scholarly journals ECO-DESIGN ACTIONS TO IMPROVE LIFE CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF FACE MASKS IN THE PANDEMIC ERA

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1333-1342
Author(s):  
Núria Boix Rodríguez ◽  
Marco Marconi ◽  
Claudio Favi ◽  
Giovanni Formentini
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Near Future

AbstractFace masks are currently considered essential devices that people must wear today and in the near future, until the COVID-19 pandemic will be completely defeated through specific medicines and vaccines. Such devices are generally made of thermoplastic polymers, as polypropylene and polyethylene and are single use products. Even if in this period the sanitary emergency must have the maximum priority, the world society should not completely forget the environmental problem that are causing more and more obvious climate changes with correlated damages to ecosystems and human health. Despite the well-known correlation among anti-COVID protective equipment (or more generally medical devices) and environmental issues, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and eco-design-based studies in this field is very scarce. The present study aims to derive the most important environmental criticalities of such products, by using LCA and product circularity indicators of five different common masks. The final aim is to provide eco-design guidelines, useful to design new face masks by preventing negative impact on the environment.

scholarly journals Urban debates for climate change after the Kyoto Protocol

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Tu
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Living Will ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Adaptation Processes

From the catalogue of environment-related publications in Urban Studies, this paper identifies and reviews 12 thought-provoking articles that have addressed the issue of climate changes and cities from complementary perspectives. It argues that to advance a holistic understanding of urban environmental issues it is necessary to embrace a broad multi-disciplinary approach, particularly as moving towards low carbon urban living will require integrated social, political and technical adaptation processes. Ultimately, the paper advances a forward-looking research agenda that extends beyond consideration of how to improve urban environmental performance to include evaluation of how urban consumers, firms and local government endeavour to achieve sustainable urban development.

scholarly journals AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY PERFORMANCE OF TURKEY IN 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-21
Author(s):  
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Necip ARMAN
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Performance Index ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Security ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Environmental Performance Index ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement

Abstract The performance of Turkey in 2020 in terms of environmental security is examined in this study. Despite Turkey’s adoption of many international treaties about environmental issues, it is concluded that Turkey’s environmental performance in 2020 was very low. The research uses the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the Combating Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) to access environmental security assessments. With the above results, it has been indicated that ecosystem vitality, biodiversity and habitat, 􀏐isheries, ef􀏐icient use of energy, and climate policies are the areas where the country performs the least. To add, The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of Turkey has underlined that water pollution is the most important environmental problem in Turkey. Moreover, the fact that Turkey is one of seven countries that have not rati􀏐ied the Paris Climate Agreement is determined as a major issue of environmental security. Keywords: Human security, environmental security, Paris Climate Agreement, Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Combating Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).

scholarly journals COVID Face Masks: Policy Shift Results in Increased Littering

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9875
Author(s):  
Dirk H. R. Spennemann
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Latex Gloves ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Policy Shift ◽  
Regional Australia ◽  
Mandatory Use ◽  
Indoor Spaces

The introduction of the mandatory use of fitted face masks in indoor spaces to limit the transmission of COVID-19 resulted in increased municipal waste of discarded single-use surgical face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) such as latex gloves. In parallel, the occurrence of intentionally or accidentally discarded masks has created a major environmental problem. This paper presents the data of a longitudinal study of the occurrence of discarded face masks in an urban environment of a community in regional Australia. It demonstrates that the shift from voluntary to mandatory use of fitted face masks resulted in an immediate increase of publicly discarded masks and other items of PPE. The overserved spatial and temporal patterns allow us to draw inferences on human behavior.

scholarly journals From Circular to Linear? Assessing the Life Cycle Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Steel and Plastic Beer Kegs

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Martin ◽  
Sjoerd Herlaar ◽  
Aiden Jönsson ◽  
David Lazarevic
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Conventional Steel ◽  
Lower Weight ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Recycling Systems

AbstractIn the craft brewing industry, kegging solutions have changed dramatically in recent years. While steel kegs once dominated the draught beer market, single-use plastic kegs have increased in popularity due to their convenience, especially in the craft brewing sector. With the increasing importance of the circular economy and the introduction of policies in Europe to move away from single-use plastic systems, this study aims to assess and compare the sustainability of conventional steel and single-use plastic kegs. The environmental and economic performance are assessed through life cycle assessment and life cycle costing approaches. The results suggest that steel kegs have better environmental performance and life cycle costs. However, these are limited to the local markets, and with larger distances, plastic kegs may become the better option due to their lower weight, suggesting that both kegs are useful in certain situations. This is especially important in countries that have long distances between breweries and their markets. The importance of extending the lifetime of the keg fleet is also highlighted to improve the environmental performance as the results are influenced by the assumption on the lifetime of the steel kegs. To improve the environmental performance of plastic kegs, efficient closed-loop recycling systems should be developed. Careful decision-making is needed to ensure that more sustainable packaging options are chosen for draught beer and that sustainability aspects be taken into account beyond convenience.

scholarly journals Zero Single-Use Plastics University

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Molina Velásquez ◽  
Hernán Darío Giraldo
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Final Disposal ◽  
Sanitary Landfills ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Plastic Products

Since 2019 CES University began with the implementation of the zero single-use plastics guidelines in order to restrict 100% the use of all single-use plastics at Campus and thus avoid the final disposal in sanitary landfills, with all the negative impact that it has into the fauna, flora and human health, eliminating the generation through prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling. Those single-use plastic products were replaced by elements such as cane bagasse and starch of corn; among others biodegradable and compostable, in order to end the life cycle of these products transforming them into compost. Since the use of single-use plastic elements was banned, we managed to reduce the generation of these products by 89%. From 471.5 Kg in 2018 to 53 Kg in 2019. With this practice, we contribute to SDG 13 - goal 13.3, SDG 12 - goal 12.4 and 12.5. This practice is being replicated in 10 more universities countrywide.

RESEARCH: Dry Heat Processing of Single-Use Respirators and Surgical Masks

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 410-416
Author(s):  
Joyce M. Hansen ◽  
Scott Weiss ◽  
Terra A. Kremer ◽  
Myrelis Aguilar ◽  
Gerald McDonnell
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Contamination ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Airborne Particles ◽  
Heat Processing ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Dry Heat ◽  
Surgical Masks ◽  
Single Use

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has challenged healthcare providers in maintaining the supply of critical personal protective equipment, including single-use respirators and surgical masks. Single-use respirators and surgical masks can reduce risks from the inhalation of airborne particles and microbial contamination. The recent high-volume demand for single-use respirators and surgical masks has resulted in many healthcare facilities considering processing to address critical shortages. The dry heat process of 80°C (176°F) for two hours (120 min) has been confirmed to be an appropriate method for single-use respirator and surgical mask processing.

Excellent environmental performance of beet sugar production in the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
pp. 161-165
Author(s):  
Bertram de Crom ◽  
Jasper Scholten ◽  
Janjoris van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Cane Sugar ◽  
Sugar Production ◽  
Beet Sugar ◽  
Glucose Syrup

To get more insight in the environmental performance of the Suiker Unie beet sugar, Blonk Consultants performed a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on beet sugar, cane sugar and glucose syrup. The system boundaries of the sugar life cycle are set from cradle to regional storage at the Dutch market. For this study 8 different scenarios were evaluated. The first scenario is the actual sugar production at Suiker Unie. Scenario 2 until 7 are different cane sugar scenarios (different countries of origin, surplus electricity production and pre-harvest burning of leaves are considered). Scenario 8 concerns the glucose syrup scenario. An important factor in the environmental impact of 1kg of sugar is the sugar yield per ha. Total sugar yield per ha differs from 9t/ha sugar for sugarcane to 15t/ha sugar for sugar beet (in 2017). Main conclusion is that the production of beet sugar at Suiker Unie has in general a lower impact on climate change, fine particulate matter, land use and water consumption, compared to cane sugar production (in Brazil and India) and glucose syrup. The impact of cane sugar production on climate change and water consumption is highly dependent on the country of origin, especially when land use change is taken into account. The environmental impact of sugar production is highly dependent on the co-production of bioenergy, both for beet and cane sugar.

scholarly journals Modelling Sustainable Industrial Symbiosis

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1172
Author(s):  
Hafiz Haq ◽  
Petri Välisuo ◽  
Seppo Niemi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Industrial Symbiosis ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Network Connections

Industrial symbiosis networks conventionally provide economic and environmental benefits to participating industries. However, most studies have failed to quantify waste management solutions and identify network connections in addition to methodological variation of assessments. This study provides a comprehensive model to conduct sustainable study of industrial symbiosis, which includes identification of network connections, life cycle assessment of materials, economic assessment, and environmental performance using standard guidelines from the literature. Additionally, a case study of industrial symbiosis network from Sodankylä region of Finland is implemented. Results projected an estimated life cycle cost of €115.20 million. The symbiotic environment would save €6.42 million in waste management cost to the business participants in addition to the projected environmental impact of 0.95 million tonne of CO2, 339.80 tonne of CH4, and 18.20 tonne of N2O. The potential of further cost saving with presented optimal assessment in the current architecture is forecast at €0.63 million every year.

scholarly journals Does the Increase in Renewable Energy Influence GDP Growth? An EU-28 Analysis

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4762
Author(s):  
Daniela Nicoleta Sahlian ◽  
Adriana Florina Popa ◽  
Raluca Florentina Creţu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
Panel Analysis ◽  
Renewable Sources ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Near Future ◽  
The Eu

The aim of our study was to analyze whether the increase in the use of renewable energy can help GDP growth. The research carried out shows that renewable energy has the ability to decrease or neutralize the negative impact of greenhouse gases (GHG), but also to maintain economic growth. We focused our analysis on the EU-28 as we know that the EU Commission’s aim, in the near future, is to join forces to reduce the GHG used and move to renewable sources. We used a panel analysis with data between 2000 and 2019 from all Member States, and our results showed that their economic growth is influenced positively by the production of renewable energy, the GHG per capita, and the GHG intensity per GDP.

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