Practices Followed to Manage Plastic Waste including Shopping Bags and Lunch Sheets in Sri Lanka: A Preliminary Study in Western Province

Although plastics have made the workings of our lives easier, it has created many different environmental and social problems due to poor management practices. The problem of plastic waste has been exacerbated due to various regulations that have been introduced from time to time for the sustainable management of plastic waste. However, those are not properly implemented. The main objective of this study is to examine the best practices in Sri Lanka for the management of plastic waste, including shopping bags and lunch sheets (PBLS). Further, the study illustrated the prevailing and possible alternatives for polythene products in Sri Lanka and weaknesses in the identification of alternatives. The study was conducted in the Western Province covering three districts: Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara. Data collection was conducted through different structured questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews and a major workshop from a sample of 1314 respondents. Results revealed that 59% of households in the survey confirm that they were discouraged from switching to alternatives as a result of freely available low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags in the market. Also, 67% of the households and 74% of the supermarkets pointed out that, the current polythene bag usage was higher prior to the ban, due to the poor strength and quality of the bag. Further, the study reveals that ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)’ has the potential to influence material management systems and prevent pollution and has been successfully tested in many countries around the world.

Blog Development as A Resource for Geographic Learning in SMAN Kecamatan Percut Sei Tuan

An effective learning process is a learning process that uses various forms of learning resources. This study aims to determine blogs' feasibility as a source of learning geography for material management of Indonesia's natural resources at SMAN Percut Sei Tuan District. This research was conducted in the odd semester of the 2019/2020 school year, with a population of all class XI IPS students at SMAN 1 Percut Sei Tuan consisting of 4 classes with a total of 139 students and class XI IPS at SMAN 2 Percut Sei Tuan which consisted of 2 courses with the number of 69 students. The study sample was class XI IPS 1 at SMAN 1 Percut Sei Tuan, totaling 35 students, and class XI IPS 1 at SMAN 2 Percut Sei Tuan amounted to 33 students. This research is development research using the Borg and Gall model with ten steps of research implementation. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire. The data analysis technique used is descriptive. The results showed that the validation of the feasibility of blogs as a source of learning geography carried out in 2 stages showed that in the first stage of verification, the acquisition of the feasibility of a blog as a source of learning geography was (87.27%) with criteria worthy of revision as needed. After making improvements according to the assessors' input, the results of the stage 2 validation obtained the feasibility of a blog as a source of learning geography (93.89%) with very feasible criteria without revision.

Recycling lead and transparent conductors from perovskite solar modules

Perovskite photovoltaics are gaining increasing common ground to partner with or compete with silicon photovoltaics to reduce cost of solar energy. However, a cost-effective waste management for toxic lead (Pb), which might determine the fate of this technology, has not been developed yet. Here, we report an end-of-life material management for perovskite solar modules to recycle toxic lead and valuable transparent conductors to protect the environment and create dramatic economic benefits from recycled materials. Lead is separated from decommissioned modules by weakly acidic cation exchange resin, which could be released as soluble Pb(NO3)2 followed by precipitation as PbI2 for reuse, with a recycling efficiency of 99.2%. Thermal delamination disassembles the encapsulated modules with intact transparent conductors and cover glasses. The refabricated devices based on recycled lead iodide and recycled transparent conductors show comparable performance as devices based on fresh raw materials. Cost analysis shows this recycling technology is economically attractive.

Management of post-production wood waste in the aspect of circular economy

Management of post-production wood waste in the aspect of circular economy. Sustainable resource management involves turning waste into resources. The estimation of various waste streams and their potential use as secondary raw materials underlies the circular economy. The management of wood waste in terms of the Circular Economy should assume material use of this waste before energy use. One of the possibilities of material management of this waste is the use of biological treatment through composting. Input materials for the composting process should have technological and physical-chemical characteristics, respectively. The aim of this study was to characterize the wood raw material (wood waste as a by-product) and qualify it for the composting process on the basis of its composition. Based on the literature research, it was found that there is possibility of using these wastes for management through biological disposal. The obtained composts from wood waste can be used as a raw material to supply the soil with humic substances and mineral compounds.

Management of post-production wood waste in the aspect of circular economy

Management of post-production wood waste in the aspect of circular economy. Sustainable resource management involves turning waste into resources. The estimation of various waste streams and their potential use as secondary raw materials underlies the circular economy. The management of wood waste in terms of the Circular Economy should assume material use of this waste before energy use. One of the possibilities of material management of this waste is the use of biological treatment through composting. Input materials for the composting process should have technological and physical-chemical characteristics, respectively. The aim of this study was to characterize the wood raw material (wood waste as a by-product) and qualify it for the composting process on the basis of its composition. Based on the literature research, it was found that there is possibility of using these wastes for management through biological disposal. The obtained composts from wood waste can be used as a raw material to supply the soil with humic substances and mineral compounds.

Several of Emerging Technological Developments, Innovation and Implementation Case for Pipelines

Considering “Pipeline Industry’s Need of the Hour - Self Reliance and Emerging Technology Trends” as theme of pipeline conference, my submission of paper is on several use cases on technology and innovation for pipeline’s different life cycle phases. There are continual developments in pipeline industry and several of technologies were successfully implemented or under consideration phase for implementation for pipeline industry. In all phases of pipeline lifecycle of material management, project implementation as well in Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of pipeline. Several technological changes as well several of innovations in existing systems are of extensive use for enhancing pipeline safety, reliability, monitoring system as well ease of operations and maintenance. Many of systems been used for other purposes and are of great use for pipelines. This paper discusses on few of such technologies and their implementation for pipelines.