Unraveling the Role of Plastic Waste Pollution in the Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park, Greece: The Stakeholders’ Views

Plastic waste pollution in marine environments is considered a major environmental problem in coastal areas. Relative environmental problems are also recorded in protected wetlands. The National Park of Amvrakikos Wetlands, one of the largest wetlands of Greece, is studied in order to evaluate the influence of plastic waste in the protected area and its surroundings, according to the stakeholders’ views. The survey applied using the method of census addressing the key stakeholders in the area of interest and the use of a questionnaire; the data analyzed with the Statistical Package SSPS. The main findings reveal that waste management is not considered satisfactory in the broader area. Marine litter, pollution, overfishing, ecosystem degradation, agriculture and livestock activities, as well as the insufficiency of the municipal solid waste management and recycling system are listed as the most important environmental problems of the coastal area. The stakeholders’ participation is regarded as crucial for effective decision making. Therefore, special strategies should be designed involving Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to widely address the local communities and increase their awareness on the problem in order to reduce plastic waste pollution. It should be noted that environmental conditions are closely affiliated with the citizens’ quality of life.

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PENGELOLAAN SAMPAH PLASTIK DI SALATIGA: Praktik, dan tantangan

Jurnal Ilmu Lingkungan ◽

10.14710/jil.17.1.90-99 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 90

Author(s):

Berliana Anggun Septiani ◽

Dian Mita Arianie ◽

Via Fide Aditya Andi Risman ◽

Widhi Handayani ◽

Istiarsi Saptuti Sri Kawuryan

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Municipal Solid Waste Management ◽

Waste Production ◽

The Government

The increase of solid waste production is a general problem in municipality, particularly of plastic waste. The durability, light-weight, anticorrosiveness, and inexpensiveness properties of plastic make it favorable to be used in daily life, including in Salatiga. However, plastic is one of some non-biodegradable materials that could lead to soil and water pollution as it contains toxic compounds such as aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, and organochlorine. Various studies in municipal solid waste management have been conducted. While those studies often applied various approaches separately, researches in regard to the role of stakeholders in municipal solid waste management are very limited. This study aims to explain the plastic waste management in Salatiga based on the role of the corresponding stakeholders. This qualitative study shows that there are four stakeholders who were involved in municipal plastic waste management in Salatiga. They were the households who generate wastes, the scavengers who sorts the wastes, Bank Sampah and collectors who have the same role in order to collect the wastes and treat the plastic wastes through reusing or recycling processes, and the government. Currently, efforts in waste treatment in Salatiga are focused on the system of collecting-tranferring-disposal mode, waste treatment by reuse and recycle processing, and landfilling. Reducing plastic consumption must take into account the sociocultural aspect and environmental awareness, as the people still interested to use plastic instead of using other materials in substitution. Finally, the role of government is central to educate the community in term of sorting activities and reducing waste production, build the capacity of Bank Sampah, and manage the role of scavengers and collectors. Other alternatives include creating synergy between the collectors and Bank Sampah, as well as ensuring final treatment of the unprocessed wastes disposed by collectors and Bank Sampah.

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Urban Waste as a Resource: The Case of the Utilisation of Organic Waste to Improve Agriculture Productivity Project in Accra, Ghana

Organic Waste Composting through Nexus Thinking ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-36283-6_6 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 123-145

Author(s):

Dzidzo Yirenya-Tawiah ◽

Ted Annang ◽

Benjamin Dankyira Ofori ◽

Benedicta Yayra Fosu-Mensah ◽

Elaine Tweneboah- Lawson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Value Chain ◽

Organic Waste ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Municipal Solid Waste Management ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Management Processes ◽

Waste Segregation ◽

Municipal Assembly

AbstractPoor municipal solid waste management continues to be a daunting issue for municipal authorities in Ghana. Major cities generate 2000 tonnes of mixed municipal waste per day, of which about 80% is collected and disposed of at open dump sites and/or at the limited number of landfills available. About 60% of this waste is organic. The Utilization of Organic Waste to Improve Agricultural Productivity (UOWIAP) project sought to co-create knowledge through a private-public engagement for the development of organic waste value chain opportunities to sustainably manage municipal organic waste and, at the same time, improve urban farm soils and increase food productivity in the Ga-West Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Through the project, identified key stakeholders in the waste and agricultural sectors, such as market traders, informal waste collectors, unemployed persons, farmers, landscapers, media, agricultural extension officers, Municipal Assembly officers and the general public, were engaged and made aware of sustainable organic waste management processes, including organic waste segregation from source, collection and compost production. Four formal markets were selected for the piloting of organic waste segregation from source. Interested persons were trained in organic waste collection, compost production and entrepreneurship. The lessons learned draw attention to the need for a massive effort to generate demand for compost use as this will invariably drive removal of organic waste from the unsorted waste stream.

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