Separate Collection System Research Articles

Effects of an educational campaign on public environmental attitudes and behaviour in Poland

This paper examines the effects of educational campaigns on municipal solid waste management in Jasło City (Poland). In Jasło, a separate waste collection system for recyclables was introduced 11 years ago. Although household segregation was extensively promoted, the quality of recycled materials collected remained low. The City Council decided in 1999 to adopt a British approach to public education, based on home advisors (selected from the local schools and trained on the sustainable waste management principles) visiting as many households as possible, informing residents about the local waste segregation system, conducting a short survey about residential attitudes and behaviour, and providing people with appropriate educational materials. In 2003 and 2004, home advisors visited 687 households in the private housing estates situated in 37 streets of the city. Their effectiveness and the tonnage of recyclables segregated were monitored across the city. The educational campaign has proved a success, resulting in an increase in recycled wastes collected and the number of inhabitants participating, with the home advisors having positively influenced the way residents think and act towards the wastes they produce. Residents valued the home advisors and appreciated the involvement of young people in the campaign. The education campaign also impacted positively upon the students’ (home advisors) knowledge about waste issues, and provided opportunities for students’ relatives and the whole local community to become more environmentally conscious, through the process of intergenerational communication and influence.

Life cycle assessment of food waste management options

This environmental assessment of alternative means for managing food waste is based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. It covers the service provided by a household in-sink food waste processor (FWP) unit, and alternatives to it. The three alternatives considered are home composting, landfilling food waste with municipal waste (“codisposal”) and centralised composting of green (food and garden) waste. The functional unit is defined as management of the food waste produced by a Sydney household in one year. The environmental assessment includes eight environmental indicators and impact categories. This LCA study identifies an environmentally preferable option as well as the key environmental issues. If operated aerobically, home composting has the least environmental impact in all impact categories. The environmental performance of the codisposal option is relatively good, except with respect to climate change and eutrophication potential. The FWP performed well in terms of energy usage, climate change and acidification potentials, although it makes a large contribution to eutrophication and toxicity potentials. Demonstration of the relatively high water consumption of the FWP is an important outcome of this LCA study, as Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Compared with the other three options, centralised composting has a relatively poor environmental performance due to the energy-intense waste collection activities it requires. Implementing a separate collection and transportation system for organic waste results in relatively high environmental impacts due to the frequency of collections and the small quantities of green waste collected per household. Compared with European cities, significantly larger distances have to be travelled in Sydney, differentiating this LCA from previous work. Non-recurrent impacts of the FWP are identified as causing large contributions to the overall result for this waste management option due to the types of materials used and the low operational capacities of the FWP. Finally, although home composting is clearly the best option in terms of the categories examined in this LCA, there is an important caveat to this result. If operated without due care, home composting loses its allure due to the high greenhouse gas emissions consequent to anaerobic methanogenesis. Although home composting has the capacity to be the best food waste management option, it can also perform worst in relation to a subject in which Australia is already at the bottom of its class.

Increasing participation in rational municipal waste management—a case study analysis in Jaslo City (Poland)

In the City of Jaslo (Poland), a separate household waste collection system was introduced in 1993. Although the system was extensively promoted, quality and quantity of recyclables remained low. The City Council looked at alternative ways of increasing residents’ participation in the City's integrated waste management services. The UK approach to public education (‘the Recycling Roadshow’ programme) has been modified and adopted by the City. The programme is based on visiting as many households as possible by home advisors-individuals selected from the local secondary schools and carefully trained in MSW management and communication principles. Home advisors inform residents about the local waste recycling system, conduct a short survey and provide people with specific educational materials. To date, advisors have visited 14% of the City's households including the tenement block estates. The survey results show that nearly 75% of respondents actively recycled at least one type of scrap material, whilst of those that did not, 50% claimed they would. The educational campaign produced not only an increase in recycled tonnage, but also in material types and recycling rates from both the tenement block estates and the private housing areas of the City. The impact varied for the different materials in the domestic waste stream, with the greatest improvement in paper recycling, and a significantly lower impact for glass. The City Council was so pleased with the campaign results that it has decided to extend the programme and the funding for another year. This paper discusses in detail the programme and the results achieved. Recommendation are made regarding those features of the campaign that need to be included in other local MSW management campaigns and programmes across Poland in order to maximise their effectiveness.

A solid waste audit and directions for waste reduction at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

A novel design for a solid waste audit was developed and applied to the University of British Columbia, Canada, in 1998. This audit was designed to determine the characteristics of the residual solid waste generated by the campus and provide directions for waste reduction. The methodology was constructed to address complications in solid waste sampling, including spatial and temporal variation in waste, extrapolation from the study area, and study validation. Accounting for spatial effects decreased the variation in calculating total waste loads. Additionally, collecting information on user flow provided a means to decrease daily variation in solid waste and allow extrapolation over time and space. The total annual waste estimated from the experimental design was compared to documented values and was found to differ by -18%. The majority of this discrepancy was likely attributable to the unauthorised disposal of construction and demolition waste. Several options were proposed to address waste minimisation goals. These included: enhancing the current recycling program, source reduction of plastic materials, and/or diverting organic material to composting (maximum diversion: approximately 320, approximately 270, and approximately 1510 t yr(-1), respectively). The greatest diversion by weight would be accomplished through the diversion of organic material, as it was estimated to comprise 70% of the projected waste stream. The audit methodology designed is most appropriate for facilities/regions that have a separate collection system for seasonal wastes and have a means for tracking user flow.

Introducing centralised wastewater treatment in Bangkok: a study of factors determining its acceptability

Water pollution is a problem all over the world and also in Thailand and particularly in Bangkok. The Government of Thailand and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have realised the seriousness of the problem and have started the construction of centralised wastewater treatment systems. The idea of centralised wastewater treatment is new for Bangkok where wastewater is normally treated on-site in septic tanks. The start-up and operational costs of a wastewater treatment system are high. The success and the sustainability of the system require the support of the Bangkok population. In order to gain this support, a better knowledge and understanding of the environmental concerns of the Bangkok population, their willingness to pay for environmental improvements and the acceptability of a wastewater treatment project is needed. The study applied the theory of diffusion and adoption to examine the acceptance of the project by the residents of Bangkok, the contingent valuation method to analyse the willingness to pay of Bangkok residents and the theory of environmental psychology to investigate the factors influencing acceptance of the wastewater treatment project by Bangkok residents. Personal questionnaire interview surveys and the willingness-to-pay were used to provide information on these issues. The Bangkok residents were found to prefer a centralised system, but they had no clear preference for a cost recovery system. The majority preferred the convenience and easy comprehension of a volumetric flat rate system. Two-thirds of the respondents preferred a separate collection system and expressed a preference for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration as the fee-collecting agency. Most were willing to pay Baht 86.87 per month or Baht 3.28 per m 3 (Baht 25=US$1), while the rate proposed by the BMA is Baht 3.50 per m 3. Distance to a klong (canal) and the direct experience of polluted surface water did not have any influence on the preferences. Monthly household income, level of education and environmental awareness were the principal factors that influenced acceptability of various aspects of the wastewater treatment system. However, acceptability declined when direct costs and changes in life style were involved. The conclusions of the study support the claim that the process of acceptance of wastewater treatment in Bangkok is closely related to the concept of adoption. The study found that complex stimuli, such as cost-effectiveness and the convenience of the technology, tend to influence the acceptability of the wastewater treatment project by Bangkok residents. In order to be able to introduce measures that require sacrifices from the population, the BMA should undertake campaigns of public hearings, public education and public surveys to know public opinion and the public's willingness to pay.

Nonlinear Pricing and Capacity Planning for Water and Wastewater Services

The purpose of this article is to determine the optimal nonlinear pricingrules for water services. The model presents a standard water distributionsystem and a separate wastewater collection and treatment system. Technicaland financial constraints are considered. The optimization process of awelfare utility function subject to different kind of constraints providesthe optimal pricing rules for drinking water and sewerage services. Theseprices reflect efficiently the costs of systems constraints, the cyclicityof demands, the time-of-use, heterogeneity types of consumers and the realvalue of water resources scarcity. They provide important guidance in thedesign of efficient water rates and in the development of different waterutilities planning strategies. New technologies in water metering(telemetry) should permit applying this model.

A MODEL FOR CONSTRAINED PEAK-LOAD WATER AND WASTEWATER PRICING AND CAPACITY PLANNING

This article contains an application of peak-load pricing rules to public water services. The model presents a standard water distribution system and a separate wastewater collection and treatment system. Technical and financial constraints are considered. The optimization process provides peak-load prices for drinking water and sewerage services. These prices reflect efficiently the costs of systems constraints and the real value of water resources scarcity. They provide important guidance in the design of efficient water rates and in the development of different water utilities planning strategies. New technologies in water metering (telemetry) should permit applying this model.

Infiltration Rates for Separate Sewage Collection Systems

Factors that influence infiltration rates for separate sewage collection systems are reviewed. Practical design and construction criteria that minimise infiltration and appropriate design infiltration rates adopted in 1960's are enunciated. Measured infiltration rates for typical catchments substantiate the design rates.

Alternative Dual System Network Estimators

"When there are two or more data systems and none of them enumerates the population at an acceptable completeness level, concern about the bias due to underenumeration suggests an estimator which makes joint use of data compiled by the combined imperfect data systems. Conventional dual system estimators are based on the existence of two separate data collection systems. Dual system network estimators assume a main survey and a follow-up quality check survey. The main survey adopts a multiplicity counting rule that combines two mutually exclusive partial counting rules." Three dual system network estimators are presented. "One was previously proposed by Sirken (1979) and is the natural analogue of the conventional dual system estimator. The two other estimators are proposed as potential improvements, although neither of them is the natural analogue of the conventional dual system estimator. The design effects of the three estimators are compared analytically and empirically with one another, and with those of the single system conventional and network estimators." (summary in FRE)

Volume of Storm Water Retention Basins

Storm water retention basins are becoming a more frequent part of combined and separate storm water collection systems. A rational method for designing these basins was conceived and a system of tables and calculations was developed to implement the design. The method described was compared with the Colorado Urban Hydrograph Procedure (CUHP) currently used by some designers. Basic errors in the CUHP were pointed out. The method herein described develops the rainfall intensity versus the time relationship from a given rainfall versus duration relationship. From this, a discharge hydrograph is computed for a given area and a given time of concentration. The discharge hydrograph is then routed through the retention basin by conventional means.