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Apart from the health aspects and the high death toll, the COVID-19 pandemic has, since its official recognition in March 2020 caused may social and economic problems. It has also led to many environmental ones. For instance, the lockdowns have led to higher levels of consumption of packaged products, and of take-away food. This paper reports on an international study on the increased consumption and subsequent changes in the amounts of waste produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that 45-48% of the respondents observed an increased consumption of packed food, fresh food, and food delivery. One of the main reasons for the increased waste generation during the lockdown was the fact that people have spent more time at home. In addition, increases of 43% and 53% in food waste and plastic packaging. Drawing from comparisons on the amount of domestic waste produced before and during the pandemic, the findings suggest that some specific types of municipal waste have visibly increased, putting additional pressure on waste management systems. This characterises one of non-intended effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results from this study provide useful insights to city administrations and municipal utilities on consumption patterns during emergency situations. This, in turn, may support more systemic and strategic measures to be taken, so as to curtail the increase of household waste during pandemic situations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper analyses waste management on small islands (on a global scale these are micro-islands). In the context of the paper, small islands are islands that have an area less than 50 km(2) The study presents an overview of the problems connected with waste transport from islands to the mainland. Waste generation on islands is very much related to tourists. If tourists do not handle waste properly, it will cause problems. Four small Estonian islands in the range of 3-19 km(2) are studied in detail. For these and other small islands, the main problem is the waste produced by tourists, or related to tourists and waste transport to the mainland. Currently, the local municipality has to arrange and finance waste transport. In fact, and based on the polluter-pays principle, the tourists should bear the cost of waste management. There are different tax options available in order to collect the money from tourists - waste tax, harbour tax, tourist tax, donations, environmental tax and others. The study results revealed that the best possible solution for Estonian islands may be a non-deposit system - including an additional charge on ferry ticket prices. The extra money should cover the costs of waste management and waste shipping. The tourists arriving in their own boats should pay a harbour tax, which includes a waste tax to compensate for the cost of waste management., (© The Author(s) 2016.)

The European Union produces over 200 million tonnes of municipal waste each year with 47% being recycled or composted. With the EU reuse and recycling targets set at 55% by 2025 and the introduction of the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan there has never been more importance placed on waste and recycling education. A three-year transnational project 'An Erasmus+ Waste Education Initiative' set out to investigate the level of waste and recycling education (WE) that is currently being delivered in five European cities with a view to develop a range of materials to be used in the classroom extracting the best practice from each. This paper highlights the responses from a questionnaire sent to schools and colleges to determine the baseline of WE currently being delivered in Bucharest, Hamburg, Manchester, Tallinn and Zagreb. Factors such as the local waste and recycling infrastructure and population density were also considered to determine the extent of their influence on the type and availability of WE in the classroom. The findings indicate a wide variation in the amount of WE currently being delivered in the five cities. Increased recycling rates and level of infrastructure have an inverse effect on the level of teacher engagement and involvement in waste management projects does not have an impact on the amount of WE that is present in the curriculum or number of registered Eco-Schools. Time constraints due to other curriculum topics, awareness and lack of resources were the main reasons for not including WE in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Plastic products are easy and convenient for our everyday use, but their negative impacts on human health and the environment cannot be overlooked. The negative impacts and effects of plastic waste are now widely known and have been subject of much recent media coverage, both in Europe and on a global level. Faced with increasing amounts of plastic waste, the European Union as a whole and many European governments in particular, are currently revising the policy options available to cope with the problem. One of the tools which may be deployed with a view to reducing the pressures posed by plastic waste, is the Extended Producer Responsibility principle. It is considered to be one of the major waste management policy instruments that support the implementation of the European waste hierarchy. Its application may assist in fostering the collection and recycling of waste streams that contain plastic. This paper presents an overview of the problems posed by plastic waste, and outlines their environmental dimensions. It discusses the role of the Extended Producer Responsibility principle and provides some recommendations that may be useful in enhancing extended producer responsibility. Highlights • The production of plastic waste in Europe is increasing. • Many plastic-related policies across Europe are not satisfactory. • The environmental impacts of plastic disposal are significant and deserve immediate action. • Extended Producer Responsibility can assist in reducing the scope of the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]