scholarly journals Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4382
Author(s):  
Nezha Mejjad ◽  
El Khalil Cherif ◽  
Antonio Rodero ◽  
Dorota Anna Krawczyk ◽  
Jauad El Kharraz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Behavior Observation ◽  
Energy Footprint ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Potential Environmental Impact ◽  
New Type ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Disposal Behavior

The spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) levied on the Moroccan authorities to increase their mask production capacity, which reached up to 12 million facemask units produced per day. This increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) production and consumption is an efficient tool to address the spread of COVID-19. However, this results in more plastic and microplastic debris being added into the land and marine environments, which will harm the ecosystem, wildlife, and public health. Such a situation needs deep individual behavior observation and tracking, as well as an assessment of the potential environmental impact of this new type of waste. For this reason, we assessed the Moroccan population’s behavior regarding the use and disposal of facemasks and gloves. An exploratory survey was prepared and shared via social media and email with the population of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Casablanca-Settat regions. Additionally, we calculated the estimated number and weight of daily and weekly PPE used and generated by the studied regions. The survey showed that 70% of the respondents threw their discarded masks and gloves in house trash or trash bins after their first use, whereas nearly 30% of respondents admitted that they did not wear masks because they did not leave their homes during the lockdown, while from the 70% of facemask users, more than five million (equivalent to 40,000 kg) of facemasks would be generated and disposed of daily by the community of these regions, which presents 35% of the total engendered facemask waste in Morocco. Accordingly, the environment impact of facemasks showed that the greenhouse gas footprint is about 640 kT CO2 eq./year for the whole of Morocco, while the energy footprint is around 60,000 GWh/year. Furthermore, an urgent multidisciplinary environmental assessment of the potential impact of PPE must be conducted among the 12 Moroccan regions. This study demonstrated the real impact of the COVID-19 PPE on human behavior and the environment and suggests a need for providing new didactic management of facemasks and gloves.

scholarly journals Attributional & Consequential Life Cycle Assessment: Definitions, Conceptual Characteristics and Modelling Restrictions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7386
Author(s):  
Thomas Schaubroeck ◽  
Simon Schaubroeck ◽  
Reinout Heijungs ◽  
Alessandra Zamagni ◽  
Miguel Brandão ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Consequential Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Potential Environmental Impact ◽  
Reference Environment ◽  
The Impact

To assess the potential environmental impact of human/industrial systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a very common method. There are two prominent types of LCA, namely attributional (ALCA) and consequential (CLCA). A lot of literature covers these approaches, but a general consensus on what they represent and an overview of all their differences seems lacking, nor has every prominent feature been fully explored. The two main objectives of this article are: (1) to argue for and select definitions for each concept and (2) specify all conceptual characteristics (including translation into modelling restrictions), re-evaluating and going beyond findings in the state of the art. For the first objective, mainly because the validity of interpretation of a term is also a matter of consensus, we argue the selection of definitions present in the 2011 UNEP-SETAC report. ALCA attributes a share of the potential environmental impact of the world to a product life cycle, while CLCA assesses the environmental consequences of a decision (e.g., increase of product demand). Regarding the second objective, the product system in ALCA constitutes all processes that are linked by physical, energy flows or services. Because of the requirement of additivity for ALCA, a double-counting check needs to be executed, modelling is restricted (e.g., guaranteed through linearity) and partitioning of multifunctional processes is systematically needed (for evaluation per single product). The latter matters also hold in a similar manner for the impact assessment, which is commonly overlooked. CLCA, is completely consequential and there is no limitation regarding what a modelling framework should entail, with the coverage of co-products through substitution being just one approach and not the only one (e.g., additional consumption is possible). Both ALCA and CLCA can be considered over any time span (past, present & future) and either using a reference environment or different scenarios. Furthermore, both ALCA and CLCA could be specific for average or marginal (small) products or decisions, and further datasets. These findings also hold for life cycle sustainability assessment.

scholarly journals Research Proposal: Cryptocurrency User Attitudes Towards the Environmental Impact of Proof-of-Work

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Platt ◽  
Francesco Pierangeli
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Consensus Protocol ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
User Attitudes ◽  
Decentralised Systems ◽  
Consensus Models ◽  
Potential Impact

The consumption of electrical energy is a requisite for ‘proof-of-work’, a class of consensus protocols for decentralised systems. ‘Ethereum’ and ‘Bitcoin’, along with various other cryptocurrencies, use implementations of such a consensus protocol. Among experts, the vast energy demand associated with the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and the potential impact on climate change have been discussed extensively. It is, however, unclear what attitudes the users of cryptocurrencies themselves have towards the consequences of its growing energy demand. The proposed study aims to answer this question through survey research, using ‘Bitcoin’ as an archetype of a proof-of-work cryptocurrency. Conducting the study will reveal whether cryptocurrency users themselves consider their energy needs to be problematic, and which stakeholders they hold accountable to reduce consumption. The outcome can provide a theoretical grounding in social science for the ongoing implementation of alternative consensus models, for example in the context of the ‘Eth2’ upgrade of the ‘Ethereum’ blockchain.

Wind Energy, Its Application, Challenges, and Potential Environmental Impact

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahzad Nazir ◽  
Yeqin Wang ◽  
Bilal Muhammad ◽  
Ahmad N. Abdalla
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Potential Environmental Impact

Decision Insights for Shipbreaking using Environmental Impact Assessment

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshin John ◽  
Rajiv Kumar Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Environment Impact Assessment ◽  
Decision Alternatives

This article describes how the shipbreaking industry has been under the microscope, more often in recent years, with scrutiny from governments, international agencies and environmental activists, on issues pertaining to sustainability in general and environmental impact in particular. Several cases of vessels-to-be-dismantled, by and large in yards located in South Asia, have been discussed in literature, with concerns on the modus operandi of dismantling end-of-life ships, and the mode of disposal of hazardous residual wastes. In this article, the authors review extant methodologies, and examine the decision alternatives available to shipbreakers, recyclers and waste material handlers to minimize damage to the environment. Impact assessment results using Open-LCA has been presented to demonstrate the relative impact loadings on various environmental parameters, from the path functions adopted. The results of the environmental impact assessment provide decision insights on various alternatives that may be appropriated in order to mitigate environmental damage. The article concludes with discussion, perspectives and future research directions to improve decision making for sustainable shipbreaking.

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