Building an incineration plant is a project of a huge social undertaking. Neither environmental organizations nor the residents near the locations of such installations are likely to express support for such construction. Some of the main issues raising emotions in society are: emissions of harmful substances into the air, large investment costs and problems with managing residues. This paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of building municipal waste incineration plants, current waste management, and also the results of an LCA analysis on the environmental impact of chosen waste management strategies.
This article seeks to present the scale of inter-municipal cooperation in waste management in Poland in the light of the role of three key factors of cooperation. The first shows spatial regularities in the distribution of inter-municipal bodies involved in waste management in Poland, both in the system of voivodeships and historical-cultural regions. The second is institutional conditions confirming the scale of the Europeanisation of public policies taking place in Poland. It embraces the implementation of the EU legal framework in the Polish legal system and the cooperative behaviour of municipalities as a result of those changes. The third is a negative verification of the assumptions of the economic theory upholding the role of financial motivation in establishing cooperation (looking for savings and economies of scale to reduce unit cost); the presented results do not corroborate this type of motivation.
The main purpose for submission of the above-mentioned bill is the need for full implementation by Poland of Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries and to introduce into the Polish legal system some implementing decisions the European Commission adopted on the basis of Directive 2006/21/EC. In the author’s view, there is need to insert a transitional provision under which administrative cases being the subject of administrative proceedings initiated on the basis of the Act on Extractive Waste, the Act – Environmental Protection Law and the Act on Waste, but not concluded before the day of entry into force of the bill would be heard and resolved on the basis of provisions existing to date (and also by the entities previously having jurisdiction in such cases). The author also offers proposals for legal solutions with a view to the future law.
In the paper is an analysis of waste municipal current expenditures done by an evaluation their cost effciency using the method of cost-eectiveness analysis (CEA) and modified method of cost efficiency which use the method CEA and modified method CEA with the complex criterion of Soukopová and Bakoš [1]. The evaluation and comparison of the eectiveness and eciency of waste expenditures is done in municipalities with extended powers in the South Moravian Region.
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the perception of management on the benefits of adopting an environmental management accounting (EMA) system as a waste management tool in a paper and pulp manufacturing company. This paper highlights the benefits of an EMA system and the role and importance of EMA as a decision-making tool in encouraging the adoption of cleaner production (CP) techniques and technologies. This research was based on a case study of a paper and pulp manufacturing company in KwaZulu-Natal. This research was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Data collection instruments for the study included a Likert-type questionnaire and interviews with the environmental manager and cost accountant but the findings reported in this paper are based on the empirical evidence gathered from the questionnaire which identified that there was positive correlation between environmental performance and CP techniques and technologies. Environmental costs were hidden under general overheads and understated because the company was using a conventional costing system and not an EMA system; hence, environmental costs were not traced back to the products or processes responsible for those costs. It was evident from the qualitative data analysis that management regarded their environmental costs as too insignificant to justify implementation of an EMA system. The consequent reluctance of the company to adopt CP resulted in poor waste management and lower-quality environmental performance.
The main sources of waste generation are: industry, municipal sector, and agriculture. Municipal waste is solid and liquid waste that arise in households, public utilities (trade, services, handicrafts) and municipal services (e.g. street cleaning and maintenance of green areas). The main aim of this paper are the analysis of the flow of municipal solid waste in Łódź Metropolitan Area, its composition, presentation of the process towards a more selective waste system, and the extraction of biodegradable waste from the MSW. The article is based on a report prepared within the Horizon 2020 project REPAiR “Resource Management in Peri-urban Areas: Going Beyond Urban Metabolism”.
The purpose of the research is to investigate consumers’ perception concerning food wastage and their awareness of economic, social and environmental costs concerning the issue. The research focused on the concept of food waste in context of consumers’ attitude regarding this problem. Comparative analysis, synthesis and evaluation of scientific literature and legal documents, statistical data collection and analysis was performed together with the results of on-line survey of 500 households representing 1494 inhabitants from all Lithuanian counties. Data was analysed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS): descriptive statistics, frequencies, crosstabs. Lithuanians discard relatively small amounts of wholesome edible food in comparison with averages for EU 27, but most of them have the limited knowledge of the meaning of “best-before” dates, consumers are strongly influenced by retail promotions, and wasting food for them is primarily associated with a waste of money. State waste management policy is focused on waste sorting, while this research provides the evidence that households are insufficiently informed about economic, social and environmental costs concerning food waste. This underlines the necessity to review the current state policy with emphasis on public education as an important factor in minimizing household food waste. Lithuanians recognize that the consumers are mostly responsible for food waste, but food wasting is treated mainly as financial lost. The added value of this article is the proposal to create information campaigns that will cause a sense of guilt for food squandering.
Maintaining cleanliness and order in municipalities poses a challenge for local governments. In the context of the changing legal and factual contexts they operate in, municipalities are obliged to take action to protect the environment in everything they do. New tasks and challenges for maintaining environmental safety standards can be found at the local level.
The implementation of the provisions of the Act on cleanliness and order in municipalities has raised doubts as for which body is competent to examine the compliance with the regulations of the local law. Before the amendments to the Act, municipal regulations in the field were supervised by the regional governor (Polish: wojewoda), while the owner of an estate made payments directly to those who take the waste away, on the basis of a civil law agreement. With the amendments, the system has been based on declarations, while payments have been subject to tax law; it is not, however, at any point called a local payment. On the other hand, on the basis of the Act resolutions are still made, related to the municipal waste management system, not directly connected with the payment. That is why supervision bodies are having some problems with identifying the legal nature of the payment and the scope of resolutions adopted.
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an environmental management technique which, because of its potential, can be applied in many different areas. Its key role in increasing the efficiency of waste management is emphasised in the literature on the subject. This paper intends to make a contribution to the discussion on this subject and its primary goals are to present LCA in the context of implementation of circular economy and to assess the chances of popularisation of this concept in Poland. Based on own survey results, it was demonstrated that while the vast majority of respondents assured of their sense of environmental awareness, a little over 60% of respondents stated that they systematically segregate municipal waste. Thus making the transition towards a circular economy in Poland requires the increase in public's involvement and adequate education in this field.
A principle of extended producer’s responsibility in the law of waste management pursues the following aims of the waste management: 1) the maximum decrease in the amount of waste in any type of business and human existence, 2) the immediate reuse of production waste in a manufacturing process, 3) recovery of raw materials from collected waste, 4) application of processes to dispose of waste, 5) orderly waste storage ensuring the least damage to the environment. The overriding objective of this principle is application of legal instruments encouraging producers to undertake activities which will: prevent production of waste, decrease the level of using materials and energy at every stage of a product life cycle and encourage to introduce changes in the phase of a product design and during its manufacture. Broadly speaking, a principle of extended producer’s responsibility is connected with a producer’s financial liability for a product. In a legal structure of the extended producer’s responsibility we deal with preventive liability. This principle completes a principle of incurring costs of waste management.
Collection, disposal and management of plastic waste and polythene bags is a grow ing problem in Nigeria. The use of plastic/polythene bags made of thin plastic film has increased significantly in recent years. The manner of disposal of these items has resulted in the degradation of the natural environment. In Nigeria, lots of plastics are used on daily basis, of which most, if not all of them, are not properly disposed of. Some of these items end up in landfills, littering the environment, harming wildlife or blocking drainages, therefore, increasing the risk of flood. This paper examines the existing laws in relation to waste management in Nigeria and the inadequacies of the existing legislation in combating this phenomenon. The doctrinal method of research was used and it is recommended that there is a need for new legislation to be enacted for Nigeria to surmount the menace of plastic pollution.
The aim of the paper is to apply the spatio-temporal Environmental Kuznets Curve (SpEKC) to test the relationship between economic growth and the amount of collected mixed municipal waste. The analysis was conducted at the level of sixty-six Polish sub-regions. The study contained selected environmental indicators. The dependent variable - the amount of municipal waste generated in kilograms per capita characterized the state of the environment. The GDP per capita in constant prices (as an explanatory variable) presented the level of economic development of the sub-regions. In the empirical part of the research there were used spatial panel data models based on EKCs. It determined the levels of economic development, at which the amount of produced wastes has fallen or increased, depending on the wealth of the region. The application of different types of spatial weight matrices was an important element of this modelling. Data obtained the years 2005-2012. Models were estimated in the RCran package.
Since 1 July 2013 gminas will take over the responsibility for collecting the so-called municipal waste. Owners of occupied and unoccupied properties located within a particular gmina are required to declare the amount of waste management fee. Residence is not always registered and in practice it can be problematic as regards charging the so-called “waste fee” to some owners of unoccupied properties. The determination of the amount of fee favours entities that selectively collect waste. In the case of the Wałbrzych agglomeration, which was established in 2012, the method of calculating waste management fee payable by property owners basically takes into account the number of inhabitants of a property. The fee is the ratio of the number of inhabitants and the rate adopted by the municipal council. The system of municipal waste management is not precise when it comes to the owners of unoccupied or partially occupied properties. The right functioning of the entire municipal waste management system will strengthen public confidence in local government and reflect the environmental awareness of the inhabitants.
Waste as a local resource is a development opportunity for resource owners as waste may act as a foundation for bottom-up development at local levels. This paper presents the most important governance challenges that hamper a paradigmatic change in resource efficiency, a transition towards circular economy in the case of Pécs (Hungary). In recent years waste management infrastructure has evolved to provide resource potentials for recycling and reuse, this is a first step towards a (circularity) transition, however, the centralisation of power is hampering local transitions. The article concludes by arguing that in Pécs (Hungary), the transition towards a local resource-based development is impeded by a myriad of legal, institutional and administrative obstacles created by recent efforts towards institutionalisation.
This paper identifies and explores key elements for planning and implementing citizen involvement in the area of waste management and circular economy in cities. The analysis has shown that institutions responsible for waste management regard strategic planning, inclusivity, transparency, continuity, and resources as particularly important for reaching the objectives of citizen involvement. However, not all of the four analysed cities have applied these elements to the same extent, due to e.g. a lack of a strategy for citizen involvement, or limited personal and financial resources.
The author gives a positive assessment of the bill introducing a legal basis for undertaking environmental improvement measures in large-scale degraded areas. According to her, the Act will allow for faster and more effective rehabilitation of post-industrial areas. The bill contains shortcomings related to the protection of property rights, but they do not contradict the Constitution. The implementation of the Act will result in the imposition of additional tasks on local government units, the implementation of which may require additional resources.
Unpleasant odours that are by-products of numerous industrial plants affect the majority of Polish people. However, to date no regulations have been introduced aimed to protect people against the effects of odours and to regulate the basis for and the scope of responsibility of those who emit them. Moreover, adoption of appropriate regulations is very important because the volume of waste that should necessarily be recycled has not been decreasing. This is also related to the need for establishing waste management plants whose activity, due to, among others, the odours they produce, may lead to social conflicts. The article attempts to analyse the binding regulations on the problems related to odours, on the basis of waste management, and to present the constitutional aspects with regard to this issue.
This paper critically discusses the worldview that technology can solve any problem regarding waste. A focus on technological fix may lead to an increase in problems in the future. The author argues that we might benefit from a cultural analysis of our notions of cleanliness and dirt, purity and contamination.
PL
W niniejszym artykule w krytyczny sposób omówiono światopogląd, zgodnie z którym technologia może rozwiązać każdy problem związany z odpadami. Koncentracja na rozwoju technologii może doprowadzić do narastania problemów w przyszłości. Autor stwierdza, że możemy czerpać korzyści z kulturalnej analizy naszego pojęcia ładu i brudu, czystości i zanieczyszczenia.
Well-organised waste management is an essential part of sustainable development. The saving of resources and energy is everyone’s concern and environmental education is vital to guarantee a sustainable lifestyle in the long run. To find out what similarities and differences in views regarding waste management exist between grammar school pupils and comprehensive school pupils in England, questionnaires were designed and distributed in two schools in the same English city. The questionnaires aimed at quantifying and establishing students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding waste management. The results illustrate that students from the grammar school had higher levels of knowledge, were more likely to recycle and used more sources of information regarding waste management. Waste reduction was considered important by almost all students. However, students in both schools considered composting and waste reduction as less important than recycling and thereby did not fully agree with sustainable waste management.
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