Influencing factors and reduction of domestic solid waste at university dormitory in Shanghai, China

Increasing domestic solid waste (DSW) is becoming one of the most serious challenges for city and regional environment. As an epitome of the society, the investigation on the influencing factors and reduction of DSW of university students can not only provide policy suggestions for the waste management in the university campus, but also can achieve demonstration effect to other communities due to its high social status and wide impacts. This research combined direct weighing, questionnaire surveys, and regression analysis to quantify the influencing factors of DSW at East China Normal University’s dormitory in Shanghai. Direct weighting and questionnaire survey were conducted in 112 randomly selected dormitory rooms. Totally 523 valid questionnaires were collected. It is found that the average waste generation was 0.275 kg/day/cap, in which residual waste accounted for 64% of total, followed by household food waste (29%), and recyclable waste (7%). Regressions based on ordinary least square method suggested that students’ attitude towards waste played the most important role in affecting the waste reduction with its elasticity − 0.195. Lower educational level and better financial condition would lead to more waste generation, whose elasticity was 0.148 and 0.098 respectively. The influences of gender and major varied from waste types. Policies implications for university administration departments for sustainable waste and resource management include developing personalized and humanized waste management policies, enhancing environmental awareness through diverse educational activities, and expanding the publicity role of campus cultural activities on waste reduction.

A IMPORTÂNCIA DA GESTÃO INTEGRADA DOS RESÍDUOS SÓLIDOS: O CASO DAS CARGAS DE RESÍDUOS DOMICILIARES RURAIS DE SANTA CRUZ DO SUL – RS

Resumo: O consumo, aliado à industrialização, a cada ano produz muitos tipos de novos produtos e embalagens. Junto a isso, a distribuição e a logística vêm alcançando locais cada vez mais remotos, fazendo com que áreas rurais disponham dos mesmos produtos existentes nas áreas urbanas. A preocupação com esse avanço é a disposição final desse material, ou o gerenciamento dos resíduos sólidos domésticos nessas áreas. Os custos desse processo podem trazer obstáculos à sua realização. Dessa forma, esta pesquisa objetiva demonstrar algumas dificuldades sobre a gestão integrada de resíduos sólidos, principalmente pela análise da área rural de Santa Cruz do Sul. Identificou-se que o resíduo doméstico rural transportado pelos caminhões não era pesado, apenas registrada a entrada dos caminhões, dificultando o entendimento da eficiência desse atendimento. Assim, uma discrepância pode passar despercebida pelos gestores, pois o município de Santa Cruz do Sul/RS não possui uma área rural muito extensa. Para poder observar esse processo, foram rastreados dados entre os anos de 2007 à 2015, através de pesquisas bibliográficas e documentais. Foi possível verificar que o número de cargas das áreas rurais vem aumentado, sem alteração na população rural como também sem aumento de produção das embalagens. Além disso, os valores cobrados por esse transporte a cada ano se tornam mais caros. Portanto, para ter uma gestão transparente e políticas públicas eficientes, faz-se necessário disponibilizar e analisar os dados e valores sobre a produção de resíduos sólidos de forma clara e objetiva, com a elaboração de um processo que seja eficaz enquanto medida socioambiental.Palavras-chave: Gestão de Resíduos. Resíduo Doméstico Rural. Custo dos Resíduos. Abstract: The consumerism allied to industrialization each year produces many kinds of new products and packaging. Together, the distribution and the logistics are reaching places increasingly remote, so that the rural areas can have the same products that the urban areas do. The concern on this advance is the final disposal of this material or the domestic solid waste management in these areas. The costs of this process can bring some difficulties for the realization of this type of collection. This research was done to demonstrate some difficulties about the integrated solid waste management, mainly through the analysis of the rural area of Santa Cruz do Sul. It was identified that the rural domestic waste transported by trucks was not weighed, only registered the entry of trucks, making it difficult to understand the efficiency of this attendance. Therefore, this discrepancy can go unnoticed by the managers, because the city of Santa Cruz do Sul/RS does not have a very large rural area. To observe these procedures, it tracked data between the years of 2007 to 2015, through bibliographical and documental research. Thus, it was possible to verify that the number of loads from the rural areas is increasing, without an alteration on the rural population, but also without increasing packaging production. In addition, the costs charged for this transportation become more expensive each year. Therefore, in order to have a transparent management and efficient public politics, it is necessary to make available and analyze the data and values about the solid waste production in a clear and objective way, with the elaboration of a process that is effective as a socio-environmental measure.Keywords: Waste Management. Rural Domestic Waste. Waste Cost.

Waste Disposal Practices in Low-Income Settlements of South Africa

Domestic solid waste is rapidly increasing due to accelerated population growth and urbanization. Improper waste disposal poses potential health risks and environmental concerns. Here, we investigated waste disposal practices in relation to household/dwelling characteristics in South African low-income communities. Data for 2014 to 2019 from a community-orientated primary care program were analyzed using logistic regression. Families who reported living in a shack were more likely to dump waste in the street. Households who reported using non-electric sources of fuel for heating/cooking, those who lacked proper sanitation, and those who did not have access to piped water inside the dwelling were more likely to dispose of waste by dumping it in the street/in the yard or burying it. Families living in low-income settlements are at risk of solid waste exposure and this situation is exacerbated by poor access to piped water, proper sanitation, and electricity.

An Assessment of the Adequacy of the Methods Of Domestic Solid Waste Management in Kisii Town, Kenya

Urban domestic solid waste is increasingly being generated in many urban centres including middle sized towns. In many urban areas in developing countries there’s a growing need and awakening for meeting the waste disposal for the ever increasing population. This paper examines and analyses the varied treatment and disposal methods of domestic solid waste employed in Kisii town. The specific objective of the study include: to assess the adequacy of the available management systems of handling domestic solid waste (DSW) in Kisii town. A mixed methodology approach was taken into consideration. A sample of 110 households was obtained using the multi stage stratified sampling method. Data collection methods of the sampled size involved the use of questionnaires to 110 householders and direct interviews to 2 county officers in charge of DSW and observation integrated with photography. Data analysis was carried out using methods such as use of tables and graphs through SPSS. The results indicate that the storage facilities are inadequate for the residents, the collection times are not only insufficient but also irregular, the transportation means employed are limited, and disposal and treatment of the DSW is limited to mainly open dumping at the overfilled Nyambera dumpsite. In conclusion, the management methods of the DSW are inadequate and pose severe health risks to the residents of Kisii. It is recommended that, for effective domestic solid waste management adequate bins should be provided in the town, collection should be regular and indiscriminate in all estates, recycling, re-use, reduce and energy recovery should be introduced to move from challenges to opportunities. Finally, an integrated model of integrating CBOs and private groups in management of DSW is suggested to ensure sustainable solid waste management.

Manejo sostenible de residuos sólidos domiciliarios: recolección y transporte al relleno sanitario. Caso cantón Naranjal

Las rutas de recolección de residuos sólidos domiciliarios en el cantón Naranjal se han creado de manera intuitiva y no responden a un análisis técnico. En este estudio se evaluó las rutas actuales de recolección y se diseñó nuevas rutas optimizadas, mediante el uso de Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG), con la finalidad de minimizar la distancia recorrida y aumentar la cobertura de recolección. Para la optimización de las rutas se utilizó el software ArcGis 10.3 y se aplicó la herramienta Network Analyst. Los resultados de la investigación permitieron reducir las rutas de 24 existentes a 20 rutas de recolección diferenciadas (10 en la cabecera cantonal y 10 en el área rural de Naranjal), se aumentó la cobertura de recolección e incrementó la frecuencia en el área rural. Palabras clave: Recolección de desechos, residuos sólidos domiciliarios (RSD), optimización de rutas, ArcGis10.3, Network Analyst. AbstractIn Naranjal, domestic solid waste collection routes have been created intuitively and do not respond to a technical analysis. The present study evaluated the current collection routes to design new optimized routes, through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), in order to minimize the distance traveled and increase collection coverage. ArcGis 10.3 software was used for route optimization and the Network Analyst tool was applied. The results of the research made it possible to reduce the existing routes from 24 to 20 diferentiated collection routes (10 in the cantonal head and 10 in the rural area of Naranjal) increasing the collection coverage and the frequency in the rural area was also increased. Keywords: waste collection, domestic solid waste (DSW), route optimization, ArcGis 10.3, Network Analyst.

Comparison of a Traditional Landfill and a Mechanically-Biologically Treated waste Landfill (Case study; Kirkuk landfill)

Owing to the increasing population in Kirkuk, Iraq and the consequent rise in the production of waste, alongside with global warming caused by an increase in the greenhouse gases concentrations, a high level of emissions was observed at the landfill site near Kirkuk. These emissions can be transmitted by the wind over considerable distances and adversely affect the environment and individual health. In this study, two pilot scale columns were built to investigate different options for achieving sustainability by reducing long-term landfill emissions. Each reactor was packed with (8.5) kg of shredded synthetic solid waste (less than 5 cm) that was prepared according to an average composition of domestic solid waste in the city of Kirkuk. The main result of this study was that the pretreatment of the waste may shorten the transition time for active methane development and increase the methanogenesis of the landfill site and also affects COD removals efficiencies which were 19.11% and 66.53% for columns A and B respectively.

Association Between Occupational Exposure to Domestic Solid Waste and Dental Caries: A Cross Sectional Study

This cross-sectional study evaluated the dental caries and its associated factors among domestic waste collectors. A total of 301 adult men who worked for a waste collection corporation were included; 171 men worked in direct contact with domestic solid waste and 130 did not. Sociodemographic data, working and medical history were assessed. The decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index was examined. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with dental status with a significance level of 5%. The overall mean DMFT score was 8.36 ± 5.64. The mean DMFT, missing teeth (MT), and filled teeth (FT) were significantly higher in workers who did not have any direct contact with waste (p ≤ 0.04). In the logistic analysis, DMFT ≥ 8 was only associated with older age (OR = 8.41 [95% confidence interval (95%CI), 5.01–14.12], p < 0.001). Decayed teeth (DT) ≥ 2 was associated with no previous oral hygiene instruction (OR = 2.70 [1.50–4.81], p = 0.001) and no daily dental flossing (OR = 4.26 [1.92–9.43], p < 0.001). MT ≥ 9 was associated with lower education level (OR = 3.33 [1.57–7.10], p = 0.002). FT ≥ 3 had a negative association with low income (OR = 0.42 [0.25–0.70], p < 0.001) and no daily flossing (OR = 0.42 [0.23–0.76], p = 0.004). Occupational exposure to domestic solid waste was not associated with poor dental status. Instead, age, education, income level, and oral hygiene were associated with dental health status. Missing teeth constituted the major component of the DMFT index. Therefore, prevention and oral rehabilitation programs are necessary to improve dental health.