Considerable Environmental Impact Research Articles

Biochar produced from poultry litter waste

Brazil generates substantial quantity of poultry litter waste because of its worldwide prominence in the production of broiler chickens. The volume of the poultry litter biomass generates considerable environmental impact. The objective was to characterize the biochar produced from poultry litter residue under different conditions with the aim of determining the best residence time and temperature. Poultry litter was collected after two batches of chicken breeding. Five treatments for biochar production were carried out at a temperature of 450 °C (defined by thermogravimetric analysis - TGA) and residence times of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6h. The biochar produced was assessed using proximate analysis, moisture content, gravimetric yield, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and HHV (higher heating value). The results revealed that the best conditions for biochar production was 450 °C (pyrolysis) and residence time of 0.5h, with 37.21% gravimetric yield. We concluded that the biochar produced in this study is recommended for soil application but was not suitable for energy purposes because of its high ash content (up to 33.66%) and low HHV (18,907 J g-1).

Environmental and economic performance of Dutch dairy farms on peat soil

CONTEXTGlobal demand for milk is increasing, however, the dairy sector has considerable environmental impact and cattle are large contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that lead to global warming. In a circular food system, the role of animals should be to convert biomass that humans cannot or do not want to eat into nutrient-dense products. In this system, dairy cows are only fed with grass from marginal lands and by-products from harvesting and food industries. One example of marginal land are peat areas, since these soils are mainly too wet for arable crop production. However, drainage caused peat to oxidize and emit CO2 and N2O. OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study was to evaluate global warming potential (GWP) and economic performance of Dutch dairy farms on peat compared to sandy soil. Also, two scenarios that might reduce GHG emissions of a dairy farm on peat soil were considered: 1) increased groundwater tables and 2) an adjusted dairy cow diet consisting of grass and by-products only. METHODSA whole-farm linear programming (LP) model used for dairy farms on sandy soil was updated and adjusted to simulate structure, management and labour income of a dairy farm on peat soil. The basic LP model is a static year model that includes all relevant activities and constraints that are common to a Dutch dairy farm and the solution generates feeding management, manure application and land use. The objective function maximized labour income. In addition, the linear model was combined with a Life-Cycle Assessment to determine the GWP of the produced milk, economically allocated between milk and meat. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe results of this study showed that dairy farms on peat soil have lower labour income and considerably higher GWP compared to dairy farms on sandy soil. When the groundwater table on peat soil was increased, labour income decreased even more, however GHG emissions were somewhat reduced. Feeding a dairy cow diet with only grass and by-products resulted in higher labour income, but equal GWP compared to a regular dairy farm on peat soil. A sensitivity analysis was performed to explore the effect of grass yield on the economic and environmental performance of dairy farms on peat soil. SIGNIFICANCEDairy farms on peat soils have lower labour income and considerably higher GWP compared to sandy soils. Improvement of GWP is possible and can lead to increased labour income.

Invited Review: Advances in efficiency of growing dairy replacements

This article reviews the importance of feed efficiency in heifer rearing and discusses potential factors that can modulate feed efficiency and their possible implications in future performance and economics of heifer rearing. Herein, we have gathered historical data from the largest contract heifer operation in Europe (Rancho Las Nieves, Mallén, Spain) to describe feed efficiency and economic returns throughout the rearing process. We have also compiled results from peer-review literature. Heifers represent the sustainability and future of the herd and are responsible for important economic costs as well as a considerable environmental impact. Factors influencing feed efficiency include age, type of ration fed, and environmental conditions. Feed efficiency is ~50% during the first 2 mo and progressively declines to ~7% before calving. Also, feed efficiency is affected by stocking density, physiological status of the animals, and diet nutrient composition, including the ratio between CP and ME. Regularly measuring feed intake and BW in dairy replacements is pivotal to improve heifer effectiveness and economics. Considering both, feed costs and feed efficiency, the most economically advantageous stage to foster body accretion in heifers is right after weaning until about 200 d of life. In addition, growth after weaning is positively correlated with future milking performance. Providing excessive amounts of forage after weaning should be avoided. Last, restricting the amount of diet fed to heifers, while maintaining an adequate supply of nutrients, may increase dietary unit costs and total daily feed costs.

INTEGRATING SOCIAL IMPACT MEASURES INTO THE AIRSHIP DESIGN PROCESS

AbstractEngineered products have economic, environmental, and social impacts, which comprise the major dimensions of sustainability. This paper seeks to determine the interaction between design parameters when the social impacts are incorporated into the design process. Social impact evaluation is increasing in importance similar to what has happened with environmental impact consideration in recent years in the design of engineered products. Concurrently, research into new airship design has increased, however airships have yet to be reintroduced at a large scale and for a range of applications in society. Although airships have the potential for positive environmental and economic impacts, the social impacts are still rarely considered. This paper presents a case study of the hypothetical introduction of airships in the Amazon to help local farmers transport their produce to market. It explores the design space in terms of the airship's social impacts connected to the design parameters. The social impacts are found to be dependent not only on the social factors and airship design parameters, but also on the farmer-airship system, suggesting that socio-technical systems design will benefit from integrated social impact metric analysis.

Evaluation of the environmental impact of end-of-life refrigerators in Colombia by material flow analysis

The management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) represents one of the main environmental challenges on a global scale, due to the rapid growth of this type of waste and the risk it poses to both human health and the environment. Decision makers depend on reliable estimates of the generation of WEEE and the quantification of its environmental impact. However, limited data regarding the amount of equipment in use, annual sales, and the lifespan of electrical and electronic equipment pose important limitations to this assessment. In response to this challenge, this paper develops a combined dynamic material flow analysis and life cycle assessment approach to estimate the volume of end-of-life refrigerators in Colombia and measure their environmental impact. First, the dynamic MFA model is developed to calculate the number of end-of-life refrigerators between 1935 and 2050. Then, the environmental impact is estimated using the CO2 emissions generated in each of the pathways of final disposal at the end of the refrigerators’ useful life. The results highlight the importance of the formal refrigerator recycling system in Colombia, since this achieves a saving of approximately three million tonnes of CO2 emissions during the period of evaluation. They also show that delivering refrigerators to informal recyclers or throwing them into open-air dumps or bodies of water generates a considerable environmental impact in comparison. Additionally, these alternative scenarios imply the loss of more than two hundred thousand tonnes of recyclable material.

Feasibility of superabsorbent polymer recycling and reuse in disposable absorbent hygiene products

The objective of this work is to evaluate the life cycle impacts of recovering superabsorbent polymers from absorbent hygiene products (AHPs). AHPs, which include baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, and adult incontinence pads, have a considerable environmental impact. While convenient, the vast majority of these products, which typically contain combinations of polypropylene, polyethylene, elastics, cellulose, and superabsorbent polymers (SAPs), are single use. Current practice of AHP disposal results in the loss of valuable materials like SAPs, generation of large volumes of municipal solid waste, and increased manufacturing burdens. While recognition of AHP impacts is increasing, it is important to consider that the most significant life cycle impacts of AHPs stem from resource extraction and manufacturing, not disposal itself. The SAPs in these products are of particular importance as they contribute substantially to these upstream life cycle impacts. We aim to shed light on how we might lessen upstream impacts by focusing on the potential for SAP recovery and re-use.This research evaluates end-of-life options for baby diapers in Europe using a life cycle approach to explore alternative options to conventional disposal of AHPs. We analyze the environmental trade-offs under the following scenarios: 1) diaper disposal via landfill or incineration; 2) diaper recycling without SAP recovery; and 3) diaper recycling with theoretical SAP recovery. Each recycling scenario is analyzed under two allocation conditions for a total of five scenarios. Environmental impacts were modeled in the LCA software SimaPro using the ReCipe 2016 impact assessment framework. Results show that SAP recovery has potential to decrease life cycle emissions by 54% compared to standard landfilling and incineration and by 35% when compared to the recycling technologies assessed in the study. SAP recovery and reuse also results in large potential offsets of energy and water burdens involved in SAP manufacturing. By assessing these environmental impacts, we aim to clarify the point at which SAP recovery demonstrates potential for circular economy.

Bi-objective routing model with speed variation and consideration of emissions: Case study of solid waste collection in Coveñas, Sucre

Models for routing vehicles have been applied to solve a variety of transport route design problems. Also, it has taken an important trend on environmental care in consideration of the negative environmental impact generated by the emissions resulting from transportation. Another relevant aspect of environment care is the collection of solid wastes due to the high quantities generated by human activities. In this paper, we developed a bi-objective model for routing vehicles for solid waste collection that considers the minimization of costs associated with both vehicles and CO2 emissions. The model considers heterogeneous fleet, capacity, hard time windows, and speed variation in an urban center. A case study in the Caribbean region of Colombia is studied, with a total of 50 nodes in the network. Because of the computational hardness, nodes are clustered in five sets of 10 nodes to obtain optimal solutions. The sum of costs showed a reduction of 9.447% compared to current costs (50 nodes without clustering). Subsequently, we reviewed and restructured some constraints that allowed to soften the complexity of the model and obtain improved solutions with reduced current costs by 16.55%.

Environmental sustainability challenges of China's edible vegetable oil industry: From farm to factory

With the increasing consumer demand and only 31% of the self-sufficiency rate, how to mitigate the supply safety of edible vegetable oil in an environmentally sustainable manner is a tremendous challenge for China. This study comprehensively qualified the potential environmental impact from the major edible vegetable oil production (i.e., soybean oil, rapeseed oil, and peanut oil) in China through the life cycle assessment method. Results show that rapeseed oil and peanut oil are environmentally friendly. More than 20% of environmental contamination could be avoided in 2025 by replacing the further increase in soybean oil production with a mix of the other products. The key contribution analysis indicates that the agricultural phase is a significant source of environmental pollution due to excessive fertilizer production and irrigation water consumption. During the oil processing phases of soybean oil and peanut oil, steam production also contributed to considerable environmental impact. Therefore, applying new fertilizers, developing water-saving irrigation technologies, and optimizing the steam heat exchange net are suggested. Moreover, increasing the oil extraction rate through electrotechnical technology has great potential in reducing the environmental damage caused by oil-bearing crop planting. Based on the spatial discrepancy in the agricultural phase, advantageous planting regions (e.g., Anhui, Henan, Shandong, and Jiangsu) are references for the further planting structure adjustment. Meanwhile, advocating scientific diets and optimizing the industry layout are recommended to ensure the healthy and sustainable development of China's edible vegetable oil industry.

Thermo-Economic Modeling and Evaluation of Physical Energy Storage in Power System

In order to assess the electrical energy storage technologies, the thermo-economy for both capacity-type and power-type energy storage are comprehensively investigated with consideration of political, environmental and social influence. And for the first time, the Exergy Economy Benefit Ratio (EEBR) is proposed with thermo-economic model and applied to three different storage systems in various scenarios, including pumped storage, compressed air energy storage and flywheel energy storage. The impact of the total system efficiency, annual utilization hour, life time, and other key factors are also analyzed. The results show that the EEBRs of pumped storage and compressed air energy storage under peak load shaving condition and flywheel energy storage under frequency modulation service condition are all larger than zero, which means they are all thermo-economically feasible. With extra consideration of political, environmental and social impact, the exergy cost could reduce by about 25% and the EEBR doubles. The sensitivity analysis indicates the similarity and diversity of influence to EEBR between capacity-type and power-type energy storage systems. The former is that energy efficiency is the dominated factor for all three storage systems. The latter is that the difference of exergy benefit mode causes variety in other major factors. For energy-type storage system, like pumped storage and compressed air storage, the peak-to-valley price ratio is very sensitive in energy arbitrage. For power-type storage system, like flywheel storage, the mileage ratio is in leading position in auxiliary service benefit by mileage. In the three cases studied, the pumped storage has the best thermo-economy; the compressed air energy storage is the second, and the flywheel energy storage is the third. The main reason is that the pumped storage has the least non-exergy cost, and flywheel has the most.

Substrate surface carburization-based electro-mechanical plotter using plasma evolved during electrostatic breakdown of ambient air

This paper describes the research, development and prototype of an electro-mechanic electrical discharge plotter system based on a three-axis Cartesian robot. The plotter can trace monochromatic arbitrary figures or alphanumeric characters on a given substrate such as paper without using any ink. A discharge probe delivering controlled electrical discharges is moved on the two-dimensional surface of the substrate using stepper motor-driven linear actuators to generate the arbitrary figures similar to CNC-based laser cutters and EDMs. The heat of the plasma evolved during the dielectric breakdown of ambient air during an electrical discharge or an arc has been used to create dark spots on the substrate by surface carburization. The discharge pulse duration, electrical parameters and the actuator movement are controlled by a microcontroller. The common printing systems currently available in the market give 300 to 600 DPI of resolution. However, the plotter prototype featured in this article plots with a resolution of 60 to 80 DPI which is enough to demonstrate. This technology can potentially eliminate the need for inks and toners which need frequent refilling. Every refilling invites considerable expenditure and significant environmental impact when their containing cartridges are discarded. This article only intends to put forward the possibility of such a printing technique and not propose the perfect alternative for existing printing systems.

Evaluation of mechanical properties of concrete produced with binary and ternary mixtures of aggregate

Cement is the costlier component of concrete, and its productive process causes considerable environmental impact. Thus, alternatives are studied to reduce the amount of cement used. An option is the use of optimized grain size curves of aggregates, aiming to achieve a higher compactness of concrete. An ideal grain size distribution results in a higher mechanical resistance of concrete, providing a reduction in cost and consumption of materials, and, consequently, in environmental impacts. Therefore, the present study aims to improve the properties of conventional concrete through optimized grain size distributions. In this research, concrete was produced with binary mixtures with rolled pebbles from Belém region, in Pará state, and ternary mixtures of granitic crushed stone from the metropolitan region of Recife, in Pernambuco state, and concrete properties in the hardened state were studied. The mix design IPT/EPUSP method was used and grain size composition, unit weight, water absorption by capillarity, and compressive strength tests were performed. It was observed an increase in compressive strength with for higher fine contents. Furthermore, for both aggregates studied, there was no loss in strength with the lower amount of cement used, due to the increased compactness of the concrete, indicated by the unit weight of the aggregate mixture. Therefore, the optimization of the grain size composition of the coarse aggregate provided a reduction in the cement consumption for the same required strength and for both analysed aggregates.

A chance for reform: The environmental impact of travel for general surgery residency interviews.

BackgroundIn light of the global climate emergency, it is worth reconsidering the current practice of medical students traveling to interview for residency positions. We sought to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with travel for general surgery residency interviews in Canada, and the potential avoided emissions if interviews were restructured.MethodsAn eight-item survey was constructed to collect data on cities visited, travel modalities, and costs incurred. Applicants to the University of Ottawa General Surgery Program during the 2019/20 Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) cycle were invited to complete the survey. Potential reductions in CO2 emissions were modeled using a regionalized interview process with either one or two cities.ResultsOf a total of 56 applicants, 39 (70%) completed the survey. Applicants on average visited 10 cities with a mean total cost of $4,866 (95% CI=3,995-5,737) per applicant. Mean CO2 emissions were 1.82 (95% CI=1.50-2.14) tonnes per applicant, and the total CO2 emissions by applicants was estimated to be 101.9 (95% CI=84.0 – 119.8) tonnes. In models wherein interviews are regionalized to one or two cities, emissions would be 57.9 tonnes (43.2% reduction) and 84.2 tonnes (17.4% reduction), respectively. Overall, 74.4% of respondents were concerned about the environmental impact of travel and 46% would prefer to interview by videoconference.ConclusionTravel for general surgery residency interviews in Canada is associated with a considerable environmental impact. These findings are likely generalizable to other residency programs. Given the global climate crisis, the CaRMS application process must consider alternative structures.

Formulation of Li-metal-halide (LMX) solid state electrolytes through extensive first principles modelling

A flow chart to identify potential compounds of LiaMXb with a corresponding screening step (alternative M candidates are selected with the consideration of resource sustainability, environmental impact, weight and price, etc.).

Novel sustainable alternatives for the fashion industry: A method of chemically recycling waste textiles via acid hydrolysis

The fashion industry has a considerable environmental impact, especially due to the increased generation of waste textiles as a result of fast fashion business models. Although fiber-to-fiber recycling processes are being developed, such a process is in reality a downcycling process, in which the mechanical properties of the textile fibers are impoverished with each cycle. Thus, new alternatives are required to completely close the fashion loop through chemically recycling textile fibers unfit for other types of recycling or resale due to their poor quality. We have evaluated the possibility of using acid hydrolysis to directly depolymerize the cotton fibers in waste textiles to produce a glucose solution, which could subsequently be used for the production of chemicals or fuels. Although a one-step procedure with sulfuric acid was unable to deliver high glucose production, it was possible to achieve a glucose yield over 90% through a two-step procedure, in which concentrated and dilute sulfuric acid were combined to exploit the benefits of both concentrations. Glucose concentrations around 40 g/L were achieved by increasing the solids loading in the two-step process, which might be sufficiently high for the fermentation of the solution into high-value products. Thus, this study demonstrates that it would be possible to chemically recycle (cellulose-based) waste textiles via acid hydrolysis, which, if correctly designed, could avoid the need to use enzymes to achieve high conversion efficiencies.

Implementación de NTS-TS 002 y su Adaptación a Pequeños y Medianos Hoteles, Caso Mola Hostel

La industria hotelera es uno de los sectores más importantes a nivel internacional, debido a que contribuye al crecimiento económico de cada país, siendo también uno de los sectores que genera un impacto ambiental considerable, dado al consumo y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales para la operación de los mismos. Para mitigar estos impactos existen normas a nivel mundial como la Green Globe 21, Green Key, ISO 14001 y en el caso de Colombia la NTS-TS002, la cual presenta una disparidad por su aplicación a grandes hoteles excluyendo a los de menor tamaño. Por esta razón, el presente artículo busca analizar los lineamientos metodológicos de la norma técnica sectorial NTS-TS002 en el establecimiento hotelero Mola Hostel, mediante la implementación y aplicación de herramientas como la autoevaluación, recolección de información primaria y secundaria, formulación y aplicación de programas sostenibles, eco balances, análisis de encuestas en la escala de Likert, que permiten identificar las principales dificultades para la aplicación de la norma técnica en los pequeños y medianos hoteles y reflejan como los esfuerzos en la adaptabilidad, consigue una mitigación de impactos ambientales significativa, reduciendo el consumo de energía, agua y residuos dentro del establecimiento hotelero objeto de estudio.

Optimal delivery strategies for packing box recycling in online platforms

With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, platform retailing has developed rapidly in recent years. The ensuing explosive growth of express packing boxes has created a considerable environmental impact. To reduce environmental pollution, in recent years, many retail platforms have begun to encourage consumers to recycle packing boxes since most of the packing boxes can still be used after one-time delivery. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to explore how the different delivery strategies of a platform affect packaging recycling, the platform’s profit and the environmental impact. We consider three typical delivery models: the express location model (EL), the home delivery model (HD) and the express cabinet model (EC). The optimal pricing and subsidy strategies under the three models are obtained. We also explore how consumer heterogeneities (valuation and transportation costs) affect the platform’s operations and consumers’ purchasing and recycling behaviors. The results show that none of the three strategies is dominant. In addition, we identify the conditions under which delivery model the platform performs best. We find that consumer surplus has a similar property to the platform’s profit, and the platform and consumers can achieve a win-win outcome in most cases. Finally, the HD and EL models are usually more beneficial to the environment since it is more convenient for consumers to recycle packing boxes under both models.

Life Cycle Environmental Impact Considerations in the Design of Soybean Oil-Based Acrylic Monomers

Improving the sustainability of polymeric materials through integrating biobased components while maintaining their functionality can be challenging. Using plant oils for the synthesis of biobased ...

Understanding the term green infrastructure: origins, rationales, semantic content and purposes as well as its relevance for application in spatial planning

Recently the term green infrastructure has come to shape professional and scientific debate, political strategies and practical approaches concerning green space development, particularly in urban areas. Actors from all fields of spatial development and planning are referencing this as an emergent approach, which is expected to have a considerable environmental and socio-economic impact. The wide and ubiquitous use of the term in planning debates fosters an impression of agreement in its definition and meaning. Yet several theoretical studies and manifold practical observations confirm a variety of definitions and meanings of this “new” approach in the scientific, political and practical arenas, ranging from simply a buzzword to a mature approach. Clearly, this confusion in meaning has a practical relevance for planning. It seems wise, therefore, to raise awareness and deepen our understanding of the different conceptions of the term green infrastructure. This paper aims to systematically analyse and clarify the contextual, geographical and temporal origins of green infrastructure, as well as its impact on rationales, semantic content and main purposes for spatial planning. To this end, a content analysis of relevant literature has been conducted to reveal the strands which influence the current debate as well as the application of green infrastructure in planning practice. These results are used to derive key statements as a foundation for further critical reflection and conscious application of the term green infrastructure within spatial planning.

Life cycle assessment of lightweight concrete containing recycled plastics and fly ash

Researchers put significant effort to decrease the environmental impact of concrete by using industrial by-products as an alternative binder. However, the considerable environmental impact still exists due to the consumption of natural resources as aggregates. Natural aggregates are the most used resources by volume in the construction sector. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate by-products as an alternative to natural aggregates as well. This study presents the environmental impact of lightweight concrete (LWC) produced by replacing natural aggregates with recycled waste plastic (polyethylene) (RWP) and partially replacing Portland cement with Class F fly ash (FA). Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to compare a conventional LWC, containing pumice as natural aggregate and Portland cement as a binder, with green LWC, containing 30% RWP as pumice replacement and 20% FA as cement replacement. These scenarios were evaluated in terms of global warming potential, abiotic depletion, ozone layer depletion, terrestrial ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation, acidification and eutrophication. LCA was coupled with mechanical tests at 7 days and 28 days. RWPs were found to be an environment-friendly replacement material for natural lightweight aggregates with an overall decrease in all CML-IA impacts except eutrophication. Tested green mix design also provided sufficient strength for nonstructural applications.

P1092THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF DISPOSABLES IN A NEW CONFIGURATION OF HEMODIALYSIS (HD) SYSTEM

Abstract Background and Aims A new configuration of Artis Dialysis System, namely Artis Physio Plus (AP+), has been recently released for chronic HD market. The AP+ Dialysis System features 3 stationary ultrafilters integrated in the hydraulic flow path and designed to retain bacteria and endotoxins, in order to provide fluid suitable for infusion to be used for on-line hemodiafiltration (HDF), hemofiltration (HF) or on-line bolus, priming and rinse-back also in HD. With this new fully internal filtration process, no external single-use filter is needed on the infusion lines, resulting in a simplified configuration of the extra-corporeal circuit (EC). HD has a considerable environmental impact because it uses large volumes of water, energy and medical supplies, and hence a significant amount of waste is produced. The aim of this study was to provide a comparison of the plastic waste amount between the previous Artis Dialysis System configuration (i.e., Artis Physio, AP) and the new one (AP+). Method The weight of the EC components (i.e., the blood tubing set, the related infusion lines for HD or HDF/HF and the dialyzer) after their discharge from dialysis machine was measured. In particular, the EC components for AP includes the Ultra Prime Line for HD (Fig. 1a) and Ultra HDF Line for HDF/HF in Pre or Post dilution (Fig. 2a). The EC components for AP+ includes the ULTRALINE HD for HD (Fig. 1b) and ULTRALINE HDF for HDF/HF in Pre or Post dilution (Fig. 2b). For simplicity, the same blood tubing set (ArtiSet PrePost) has been assumed for all treatment types. The dialyzers used were Revaclear 400 for HD and Polyflux 210H for HDF/HF. Other plastic waste, like concentrates and disinfectant cartridges, were not considered since their consumption is the same for AP and AP+. Results Table 1 shows the weight of the EC components before (i.e., components dry) and after dialysis (i.e., after patient rinse-back and automatic draining by AP/AP+). Table 2 reports an estimation of the total weekly amount of plastic waste for a single Artis Dialysis System performing 3 shifts a day with a mix of different dialysis treatments (i.e., 60% of HD, 30% of HDF Post, 10% of HDF/HF Pre). The results show a significant decrease of the disposable waste weight. Conclusion The new AP+ infusion lines, dealing with the ready to use infusion fluid delivered from the machine, are much simpler: this leads not only to a significant usability improvement, but also to a better shipment packing factor for the goods, a better storage in the dialysis unit, and a reduction of plastic waste. In particular, a weight decrease of 10.2% is achieved considering the EC items used on a single Artis Dialysis System during a week. Higher reduction of plastic waste will be achieved in clinics running higher number of HDF treatments. This contributes to have a more eco-friendly dialysis and to reduce the expenditures for the hospitals, both in terms of goods delivery and of waste disposal.