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This paper deals with the waste stream of household hazardous waste (HHW) presenting existing management systems, legislation overview and other relevant quantitative and qualitative information. European Union legislation and international management schemes are summarized and presented in a concise manner by the use of diagrams in order to provide crucial information on HHW. Furthermore, sources and types, numerical figures about generation, collection and relevant management costs are within the scope of the present paper. The review shows that the term used to refer to hazardous waste generated in households is not clearly defined in legislation, while there is absence of specific acts regulating the management of HHW. The lack of obligation to segregate HHW from the household waste and the different terminology used makes it difficult to determine the quantities and composition of this waste stream, while its generation amount is relatively small and, therefore, is commonly overlooked in waste statistics. The paper aims to cover the gap in the related literature on a subject that is included within the crucial waste management challenges at world level, considering that HHW can also have impact on other waste streams by altering the redox conditions or causing direct reactions with other non hazardous waste substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) lakes are classified according to a variety of criteria. This classification facilitates state of the environment assessments and helps identify work needed to achieve the objectives of the WFD, which are broadly to maintain and/or restore water quality and ecological status at a level recognised as good or high. To achieve high or good status, lakes must meet a criterion for total phosphorus (TP) that is linked to a predicted reference condition value that is derived by various models. Lakes which fail to meet good status may require expensive remedial actions to be undertaken, thus accurate identification of the reference condition TP concentration is vital for effective environmental management. However, the models currently employed could be improved for some regions, particularly those with carbon rich soils. By examining 19 reference condition lakes (i.e. lakes essentially non-impacted by humans) in peaty areas of Scotland, we found that a simple parameter linked to water colour and humic substances was a better predictor of TP than the currently employed models ( R2 0.585 vs R2 < 0.01). Therefore, for Scotland and elsewhere, in regions with carbon rich soils and lakes with humic waters the TP predictive models could be improved by development and incorporation of a parameter related to water colour and humic components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental costs of economic development have received increasing attention during the last years. According to the World Energy Outlook ( 2013 ) sustainable energy policies should be promoted in order to spur economic growth and environmental protection in a global context, particularly in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Within this framework, the European Union aims to achieve the "20-20-20" targets, including a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, a raise in the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20% and a 20% improvement in the EU's energy efficiency. Furthermore, the EU "Energy Roadmap 2050" has been recently adopted as a basis for developing a long-term European energy framework, fighting against climate change through the implementation of energy efficiency measures and the reduction of emissions. This paper focuses on the European context and attempts to explain the impact of economic growth on CO2 emissions through the estimation of an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) using panel data. Moreover, since energy seems to be at the heart of the environmental problem it should also form the core of the solution, and therefore we provide some extensions of the EKC by including renewable energy sources as explanatory variables in the proposed models. Our data sets are referred to the 27 countries of the European Union during the period 1996-2010. With this information, our empirical results provide some interesting evidence about the significant impacts of renewable energies on CO2 emissions, suggesting the existence of an extended EKC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed to collect data and develop methodologies to determine if and how Dutch biowaste composting plants can meet the microbiological requirements set out in EU-Regulations (EC) 1774/2002 and (EC) 1069/2009, and to provide the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) with data and analysis for evaluation of these regulations. We examined twenty plant locations and four types of composting technologies, all with forced aeration and without an anaerobic digestion phase. Raw biowaste, material after sanitation and compost were sampled by spot test analysis according to a standard protocol, and according to an additional protocol with enhanced hygienic precautions. Samples were analyzed for Escherichia coli, Enterococcaceae and Salmonella content. The latter protocol resulted in improved bacterial reductions after sanitation, whereas in compost Enterococcus levels but not E. coli levels increased substantially with both protocols, due to more thermo-resistant regrowth. Salmonella presence in compost coincided with low temperatures and increased levels of E. coli and Enterococcus, absence of Salmonella was associated with absence of E. coli (74%), but not with absence of Enterococcus (17%). In compost, E. coli and Salmonella showed a comparable time–temperature inactivation pattern. A pilot study with co-composting of biowaste and poultry manure indicated a similar inactivation pattern for ESBL-containing bacteria. We conclude that the abundance of Enterococcus in compost is caused by regrowth and not by (re)contamination, and that E. coli is a more reliable indicator species for the absence/presence of Salmonella in compost. Compliance with current EU-regulations concerning biowaste composting can be shown by spot test analysis at all examined plants, provided that adequate hygienic precautions are taken during sampling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Agri-Environment Schemes (AES) to maintain or promote environmentally-friendly farming practices were implemented on about 25% of all agricultural land in the EU by 2002. This article analyses and discusses the actual and potential use of impact models in supporting the design, implementation and evaluation of AES. Impact models identify and establish the causal relationships between policy objectives and policy outcomes. We review and discuss the role of impact models at different stages in the AES policy process, and present results from a survey of impact models underlying 60 agri-environmental schemes in seven EU member states. We distinguished among three categories of impact models (quantitative, qualitative or common sense), depending on the degree of evidence in the formal scheme description, additional documents, or key person interviews. The categories of impact models used mainly depended on whether scheme objectives were related to natural resources, biodiversity or landscape. A higher proportion of schemes dealing with natural resources (primarily water) were based on quantitative impact models, compared to those concerned with biodiversity or landscape. Schemes explicitly targeted either on particular parts of individual farms or specific areas tended to be based more on quantitative impact models compared to whole-farm schemes and broad, horizontal schemes. We conclude that increased and better use of impact models has significant potential to improve efficiency and effectiveness of AES. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS Convention), which was adopted in 2001 and will come into force in September 2008, bans the use of TBT (tributyltin) antifouling paint on ships. The EU (European Union) effectively implemented the Convention on 1 January 2008 by enforcing a similar ban. Several states have national restrictions and bans in place. The regulation on TBT antifouling paint aims at checking the risk of adverse effects on marine ecosystems. The legal and political situation is, however, characterized by complex relations between different layers of legislation, the use of several different legal techniques, and levels of ambition. The international and EU bans thereby cause some indirect effects, which are only partly included in what is seen as ‘the TBT issue’ and so only partly assessed in the legal process of the ban. This article discusses the expediency of the existing legislation and legal strategies aimed at reducing the negative environmental effects of TBT-like toxins in marine ecosystems and indirect effects of such actions. It considers the adequacy and limits of current regulatory approaches for handling complex environmental problems, such as TBT in antifouling paint. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]