ABSTRACT
The use of plastic bottles has become a significant environmental concern, and recycling them has become a priority. Small and medium-sized recycling companies must collect and categorize large volumes of plastic bottles and sell them to larger recycling firms, a process that is time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive. This manual sorting process can pose health risks, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and can affect worker productivity. To address these issues, this study proposes the development of an automated conveyor belt system that can rapidly and accurately separate plastic bottles by type. The system utilizes an opaque and transparent plastic bottle separation platform, which saves time, cost, and manpower. This system design provides recycling SMEs with a competitive advantage by serving as a practical application model and a prototype with an easy-to-use concept. Key tools employed in this research include product design development (PDD), Kansei engineering, manufacturing process design, controlling system, and fault tree analysis (FTA). The light sensors are critical components in the separation process, detecting the opacity or transparency of the bottles' surfaces. The proposed prototype's reliability will be assessed by FTA, which considers all potential failures. This study contributes to the body of knowledge surrounding the integration of conveyor systems and provides valuable information for businesses seeking to optimize their sorting processes. The guidelines developed in this study can serve as a starting point for further research on the integration of conveyors in waste sorting plants. © 2013 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Plastic pollution is recognized as one of the most urgent global environmental concerns. China is the top producer and consumer of plastics and creates the most plastic waste globally. To evaluate policy options to control plastic pollution in China, we first reviewed the relevant policies and action plans in place. Then, we examined plastic-material flows and changes at the national level based on officially published data to evaluate the current situation and efficacy of policies at the macro-level. Results showed that 2016, the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan, was a pivotal year in the history of China's plastic policies tackling plastic issues nationally and internationally. Since 2016, the growth trend in the production and consumption of plastic products has slowed and the recycling rate has risen, surpassing 30% in 2021. To further tackle plastic pollution, key suggestions with important policy implications were provided, covering better integration of policies, the combined management of vertical–horizontal governance, tracking-system implementation, the introduction of a quality-certification system, the development of behaviour-based consumer-oriented solutions, the promotion of stakeholder collaboration, and the need for appropriate post-COVID-19 policies.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 pandemic has changed several aspects in human behaviour, whereas population mobility patterns have been strongly affected by social distancing. In parallel, changes in solid waste generation patterns have been reported worldwide. This work assessed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste generation and collection in São Paulo city, Brazil, the largest city of Latin America. Data on nine types of wastes collected between 2013 and 2021 were obtained, and the quantities of wastes collected before and during the pandemic were compared. These data were also discussed in light of data on COVID-19 cases and rates of social distancing and mobility. An increase in the amount of recyclables collected during the first wave of COVID-19 (March to September 2020) was observed. Decreases in the quantities of construction, demolition and bulky wastes (first wave of COVID-19) and farmers market wastes (second wave - October 2020 to February 2021) were also evidenced. The quantities of medical wastes collected during the pandemic significantly increased. The amount of residential wastes was lower than the mean for the pre-pandemic period during the first months of COVID-19. Thus, changes in lifestyle and consumption patterns of the population of São Paulo city seem to have affected solid waste generation during the pandemic, which reinforces the need of implementing solid waste management policies based on a diagnostic that characterise and consider these changes.
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The majority of countries are currently struggling with unsustainable levels of waste production and low levels of recycling, particularly relating to household waste, and this area is in urgent need of new solutions. In general, the waste management sector has struggled with low consumer trust, fraud, manipulation, significant manual processes, and low levels of information and control. Recent events relating to the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted, in particular, the role of trust in effective public policy making and consumer behavioural change. Here we propose a hybrid blockchain solution called a Polkadot parachain. Polkadot is a blockchain technology that connects a network of blockchains, each called a parachain, that can be customised to the business needs of a given application. This solution provides the cost benefits, scalability, and control of a permissioned or private blockchain while providing the security, verifiability, and trust of a public blockchain. The solution is developed with a design science approach and combines three typically separate blockchain use cases: supply chain tracking, incentivisation through a payment system, and gamification to achieve a complete solution for waste management. We provide a detailed discussion on the design of this blockchain solution with the use of blockchain functionality assessed against the criteria and development approaches found in the literature. Finally, we demonstrate how such a blockchain can be implemented with the Substrate blockchain development framework.
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The pre-Golgi intermediate compartment (IC), also referred to as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi IC (ERGIC), functions in molecular sorting and two-way trafficking in the early biosynthetic-secretory pathway. It receives newly synthesized proteins and lipids from the ER, associates with cytoskeletal filaments and binds COPI protein coats, thereby generating saccular, tubular and vesicular carriers that mediate antero- and retrograde transport at the ER-Golgi interface. Although the dynamic IC elements have traditionally been considered as transient transport intermediates, recent results showing their persistence during cell division, multifunctionality, and operation at the crossroads of Golgi-dependent and -independent transport routes provide evidence that they constitute a permanent organelle. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Disposable medical gloves (DMGs) have long been used to mitigate the risk of direct exposure to diverse microorganisms and body fluids; hence, they are a critical weapon to protect patients and healthcare staff from infectious diseases. Measures to control the spread of COVID-19 have sparked the production of an excessive number of DMGs, most of which are eventually being disposed of in landfills. Untreated DMGs in landfills do not only pose a direct risk of transmitting coronavirus and other pathological germs but also pollute air, water, and soil dramatically. As a healthier alternative, recycling discarded polymer-rich DMGs into bitumen modification is considered to be a prospective waste management strategy applicable to the asphalt pavement industry. In this study, this conjecture is tested by examining two common DMGs - latex gloves and vinyl gloves - at four different percentages (1%, 2%, 3%, and 4% by weight). The morphological characteristics of DMG-modified specimens were inspected by using a high-definition scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX). A wide range of laboratory tests including penetration, softening point temperature, ductility, and elastic recovery were undertaken to evaluate the impact of waste gloves on the conventional engineering properties of bitumen. Moreover, viscoelastic behavior and modification processing were studied by conducting the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) test and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Test results have revealed the outstanding potential of recycled DMG waste for modifying neat asphalt binder. More specifically, bitumens modified with 4% latex glove and 3% vinyl glove were seen as capable of superiorly withstanding permanent deformations caused by heavy axle loads at high service temperatures. Furthermore, it has been shown that 1.2 tons of modified binder would embed approximately 4000 pairs of recycled DMGs. This study shows that DMG waste can be used as a viable modifier, which would help open a new avenue for mitigating the environmental pollution arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Latex , Pandemics , Prospective Studies , ExcipientsABSTRACT
It's intriguing to utilize the branched arms of three-way DNA junction (3WDJ) for modifying specific recognizing and/or sensing elements of multivariate analytes. Herein, by using two targeting DNA segments (T and T*) specific to SARS-CoV-2 as analyte models, an electrochemical bivariate biosensor was created based on a functional 3WDJ including two -NH2-labeled recognizable probes (RP and RP*) and an assistant probe (AP), while its two branched arms hybridized with four helping DNA blockers. In the electrode surface electrodeposited in HAuCl4, the 3WDJ was stably immobilized via Au-N bonds to specifically recognize and bind T and T*, with which two modified signaling probes by electroactive methylene blue (SP-MB) and ferrocene (SP*-Fc) were introduced to initiate two strand displacement reactions. Resultantly, SP-MB and SP*-Fc were guided to be complementarily hybridized in two arms of 3WDJ, replacing T and T* to execute two individual repeatable recycling for signal amplification. Thus, MB and Fc were oriented proximal to the modified electrode surface for significantly increased electrochemical current signals, respectively dependent on T and T*. With the branched arms of rapidly assembled 3WDJ, the discernible detection of bivariate targets was achievable, showing superb simplification, high sensitivity, and potentially more accurate electrochemical assay of multivariate targets. Data Availability Data will be made available on request.
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The worldwide outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic affected every part of human lives, including the environment. Though not a welcoming era, it is certain that the 2019 pandemic was not the first of its kind nor is it going to be the last to affect human wellness. The various protocols implemented to mitigate the spread of the pandemic had significant effects on the wellness dimension relating to the environment. This study intended to explore the environmental wellness challenges experienced by some families in Melbourne, Australia, during COVID-19 and the strategies they used as they transitioned through the pandemic. The study outcome indicated that, the pandemic had both positive and negative effects on the environmental wellness of the families in this study. The strategies of the families are worthy of notice, for future approaches to deal with any pandemic. The study framed five possible inductive themes along the environmental wellness situation before COVID-19, overall effect of COVID-19 on environmental wellness, impact of COVID-19 on specific aspects of environmental wellness, pathways to the management of environmental wellness during COVID-19 and critically analyzing recommended changes to environmental wellness by the families in the study. It is expected that the proper implementation of the proposed strategies will significantly contribute toward environmental wellness for individuals and families facing environmental wellness challenges.Copyright © 2023, Codon Publications. All rights reserved.
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Environmental consciousness is linked to pro-environmental consumption behavior;however, the consequences of variations in the level of environmental consciousness have not been fully investigated. Therefore, we evaluated differences in individualism, collectivism, materialism, willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection, and pro-environmental consumption between groups with varying levels of environmental consciousness. After evaluating the factors that differentiate these groups, we identified the determinants of pro-environmental consumption for each group. For the study, an online survey was conducted, including 472 adults aged 20–69 years. Groups with low and high levels of environmental consciousness differed significantly with respect to all factors except individualism. The group with a high environmental consciousness exhibited higher collectivism, WTP for environmental protection, and pro-environmental consumption behavior, and lower materialism than the group with a low environmental consciousness. For the group with low environmental consciousness, collectivism was the main factor affecting pro-environmental consumption behavior (i.e., purchase, use, and disposal). In the group with high environmental consciousness, WTP for environmental protection and collectivism were the main determinants of pro-environmental consumption behavior. These results provide a basis for a systematic approach to improve pro-environmental consumption behavior based on environmental consciousness.
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The massive discard of spent masks during the COVID-19 pandemic imposes great environmental anxiety to the human society, which calls for a reliable and sustainable outlet to mitigate this issue. In this work, we demonstrate a green design strategy of recycling the spent masks to fabricate hard carbon fabrics toward high-efficient sodium energy storage. After a simple carbonization treatment, flexible hard carbon fabrics composed of interwoven microtubular fibers are obtained. When serving as binder-free anodes of sodium-ion batteries, a large Na-ion storage capacity of 280 mAh g-1 is achieved for the optimized sample. More impressively, the flexible anode exhibits an initial coulombic efficiency of as high as 86% and excellent rate/cycling performance. The real-life practice of the flexible hard carbon is realized in the full-cells. The present study affords an enlightening approach for the recycling fabrication of high value-added hard carbon materials from the spent masks for advanced sodium energy storage.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has wreaked havoc especially in 2020 and the first half of 2021 and has left severe after-effects affecting not only the health sector but also all aspects of human life. The aim of this study is to inspect the current trends of the quantities of household waste produced during the first four waves of the pandemic. The study was carried out in Guelma city, northeastern of Algeria, where the first containment was registered on February 25, 2020, it concerns an Italian national (Mohamed et al. 2021). An increase in the production of household waste of approximately 14% during the first containment was recorded in the study area, with the interruption of recycling, which caused an enormous pressure on the technical landfill center of Guelma. The results showed that the trend of waste production decreased at the following averages: 205.80;198.92;196.69 and 192.43 tons, for the first four waves of COVID-19 respectively. Therefore, a return to the pre-pandemic state would be close, which dampens the impact and pressure on the landfill and the environment. This research allows for perceiving the waste management status in Algeria, between the pandemic and post-pandemic period. © 2023. The Author(s).
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The rapid expansion of plastic manufacturing industries in last several decades has brought serious concerns over the environmental impacts of plastic wastes. Recent outbreak of Covid-19 drastically increased production, use, and disposal of plastic products. Current management strategies for wasted plastics still rely on landfill and incineration that continue to exacerbate plastic pollution and carbon emissions. Many countries have put forward multifaceted administrative efforts to reduce plastic wastes, but the annual global generation of plastic wastes is still increasing. In techno-society, researchers have been exploring more effective plastic wastes treatment technologies to alleviate environmental impacts of plastic wastes. Such efforts entailed several technical options that can potentially contribute to establishing a circular economy for plastics. Thermochemical process is a prominent example of such techniques. This review presents an overview of the issue of plastic pollution, covering topics including global plastic production, environmental impacts, and toxicity. In addition, the global administrative efforts aimed at reducing plastic pollution are discussed, as well as detection and treatment strategies to establish a circular economy in plastic management. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
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This study aims to advance the understanding of sustainable behaviour by exploring the perceptions, knowledge, and opinions about the sustainability of nearly graduated students in Portugal. A three-wave exploratory and longitudinal study was conducted with Management and Marketing students in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The findings come from both quantitative and qualitative approaches. First, the results reveal low levels of knowledge about sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, and other related concepts. Then, by a qualitative analysis, this study highlights the terms related to sustainability and perceived sustainable practices. It also examines changes perceived since the COVID-19 pandemic and what their threats and opportunities in the coming years are. The main conclusion of this study is the critical need for education on sustainability and related concepts beyond simple recycling practices. The use of sustainability as a marketing tool is insufficient to create a viable future. Higher education must develop a new shared and sustainable vision for sustainability education. © 2023 by the authors.
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Plastic waste causes severe environmental impacts worldwide and threatens the lives of all creatures. In the medical field, most of the equipment, especially personal protective equipment (PPE), is made from single-use plastic. During COVID-19, the usage of PPE has increased, and is disposed of in landfills after being used once. Worldwide, millions of tons of waste syringes are generated from COVID-19 vaccination. A practical alternative to utilizing this waste is recycling it to reinforce building materials. This research introduces an approach to using COVID-19 syringe plastic waste to reinforce building material as composite concrete. Reinforced fiber polymer (FRP) concrete materials were used to mold cylindrical specimens, which underwent mechanical tests for mechanical properties. This study used four compositions with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% of FRP to create cylindrical samples for optimum results. Sequential mechanical tests were carried out on the created samples. These specimens were cured for a long period to obtain water absorption capability. After several investigations, the highest tensile and compressive strengths, approximately 2.0 MPa and 10.5 MPa, were found for the 5% FRP composition samples. From the curing test, the lowest water absorbability of around 5% was found for the 5% FRP composition samples.
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Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials are attracting growing interest because of their high specific mechanical properties. These characteristics, in addition to a high level of tailorability and design of freedom, make them attractive for marine, aerospace, automotive, sports and energy applications. However, the large use of this class of material dramatically increases the amount of waste that derives from end-of-life products and offcuts generated during the manufacturing processes. In this context, especially when thermosetting matrices are considered, the need to deeply study the recycling process of FRPs is an open topic both in academic and industrial research. This review aims to present the current state of the art of the most affirmed recycling technologies used for polymeric composites commonly used in industrial applications, such as carbon and glass FRPs. Each recycling method (i.e., chemical, thermal and mechanical) was analysed in terms of technological solutions and process parameters required for matrix dissolution and fibre recovery, showing their advantages, drawbacks, applications and properties of the recycled composites. Therefore, the aim of this review is to offer an extensive overview of the recycling process of polymeric composite materials, which is useful to academic and industrial researchers that work on this topic.
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Although the United Nations has set sustainable management of water as an important worldwide goal, methods to supply clean water to underdeveloped countries are generally lacking. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as increased the worldwide use of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), resulting in enormous amounts of plastic waste. The present study tested whether FFRs could be recycled for use as preliminary water filters. Filtering of contaminated water with FFRs significantly reduced its turbidity, as well as concentrations of total organic carbon and major pollutants such as P, K, Mg, and Fe. Most of the filtered samples satisfied the drinking water quality standards of the World Health Organization. The additional use of FFRs decontamination process with hydrogen peroxide or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, and sterilization with water purification tablets can eliminate disease-causing microorganisms and further reduce turbidity that would make water suitable for drinking. Recycling anti-COVID-19 FFRs for use as preliminary water filters is an effective and sustainable method for solving both drinking water problems and waste due to FFRs. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41742-023-00526-w.
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People's perspectives and behaviors altered in a variety of ways during the pandemic period, most notably in areas related to health, environment, and most notably waste management. Many people still prefer to work from home and this in turn leads to a large accumulation of garbage without having any proper means of disposal. As a result, the garbage area will serve as a breeding ground for illness. Garbage is usually composed of a residual waste generated from a product or object that has outlived its useful life, but can still be recycled into a valuable item. On this basis, the solution is to use a waste bank;it is a collection point for sorted garbage. It is claimed that using a waste bank can help in preventing the garbage accumulation. The main purpose of this study is to determine the contribution of the waste bank to end garbage accumulation. The information gathered through a review of the literature and direct interviews with multiple informants. According to the findings of the literature review, waste banks can provide a variety of benefits to users, as well as the community and surrounding environment. The proposed research study's findings show that the changes in community activity patterns contribute to an increase in garbage, and that the community plays an important role in waste control. From the performed research study, it is evident that m any individuals are interested about garbage banks and their benefits based on this presumption. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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The tourism sector has played an important role in the development of the world economy, mobility and globalization. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector needed to implement urgent measures and adaptations. This article aimed to identify which are the environmentally sustainable practices developed by a tourist enterprise of a rural property located in the municipality of Garibaldi-RS. In methodological terms, a single-type case study strategy was used with an exploratory and descriptive approach, operationalized with qualitative and quantitative research techniques. As data collection instruments, online interviews were used with the owner of the enterprise, respecting the recommendations of social isolation. The answers were recorded, tabulated and analyzed using the content analysis technique. Numerical data were tabulated using Excel software. The family responsible for the production unit, Familia Boroto, is fully dedicated to the organic production. The owner expressed concern about environmental sustainability and in this sense reported that the enterprise develops environmentally sustainable practices and, among them, they use solid waste management and recycling and he added that the health crisis brought a drop in revenue and little demand for organic products. In response, the producer made changes in management practices, such as process readaptation, innovation and entry into new markets. Thus, it was concluded that, even in the pandemic period, the venture had positive points and environmentally sustainable practices emerge as an opportunity to value products and services.
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The world is currently experiencing a crisis, caused by SARS-CoV-2 and a viral mutation. Given this, the mechatronic system is proposed that allows disinfecting contaminated surfaces. This device makes it possible to disinfect polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by applying short-wave UVC rays from 200 to 280 nm, which generates a germicidal effect. The machine consists of a UVC chamber, transport, and a control system. For this, the methodology of the Association of German Engineers (VDI 2206) was used, taking into account the Inventor, TIA Portal, and Factory IO software, managing to develop the system whose light-emitting diodes inside the camera project type C ultraviolet light, camera protected by strips of plastic sheet (ABS) acrylonitrile butadiene styrene anti-ultraviolet light that blocks the projection wave up to 98% of the radiation;the recycled PET bottles are moved through a linear conveyor belt that supports a maximum weight of 200 kg, controlled by a control panel. Obtaining the results in this research focused on the design of the prototype, with a feasible structural system thanks to its maximum efficiency in the disinfection process. It is concluded that it is feasible to design a machine that projects ultraviolet rays to disinfect recycled PET bottles to eliminate viruses, parasites, fungi, and bacteria. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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Wastes generated in the face of COVID-19 pose enormous risks to the environment and heath. Environmental pollution from deficiencies in disposal patterns of hospital wastes may result in widespread recycling of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This paper aimed at creating awareness of the impact of inaptly disposed medical wastes on the environment;produced from managing COVID-19 leading to SARS-CoV-2 widespread recycling. Assemblage of recent and suitable literatures relating to keywords like waste disposal, medical wastes, coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 and environmental pollution were revised/reviewed. Data suggest that factors like reduced awareness, negligence, ignorance, lack of polices among others are the chief influences contributing to improper medical wastes collection, disposal and management leading to environmental hazards. Therefore, improper disposal of medical wastes can lead to toxic environmental pollution thereby recycling SARS-CoV-2 in the face of COVID-19 management. Hence, incineration after prior disinfection remains the best management option in the prevailing coronavirus era. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.