From waste to resource: Fly ash regeneration salt recycling based on chlor-alkali production.

Chemical and environmental analysis of ash derived from the pyrolytic and incomplete combustion of plastic waste in household furnaces.

Tracking the current situation and key paths of phosphogypsum harmlessness.

Waste-ing antibiotics: Antimicrobial resistance, environmental pollution and unsettled science in the governance of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

One-step transformation of hazardous WPCBs into 4N-grade copper via slurry electrolysis: Leveraging the Cu-NH3-Cl synergistic cycle for sustainability.

Waste management is a crucial task due to its direct impact on environmental sustainability, public health, and resource conservation. Rapid urbanization, population growth, and industrialization have led to a significant increase in the volume and complexity of waste generated by municipal, biomedical, electronic, and hazardous waste. Therefore, technology-based waste classification is needed to address the global waste management crisis. However, deploying an accurate classification model on resource-constrained hardware demands a careful balance between model accuracy and overall computational efficiency. This research employs an EfficientNet-B1 + Transformer model along with Cosine Annealing Learning Rate Scheduling (CALRS) and optimized Label Smoothing (LS) techniques, and this method is known as EN-CALS. This unified pipeline is trained on six classes of waste dataset of 2,527 images (cardboard, glass, metal, paper, plastic, and trash). It was compared with several fine-tuned models such as ResNet-50, ViT-B/16, MobileNet-V2, MobileNet-V3-Small, MobileNet-V3-Large, ShuffleNet-V2, EfficientNet-B0/B2, and DenseNet-121. Results show us that EfficientNet-B1 with these optimizations achieves the best test accuracy of 93.68. Large-scale architectures like ResNet-50 with 87.37% accuracy, ViT-B/16 with 61.58% accuracy and DenseNet121 with 92.63% accuracy, show clear overfitting and are unsuitable for the target edge hardware. The ablation studies proved the importance of individual components in EN-CALS for the waste classification system. This research establishes a reusable model template and deployment pipeline for waste classification and is designed to scale as better datasets and hardware become feasible.

Transitioning from landfill to cross-regional centralized recycling: Uncovering the mechanisms and potentials of hard-to-treat hazardous waste through medical waste incineration fly ash recycling.

The intensification of agriculture in Peru has increased the use of agrochemicals, generating hazardous waste such as empty pesticide containers, whose improper management poses environmental and health risks. This review article analyzes the current situation of the management of these residues, contrasting the current regulatory framework with documentary evidence from coastal (Lima, Arequipa) and jungle (Ucayali) regions. Through a systematic review of regulations, scientific articles, and theses published between 2012 and 2024, a significant gap was identified between legislation which requires triple rinsing, perforation, and controlled disposal (D.S. No. 016-2012-AG, Peru) and actual practices. The results show a predominance of inadequate disposal methods: abandonment in the field (68% in Huaral), burial (39% in Ucayali), and disposal in informal dumps (33% in Majes). It is concluded that insufficient collection infrastructure, limited training, and weak enforcement perpetuate harmful practices that contaminate soil and water, affecting public health and the environment.

pH-programmed precipitation with post-upgrading for integrated recovery of Be, Al, and ammonium sulfate from Be-bearing smelting residue.

Assisted by multidimensional data analysis, chemical recycling methods for waste generated by the renewable energy sector in the context of the circular economy.

Development of Legal and Practical Framework for Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) Management.

To address the increasing demand for platinum (Pt) and the accumulation of hazardous waste, this study proposes a novel and sustainable pyrometallurgical co-smelting strategy for recovering Pt from spent automotive catalysts (SACs) using electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) as a co-smelting agent. Thermodynamic analysis confirmed the feasibility of reducing Pt oxides and sulfides to their metallic form under high-temperature, reductive conditions, enabling efficient alloying with iron (Fe). A five-component slag system (SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-FeO) was designed to lower the melting temperature and viscosity, thereby improving the separation efficiency of slag and alloy. Through systematic single-factor experiments, the effects of alkalinity (CaO/SiO2), EAFD addition amount, reducing agents amount, and smelting temperature on Pt recovery were investigated. Optimal recovery (96.4%) was achieved under the conditions of CaO/SiO2 = 0.7, 20 wt% EAFD addition amount, 6 wt% reducing agents amount, and a smelting temperature of 1550°C. Microstructural characterizations using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy revealed that Pt was predominantly incorporated into the Fe matrix through substitutional solid solution mechanisms. Furthermore, the resulting slag exhibited a dense, amorphous glassy microstructure, indicating excellent environmental stability and inertness, thereby minimizing the risk of secondary pollution. Overall, this integrated co-smelting approach not only offers a technically viable and environmentally benign method for the high-efficiency recovery of Pt from SACs but also establishes a novel paradigm for the cross-sectoral recycling of hazardous industrial residues such as EAFD. The proposed strategy thus holds significant potential for advancing circular economy practices within the waste management industries.

Efficient vitrification of hazardous waste incineration fly ash and slag via the CaO-SiO2-Fe2O3 system.

Waste generated in medical facilities poses chemical, toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and radiation risks to the human body, alongside the risks of injury and infection. The microbial load in medical waste is one thousand times higher than in municipal solid waste. Rational and safe management of medical waste is one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare, as it directly impacts infection control and public health protection. An increasing number of countries worldwide are legislating medical waste management. By 2035, the volume of medical waste in Ukraine is expected to reach 141,000 tons, including 35,000 tons of epidemiologically infectious waste. Therefore, it is critically important to ensure sufficient capacities for its safe treatment. An analysis of the regulatory framework allows for the identification of existing differences in the medical waste management systems of Ukraine and the EU member states, as leading European countries have already established frameworks that Ukraine has only recently begun to implement. This review provides a comparative analysis of the regulatory framework for medical waste management in Ukraine and the European Union countries, while substantiating priority measures for reforming the national management system in accordance with European epidemiological safety practices. Based on theoretical, analytical, and comparative methods, the paper reviews current scientific publications and examines relevant regulatory and legal documents of Ukraine, the European Union, and individual member states in the field of medical waste management. The current state of medical waste management in Ukraine and the European Union, as well as the hazardous potential of this waste type for public health, was considered. The review assesses the legislative regulation of medical waste management in EU countries and the regulatory documents of Ukraine. It was established that the current state of legal support for waste management in Ukraine is hindered by a lack of efficient control and supervision over waste management entities and insufficient funding for relevant programs. The expediency of introducing amendments to the regulatory framework has been substantiated, particularly regarding the strengthening of state control over the activities of business entities and the implementation of European waste accounting standards. As a modern state governed by the rule of law, Ukraine has prioritized the development of medical waste management by aligning its legislation with the experience of EU member states. Given that the volume of hazardous waste continues to increase while comprehensive statistical records remain absent, the application of European law and best practices will facilitate the successful implementation of medical waste management programs. To achieve full alignment with EU standards, Ukraine must not only adopt relevant laws but also ensure their effective enforcement, develop modern infrastructure, and strengthen control in the field of medical waste management. The ultimate goal should be the creation of a comprehensive and sustainable management system that meets the best international practices and ensures the protection of human health and the environment.

ABSTRACT Industrial solid waste generation in China remains a major environmental challenge. While the cap-and-trade carbon emissions trading system (ETS) is designed primarily to mitigate climate change through carbon pricing, its potential to affect the generation of industrial solid waste – a pervasive environmental pollutant and an important source of greenhouse gas emissions – remains a critical yet under-explored empirical question. This study bridges this gap by investigating the impact of China’s carbon ETS on the generation of general (i.e., non-hazardous) industrial solid waste (GISW) and hazardous industrial solid waste (HISW). Using a provincial panel dataset for 31 mainland Chinese provinces from 2001 to 2020, including measures of HISW and GISW generation, ETS policy timing, and key socioeconomic, climate, and regulatory covariates, we employ a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the policy effect. The results indicate that the carbon ETS significantly reduces the scale, intensity, and per-employee levels of both GISW and HISW. Compared to the non-ETS regions, on average, the ETS leads to an approximately 40% reduction in industrial solid waste generation in the policy-regulated regions. Further mechanism analysis reveals that the ETS promotes investment in industrial solid waste abatement, boosts R&D, and reduces energy use, which together improve resource efficiency and reduce process-related solid waste generation. These findings provide a plausible explanation for the observed effect of the ETS in reducing industrial solid waste. Our findings reveal that the carbon ETS can serve as a potent policy instrument for addressing a broader spectrum of industrial pollution beyond its primary carbon-cutting goal. Implications: This study reveals that the carbon ETS can serve as a potent policy instrument for addressing a broader spectrum of industrial pollution beyond its primary carbon-cutting goal. To strategically strengthen the identified pathways through which the ETS mitigates industrial solid waste, a complementary policy mix is essential. This should include measures to lower financing barriers for waste treatment upgrades, incentivize R&D and technological progress, and support energy efficiency projects alongside carbon trading.

NIR chemosensor for rapid tracking and evaluating hypochlorous acid level within biosystem and inflammatory DILI models.

Mechanisms of heavy metal immobilization and transformation during co-pyrolysis of pig manure with typical organic solid wastes.

The burden of waste: Environmental justice, health risks, and socioeconomic disparities near waste management facilities.

Localized electro-dissolution of wollastonite boosts heavy metal extraction from acidic wastewater.

Red mud, a hazardous industrial waste generated during alumina production, faces great challenges in safe stacking and utilization due to its complex chemical composition and poor engineering properties. Long-term stacking of red mud is accompanied by repeated natural drying-wetting cycles, which significantly alter its strength characteristics and further threaten the stability of red mud stockpiles. In this study, Bayer red mud (BRM) and mixed red mud (MRM) from the No.5 stockpile of Guizhou Aluminum Plant were tested under 0, 1, 3, 7, 12 drying-wetting cycles. Their physical, microscopic, and mechanical properties were investigated. Stockpile stability under extreme rainfall was evaluated using Geo-Studio software (SEEP/W and SLOPE/W modules). The results showed that unconfined compressive strength (qu) and cohesion (c) of BRM decrease with cycles, while those of MRM increased significantly. Specially, the (qu) of MRM rise from 115.78kPa to 150.38kPa and the cohesion (c) doubles from 61.67kPa to 121.91kPa. The internal friction angle (φ) of BRM increases slightly, while that of MRM decreases slightly. Under extreme rainfall conditions, safety factors of red mud are 1.205, 1.219, 1.240, 1.263 and 1.288, respectively, all greater than the critical value of 1.0 and increasing with cycles. This study demonstrates that stacking MRM on BRM is feasible and effective for improving the long term stockpile stability, which provide theoretical support and engineering guidance for the safe stacking and resource utilization of red mud.