Notes from the Field: E-waste in Brasil - Lixo Eletrônico and MetaReciclagem

As probably every other country in the world, in recent years Brazil has seen an immense increase in the production and consumption of electro-electronics equipment, which generates, as expected, an equally large amount of e-waste. However, there is a general lack of information about health and environmental issues among actors involved with the e-waste cycle, and very limited public discussion about the topic. Also, proper legislation to regulate the destination of all this material does not yet exist. The National Policy on Solid Residuals, which has been discussed in the Brazilian Congress since 1991, had shown signs of including ewaste management. But the responsible working group in the Chamber of Deputies has recently decided to make an amendment to its 33rd article, dealing with the regulation of reverse logistics (take-back) and mandatory recycling of special waste, and no longer considering electronic equipment as such. In response to that, the collective Lixo Eletrônico decided to publish a manifesto and open an online petition drawing attention to the change in the bill. The article offers an overview of the situation and the issues involved and explains the action that is being carried out by the Lixo Eletrônico Collective, presenting the first outcomes and next steps.

Download Full-text

What Will It Take to Deliver a Zero-to-Landfill Product?

Engineering Technology Management: Engineering Business Management, Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis, Technology and Society ◽

10.1115/imece2006-15944 ◽

2006 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeffrey R. Boyer

Keyword(s):

Product Design ◽

Reverse Logistics ◽

Government Regulations ◽

Point Of Sale ◽

Take Back ◽

Legal Mandates ◽

The World ◽

Design And Manufacturing ◽

Useful Life ◽

Corporate Profits

Driven by legal mandates and consumer demand, sustainable businesses will be those that recognize the need for extended responsibility for their products beyond the point of sale. One strategy gaining increasing attention throughout the world is the production and sale of Zero-to-Landfill products - products that contain nothing that is disposed of at the end of their useful life. A product take-back process is required to ensure products that reach the end of their useful lives are reclaimed for reuse, remanufacturing, or recycling. But can companies develop products that are truly zero-to-landfill? What must manufacturers do to deliver products offering this environmental beneficence? The stakeholders in a sustainable enterprise are considered, and the desire for zero-to-landfill products from their perspectives will be examined. Implications for government regulations, reverse logistics, product design and manufacturing, and for corporate profits are examined. The emphasis will be on how such a strategy will impact today's design and manufacturing engineers. Through the use of representative examples, it will be shown that many of the requisite behaviors and processes are being implemented, but that it is still early to quantify the impacts and to understand the emergence of unforeseen consequences.

Download Full-text

On visions and promises — ethical aspects of in vitro meat

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190108 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 753-758

Author(s):

Silvia Woll

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Environmental Issues ◽

Meat Production ◽

Ethical Aspects ◽

Existing Problems ◽

In Vitro Meat ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Production Conditions

Innovators of in vitro meat (IVM) are convinced that this approach is the solution for problems related to current meat production and consumption, especially regarding animal welfare and environmental issues. However, the production conditions have yet to be fully clarified and there is still a lack of ethical discourses and critical debates on IVM. In consequence, discussion about the ethical justifiability and desirability of IVM remains hypothetical and we have to question those promises. This paper addresses the complex ethical aspects associated with IVM and the questions of whether, and under what conditions, the production of IVM represents an ethically justifiable solution for existing problems, especially in view of animal welfare, the environment, and society. There are particular hopes regarding the benefits that IVM could bring to animal welfare and the environment, but there are also strong doubts about their ethical benefits.

Download Full-text

Awareness on Sustainability Perspective among Consumers’ of Tea

Restaurant Business ◽

10.26643/rb.v118i7.7670 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 118 (7) ◽

pp. 111-116

Author(s):

Dr. M. Ayisha Millath ◽

Dr. K. Malik Ali

Keyword(s):

Sample Size ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Health Benefits ◽

High Price ◽

Educational Qualification ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

The World ◽

Correlation Result ◽

Day By Day

Tea is an imperative beverage elsewhere in the world. The need and demand for tea are increasing day by day. Tea Association of USA expects continued growth in tea sales due to awareness on its health benefits. There are more than 3000 kinds of tea varieties are there but only four varieties are widely used. The authors investigated the opinion on sustainability perspectives and problems faced by them while they intend to buy. Willing Participants are included in survey with the sample size of 237. The correlation result revealed that there is a positive relationship between educational qualification and sustainability perspectives of tea products among consumers. . It is also found that lack of information and high price were the major problems faced by tea consumers while intend to buy sustainable tea. So the tea manufacturers and processors must throw light on these issues to improve its preference among consumers.

Download Full-text

Production and Consumption of Organic Food Products in Russia in the Context of Modern Marketing Trends in the World Market

Economy of agricultural and processing enterprises ◽

10.31442/0235-2494-2018-0-11-74-81 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 74-81

Author(s):

N.D. Avarskiy ◽

◽

V.V. Taran ◽

V.K. Devin ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Food ◽

Food Products ◽

World Market ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

The World

Download Full-text

Societal Drivers of Food and Water Systems 1

The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190669799.013.48 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 284-301

Author(s):

Michael Thompson ◽

M. Bruce Beck ◽

Dipak Gyawali

Keyword(s):

Mobile Phones ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Water Systems ◽

Food Chains ◽

Material Flows ◽

The Core ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

The World ◽

Nitrogen Phosphorus ◽

Plural Rationality

Food chains interact with the vast, complex, and tangled webs of material flows —nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, water, energy—circling the globe. Cities and households are where those material flows interact with the greatest intensity. At every point within these webs and chains, technologies enable them to function: from bullock-drawn ploughs, to mobile phones, to container ships, to wastewater treatment plants. Drawing on the theory of plural rationality, we show how the production and consumption of food and water in households and societies can be understood as occurring according to four institutionally induced styles: four basic ways of understanding the world and acting within it; four ways of living with one another and with nature. That there are four is due to the theory of plural rationality at the core of this chapter.

Download Full-text

The Environmental Protection Consciousness and Countermeasures

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.962-965.1509 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 962-965 ◽

pp. 1509-1512

Author(s):

Lin Liu ◽

Pin Lv

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Human Activities ◽

Environmental Issues ◽

The World ◽

The Future ◽

Environmental Concepts ◽

Environment Sustainability ◽

Development And Environment

There are various signs indicating that the Earth's natural environment is changing toward unfavorable direction for species, which is highly suspected to be connected with human activities. In the last century, people all over the world have realized the severity of environmental issues. In the long history, Chinese ancient had already development good rules and methods to reach balance between economic development and environment sustainability. This paper will discuss how environmental concepts forms and which methods could be applied in the future.

Download Full-text

Properties of Concrete Containing Scrap-Tire Chips

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.399-401.1251 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 399-401 ◽

pp. 1251-1256 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wai Ching Tang ◽

Hong Zhi Cui ◽

Yiu Lo

Keyword(s):

Environmental Issues ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Scrap Tire ◽

Scrap Tires ◽

Bonding Agents ◽

Normal Weight Concrete ◽

Tire Chips ◽

Increase With Increase ◽

The World ◽

Concrete Matrix

Nowadays, one of the most essential environmental issues around the world is to deal with the scrap tire problem. Tires that are used, rejected or unwanted are classified as scrap tires and need to be managed responsibly. In this paper, the scrap tires were shredded into pieces and used to mix with normal weight concrete. Extensive laboratory tests were carried out and the focus of this paper was to characterize the mechanical and permeability properties of concrete containing scrap tires. The main parameters studied were chipped tire content and size. The results showed that the scrap-tire chips without adding special bonding agents apparently showed an even distribution in the mortar and concrete matrix. The elastic modulus, compressive and tensile strengths of scrap tire concrete in general were found lower than that of the control concrete and the differences became significant when the content and size of chipped tires in the mix were increased. Besides, the coefficients of water permeability of concrete were found to increase with increase of chipped tires in the mix.

Download Full-text