of phacoemulsification surgeries was 167.965 kg, of which, 95.063 kg (56.6%) were clinical waste, 63.197 kg (37.6%) were general waste, and 9.705 kg (5.8%) were sharps; 32.193 kg (50.9%) out of the general waste pool were recyclable waste products. The mean waste production per case of phacoemulsification surgery for an ophthalmologist was 0.814 kg, 1.086 kg per case for a trainee. A case of phacoemulsification surgery would produce 0.282 kg of carbon dioxide equivalents in the setup based on the recyclable general waste. CONCLUSIONS The average waste produced per case of phacoemulsification surgery in Miri Hospital was 0.827 kg. After excluding the recyclable material, the average waste produced per case was 0.669 kg. Following the 3 R's principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle) in the handling of waste production might reduce environmental impact.

Waste production is associated with human inhabitation and its rate is increasing over time. Globally, the major proportion of waste is disposed of through landfilling and open dumping, which is en...

Utilization of waste materials in construction field is of utmost importance as the cost of construction is rapidly increasing and natural resources are depleting. Increasing waste production, which affects the environment, can thus be reduced. This research presents the utilization of steel slag, waste material from steel manufacturing plant, as an aggregate in concrete. As concrete is meant to withstand and perform its function in various environmental exposures, here an attempt is made in finding the suitability of steel slag concrete, in various exposure conditions like mild, moderate, severe, very severe and extreme. The durability of steel slag concrete under various exposure conditions are compared with conventional concrete by conducting ultrasonic pulse velocity test, Rapid chloride penetration test, Sorptivity and acid resistance test. Steel slag concrete performs well in extreme conditions than the conventional concrete and hence, it can be used in very severe environments like tidal zone and sub soil structure

Production of the deep-fried cassava chips has contributed to high cooking oil waste production. The frying process could increases the lipid content and reduce the physical attributes of the chips. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) concentration (1, 2 and 3%) on the coated-fried cassava chips characteristics. A dipping-coating method was used and the characteristics evaluated were lipids content, colour measurement, texture, functional group and sensory analysis. All data were analysed using one-way ANOVA and Duncan multiple range test. Result showed 3% CMC could reduce the lipid content of chips up to 10%. Besides, the coated chips produced a better crispiness level as compared to uncoated chips. The colours were darker in the higher concentrations of CMC coated chips. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of CMC coating on the coated sample. The coated chips showed a slightly higher sensory overall acceptability. Overall, the CMC-coated cassava chips reduced the lipid contents and improved physical properties of the snack.

The article is based on the results of the state task for 2020 to perform research work at the Federal state budgetary institution of higher education “Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation”. The role of industrial Arctic projects in the socio-economic development of the country is considered. The rating of regions of the Arctic zone by annual production waste generation ispresented. The problem of environmental damage accumulated in the regions of the Arctic zone is substantiated. The need to improve the regulatory framework governing the implementation of industrial activities in the Arctic territories is identified.