Litter Bins Research Articles

The future in the litter bin - bioconversion of food waste as driver of a circular bioeconomy.

Bioconversion of organic waste requires the development and application of rather simple, yet robust technologies capable of transferring biomass into energy and sustainable materials for the future. Food waste plays a significant role in this process as its valorisation reduces waste and at the same time avoids additional exploitation of primary resources. Nonetheless, to literally become "litterate". extensive research into such robust large-scale methods is required. Here, we highlight some promising avenues and materials which fulfill these "waste to value" requirements, from various types of food waste as sustainable sources for biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel to fertilizers and antioxidants from grape pomace, from old-fashioned fermentation to the magic of anaerobic digestion.

Optimized Operation Management With Predicted Filling Levels of the Litter Bins for a Fleet of Autonomous Urban Service Robots

Optimized Operation Management With Predicted Filling Levels of the Litter Bins for a Fleet of Autonomous Urban Service Robots

INFLUENCE OF SELECTED DETERMINANTS ON THE PERCEPTION OF BEACHES AS A TOURISM PRODUCT

INFLUENCE OF SELECTED DETERMINANTS ON THE PERCEPTION OF BEACHES AS A TOURISM PRODUCT

Interdisciplinary approach to determining the use of drugs of abuse in wastewater using a survey and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

(a) To use a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for the analysis of drugs of abuse in wastewater in Botswana. (b) To explore the knowledge of the BIUST community on the use, disposal, and fate of medicinal and illegal drugs in wastewater using a survey. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is increasingly becoming an alternative method for estimating drug usage and consumption in a population. The data obtained through WBE on drug usage and consumption is near real-time and it allows analysts to monitor current patterns and trends in novel psychoactive substances, illicit drugs, and therapeutic compounds. WBE can be complemented with other conventional methods to obtain data on drug use and abuse such as survey questionnaires. The survey is administered in communities where wastewater samples are collected. The data obtained through the two means are compared and a correlation is established if any. Through survey responses, researchers can obtain the demographic information of participants, frequency of use, and mode of administration of drugs. Twenty-two influent wastewater samples were collected at five wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Botswana between July 2019 and October 2019 using the grab sampling method. Solid-Phase extraction with Strata-X Drug B SPE cartridges was used for sample extraction before analysis by GC-MS. Toxicology checkout mixture (TCM) with 28 analytes, caffeine and ibuprofen standards were used. The online survey questionnaire was administered to the BIUST community between March 2021 and May 2021 using convenient sampling. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The GC-MS method was used as a screening method targeting pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs (opioids, sedatives, stimulants, and hallucinogens). Ibuprofen and caffeine were reliably identified in wastewater samples. The online survey respondents indicated the use of different pharmaceutical drugs such as ibuprofen and panado (acetaminophen). Survey respondents also indicated the use of different illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. For the survey, 80.8% of the respondents used medicinal drugs compared to 15.8% who used illegal drugs. Of the respondents who indicated to have used medicinal drugs, 88.7% used painkillers, while 4.1% used antidepressants. Of the respondents who had used illicit drugs, 94.7% used hallucinogens while only 10.5% used stimulants such as cocaine. All the pharmaceutical and illicit drugs that participants indicated to have used were targeted in wastewater samples. A GC-MS method was successfully used for qualitative analysis of wastewater samples in which ibuprofen and caffeine were detected. The two compounds were also targeted. Illicit drugs which were targeted in wastewater when TCM was analyzed were not detected. The survey respondents indicated the use of medicinal and illicit drugs with the former being used more. The respondents also indicated that leftover/expired medicinal/illicit drugs are thrown in the litter bins or flushed down the drain. Most respondents are aware of the fate of the drugs in wastewater. The survey results do not correlate with the analytical results as the drugs in the survey answers were not detected in wastewater from BIUST, although ibuprofen was detected in other wastewater samples used for this research. Ibuprofen, a common pharmaceutical and caffeine, were detected in wastewater collected for this research using a screening method. With further refinement, this method can be used to monitor weekly, monthly, or seasonal variations in drug use in Botswana. The survey respondents indicated the use of different medicinal and illicit drugs, with medicinal drugs being used more. Results obtained from the research will assist stakeholders in Botswana in the fight against drug abuse as they provide information on commonly used drugs, frequency of use, and demographic information of participants.

Not Always an Easy Win:The Effectiveness of a Ballot Bin Experiment to Prevent Cigarette Butt Littering

This paper presents the results of two behavioural interventions aimed at reducing cigarette butt littering which is a significant environmental pollutant. The interventions were priming – spraying shoeprints on the pavement leading to the nearest bin – and gamification – replacing two litter bins with two ballot bins. This experiment used a before-and-after uncontrolled experimental design and was conducted at a Bratislava transportation hub. Our results show that two interventions did not prove to be effective. The possible reasons are highly heterogeneous intervention group at the transportation hub, the effects of the pandemic and lockdown during which the experiment took place.

The importance of fine-scale predictors of wild boar habitat use in an isolated population.

Predicting the likelihood of wildlife presence at potential wildlife–livestock interfaces is challenging. These interfaces are usually relatively small geographical areas where landscapes show large variation over small distances. Models of wildlife distribution based on coarse data over wide geographical ranges may not be representative of these interfaces. High‐resolution data can help identify fine‐scale predictors of wildlife habitat use at a local scale and provide more accurate predictions of species habitat use. These data may be used to inform knowledge of interface risks, such as disease transmission between wildlife and livestock, or human–wildlife conflict.This study uses fine‐scale habitat use data from wild boar (Sus scrofa) based on activity signs and direct field observations in and around the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. Spatial logistic regression models fitted using a variant of penalized quasi‐likelihood were used to identify habitat‐based and anthropogenic predictors of wild boar signs.Our models showed that within the Forest of Dean, wild boar signs were more likely to be seen in spring, in forest‐type habitats, closer to the center of the forest and near litter bins. In the area surrounding the Forest of Dean, wild boar signs were more likely to be seen in forest‐type habitats and near recreational parks and less likely to be seen near livestock.This approach shows that wild boar habitat use can be predicted using fine‐scale data over comparatively small areas and in human‐dominated landscapes, while taking account of the spatial correlation from other nearby fine‐scale data‐points. The methods we use could be applied to map habitat use of other wildlife species in similar landscapes, or of movement‐restricted, isolated, or fragmented wildlife populations.

Overflowing Disparities: Examining the Availability of Litter Bins in New York City.

In the 1980s, activists’ concerns about the disproportionate placements of landfills in low-income communities ignited the environmental justice movement. Today, similar issues of environmental injustice—the limited availability of litter bins across New York City (NYC) neighborhoods—remain unresolved. This study examines the association between NYC neighborhood income and litter bin availability. The NYC Department of Sanitation 2020 Litter Bin Inventory and archival measures of neighborhood composition and socioeconomic status were aggregated within NYC census tract neighborhoods. Multilevel Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson models estimated the prevalence rate ratio for counts of litter bins according to median household income in each census tract, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Bivariate associations identified that census tracts with higher median household income had a greater prevalence of litter bins than census tracts with lower median household income; however, spatial autocorrelation attenuated the relationship between median household income and availability of litter bins. Further research is necessary to identify the spatially structured condition that accounted for the observed effect. The results warrant further investigation of both perceived and actual disparities in litter bin availability.

A Social Littering Attitude among University Students in Malaysia

Littering has been a long-term issue since ages ago. It is a recurring world wide problem, mainly in the fast-growing cities and towns. This problem has caused various negative effects on the environment such as unpleasant view, harmful to people and animals and causing bad odour. Adolescences are future generation in which will be expected to solve this long-term littering issue. Besides providing proper education, it can promisingly be eliminated by integrating the elements of religiosity, pro-environmental behaviour, and social ethics. A number of 139 university students in semester one had participated this study survey. Statistical analyses using descriptive statistics revealed that university students have moderately high littering attitudes. Their participation and desire to participate in garbage disposal operations, as well as to engage litters not to litter, were still relatively low, despite their own ethics and worry about waste problems increasing. Some students, on the other hand, agreed that litterers would throw trash next to a full litter bin if there was no empty litter bin nearby. These studies revealed that they have a lower social pro-environmental, earth preservation, and conservation attitude. As a result, while developing social marketing interventions to encourage anti-littering behaviour, social marketers should pay special attention to subjective norms and attitudes.

Application of the Karst Disturbance Index (KDI) to Kobokwe Cave and Gorge, SE Botswana: Implications for the Management of a Nationally Important Geoheritage Site

Geoheritage sites can provide an excellent resource for sustainable development that represents a growing movement in Africa. Kobokwe Cave is formed within the Middle Proterozoic–aged sandstone of Kobokwe Gorge and is nationally important; the cave is the site where British missionary David Livingstone spent a night in 1847 and subsequently converted Kgosi (Chief) Kgari Sechele I, the first and only Christian “conversion” at that time by Livingstone. However, the site currently appears undervalued as there are little stewardship and minimal organized tourism and is affected by litter, graffiti, fires, illegal dumping and sand mining, and noise pollution from a nearby road; the building of the road itself destroyed a boulder of cultural significance. To test the level of environmental disturbance, the Karst Disturbance Index (KDI) was employed and this is the first known application to a non-carbonate karst environment and the first such application in Africa. Field observations were coupled with laboratory analyses of physico-chemical, nitrate, and heavy metal parameters in soil and water from the site. The final KDI score for Kobokwe of 0.29 is classed as showing “minor disturbance” and likely due to low visitor numbers although the sub-category of cultural disturbance scored 12 and is relatively high, as also found in previously published KDI studies from the USA, Italy, and Mexico. The analytical results are mostly at natural background levels, except for Pb in the cave floor soil (5.13 mg/L) and Pb in all water samples (0.3–0.63 mg/L) likely due to nearby vehicular traffic; also, Fe in all water samples (0.79–1.13 mg/L) that has possibly leached from the gorge sandstone and the spring water was slightly above standard background levels and possibly leached from nearby soil/rock. Future recommendations to avoid further disturbance and to promote environmental management of the site include community involvement, litter bin installation, graffiti removal, tour guides, information panels, entrance gate, tarred road, footpath installation, and enforcing of stronger site stewardship.

ESTUDO DE VIABILIDADE ECONÔMICO-FINANCEIRA DA RECICLAGEM DE CONSTITUINTES DE RESÍDUOS DE CONSTRUÇÃO E DEMOLIÇÃO

RESUMO: O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em avaliar a viabilidade econômico-financeira de empreendimentos de construção e demolição realizarem a reciclagem de fragmentos de concreto e cerâmica. Para tal, foram projetados quatro cenários econômicos considerando construtoras responsáveis pela geração de diferentes quantidades de resíduos de construção e demolição (RCD’s), nos quais foi orçada uma britadeira móvel para a reciclagem do material. Os custos relacionados à aquisição, operação e manutenção da britadeira, foram confrontados em fluxos de caixa, com as receitas provenientes do uso ou venda do material reciclado na forma de brita n° 0, bem como da economia com caçambas de entulhos. Posteriormente, a rentabilidade dos projetos foi avaliada mediante o fator de recuperação do capital, o valor presente líquido e a taxa interna de retorno. Quanto maior a produção de RCD’s, maior também é a relação custo-benefício da aquisição da britadeira e, em função da maior quantidade de brita n° 0 reciclada (passível de ser utilizada na produção de contrapiso ou comercializada) e da maior economia com caçamba de entulhos, maiores são as receitas adquiridas, menor é o período de retorno do capital investido e maior é a rentabilidade financeira dos cenários projetados. A reciclagem de RCD’s além de proporcionar benefícios ambientais, pode ser um investimento financeiramente atrativo.
 ABSTRACT: The objective of this work was to evaluate the economic and financial feasibility of construction and demolition projects to carry out the recycling of concrete and ceramic fragments. For this, four economic scenarios were designed considering constructors responsible for the generation of different amounts of construction and demolition waste (RCD's), in which a mobile squeegee was used to recycle the material. The costs related to the acquisition, operation and maintenance of the crushing machine were compared to cash flows, with revenues from the use or sale of recycled material in the form of gravel No. 0, as well as the economy with litter bins. Subsequently, the profitability of the projects was evaluated by the capital recovery factor, the net present value and the internal rate of return. The higher the production of RCD’s, the greater the cost-benefit ratio of the purchase of the crushing machine and, due to the greater quantity of recycled crushed stone (which can be used in the production of sub-floor or commercialized) and the largest economy with a bucket of debris, the higher are the revenues acquired, the lower the return period of invested capital and the greater the financial profitability of the projected scenarios. Recycling RCD’s in addition to providing environmental benefits can be a financially attractive investment.

Anti-littering in developing countries: Motivating the people of Jordan.

Littering in developing countries remains a problem that has not been overcome, and past research based on a trial-and-error approach has not solved the problem. In this study, a questionnaire was constructed and distributed to the people of Jordan. People were asked to indicate what motivates them to use the litter bins. The motivators were divided into intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators. The responses to the questionnaire were statistically analysed according to the score for each motivator and the responders' attributes. The highest level intrinsic motivators were the 'sense of morals and ethics' and 'following the way they were raised'. The highest impact of extrinsic motivators was the presence of children followed by increasing number of receptacles, being in a clean place and the presence of recycling programmes. Studying the respondents' attributes showed there are differences in people's responses to intrinsic motivators according to socio-demographical factors, while for extrinsic motivators these factors tend to diminish and people react almost the same. The results of this study can explain some of the differences in reported results in the literature on littering behaviour according to socio-demographic factors. To have an effective anti-littering approach in Jordan, the authorities should consider using a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. In the intrinsic motivators, the authorities should praise and remind people of their core values, morals and their children's behaviour and future. For the extrinsic motivators, the following descending order is suggested: convenient infrastructure, recycling programmes, anti-littering campaigns, rewards, penalties.

Pengenalan Literasi Sampah Pada Anak-Anak Melalui Video Dan Permainan

Environmental education creates environmental behaviour of people. Children are social agent who plays prominent role for shaping future life. In order to create environmental consciousness generation environmental education should be delivered to children. This paper reports community engagement activity through providing environmental education for first to third grade of primary school children. The delivery process of environmental education to children was transferred through movies and games. Two movies were played to children have attracted them to understand of the prominent of putting trash to the right litter bin. Meanwhile, game simulation for practicing waste separation resulted 96% of children were able to put rubbish in the right litter: organic, paper and plastic litter. Children who did wrong argue that they made mistakes due to time limit which influenced them to put to the right litter.

Smart Garbage Monitoring and Navigation System using IoT

In city areas where people are more, managing garbage is in an inappropriate way leading to multiplying of germs that can cause illness. There is a difference in how frequently they use these litter bins in various regions. Periodic checking with timing gaps does not help. They may overflow at times even earlier than expected. To avoid this and to enhance the cleaning, a smart garbage monitoring method to find when the garbage can is full is proposed in this paper. The method’s design gathers such information as well as transmits it via a network of wireless type. In this proposed method, sensing of the dustbin’s trash level is done by sensors as well as information is transmitted to the official mobile station via GSM and GPS module. Online monitoring of the garbage level at control room is made using a WiFi Module. Arduino processor interfaces the system of sensors with the network modules. This data helps contracted cleaners as well as those who provide garbage cans, promptly empty to maintain the area spick and span..

Management Implications for the Most Attractive Scenic Sites along the Andalusia Coast (SW Spain)

A coastal scenery assessment was carried out at 50 sites along the 910 km long Andalusia coast (SW Spain) using a checklist of 26 natural and human parameters, parameter weighting matrices, and fuzzy logic. A scenic classification was utilised that can rate sites as Class I (natural areas of great scenic beauty) to Class V (urbanised areas of poor scenic interest), but, for this study, only natural sites of great scenic value were investigated; 41 sites were included in Class I, 9 in Class II and, apart from four, all of the sites were under some feature of protection—managed by the Andalusia Environmental Agency (RENPA, in Spanish). Sites belong to the Natural Park Cabo de Gata-Nijar (24% of sites), the Natural Park of Gibraltar Strait (18%), the Natural Place Acantilado de Maro-Cerro Gordo (12%), and the Natural and National parks of Doñana (8%). Results obtained by means of scenic evaluation constitute a sound scientific basis for any envisaged management plan for investigated coastal areas preservation/conservation and responsible future developments, especially for natural protected areas, which represent the most attractive coastal tourist destinations. With respect to natural parameters, excellent scenic values appeared to be linked to the geological setting and the presence of mountainous landscapes related to the Betic Chain. Human parameters usually show good scores because null or extremely reduced human impacts are recorded, but, at places, conflicts arose between conservation and recreational activities because visitors are often interested in beach activities more so than ecotourism. Low scores of human parameters were often related to litter presence or the unsuitable emplacement of utilities, such as informative panels, litter bins, etc.

Artificial polymer materials debris characteristics along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast

A monitoring program was carried out in autumn 2015 along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, at sites including urban, village and remote/rural beaches. Artificial Polymer Materials (APM) represented 70.64% of all collected items and included plastic (16 categories), foamed plastic (3) and other APM materials (2). Plastic items represented the dominant debris with 5356 items, i.e. 94.53% of all APM debris, foamed plastics presented 191 items (i.e. 3.37%) and other APM summed 119 items, i.e. 2.1% of all APM. Urban areas presented 49.63% of all APM recollected items with cigarette butts representing 32% of total APM items. Village areas presented 40.43% of total APM recollected items with cigarette butts representing 14.1%. Remote and rural beaches recorded 9.94% of total APM items and no cigarette butts were observed. Despite the efforts of local administrations, which introduced litter bins and enforced mechanical and manual cleaning operations, debris were essentially related to beachgoers.

Needs of the local population related to development of forests for recreational purposes: example of south-eastern Poland

Independent assessments of the local community's needs for recreational development of forests pro - vide important information for forestry and forest administrations. The study was designed to identify the needs for recreational forest development expressed by residents of a selected European region in which forests constitute a dominating component of landscape and play an important role in the community's life. Additionally, the relationship between these preferences and the place of residence was examined. The author carried out the study in south-eastern Poland. The needs were identified by a survey conducted among 439 adults (≥ 18 years). There are statistically sig - nificant differences in the preferences related to recreational forest development depending on the place of residence: the larger the city, the greater the demand for forests adapted to recreational purposes. These are favoured as a des - tination for leisure by 15% of those living in rural areas, every fifth resident of small towns, 31% and 36% of those inhabiting medium-sized and large cities, respectively. The vast majority of the respondents, 62%, agree that forests designated for leisure should be provided with litter bins. A large group pointed out the need for trails designed for varied purposes - 52% of the respondents in total. The present findings suggest that it is necessary to intensify and diversify works aimed at recreational forest development. Some forests designated for recreation should be developed only discreetly, while those close to large cities should be provided with a wider range of amenities.

DIFERENCIATING REPRODUCTIONS FROM ORIGINAL PAINTINGS: AN INTERESTING CASE STUDY

A few years ago, during a storage room clean out at the University of Sao Paulo (Biblioteca do Conjunto das Quimicas), several items were discarded, including apparently modern worthless large-scale reproductions of paintings by famous painters. A member of staff retrieved these reproductions from the litter bin, one of which was carefully inspected and non-destructively analyzed by spectroscopic techniques (Raman and XRF). The results showed that instead of being a modern reproduction of the gouache Clinique de Sannois (Maurice Utrillo, 1923), it was hand-painted probably between the late 1940s and early 1950s using the Jacomet process. This technique was developed by the French printer Daniel Jacomet in the 1920s, who made authorized reproductions of works of art by some of the most celebrated painters of the time.

The preferences of visitors to selected forest areas for tourism and recreational purposes

Abstract Questionnaire surveys were conducted from July 1st • to August 15th, 2012 in forests near Gołdap, Białowieża, Pisz, Kraśnik, Warsaw and Zakopane with 335 respondents - 146 residents (43.6%) and 189 tourists (56.4%). The respondents declared that they visit forests throughout the year for various purposes, most often with family or friends and most frequently for the recreational activity of walking. They typically spend about three hours in the forest during a single visit. Respondents perceived the most important functions of the forest as a place where plants and animals live, as well as a place for recreation. In their view, the state budget should be a source of co-financing the recreational management of the forest. On1y a small number of respondents (27.5%) would be willing to allocate a portion of their income for recreational forest management. According to the respondents, the most important elements needed in the forest to improve its quality for tourism are information signs and litter bins. Respondents perceive the greatest threats to the forest from tourism to be vandalism, automobiles driving into the forest and wildlife disturbance, whereas the greatest threats to tourists were reported to be biting and stinging animals (snakes, ticks and mosquitoes) and the possibility of getting lost. Respondents indicated clean air, peace and quiet, as well as the ability to harvest wild fruits, plants and mushrooms as the greatest advantages of using the forest for recreation. A large proportion of respondents admitted that they would like to use the services of professional foresters, especially for nature walks and health related purposes, as well as to educate children and youth about nature and the forest.

Wenn Mülleimer sprechen können. Eine sprach- undmedienwissenschaftliche Analyse derWerbekampagne der Stadtreinigung Hamburg

Abstract This paper analyses the clean-up campaign organised by Hamburg’s citycleaning service, SRH. Starting in May 2005, the SRH changed the colourof the city’s litter bins from mousey grey to signal red; they also used thelitter bins to advertise their own services using a variety of speech bubbleswhich were not immediately comprehensible, such as for example “Ihr Müllsieht rot.” (“Your rubbish sees red.”) oder “Ich steh’ frei.” (“I am free.”)These speech bubbles can be referred to as cryptic (litter-bin) utterances.The aim of this paper is to analyse the embedding of these cryptic utterancesin a specific space which is characterised by the presence of the redlitter bin. The analysis is intended to show that the two co-present elementsthat are communicatively relevant in this setting – the red litter bin on theone hand and the adhesive label bearing the cryptic utterance on theother – form a single entity in terms of their spatial-visual arrangement,but not in terms of their semiosis. On the contrary, the cryptic nature ofthese utterances – their ‘wittiness’ – is based on their linguistic “doublemeaning” (Freud 1905), which it is up to the recipient to decipher.

Human Traces in Urban Spaces

Over the last two centuries many major cities have undergone large-scale modernisation that has led to the growing sense of homogenisation associated with such locales across the globe. The fractal logic that is at the heart of so many urban settings, where the whole system is made up of parts that are identical to the whole, seems to serve in making anonymous everyday experiences. Public transport and its corresponding street furniture, if thoughtfully designed and planned, has the potential to form an integral element in the promotion of a sense of identity, interconnectedness and flow within a city. Furthermore, bus stops, benches, litter bins, curb-sides, posts and pavements, to mention a few, offer interesting cases to consider how people truly engage with contemporary urban spaces. These objects—part of routine and made familiar—are elements of daily lives that are ingredients towards visual and multi-modal experiences. In addition, these are places where individuals encounter sociality and materiality in ordinary and sometimes extraordinary ways. This paper uses a visual ethnographic approach towards exploring the human traces of routine activities that have an impact on the cityscape. An Investigation of these details found within the urban landscape lead us towards understanding how we engage with and navigate cities. This is essentially an urban archaeological study that looks to reveal how non-designed phenomenon in urban places can contribute to our image of a city, providing a reflection on homogeneity within the built environment. Our visual ethnography focuses on six major cities: two each in Britain, Europe and North America. The findings of this work illustrate through visual analyses three key characteristics: first, how urban spaces are transformed intentionally and unintentionally; second, how transformations are practical, functional, beautiful and sometimes ridiculous; third, how transformations reveal values around visual and multi-modal experiences inherent to people.