Raising Global Standards: Hazardous Substances and E-Waste Management in the European Union

2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 6-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Selin ◽  
Stacy D. VanDeveer
2017 ◽  
pp. 429-438
Author(s):  
Gustav Larsson ◽  
Jakob Sahlén ◽  
Lennart Mårtensson ◽  
Sanjay Nath Khanal

Nepal, situated in the Himalayan belt has a rapidly growing population together with high urbanisation rate. These factors are currently causing problems connected to municipal solid waste (MSW). E.g. leakage of hazardous substances to soil and surrounding aquatic systems, spread of odour and naturally unfamiliar materials to natural biotopes, all of which generate environmental damage and health problems. There are certain differences in waste generation and waste composition between urban areas of Nepal. In order to retrieve a broad picture of the current waste management situation, three population differentiated municipalities in different areas of the country were investigated. Studies of the MSW regarding composition and generation were conducted. Moreover, waste management in Nepal was compared with the basic waste management in the European Union (EU) and Sweden. Landfill sites (LFS) in Ghorahi Municipality, Pokhara Sub-metropolitan City and Kathmandu Metropolitan City were studied. Our studies show differences in waste composition, generation and management between the three locations. The differences are somewhat interconnected with population size and tourism. Cities with higher population and more tourism tend to have a higher generation and more diverse MSW. Nevertheless, the urban areas of Nepal are very much in need of a more structured waste management system, a system more alike the waste management of EU. Apart from structural problems, there are attitude and behavioural issues that needs to be dealt with. Further studies regarding social patterns, attitude and behaviour, as well as the economic flow of MSW, needs to be conducted in order to retrieve an even broader picture and understand important underlying issues.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Monte ◽  
E. Fuente ◽  
A. Blanco ◽  
C. Negro

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-123
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Biernat ◽  
Paulina Luiza Dziołak ◽  
Izabela Samson-Bręk

This article presents waste management in the world and in some highly developed countries in the European Union such as Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden. The article presented also waste management systems in these countries, with special attention to the processes of energy use of waste (Waste to Energy - WTE) in existing plants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Nicolae Pintilie ◽  

This paper aims to create an image of progress towards circular economy registered by European Union countries through specific indicators. In this way, this paper is based on the study and analysis of the 13 indicators, grouped on 4 pillars: Production and consumption, Waste management, Secondary raw materials, Competitiveness and innovation. After the presentation of the methodology, the paper develops an analysis in time and space of the selected indicators, then an analysis of the countries with their grouping on clusters, creating a map of them and highlighting the current situation of circular economy in the European Union. Moreover, the paper also presents the evolution of the countries regarding circular economy, which has a big importance taking into account that in the European Union the preoccupations for this concept is higher from one period to another. Among the most interesting results are: (1) a massive concentration of countries with problems for Waste management pillar; (2) Europe is one of the regions with the largest contribution in terms of circular economy, but the concept is developing differently from one country to another; (3) The scoreboard evolution is particularly useful in revealing the continuous actions adopted by countries in order to facilitate the conversion to circular economy. Finally, the paper presents possible limits of the research, but also future directions of its development.


Author(s):  
Stefan Thierfeldt ◽  
Ernst Kugeler ◽  
Alexander Nüsser ◽  
Renate Sefzig ◽  
Hans-Henning Landfermann ◽  
...  

Abstract The new Radiation Protection Ordinance (RPO) in Germany which transforms the EURATOM Basic Safety Standards into national legislation contains detailed regulations on clearance. For each of the following clearance options, a separate set of clearance levels (CL) exists: unconditional clearance, clearance of building rubble (> 1000 Mg/a), clearance of buildings for demolition and for reuse, clearance of nuclear sites, and clearance for disposal or incineration. This paper outlines the basis for the derivation of these sets of CL which are all based on generic radiological scenarios taking into account all relevant aspects of the materials. The underlying dose criterion is 10 μSv/a individual dose and 1 man·Sv/a collective dose. When deriving sets of CL in Germany care has been taken to be compatible with recommendations of the European Union and the IAEA. It is a common experience that sets of CL which are intended for the same purpose (e.g. general, unconditional clearance) may vary between studies and therefore between countries. This follows directly from differences e.g. in material quantities, boundary conditions, waste management options etc. which may be country specific. German CL are, however, in full agreement with all recommendations issued by the European Commission.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-99
Author(s):  
Enkelejda Turkeshi

Illegal waste management activities violate specific rules that aim at preventing or reducing the negative effects they may have on the environment and human health. For the purpose of providing a more effective protection of the environment, in many countries and since 2008 even at the European Union (EU) level, besides the relevant administrative offences, it is also provided for a specific criminal offence against environment concerning serious infringements of the waste management legislation. This paper examines the current legal framework in Albania concerning waste-related criminal offences, against the minimum standard set forth by the EU in the Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of environment through criminal law. While the adoption of the new framework law on Integrated Waste Management in 2011 as part of Albania’s efforts in aligning its legislation to that of the EU, has been a positive step towards more stringent rules concerning waste management, thus helping in tackling the serious and constantly evolving problems that the country has been facing in this field for years, the paper suggests that certain amendments to the Criminal Code are also necessary, as the minimum standard of the EU requires that criminal law applies at least in the case of particularly serious infringements of the new waste management legislation. These amendments would increase the protection of the environment and further the alignment of the Albanian legislation with that of the EU, while the country is seeking to fulfill obligations for EU membership.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcuta Liviu ◽  
Panait Razvan ◽  
Marcuta Alina

Modern life has contributed both to the increase of living standards, to the increase of the comfort level and to the development of the society, but also to the increase of the amount of waste that end up suffocating the planet and threatening the existence of present and future generations. Among the solutions that are sought and that are included in various programs and policies, the concept of circular economy is one that is increasingly discussed when talking about the sustainable development of society. The circular economy implies a reduction of the natural resources consumed due to both recycling and their fair consumption. At the E.U. level the foundations have been laid for policies aimed at waste management to ensure the application of the principles of the circular economy.Considering the importance that the quantification of the indicators for implementing the circular economy have on the elaboration of more efficient policies, but also on the determination of the degree of implementation of this concept, in this paper we intend to analyze the evolution of these indicators in 2010-2019, in the European Union using a customized version of the DPSIR model. Their analysis led us to the conclusion that although important steps have been taken towards the transition to the circular economy, there are still many aspects that need to be improved in order to achieve the proposed objectives through European policies.


Author(s):  
Martin Dufala

In particular, two types of data are important for assessing the state of waste management in each Member State of the European Union — first, the amount of the waste generated per capita annually and waste recovery rate, second, the rate of waste disposal in accordance with the waste hierarchy. The latest available statistics on the amount of waste generated per capita are for 2018. While the European Union average is 492 kg of municipal waste produced per capita for 2018, the Slovak Republic’s waste production is slightly less than that, with an average of 414 kg of municipal waste produced per capita for 2018. On the other hand, Denmark with 766 kg of municipal waste produced per capita annually is at the bottom of the European Union ranking. The Czech Republic with 351 kg and Poland with 329 kg of municipal waste produced per capita on the average annually for the same period are in better position than Slovak Republic. Another important data for the evaluation of the state of municipal waste management is the rate of recovery of municipal waste, alternatively — the municipal waste recycling rate. Within this scope, the Slovak Republic performs considerably worse, both regarding the waste management objectives and in comparison with the European Union average, or in comparison with remaining Member States. While the average recycling rate of municipal waste in the European Union was 47.0% in 2018, the Slovak Republic recycled only 36.3% of municipal waste in 2018. The situation within this scope in the Czech Republic/Czechia (34.5%) and Poland (34.3%) were similar. Germany achieved the highest municipal waste recycling rate in 2018, up to 67.3%. Directly related to the rate of the municipal waste recovery is the high rate of waste disposal, especially in the form of landfill, which was in the Slovak Republic in 2018 amounted to 55.0%. Despite the high rate of landfill, we can speak of a reduction in the landfill rate of municipal waste compared to previous years. From the foregoing data of selected indicators of the average recycling rate of municipal waste, it can be deduced that the system of municipal waste management in the Slovak Republic is obviously flawed, in as much as municipal waste management lacks long-term management in accordance with the waste hierarchy. The said deficiency may result either from insufficient legislation pertaining to this area or failure in terms of its enforcement. 


Author(s):  
J. Zelenko ◽  
M. Kalimbet

The article raises the issues of rail transport in many countries, including the European Union and Ukraine, transportation of various classes of dangerous goods, ensuring safety during their transportation, strengthening technical standards and environmental requirements for safety of dangerous goods transportation by all modes of transport and the problem of localization and liquidation of accidents during transportation of various classes of dangerous goods by rail is raised. Methods and methods of localization and elimination of spills of dangerous goods are discussed, the sorption method is described as the chosen method to solve the problem, a brief description of sorbents is given, various variants and modifications of materials for carbon sorbents are presented, materials will be used for universal sorption web, method of obtaining a universal sorption web, demonstrated a special installation for carbonization (Carbonizer), which was slightly modernized and made by the authors according to the design of the Engels University. The method of conducting experiments is described. The characteristics of the universal sorption web, its sorption properties are given, and also the technique of using the universal sorption web as a means for localization and / or liquidation of liquid hazardous substances of 3, 5, 8 hazard classes is proposed.


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