EGCC Libguides: Environmental Studies: Waste Management, Hazardous Waste &amp; Environmental Toxicology: Waste Management

Selected Articles on Waste Management

Comparison of currently available PFAS remediation technologies in water: A review Abstract: Remediation of Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the environment has rapidly increased due to growing concerns of environmental contamination and associated adverse toxicological effects on wildlife and humans due to bioaccumulation and extreme persistence. Although, PFASs are highly recalcitrant to conventional water treatment processes, there are some effective techniques available. Those techniques involve exceedingly high costs due to high energy use, and high capital or operational costs. Thus, most remediation techniques have limitations in field applications even though the laboratory scale experiments are promising. As a result of stringent new health and environmental regulatory standards are being established, development of suitable water treatment methodology is more challenging. Most of the separation and destruction techniques have their own limitations in field applications while the biological approaches to treat PFASs are extremely limited and are not currently considered as viable. In this review, extra consideration is given to novel advanced techniques for wide array of PFAS classes including short chain PFAS removal, and compare their efficiencies, effectiveness, energy use, sustainability, cost, and simplicity in laboratory scale to field applications. Electrochemical, sonochemical, advanced oxidation processers (AOPs) and plasma together with novel hybrid techniques are considered as effective approaches for PFASs removal and have shown promising results for long chain and some short chain PFASs, as well as extremely persistent per-fluoro alkyl acids (PFAAs). Therefore, it is essential to better understand the removal mechanisms to optimise the advanced treatment processes like hybrid techniques because, the unique physicochemical characteristics of various PFASs impose difficult challenges. Careful selection of a combined effective treatment methodology in an integrated processing unit, would be a revolutionary approach for complete elimination of PFASs from the environment. Considering the site-specific water quality parameters together with community perspectives will also make it more viable in real world field applications.
Dumpster Diving in the Emergency Department: Quantity and Characteristics of Waste at a Level I Trauma Center Abstract: Healthcare contributes 10% of greenhouse gases in the United States and generates two milion tons of waste each year. Reducing healthcare waste can reduce the environmental impact of healthcare and lower hospitals’ waste disposal costs. However, no literature to date has examined US emergency department (ED) waste management. The purpose of this study was to quantify and describe the amount of waste generated by an ED, identify deviations from waste policy, and explore areas for waste reduction.
Groundwater co-contaminant behavior of arsenic and selenium at a lead and zinc smelting facility Abstract: Co-contaminant behavior of arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in groundwater is examined in this study at a former lead and zinc smelting facility. We collected water quality data, including concentrations of trace metals, major ions, and metalloid speciation, over a 15-year period to document long-term trends and relationships between As, Se, geochemical parameters, and other redox-sensitive trace metals. Concentrations of dissolved As and Se were negatively correlated (Kendall's Tau B correlation coefficient, r = −0.72) and showed a distinctive L-shaped relationship. High-concentration arsenic wells (>5 mg L−1) were characterized by intermediate oxidation-reduction conditions (75 
The intellectual structure of the waste management field. Waste management is an important issue in the field of green logistics. It has consequently drawn the attention of the scientific community and has been extensively investigated over the past few years. Through an analysis of the existing waste management literature, we attempt in this paper to better understand past developments in this area as well as emerging trends and recent developments. Emphasis will be put mainly on Operations Research and Management Science techniques when dealing with waste management problems. To reach this target, we follow bibliometric-based methods, specifically Co-citation Analysis, Betweenness Centrality and Burst Detection combined with network visualization. After identifying the research papers published between 1990 and 2018 within the Thomson Reuters Web of Science database, a Co-citation network has been constructed. We propose an algorithm for modularity-based clustering in small networks that iteratively solves a sequence of Mixed Integer Non-linear Programming problems to maximize the modularity therefore providing a non-overlapping partition of the network. A display of the principal research areas and landmark articles that shape the intellectual structure of the waste management problems during the last 30 years is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
An overview of geophysical technologies appropriate for characterization and monitoring at fractured-rock sites Abstract: Geophysical methods are used increasingly for characterization and monitoring at remediation sites in fractured-rock aquifers. The complex heterogeneity of fractured rock poses enormous challenges to groundwater remediation professionals, and new methods are needed to cost-effectively infer fracture and fracture-zone locations, orientations and properties, and to develop conceptual site models for flow and transport. Despite the potential of geophysical methods to “see” between boreholes, two issues have impeded the adoption of geophysical methods by remediation professionals. First, geophysical results are commonly only indirectly related to the properties of interest (e.g., permeability) to remediation professionals, and qualitative or quantitative interpretation is required to convert geophysical results to hydrogeologic information. Additional demonstration/evaluation projects are needed in the site remediation literature to fully transfer geophysical methods from research to practice. Second, geophysical methods are commonly viewed as inherently risky by remediation professionals. Although it is widely understood that a given method may or may not work at a particular site, the reasons are not always clear to end users of geophysical products. Synthetic modeling tools are used in research to assess the potential of a particular method to successfully image a target, but these tools are not widely used in industry. Here, we seek to advance the application of geophysical methods to solve problems facing remediation professionals with respect to fractured-rock aquifers. To this end, we (1) provide an overview of geophysical methods applied to characterization and monitoring of fractured-rock aquifers; (2) review case studies showcasing different geophysical methods; and (3) discuss best practices for method selection and rejection based on synthetic modeling and decision support tools.
People, planet and profit: Unintended consequences of legacy building materials Abstract: Although an explosion of new building materials are being introduced into today's market, adequate up-front research into their chemical and physical properties as well as their potential health and environmental consequences is lacking. History has provided us with several examples where building materials were broadly deployed into society only to find that health and environmental problems resulted in unintended sustainability consequences. In the following paper, we use lead and asbestos as legacy building materials to show their similar historical trends and sustainability consequences. Our research findings show unintended consequences such as: increased remediation and litigation costs; adverse health effects; offshoring of related industries; and impediments to urban revitalization. As numerous new building materials enter today's market, another building material may have already been deployed, representing the next “asbestos.” This paper also proposes an alternative methodology that can be applied in a cost-effective way into existing and upcoming building materials, to minimize and prevent potential unintended consequences and create a pathway for sustainable communities. For instance, our findings show that this proposed methodology could have prevented the unintended incurred sustainability costs of approximately $272-$359 billion by investing roughly $24 million in constant 2014 U.S. dollars on up-front research into lead and asbestos.
A Retrospective of State Solid Waste Planning in the U.S.A. From Article: This research investigates the status of state solid waste planning and its importance for waste reduction and recycling by providing a historical context of plan making dating back to the 1960s. It focuses on the responsibilities of various levels of government in developing solid waste plans and legislative efforts mandating such process. In the conclusion, the paper explores the reason for federal apathy in enforcing state planning and its consequences on waste management in the U.S.
Trapped in trash: 'Modes of governing' and barriers to transitioning to sustainable waste management. The disposal of municipal solid waste can be costly and environmentally destructive. This article asks why, given many alternatives, most waste material is still disposed of in landfills or incinerators. Building upon the 'modes of governing' framework proposed by Bulkeley,Watson, and Hudson as a means of identifying and interpreting the relationships among the many actors and artefacts that constitute a municipal solid waste management system, this article explores the barriers to transitioning between modes. The case of solid waste management in Boston, Massachusetts illustrates how key factors -- limited enforcement of existing policy, institutional and physical fragmentation, financial incentives, and the vested interests of the private sector -- protect the disposal mode of governing. Meanwhile, the actors most interested in moving towards more sustainable waste management techniques lack access to decision-making processes and daily operations, limiting their ability to influence policy and practice. The analysis of barriers suggests an alternative way of classifying modes -- dominant, incremental, visionary, and aspirational -- that explicitly captures the relative entrenchment of each mode, while also opening up the framework for application in other geographies, and for other systems that may or may not share similar governmental rationalities, technologies, or capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Waste Management and Prediction of Air Pollutants Using IoT and Machine Learning Approach. Increasing waste generation has become a significant issue over the globe due to the rapid increase in urbanization and industrialization. In the literature, many issues that have a direct impact on the increase of waste and the improper disposal of waste have been investigated. Most of the existing work in the literature has focused on providing a cost-efficient solution for the monitoring of garbage collection system using the Internet of Things (IoT). Though an IoT-based solution provides the real-time monitoring of a garbage collection system, it is limited to control the spreading of overspill and bad odor blowout gasses. The poor and inadequate disposal of waste produces toxic gases, and radiation in the environment has adverse effects on human health, the greenhouse system, and global warming. While considering the importance of air pollutants, it is imperative to monitor and forecast the concentration of air pollutants in addition to the management of the waste. In this paper, we present and IoT-based smart bin using a machine and deep learning model to manage the disposal of garbage and to forecast the air pollutant present in the surrounding bin environment. The smart bin is connected to an IoT-based server, the Google Cloud Server (GCP), which performs the computation necessary for predicting the status of the bin and for forecasting air quality based on real-time data. We experimented with a traditional model (k-nearest neighbors algorithm (k-NN) and logistic reg) and a non-traditional (long short term memory (LSTM) network-based deep learning) algorithm for the creation of alert messages regarding bin status and forecasting the amount of air pollutant carbon monoxide (CO) present in the air at a specific instance. The recalls of logistic regression and k-NN algorithm is 79% and 83%, respectively, in a real-time testing environment for predicting the status of the bin. The accuracy of modified LSTM and simple LSTM models is 90% and 88%, respectively, to predict the future concentration of gases present in the air. The system resulted in a delay of 4 s in the creation and transmission of the alert message to a sanitary worker. The system provided the real-time monitoring of garbage levels along with notifications from the alert mechanism. The proposed works provide improved accuracy by utilizing machine learning as compared to existing solutions based on simple approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Waste Management in USA through case studies: e-waste recycling and waste to energy plant. USA has improved waste management system than many other countries, namely India, China, Middle East countries and South Africa. In 2012, Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash. It recycled and composted almost 87 million tons, equivalent to a 34.5% recycling rate. US recycled and composted nearly 0.69 kg out of the individual waste generation rate of 1.98 kg per person per day. Whereas, in 2012, 3.412 million tons of ewaste was generated in the U.S, nearly 30% is recycled and 70% is trashed. The paper presents the status of the WTE and WEEE recycling plants in the US and analyse their sustainability through two case studies at 20 tpd e-waste recycling plant at 48th Street Transfer Station and the 80 MW Covanta waste to energy plant in Philadelphia, USA based on the study visit in 30th ICSW 2015. The transportation of the MSW feedstock to wte plant is done by the railway wagon with a robust supply chain. The e-waste recycling plant dismantles the materials in semiautomatic conveyor & crusher, segregates and packs both manually and with electronic eye. Plastics, metal, glass and the equipment for reuse are segregated here. The plant sends this material to materials recycling plants. Both the plant has different business case. The study will be helpful for the researchers and the stakeholder in different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste Management eBooks

Below are a few eBook titles from our collection. To find more, use our Gateway Search and Publication Finder to find more full-text ebooks on Waste Management.

Solid Wastes Management by Stephen Burnley (Editor) Solid Wastes Management begins with a focus on processing municipal and similar commercial, as well as industrial wastes; assessing and minimising the environmental impacts of processing and disposal. The second section reviews the treatment technologies available (physical, biological and thermal), their advantages, disadvantages and environmental performance.  The third section considers the environmental and health impacts of the technologies and reviews the use of models to predict landfill leachate, gas formation and pollution dispersion. The fourth section is on the human health impact of waste management and draws on the previous sections, bringing in pollutants such as bioaerosols and ultra-fine particulate material. In the fifth and sixth sections, the importance of adopting an integrated approach to waste management is demonstrated through consideration of life cycle assessment and its use to determine optimum waste management solutions. Discover our e-book series on Environmental Monitoring and Protection, published in partnership with The Open University! Find out more about the series editors, the titles in the series and their focus on water, noise, air and waste, and The Open University courses in Environmental Management. Visit www.wiley.com/go/ouebookseries
ISBN: 9781118863923
Publication Date: 2014-03-07
Polymer Waste Management by Johannes Karl Fink With the huge amount of plastics floating in the oceans, fish and other sea creatures are directly suffering the consequences. On land, city leaders and planners are banning one-use plastics as well as plastic bags from grocery stores in an effort to stem the use.  Many countries have made official announcements and warnings concerning the pollution caused from plastic wastes.  These urgent developments have stimulated the author to study the problem and write Polymer Waste Management.    Plastic recycling refers to a method that retrieves the original plastic material. However, there are many sophisticated methods available for the treatment and management of waste plastics such as basic primary recycling, where the materials are sorted and collected individually. In chemical recycling, the monomers and related compounds are processed by special chemical treatments. Other methods, such as pyrolysis, can produce fuels from waste plastics. These methods and others are treated comprehensively in the book This ground-breaking book also discusses: General aspects, such as amount of plastics production, types of waste plastics, analysis procedures for identification of waste plastic types, standards for waste treatment, contaminants in recycled plastics. Environmental aspects, such as pollution in the marine environment and landfills. The advantages of the use of bio-based plastics. Recycling methods for individual plastic types and special catalysts.
ISBN: 9781119536376
Publication Date: 2018-09-03
Recent Developments in Waste Management by Ajay S. Kalamdhad (Editor) This volume presents select papers presented during the Second International Conference on Waste Management held at IIT Guwahati. The book comprises of eight sections, and deals with various technologies associated with curbing of different environmental issues as well as management and legislative policies associated with them. This book will be of interest to various researchers, students, policy makers and people who pursue keen interest in the waste management techniques and policies.
ISBN: 9789811509896
Publication Date: 2020-01-04
Plastics Waste Management by Muralisrinivasan Natamai Subramanian The book provides clear explanations for newcomers to the subject as well as contemporary details and theory for the experienced user in plastics waste management. It is seldom that a day goes by without another story or photo regarding the problem of plastics waste in the oceans or landfills. While important efforts are being made to clear up the waste, this book looks at the underlying causes and focuses on plastics waste management. Plastics manufacturers have been slow to recognize their environmental impact compared with more directly polluting industries. However, the environmental pressures concerning plastics have forced the industry to examine their own recycling operations and implement plastics waste management. Plastics Waste Management realizes two ideals: That all plastics should be able to persist for as long as plastics are required, and that all plastics are recycled in a uniform manner regardless of the length of time for which it persists. The book examines plastics waste management and systems for the environment, as well the management approaches and techniques which are appropriate for managing the environment. It serves as an excellent and thoughtful plastics waste management handbook. This groundbreaking book: Identifies deficiencies in plastics waste management Extrapolates from experiences to draw some conclusions about plastics waste for persistence Describes methods how the waste related processing techniques should be used in recycling Shows how the consumer and industry can assess the performance of plastics waste management Explains waste utilization by recycling techniques as well as waste reduction Life cycle assessment as an important technique for recycling of persistent plastics waste.
ISBN: 9781119556176
Publication Date: 2019-08-31
Sustainable Technologies for Management of Agricultural Waste by Zainul Akmar Zakaria (Editor) This book discusses modern technologies for utilizing various types of agricultural waste as a direct means of properly managing its abundance. It explores the potential of using waste materials obtained from the palm oil industry, used cooking oil, maize and tea plantations, as well as citrus-based plants for the production of useful, high-value materials such as pyroligenous acid and bio-oil (Chapter 1), ferulic acid (Chapter 4) and bio-control agents (Chapter 5-7, 9). It also includes case studies to further enhance readers' understanding. This comprehensive volume is useful to anyone involved in agricultural waste management, green chemistry and agricultural biotechnology. It is also recommended as a reference work for all agriculture and biotechnology libraries.
ISBN: 9789811050619
Publication Date: 2018-01-08
Sustainable Solid Waste Collection and Management by Graça Martinho; Ana Pires; Susana Rodrigues; Isabel Gomes This volume focuses on the collection of waste and waste streams as an integral aspect of sustainable waste management. The authors take economic models and behavioral studies into account to go beyond just descriptions of waste collections technologies and collection route design. Models and tools for sustainable waste collection are described in detail, and the authors provide a comprehensive, integrated methodology to design waste collection systems that reduce environmental impacts, are economically viable, and achieve buy-in and participation from target populations. Part I of the book provides fundamentals and context on waste hierarchy, including waste prevention, reduction and reuse, waste collection itself, and steps such as preparation for recycling, recycling, treatment, and landfilling. Background in environmental, social, and economic concerns surrounding waste collection is also provided here. Part II addresses tools for design, operation, and maintenance of waste collection systems. Part III focuses on how the tools presented in Part II can be used to support sustainability assessments and decisions that consider the entire life cycle of waste and the role of waste collection programs in waste prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling, treatment, and disposal. Part IV addresses the challenges of developing sustainable waste management systems and addresses the role of waste collection in sustainable waste management in the future. 
ISBN: 9783319931999
Publication Date: 2018-10-01

Relevant Waste Management Journals

Below are a selected number of journals dedicated to waste management. For additional journal titles dedicated to waste management please use the Publications tab on our Gateway Search and search for Waste Management.

Waste Management by Elsevier
Publication Date: 01/01/1989 – Present
Devoted to the presentation and discussion of information on solid waste generation, characterization, minimization, collection, separation, treatment and disposal, as well as manuscripts that address waste management policy, education, and economic and environmental assessments.
Journal of Solid Waste Technology & Management
Publication Date: 02/01/1996 to present
Covers municipal solid waste management, technology subjects, landfill, recycling, waste-to-energy, waste reduction, waste policy, waste economics, composting, waste transfer, waste collection, municipal waste, & industrial & residual waste.
Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy by SAGE Publications
Publication Date: 01/01/1983 – Present
A peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the field of waste management. The editor-in-chief is P. Agamuthu. It was established in 1983 and is published by Sage Publications on behalf of the International Solid Waste Association.
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management by Springer Nature
Publication Date: 04/01/1999 – Present
Focuses on research in technical, political, and environmental issues of waste management and information that contributes to the interdisciplinary science of material cycles and waste management.

Waste Management Websites

EPA Cleaning Up Our Land, Water & Air
Accidents, spills, leaks, and past improper disposal and handling of hazardous materials and wastes have resulted in tens of thousands of sites across our country that have contaminated our land, water (groundwater and surface water), and air (indoor and outdoor).
EPA Cleanups in My Community
Cleanups in My Community (CIMC) enables you to map and list hazardous waste cleanup locations and grant areas, and drill down to details about those cleanups and grants and other, related information.
EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS)
The Facility Registry Service provides quality facility data to support EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment. Learn more about facilities, sites, or places of environmental interest that are subject to regulation.
EPA Land and Waste Management Research
Many communities still struggle with a legacy of contaminated land and groundwater. EPA land and waste management research is reducing risks from such contamination, and developing less costly methods for remediation in ways that advance public health and community revitalization.
Regulatory Information by Topic: Toxic Substances
Under a broad range of federal statutes, EPA gathers health, safety and exposure data; requires necessary testing; and controls human and environmental exposures for numerous chemical substances and mixtures. EPA regulates the production and distribution of commercial and industrial chemicals, in order to ensure that chemicals for sale and use in the United States do not harm human health or the environment.

Environmental Studies: Waste Management, Hazardous Waste & Environmental Toxicology

Wastewater Treatment & Disposal eBook

Selected Articles on Waste Management

Waste Management eBooks

Relevant Waste Management Journals

Waste Management Websites