Multi criteria analysis of municipal solid waste management and resource recovery in Poland compared to other EU countries.

Statistics show that the inhabitants of Poland are producing increasingly more household waste. This article attempts to determine the current level of development of Poland in the field of waste management concerning other EU countries and partner countries; identify trends in the mass of generated, segregated, and mixed municipal waste; and obtain an idea of the attitude of the Polish population toward sorting waste at the source to bring the country to a higher level of waste management. The empirical base is statistical data published on the website of the EU Data Explorer and the Central Statistical Office. The ranking of countries was determined by the TOPSIS method using a synthetic indicator based on the selected diagnostic features. The significance of the obtained ranks was tested using the non-parametric Friedman test (p < 0.01). We established that Poland has been consistently ranked 16th-17th over the past 5 years. Unfortunately, thus far, no systematic approach has been found to raise citizens' awareness, which may be due to the lack of the necessary amount of data. Researchers recommend investigating the sensitivity of the relationship between the generation of alternative energy from waste and the authorities' action.

Nitrogen removal in vertical flow constructed wetlands: influence of bed depth and high nitrogen loadings.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the nitrogen removal and its effects on the plant's growth and leaves morphology. using two subsurface vertical flow (VF bed), with different depths (0.24 m2 × 0.70 m; 0.24 m2 × 0.35 m) and nitrogen load increments. The VF bed were planted with Vetiveria zizanioides, filled with light expanded clay aggregates (Leca®NR 10/20) and fed in parallel mode with synthetic wastewater. High ammonium nitrogen concentration ([NH4 +-N] from 68 ± 3 to 290 ± 8 mg L-1) was used without toxicity symptoms in plants, although the effects of ammonium nitrogen load were stopped the growth of the plants. Significant differences between ammonium nitrogen removed in each VF bed obtained for total nitrogen (TNinfl.) ≥ 27 ± 0.8 g m-2 d-1. The nitrification was contributed to ammonium nitrogen removal because was found higher values of nitrate and nitrite in the effluent. These values were more higher in VF bed 1 than in the VF bed 2, since ammonium nitrogen removal were also more higher in VF bed 1 than in the VF bed 2. Total nitrogen mass balance was carried out and the results show that the nitrification/denitrification process occurred with nitrogen plants uptake. It was observed that the VF bed depth has an influence on all nitrogen removal processes. As higher the depth root system it is seemed to favour the creation of zones with different oxidations conditions that allow the nitrogen compounds to be removed intensively.