This study focuses in detail on the environmental compliance/competitiveness relationship with respect to the regulation of packaging waste. An important and innovative feature of the study is its emphasis on backward and forward linkages. An entire supply chain is considered: packaging manufacturers and suppliers, food processors and the food retail sector, to study the competitive effects of environmental standards on manufacturing companies and the vertical links and supply responses. A variety of regulatory regimes is represented by including within the study companies from Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. While it is of note that the relatively strong regulation in Germany has indeed had effects on company behaviour, there is no evidence that environmental regulations hindered companies from achieving competitive performance.Analyses consider: the response of individual firms to different levels of regulation; the cost of compliance; impact on employment; the influence of the supply chain on environmental and competitive performance; the importance of firm size and ownership; and the impact of regulation on competitiveness, and firm competitiveness on the efficiency of adjustment to regulation.

Provides insight into the application of applied ecology for bioremediation of radioactive wastes Discusses species selection criteria for tailings radioactivity consolidation Explains safe treatment of radioactive ore processing plants tailings Illustrates the role of ethnobotany in selection of most appropriate species to effectively use in bioremediation Focusses on experimental outcomes

This volume explores recent research trends and achievements in environmental pollution remediation (e.g. water, air, soil), and compiles critical and constructive papers and reviews with a focus on advances in bioremediation and green technology solutions for waste minimization, waste management and pollution control. The book is timely, as the need for researchers and engineers to develop sustainable and green eco-friendly remediation technologies is increasing with a growing global population, stressed agricultural systems, and an environment impacted by climate change. A key focus of the book is on the efficient use of agricultural waste residues as viable substrates for creating materials for environmental clean-up, and the possible conversion of these pollutants to sustainable bioresources. The volume will be of interest to sustainability researchers, environmental engineers, industry managers and agricultural scientists.

By the end of the 1970s, contaminated sites had emerged as one of the most complex and urgent environmental issues affecting industrialized countries. The authors show that small and prosperous Switzerland is no exception to the pervasive problem of sites contamination, the legacy of past practices in waste management having left some 38,000 contaminated sites throughout the country. This book outlines the problem, offering evidence that open and polycentric environmental decision-making that includes civil society actors is valuable. They propose an understanding of environmental management of contaminated sites as a political process in which institutions frame interactions between strategic actors pursuing sometimes conflicting interests. In the opening chapter, the authors describe the influences of politics and the power relationships between actors involved in decision-making in contaminated sites management, which they term a "wicked problem." Chapter Two offers a theoretical framework for understanding institutions and the environmental management of contaminated sites. The next five chapters present a detailed case study on environmental management and contaminated sites in Switzerland, focused on the Bonfol Chemical Landfill. The study and analysis covers the establishment of the landfill under the first generation of environmental regulations, its closure and early remediation efforts, and the gambling on the remediation objectives, methods and funding in the first decade of the 21st Century. The concluding chapter discusses the question of whether the strength of environmental regulations, and the type of interactions between public, private, and civil society actors can explain the environmental choices in contaminated sites management. Drawing lessons from research, the authors debate the value of institutional flexibility for dealing with environmental issues such as contaminated sites.

This book covers various aspects of microbial biotechnology to produce bioenergy. It focuses on production of biofuels from plant and microbial biomass including agri-food residues and other wastes. It educates readers about various biomass resources, major aspects of production of renewable energy and fuels based on biochemical conversion routes. There is special focus on the microbial system and biotechnological processes as well as process optimization and industrial scale-up. The book brings together current challenges and potential solutions to enhance biomass to biofuel bioconversion. It is relevant for researchers, academicians, students as well as industry professionals working on biomass-based biorefineries.

This book uncovers, explores and analyses the cultural and social factors and values that lie behind waste making, recycling and disposal in the Asia Pacific region, where impressive economic growth has led to significant increases in production, consumption and concomitant waste production. This volume demonstrates the immense scope of waste as a multi-sectoral phenomenon, covering discussions on food, menstrual products, sewage, electronics, scrap, nuclear waste, plastics, and even entire villages as they are submerged underwater by dam building, considered expendable in favour of economic growth. It discusses the wide range of approaches and contexts through which people interact with waste, including socio-economic analysis, participatory observation, laboratory science, art, video, installations, literature and photography. Case studies focusing on India, China and Japan, in addition to other regional examples, demonstrate the ubiquity of waste, materially and geographically. It examines the duality of waste management, fostering community building while simultaneously excluding marginalised groups; how it can be linked to efforts creating circular economies, to then reappear in oceanic garbage patches; or technical waste repurposed for high-tech laboratory research before being discarded once again. This timely and wide-ranging collection of essays will be an important read for scholars, researchers and students in sustainability, development studies, discard studies, and social and cultural history, particularly focusing on countries in the Asia-Pacific.

E. Dijkgraaf and R. H. J. M. Gradus 1. 1 Introduction In 2004 Elbert Dijkgraaf nished a PhD-thesis 'Regulating the Dutch waste market' at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. It was interesting that not much is published about the waste market, although it is a very important sector from an economic and environmental viewpoint. In 2006 we were participants at a very interesting conf- ence on Local Government Reform: privatization and public-private collaboration in Barcelona organized by Germa ` Bel. It was interesting to notice that researchers from Spain, Scandinavian countries, the UK and the USA were studying this issue as well. From this we brought forward the idea to publish a book about the waste market. Because of its legal framework we want to focus on Europe. In this chapter we give an introduction to this book. In the next paragraph we present a short overview of the waste collection market. Since 1960 the importance of the waste sector has increased substantially both in the waste streams and the costs of waste collection and treatment. Furthermore, we discuss policy measures to deal with these increases and give an overview of the different measures in - countries. In the last paragraph we present different chapters of our book. 1. 2 Empirical Update of the Waste Collection Market The Dutch case provides a nice example why studying the waste market is int- esting from an economic point of view.

With specialized and succinct coverage, Concise Handbook of Waste Treatment Technologies provides readers with an integrated overview of various waste treatment technologies and related issues. Rather than dealing separately with each type of waste material, the book summarizes important waste treatments from a holistic perspective. Presents a comprehensive review of the most used terminologies and methods in waste management Explains how waste materials are treated and managed in a manner compatible with engineering, health, safety, and environmental regulations and laws Includes discussion of basic solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes Accessible to both specialists and non-specialists This guidebook is written for early career professionals, non-specialists, and specialists in environmental and chemical engineering and related disciplines seeking to understand proper waste and management and disposal techniques.

This book outlines the physical and chemical foundations of high-temperature processes for producing silicon, manganese and chromium ferroalloys, alloys of molybdenum, vanadium, titanium, alkaline earth and rare earth metals, niobium, zirconium, aluminum, boron, nickel, cobalt, phosphorus, selenium and tellurium, iron-carbon alloys by carbon, silicone and aluminothermic methods. The chapters introduce the industrial production technologies of these groups of ferroalloys, the characteristics of charge materials, and the technological parameters of the melting processes. A description of ferroalloy furnaces is given in detail. Topics such as waste recycling, fines agglomeration technologies, and environmental issues are considered.

This report is a useful tool for countries starting to recycle aggregates or construction and demolition waste. It contains the latest developments in this field, introduces a completely new approach to the procedure of proportioning concrete mixtures with recycled aggregate, references recent publications, opinions and discrepancies in relation to the durability of recycled concrete, such as freeze-thaw standards, studies of chloride penetration and diffusion, and sulfate attacks, the use of the fine fraction <4mm, quality assurance of concrete recycled aggregate, sustainability and recycling construction waste and global impact assessment of urban renewal based on sustainable recycling strategies for construction and demolition waste. This volume will be of interest to recyclers, researchers and consumers.

This book covers state-of-the-art technologies, principles, methods and industrial applications of electronic waste (e-waste) and waste PCB (WPCB) recycling. It focuses on cutting-edge mechanical separation processes and pyro- and hydro-metallurgical treatment methods. De-soldering, selective dismantling, and dry separation methods (including the use of gravity, magnetic and electrostatic techniques) are discussed in detail, noting the patents related to each. The volume discusses the available industrial equipment and plant flowsheets used for WPCB recycling in detail, while addressing potential future directions of the field. This practical, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary reference will appeal to professionals throughout global industrial, academic and government institutions interested in addressing the growing problem of e-waste. Covers principles, methods and industrial applications of e-waste and PCB recycling; Details state-of-the-art mechanical separation processes and pyro- and hydro-metallurgical treatment methods; Describes the available industrial equipment used and plant flowsheets for PCB recycling and addresses potential future developments of this important field.

This book gives an overview of electronic waste (e-waste) management and the latest technological aspects of recycling and disposal of obsolete electronic components while minimizing the environmental impact of toxic chemicals and heavy metals from e-waste. As electronics become more accessible worldwide, this effect generates up to 50 tonnes of e-waste that is only set to increase every year. The chapters in this book explore different strategies through recycling practices, green computing, and eco-friendly approach in handling e-waste through government policies to mitigate the growing side effects of e-waste. This book caters to researchers, policymakers, and industrial practitioners who are interested in more sustainable practices in e-waste management.

This book introduces advanced or emerging technologies for conversion of wastes into a variety of high-value chemicals and materials. Energy and resources can be recovered from various residential, industrial and commercial wastes, such as municipal wastewater and sludge, e-waste, waste plastics and resins, crop residues, forestry residues and lignin. Advanced waste-to-resource and energy technologies like pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, fractionation, de-polymerization, gasification and carbonization are also introduced. The book serves as an essential guide to dealing with various types of wastes and the methods of disposal, recovery, recycling and re-use. As such it is a valuable resource for a wide readership, including graduate students, academic researchers, industrial researchers and practitioners in chemical engineering, waste management, waste to energy and resources conversion and biorefinery.

This book discusses the scientific process of biomass compaction, focusing on pressing chamber parameters and their influence on the quality of extrusions from biomass. It yields new knowledge in the field of wood biomass pressing technology and contains a thorough and detailed theoretical analysis of the pressing chamber of pressing machines and the influence they have on the resulting quality of extrusions. Coverage includes the proposal and evaluation of experimental research dealing with the definition of different pressing chamber parameters in pressing machines and their effects on the quality of extrusions; definition and specification of the dependencies of chamber parameters based on the resulting quality of extrusion, given by the mechanical indicators of quality, are also explored. Furthermore, the work describes the design and manufacture of an experimental pressing stand, which allows for experiments to be performed determining the effects that some technological, material, and construction parameters have on the resulting quality of extrusions. The desired pressing method, length, and conicity of the pressing chamber are experimentally determined through the uniaxial compaction of wood biomass where results and dependencies are expressed graphically. Biomass Compaction: The Effects of Pressing Chamber Design Parameters on Extrusion Quality will be a welcomed resource for researchers and engineers working for producers of solid biofuels from biomass, densification (briquetting, pelleting), or compacting machines producers, as well as technology plant operators and those working in the biomass treatment area.

This book contributes to the debate about the suitability and challenges of the Smart Water Management (SWM) approach. Smart Water Management has increasingly been promoted to manage water and wastewater more efficiently and cost effectively by industries and utilities in urban contexts at regional or city scales, while reducing overall consumption. It is based on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide real-time, automated data to resolve water challenges. Many of these technologies are complex and costly, however, and the approach tends to overlook cheaper and less high-tech (softer) approaches to address the same problems. Yet there may be opportunities for using them even in resource short rural communities in developing countries. The book includes examples of SWM systems in practice in diverse locations from Korea, Mexico, Paris, the Canary Islands and southern Africa, aimed at addressing a diverse set of problems, including monitoring water supply to refugees. Critical voices highlight the need for smart institutions to accompany smart technologies, the absurdity of applying SWM to dysfunctional legacy infrastructure systems, whether its adoption raises moral hazards, and whether SWM is the latest example of hegemonic masculinity in water management. The chapters in this book were originally published in Water International.

Covers development of new novel reactor configurations for wastewater treatment Describes handling and removal of emerging contaminants like pharmaceutical compounds, endocrine disruptors and disinfection by-products Deliberates combination of wastewater and micro pollution Contains in-depth discussion on faecal sludge treatment and disposal Highlights new economically feasible techniques to enhance biogas recovery from treatment plant sludges

This book highlights ways to evaluate circular economy using global standard and footprints the way global firms are using to ensure the measurement of the impact. It presents various case studies from different sectors with the efforts made to contribute to circular economy and at the same time its contribution to minimize carbon and water footprints.

Urban water management has to take an integrated approach that prioritizes sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) over gray infrastructure. This book elaborates on the planning and evaluation of pipework drainage systems with a focus on modern-day constraints to deliver a solution that favors sustainability as the overarching goal. The book includes a technical section on design of gray and green infrastructure, considering the total lifecycle costs of drainage systems. Advanced computer simulation techniques are discussed after covering the derivation of both standard and empirical equations for appropriate hydrology and hydraulics. The book provides an incorporation of reliability analyses for both green and gray infrastructure starting with techniques for forecasting flows, hydraulic performance, and lifecycle costs. The work also involves 3-D modeling, geospatial and big data analysis, and how these techniques are applied into city management—particularly beneficial to municipal engineers who are increasingly becoming involved in mapping the underground. Soil mechanics and subsurface drainage systems are analyzed and structural aspects of sewers are included. Finally, soil behavior in shear, retaining wall structures, and tunneling is briefly featured in the book. This book will be of interest to (under)graduate and postgraduate engineering students, drainage engineers, urban planners, architects, water engineers, developers, construction contractors, and municipal engineers.

Reflecting the concerns over environmental sustainability, there has been an increasing focus on the protection of our water resources and on the proper management of our waste. Our economic growth can only be sustainable when it does not represent a threat to human health and to fauna, flora, and eco-system in the long-term. A long-term resilience, new business and economic opportunities, and environmental sustainability can be achieved through circular economy model that offers us a world of opportunity to rethink and redesign our economic activities and consumption patterns. With an aim to give the reader a new perspective on this issue, this book covers European Union's water and waste management legislation and the Czech Republic's transposition of this legislation, and includes a comparative analysis of the performances of the EU Member States on the implementation of new water and waste management policy strategies.

In an era of polarization, narrow party majorities, and increasing use of supermajority requirements in the Senate, policy entrepreneurs must find ways to reach across the aisle and build bipartisan coalitions in Congress. One such coalition-building strategy is the "politics of efficiency," or reform that is aimed at eliminating waste from existing policies and programs. After all, reducing inefficiency promises to reduce costs without cutting benefits, which should appeal to members of both political parties, especially given tight budgetary constraints in Washington.

"Dust-Up" explores the most recent congressional efforts to reform asbestos litigation -- a case in which the politics of efficiency played a central role and seemed likely to prevail. Yet, these efforts failed to produce a winning coalition, even though reform could have saved billions of dollars and provided quicker compensation to victims of asbestos-related diseases. Why? The answers, as Jeb Barnes deftly illustrates, defy conventional wisdom and force us to rethink the political effects of litigation and the dynamics of institutional change in our fragmented policymaking system.

Set squarely at the intersection of law, politics, and public policy, "Dust-Up" provides the first in-depth analysis of the political obstacles to Congress in replacing a form of litigation that nearly everyone -- Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, presidents, and experts -- agrees is woefully inefficient and unfair to both victims and businesses. This concise and accessible case study includes a glossary of terms and study questions, making it a perfect fit for courses in law and public policy, congressional politics, and public health.

Plastic is one of the widely used polymers around the globe since its discovery. It is highly impossible to think the ease of life without the aid of plastic. Every year billion tons of plastic waste gets accumulated in the environment and leads to death of both marine and terrestrial animals. Plastic is very durable and needs around 1000 years to degrade under the natural environment. The present book illustrates the importance and significance of the bioremediation to tackle the problem of plastic waste. Previously, we have reported elite rhizobacterial isolates (Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain VASB14/WL and Bacillus cereus strain VASB1/TS) of Avicennia marina Vierh (Forsk.) from the West Coast of India with the potential to degrade plastic (polythene). The present book attempted to address the bioremediation scenario of plastic waste (including micro plastic) using microbes with bacteria in particular. Various strategies used to tackle with the plastic waste were highlighted with case studies of plastic waste management, including in vitro, in situ and ex situ with a special reference to biodegradation technology. After the biodegradation of the plastic using microbes, the generated plastic (polythene) degradation products (PE-DPs) were also documented using GC-MS technique followed by their deleterious effect on both animal and plant systems. The book also enhances the awareness of the plastic-free society and also suggests some alternative materials to be used instead of plastic. Lastly, the book suggests/recommends the strategies to be followed by the lawmakers in the government organizations/non-government organizations/social organizations to frame the regulations and guidelines to implement at mass level to reduce the generation of plastic waste.

This book highlights current efforts and research on waste management, processing and valorization, particularly in Asia-Africa countries. Chapters 1-2 highlight the overview of plastic waste management and the production of waste plastic oil (WPO). Chapters 3-5 discuss the landfill characterization and application of incineration and composting for waste processing. A new achievement in adsorbent production is highlighted in Chapters 6 and 7 while Chapters 10 and 11 focus on sewage characteristic and its utilization using microalgae. Enzyme production using waste is covered by Chapters 10-12. Chapter 13-14 dedicated to the advances in production of bioenergy. The book concludes with a discussion on life cycle analysis for solid waste management (Chapter 15).

This book presents a broad range of technologies for sustainable agrochemistry, e.g. semiochemicals for pest management, nanotechnology for release of eco-friendly agrochemicals, and green chemistry principles for agriculture. It provides a concise introduction to sustainable agrochemistry for a professional audience, and highlights the main scientific and technological approaches that can be applied to modern agrochemistry. It also discusses various available technologies for reducing the negative impacts of agrochemicals on the environment and human health.

A major contribution to the environmental policy debate, this is the first book to examine the legal, technical, and planning initiatives employed in Europe to avoid land disposal of toxic waste. Although largely ignored in the U.S. until now, safer alternatives to land disposal exist in Europe. By studying and implementing the best of these methods, the authors argue, the United States can begin to resolve its own toxic waste problem, a problem that has reached crisis proportions.