Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. What can underground pipes tell us about human eating habits and the spread or containment of disease, such as COVID-19? Why are sewers spitting out plastic and trash into waterways around the world? How are clogs getting gnarlier and more numerous? Jessica Leigh Hester leads readers through the past, present, and future of the system humans have created to deal with our own waste and argues that sewers can be seen as a mirror to the world above at a time when our behaviors are drastically reshaping the environment for the worse. Sifting through the muck offers a fresh way to approach questions about urbanization, public health, infrastructure, ecology, sustainability, and consumerism- and what we value. Without understanding sewers, any attempt to steward the future is incomplete. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

This book surveys state-of-the-art and prospective practices, methods and technologies in agri-food and forestry sectors to document the potential measurable improvements in areas of environmental management, food security, economic growth, social cohesion and human health at the local and global scale. With a focus on the ecosystems-resources-climate-food-health nexus as a framework towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals applicable in these sectors, the book offers a portfolio of guidelines and standards that assesses the affordability, potential profitability and possible unintended consequences of interventions. The areas of intervention covered in the study include global and local forest resources management, safe wastewater reuse for irrigation, sustainable crop and plant protection (e.g. biopesticides, bioherbicides), carbon sequestration and emission reduction strategies, and safe processing methods for food and food waste (e.g. sustainable food preservatives and healthier food). The book is primarily intended for academics, professionals, and policymakers. The professional audience, including enterprises in the forestry, farming, food processing, healthcare and waste management sectors, will take advantage of the updated knowledge basis concerning the innovations in the respective practices, methods and technologies, including their feasibility, affordability and profitability, and policymakers will find useful the comprehensive review of these innovations which could be strategically promoted and deployed in the next decade, with the aim of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

One of the most urgent problems facing the world today is environmental sustainability. Current practices of pollution control, waste treatment, and environmental protection are not only hugely expensive and a burden on development but also unsustainable in the long run for their steady depletion of the world's natural resources. Any solutions must have proven economic benefits, be technologically viable, and meet prevailing environmental and social perspectives.
The main objective of this new set of studies is to describe methods that help to protect the environment and conserve natural resources. This can be achieved by applying the 'cradle-to-cradle' concept, which aims to use materials in closed cyclic loops without generating any type of waste or pollution. The authors provide the reader with an introduction to basic concepts of sustainable development, describe the mechanisms and benefits of related technologies, and suggest potential uses on a practical level by examining innovations developed in the mechanical engineering laboratories of the American University in Cairo. Particular focus is placed on innovation as a vital means of attaining sustainability.
A timely contribution to the debate on environmentally sustainable practices, this book will be indispensable to environmentalists, scientists, economists, engineers, development specialists, and policy-makers, as well as being of interest to the lay reader.

- Offers a comprehensive survey of the new field of waste studies, critically interrogating the cultural, social, economic and political systems within which waste is created, managed and circulated. - Explores the research questions, methods and case studies preoccupying academics working in this field, in an attempt to develop a set of criteria by which to define and understand waste studies as an interdisciplinary field of study

Bioremediation is a rapidly advancing field and the technology has been applied successfully to remediate many contaminated sites. The goal of every soil remediation method is to enhance the degradation, transformation, or detoxification of pollutants and to protect, maintain and sustain environmental quality.

Advances in our understanding of the ecology of microbial communities capable of breaking down various pollutants and the molecular and biochemical mechanisms by which biodegradation occurs have helped us in developing practical soil bioremediation strategies. Chapters dealing with the application of biological methods to soil remediation are contributed from experts authorities in the area of environmental science including microbiology and molecular biology from academic institutions and industry."

Focusing on the crucial sustainability challenge of reducing food loss at the level of consumer society, this volume provides an in-depth, research-based overview of this multifaceted problem. It considers the myriad environmental, economic, social, and ethical factors associated with the enormous amount of food waste, which also end up wasting water, air, electricity, and fuel, which are necessary for food processing. This book uniquely examines the social and cultural views of food waste management, shedding new light on the topic by emphasizing the consumer/household perspective throughout. Drawing on a wide variety of disciplines, the book presents philosophical reflections, practical examples and case studies, and potential solutions to the problem of increasing food waste.

Advanced Materials and Technologies for Wastewater Treatment discusses the methods and technologies of physical, chemical, biological, and thermo-catalytic treatment techniques. It includes the treatment of waste generated by municipal, agro-industry, and other industries including chemical, biomedical, pharmaceutical, textile, and other sectors. FEATURES Covers implementation of advanced water and wastewater treatment techniques, with a focus on pollutant or pathogen removal Includes qualitative and quantitative analyses Focuses on physical, chemical, and biological treatment technologies Discusses the advancements of materials and technologies applicable to both potable water and wastewater from industrial and municipal sources Explores future challenges and viable solutions This book is aimed at chemical and environmental engineers and researchers seeking a thorough treatment of innovative water treatment materials and techniques for practical applications.

WINNER: 2020 International Solid Waste Association Publication Award Among other factors, rapid global population growth, our development model and patterns of production and consumption have increased waste generation worldwide to unsustainable rates. This rise has led to crises in many countries where waste management practices are no longer sound. Global Waste Management outlines the emerging global waste crisis considering the perspectives of developed and developing countries around the world and the international relationships between them. This book provides an ecological viewpoint as well as studying these problems from a legal and justice standpoint. Global Waste Management contextualises the problems faced when dealing with waste including the causes and origins. Focus is given to cross border waste transfer, as an ongoing and controversial practice, making waste management a global matter. This book scrutinizes existing international, European and Brazilian regulation on waste to highlight the complexity of the subject and the weaknesses of the law. Using a critical and socio-ecological approach, the book proposes an original model of governance to support a new system of global waste management that takes into account ecological sustainability and social justice to overcome the waste crisis. To create these models, a theoretical framework on socio-ecological justice is developed and combined with different discourses and theories described throughout the book. This is the essential guide to understanding the global waste crisis and the future of waste management.

The first comprehensive guide to one of today's most innovative approaches to environmental contamination Natural attenuation is gaining increasing attention as a nonintrusive, cost-effective alternative to standard remediation techniques for environmental contamination. This landmark work presents the first in-depth examination of the theory, mechanisms, and application of natural attenuation. Written by four internationally recognized leaders in this approach, the book describes both biotic and abiotic natural attenuation processes, focusing on two of the environmental contaminants most frequently encountered in groundwater—fuels and chlorinated solvents. The authors draw on a wealth of combined experience to detail successful techniques for simulating natural attenuation processes and predicting their effectiveness in the field. They also show how natural attenuation works in the real world, using numerous examples and case studies from a wide range of leading-edge projects nationwide involving fuel hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents. Finally, they discuss the evaluation and assessment of natural attenuation and explore the design of long-term monitoring programs.

An indispensable reference for anyone working in environmental remediation, Natural Attenuation of Fuels and Chlorinated Solvents in the Subsurface is essential reading for scientists and engineers in a range of industries, as well as state and federal environmental regulators, and professors and graduate students in environmental or chemical engineering.

Wastes: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities III contains selected papers presented at the 5th edition of the International Conference Wastes: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities, that took place on 3-6 September 2019, in Costa da Caparica, Portugal. The Wastes conference, which takes place biennially, is a prime forum for sharing innovation, technological development and sustainable solutions for the waste management and recycling sectors around the world, counting with the participation of experts from academia and industry. The papers included in this book cover a wide range of topics, including: Wastes as construction materials; Wastes as fuels; Waste treatment technologies; MSW management; Recycling of wastes and materials recovery; Environmental, economic and social aspects in waste management; Life cycle assessment; Circular economy and wastes refineries; Logistics, policies, regulatory constraints and markets in waste management.

Field Practices for Wastewater Use in Agriculture discusses the growing importance of wastewater application in the field of agriculture. Addressing the tremendous need for the irrigation sector to reduce the demand for freshwater in agriculture, this volume looks at wastewater as a source for agricultural irrigation. The volume is divided into four sections: current and emerging issues in wastewater use in agriculture, wastewater management with biological systems, effective field practices for wastewater use, and case studies that provide information on scientific analytical studies on the environment under the influence of wastewater quality from different pollution sources. This book sheds light on the vast potential of wastewater use in agricultural irrigation while also considering safety of the agricultural products for human consumption. Much emphasis has also been given to technological aspects for the treatment of wastewater to protect our environment for better public health protection.

Rubbish. Waste. Trash. Whatever term you choose to describe the things we throw away, the connotations are the same; of something dirty, useless and incontrovertibly 'bad'. But does such a dismissive rendering mask a more nuanced reality? In Rubbish Belongs to the Poor, Patrick O'Hare journeys to the heart of Uruguay's waste disposal system in order to reconceptualize rubbish as a 21st century commons, at risk of enclosure. On a giant landfill site outside the capital Montevideo we meet the book's central protagonists, the 'classifiers': waste-pickers who recover and recycle materials in and around its fenced but porous perimeter. Here the struggle of classifiers against the enclosure of the landfill, justified on the grounds of hygiene, is brought into dialogue with other historical and contemporary enclosures - from urban privatizations to rural evictions - to shed light on the nature of contemporary forms of capitalist dispossession. Supplementing this rich ethnography with the author's own insights from dumpster diving in the UK, the book analyses capitalism's relations with its material surpluses and what these tell us about its expansionary logics, limits and liminal spaces. Rubbish Belongs to the Poor ultimately proposes a fundamental rethinking of the links between waste, capitalism and dignified work.

ADRIANO DE MAIO IReR President This publication originated from the workshop on "Control and risk prevention of dangerous materials and crisis management" that took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, in March 2009. The basic idea is that international scientific cooperation can effectively contribute to security, stability and solidarity among nations, through increased collaboration, networking and capacity-building and supporting democratic growth and economic development in Partner Countries. We are all facing new needs and threats, deriving from a world changing constantly its social, political and economic dimension and, for this reason, the international dialogue through civil science represents a way forward to comm- ment to global common issues. In fact, the Lombardy Regional Institute for Research has developed some international activities aiming at establishing networks of scientists and experts in defined areas and subjects. Through one of these activities, the Institute entered in touch with the Science for Peace and Security Programme. In this framework, we decided to share the experience of Lombardy Region on transportation of dangerous materials (half of their total transport in Italy): research and studies in civil area conducted in Lombardy Region are considered the most innovative in Europe for the results obtained. Comparison with diverse international experiences is a great opportunity of implementing present results and applying them to different applications (from civil to anti-terrorism) and extending them to countries other than Italy.

The dead are gone. They count for nothing. Yet, if we count the dead, their number is staggering. And they account for most of what is great about civilization. Compared to the greatness of the dead, the accomplishments of the living are paltry. Which is it then: are the dead still there to be counted or not? And if they are still there, where exactly is "there"? We are confronted with the ancient paradox of nonexistence bequeathed us by Parmenides. The mystery of death is the mystery of nonexistence. A successful attempt to provide a metaphysics of death, then, must resolve the paradox of nonexistence. That is the aim of this study. At the same time, the metaphysics of death, of ceasing to exist, must serve as an account of birth, of coming to exist; the primary thesis of this book is that this demands going beyond existence and nonexistence to include what underlies both, which one can call, following tradition, "being." The dead and the unborn are therefore objects that lack existence but not being. Nonexistent objects - not corpses, or skeletons, or memories, all of which are existent objects - are what are "there" to be counted when we count the dead.

This book is based on research and observations undertaken for the author's PhD thesis at the National University of Ireland, and represents a case study of national and regional campaigns against both the Irish state's Regional Waste Management Plans and the corporate sector's attempts to develop waste incinerators or dumps in various parts of Ireland. This book provides an in depth account of the mobilizing patterns and framing processes of community campaigns which emerged in the wake of the Irish state's introduction of regional plans for waste management, which included plans for municipal 'waste to energy' plants or incinerators. It is the only book with a sole focus on this aspect of Irish society during the 'Celtic Tiger' boom which preceded the current economic downturn, and examines policy, population, development social issues and local and national electoral processes in detail at a time of immense change in the Republic of Ireland. As such, it provides a salient insight into the societal shifts which provide opportunities for social movements to oppose state or corporate plans which may be perceived to have human health or environmental risks associated with them.

This edited volume deals with the attempts made by the scientists and practitioners to address contemporary issues in geoenvironmental engineering such as characterization of dredged sediments, geomaterials and waste, valorization of waste, sustainability in waste management and some other geoenvironmental issues that are becoming quite relevant in today's world especially in view of the high urbanization rates, advancement in technologies, and changes in consumption behavior of people. In this regard, wastes generated through the daily activities of individuals and organizations pose many challenges in their management. The volume is based on the best contributions to the 2nd GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition on Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Egypt 2018 - The official international congress of the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSIGE).

This book provides an essential overview of ecotechnologies (also known as green infrastructure or nature-based solutions) which are considered to be relatively resilient to variations in stormwater and wastewater inflow. In particular, it focuses on various types of constructed wetlands, biofilters and ponds. Stormwater flows are inherently variable, due to rainfall events and fluctuations in loading. This variability has significant effects on the performance of treatment systems, but has rarely been specifically addressed in design manuals, performance assessments or modelling. The book's respective chapters cover the main contaminant categories of interest (nutrients, faecal microbes, metals and emerging contaminants) and their removal processes using ecotechnologies, addressing urban, industrial and agricultural applications. In addition, they review modelling tools with the potential to improve our understanding of flow variability and the ability to simulate and predict responses to it.

Radioactive waste (above all highly radioactive wastes from nuclear installations) caused by research, medicine and technology must be disposed of safely. However both the strategies disputed for the disposal of radioactive waste as well as concrete proposals for choosing a location for final waste disposal are highly debatable.
An appropriate disposal must conform to both complex, technical requirements and fulfill the radio-biological conditions to appropriately protect man and nature. Ethical, legal and social conditions must also be considered. An interdisciplinary team from various, relevant fields compiled the current status-quo and developed criteria and strategies, which on the one hand meet the requirements of optimal warning and prevention of risk for present and future generations, and additionally on the other hand meet the needs of what current society agrees what is expected to be allowed.
This study can be understood as an advanced and continuing contribution to the corresponding scientific specialized debates, due to its interdisciplinary treatment. At the same time it serves as a fundamentally informing contribution to public and political debates, offering an easily comprehensible executive summary and precise content recommendations.

The papers in this volume have been written and brought together by a group of experts, each of whom deals with radioactive waste management on a daily basis, as well as having the deep knowledge and level of expertise that only industry insiders can achieve. Topics covered here include: treatment issues; waste mangement practice; transport and storage; and environment and regulations. "Radioactive Waste Management 2000" contains business scenarios from around the world, offering an understanding of operating conditions, regulatory issues and resources available in various countries. Those involved in strategy and implementation should find new insights and solutions. This book should prove useful to all those individuals and companies with an interest or involvement in the radioactive waste management industry.

This book analyzes the status quo concerning waste generation and management systems in Thailand and other developing countries with similar problems. It addresses municipal, electronic, industrial and hazardous wastes, as well as management instruments, and key factors shaping the progress of waste management as a whole. The book highlights lessons learnt from various successful efforts to overcome these problems in Thailand, and offers recommendations for promoting sustainable waste management systems in Thailand and other countries with similar backgrounds in the future. These include the introduction of a polluter-pay concept, incentive systems for recycling and reusing, and promoting environmental education and awareness in key sectors.

The magnitude of the food-waste disposal problem cannot be understated. Utilisation of food waste is of concern to the food processing industry, consumers, environmentalists, and regulators of handling and disposal systems. Food waste is not consistent in quality, is usually high in moisture content, and is only available locally. This book focuses on the challenges of utilising both wet and/or processed food waste. The regulatory environment relating to food waste, the perspective of the end-users, and practical use as animal feed is also discussed. One of the goals of this publication, other than to give a clear explanation of the subject of food waste and its uses as animal feed, is to stimulate a need for research.

Stability of underground excavations is of great importance to an operating mine because it ensures the safety of the working people and operating equipment, and successful ore production. Due to the complex geological conditions and mine constructions, and variability and uncertainty in estimating rock mass mechanical properties, the assessment of rock mass stability for an underground mine is extremely challenging and difficult. Tackling of this difficult problem is not covered in detail in any of the textbooks currently available in the rock mechanics literature. This monograph aims to cover this gap in the rock mechanics and rock engineering field. This monograph provides detailed procedures for the stability assessment and support design for an underground mine case study. It covers the background of the mine site including the monitored deformation data, the state-of-art methodologies for the stability analysis of rock masses around underground excavations, performed laboratory tests, estimation of the rock mass properties, a brief theory and background of the 3-D Distinct Element Code (3DEC), and numerical modeling of underground rock mass stability including investigation of the effectiveness of rock supports. The monograph is an excellent reference for the senior undergraduates, graduate students, researchers and practitioners who work in the Underground Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering area in the Mining Engineering, Civil Geotechnical Engineering and DEM (Distinct Element Method) Numerical modeling.

This book presents recent advances in the field of geomaterial and waste management. With high urbanization rates, advancement in technologies, and changes in consumer behavior, wastes generated through the daily activities of individuals and organizations pose many challenges in terms of their management. The studies presented in this book highlight attempts on the part of researchers and practitioners to address contemporary issues in geoenvironmental engineering such as the characterization of dredged sediments, geomaterials and waste, valorization of waste, sustainability in waste management, and various other geoenvironmental issues that are becoming increasingly relevant in today's world. The studies were selected from papers presented at the 5th GeoChina International Conference, Civil Infrastructures Confronting Severe Weathers and Climate Changes: From Failure to Sustainability, held in Hangzhou, China on July 23-25, 2018.