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Background: The anthropause during the recent COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine the impact of human activity on seabirds. Lockdowns in Peru prevented people from visiting coastal areas, thereby reducing garbage disposal on beaches and the movement of microplastics into the ocean. This cessation of activities likely led to a temporary decrease in plastic pollution in coastal regions. We aimed to investigate this phenomenon in inshore-feeding neotropic cormorants (Nannopterum brasilianus) along the Circuito de Playas Costa Verde (CPCV), situated on the coastal strip of Lima, Peru (∼ 11 million people). Methods: We collected and analyzed fresh pellets along the CPCV before (over 11 months) and during the pandemic lockdowns (over 8 months). Results: Our findings revealed a significant reduction in the occurrence of plastic in pellets during the pandemic period (% Oc = 2.47, n = 647 pellets) compared to pre-pandemic conditions (% Oc = 7.13, n = 800 pellets). The most common plastic debris item found in the pellets was threadlike microplastic. Additionally, our study highlights the direct correlation between human presence on beaches and the quantity of microplastics (mainly threadlike) found in cormorant pellets. We suggest that the reintroduction of these materials into the sea, previously accumulated on the coast, is likely facilitated by the movement and activity of beachgoers toward the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the importation of used personal computers (PCs) in Peru and domestic practices in their production, reuse, and end-of-life processing. The empirical pillars of this study are analysis of government data describing trade in used and new computers and surveys and interviews of computer sellers, refurbishers, and recyclers. The United States is the primary source of used PCs imported to Peru. Analysis of shipment value (as measured by trade statistics) shows that 87-88% of imported used computers had a price higher than the ideal recycle value of constituent materials. The official trade in end-of-life computers is thus driven by reuse as opposed to recycling. The domestic reverse supply chain of PCs is well developed with extensive collection, reuse, and recycling. Environmental problems identified include open burning of copper-bearing wires to remove insulation and landfilling of CRT glass. Distinct from informal recycling in China and India, printed circuit boards are usually not recycled domestically but exported to Europe for advanced recycling or to China for (presumably) informal recycling. It is notable that purely economic considerations lead to circuit boards being exported to Europe where environmental standards are stringent, presumably due to higher recovery of precious metals.

There is a great deficiency in the collection and disposal of solid waste, with a considerable amount disposed of in dumps instead of in landfills. In this sense, the objective of this research is to propose a solid waste mitigation plan through recovery in the District of Santa Rosa, Ayacucho. For this, a solid waste characterization plan was executed in eight days, and through ANOVA it was shown that there is a significant difference in means between business pairs except between a bakery and a hotel. Through clustering, zones A and B are highly correlated, reflecting that the amount of organic waste was greater than inorganic waste. In the organic waste valorization plan, the results through ANOVA indicate a significant difference for monthly and daily averages, and the clustering shows the different behavior of each month, drawing attention to August, concluding that the valorization pilot plan is viable due to the contribution of a large amount of organic solid waste to the valorization plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the Americas, the continent with the highest number of COVID-related deaths according to WHO statistics. In Latin America, strict confinement conditions at the beginning of the pandemic put recycling activity to a halt and augmented the consumption of plastic as a barrier to stop the spread of the virus. The lack of data to understand waste management dynamics complicates waste management strategy adjustments aimed at coping with COVID-19. As a novel contribution to the waste management data gap for Latin America, this study uses a virtual and participatory methodology that collects and generates information on household solid waste generation and composition. Data was collected between June and November 2021 in six countries in Latin America, with a total of 503 participants. Participants indicated that the pandemic motivated them to initiate or increase waste reduction (41%), waste separation (40%), and waste recovery (33%) activities. Forty-three percent of participants perceived an increase in total volume of their waste; however, the quantitative data showed a decrease in household waste generation in Peru (−31%), Honduras (−25%), and Venezuela (−82%). No changes in waste composition were observed. Despite the limited sample size, this data provides a much-needed approximation of household waste generation and composition in the pandemic situation during 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To compare the climate change mitigation benefits of nature-based solutions for management of municipal green waste with conventional management. Methods: This study analyzed the carbon footprint of managing one ton of municipal green waste (MGW) in Lima Peru under 4 different scenarios: 1) Final disposal in authorized landfill, 2) Final disposal in informal landfill, 3) composting and 4) biochar production using a low-cost, low tech Kon-Tiki reactor. Results: The results demonstrate the very clear potential for climate change mitigation from biochar production using low tech and therefore accessible technology in a typical developing world context. The carbon footprint of producing biochar was lower than for composting and biochar and compost both had carbon footprints significantly lower than landfilling. Conclusion: We argue that the standards used by nascent platforms for trading carbon removal credits generated by biochar should relax the technology requirement to favor engagement and participation of small-scale market participants in low-income countries. Waste management in the developing world presents significant challenges but often starts from a very low base which means there is large potential for reducing emissions, as well as for sequestering carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipalities in the Global South confront significant implementation challenges for the delivery of services, especially as service complexity increases. Waste management, which includes services of different complexity such as simple waste collection and complex waste disposal, is a useful sector to study. This article conducts an exploratory case study in four Peruvian municipalities to learn about the relationship between administrative capacity, political influence, and civil society participation and the performance of two waste services. The findings highlight the need to more closely consider service-specific administrative capacity in future research on performance, particularly when analyzing more complex services. Accounting for service complexity may also be important for practitioners when planning measures to strengthen administrative capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Oyster farming annually generates millions of empty hard seashells as by-product waste in municipal landfills worldwide. Using this waste as fine and coarse aggregates as construction materials offers a low energy consumption alternative to recycling and mining of virgin materials. This research explores the use of seashell as a cost-effective replacement of virgin fine aggregate in hot mix asphalt (HMA). The properties of HMA mixtures with seashells were investigated using indirect tensile strength, permanent deformation and moisture susceptibility tests; tests used in standard practice in Perú. The results indicate that seashells can be used as fine aggregate improving the indirect tensile strength and the permanent deformation of HMA. Seashells in the asphalt mixture reduced moisture susceptibility compared to conventional HMA, with an increase of tensile strength ratio (TSR) values of 22–262%, a very important finding since with areas of Perú recently experiencing severe flooding events where seashells have the potential to reduce stripping. The laboratory study also showed that seashell sizes of 300–2.36 mm yielded highest TSR values. Replacement of fine aggregate with seashells increases total HMA cost by about 2.9–4.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]