Tons Of Litter Research Articles

Benthic litter in fishing grounds of the Northern Adriatic: Role of the trawling fleet as cleaners of the seafloor

This study represents the baseline of estimation of the potential service provided by fishermen as “cleaners of the sea”. The amount, composition and depth distribution of marine litter in fishing grounds of the Northern Adriatic seafloor has been investigated through the fishing for litter (FFL) scheme. Passive FFL campaigns were carried out by trawlers from two of the most important fishing ports in the northern Adriatic, Chioggia and Goro, from May 2020 to May 2021. Over the course of 256 days of fishing, over 6 tons of litter were removed from 265 km2 of seafloor. Abandoned, lost and derelict fishing gears (ALDFG) were the most represented litter category (48 % of the total litter), and of these 67 % were plastic ALDFG (mostly mussel socks and fishing nets). Fouling on plastic waste was analyzed to determine the fraction of collected litter items that could be destinated to recycling. Only a small percentage of the plastic litter analyzed was “clean” from adherent and/or encrusting organisms. Approximately 2.4 tons of plastic were recovered, but, due to the biological colonization of surfaces, they cannot be recycled by using the technologies present in the area.

The Role of Plastic Recycling Shops in Khulna City Within A Circular Economy Framework

Plastics are widely used in many industries, leading to a growing plastic waste problem. To address this, a shift from a linear economy to a circular economy is required. In Bangladesh, the waste management sector predominantly relies on the informal sector, which remains underappreciated and inadequately supported. This study evaluates the environmental, economic, social, and urban development dimensions of recycling shops within the informal sector, highlighting their potential to alleviate ecological burdens, enhance energy efficiency, and generate local employment. A comprehensive methodology encompassing field surveys, environmental and economic benefit calculations, and fuzzy logic analysis are employed. The findings demonstrate that recycling shops, through a circular economy approach, substantially mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce litter, save energy, and conserve landfill space. Among the 35 recycling shops examined, 22.86% were identified as low-volume recyclers, 48.57% as medium-volume recyclers, and 28.57% as high-volume recyclers, each group exerting correspondingly low, medium, and high positive impacts on the environment and society. Collectively, these shops manage 6.68 tons of PET bottle labels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 509.35 MTCE, prevent 202,186.9 tons of litter, save 5,728.1 m³ of landfill space, and conserve 406.8 barrels of oil monthly. Additionally, they employ 427 individuals. Expanding recycling shop operations, exploring new recycling technologies, and examining supportive policies are crucial for improving Khulna City's plastic waste management and overall sustainability. Journal of Engineering Science 15(1), 2024, 31-43

Sustainable Hiking through the Green Trails: Examples of Exceptional Responsible Practices

Summary ‘Indiahikes’ is a leading trek team in India, leaving a thoughtful impact on the trekkers as well as the mountains. Through different initiatives for sustainability, and their iconic eco bags, the company leaves the mountains better than they found them. The mission titled Green Trail Initiative focuses on green ways of trekking. Over the years, the programme collected over 100 tonnes of litter from the trails and disposed of it through proper segregation methods. Working with sustainability at its core, the green trail focuses on the six golden practices of green sweeping, 1 segregation at source, food composting, bio-toilets, and saving water and energy. This study addresses this exceptional case as an example of stakeholder initiative towards effective sustainable practices of destination management. The trekkers are an important aspect of the study, they collect waste and follow eco-sensitive practices at the camp sites. The act has a significant impact on the travel behaviour of trekkers by transforming them into environmentally responsible travellers. As an exceptional initiative for the mountain travel system, the act of creating green trails sets ideal guidelines for various trek companies to follow. Information © The Authors 2024

The tourism industry keeps beaches clean in Mozambique

In this study, we conducted the first assessment of the litter abundance, diversity and predictors in Mozambique, by collecting approximately 2 tons of litter along six beaches across the country. We tested whether population, touristic industry, fishing, and recreation activities predict the quantity of macro litter for each of the 11 types and 141 subtypes of litter. Overall, we found that plastics made up 60.1 % of the items across all sampled beaches. Following plastics, clothing objects accounted for the second most weight (20.4 %) while foam objects were the second most abundant (15.7 %). More importantly, our results show that the tourism industry is a strong predictor for lower levels of litter across most types of litter while population density and fishing activity were strong predictors for higher levels. Our findings suggest that the tourism industry plays a crucial role in the country by maintaining the beaches clean.

The generation and cost of litter resulting from the curbside collection of recycling

This study examined the generation of litter, defined as spillage and uncollected residue, from a curbside collection system for residential recycling. The primary recycling containers used in the study were 18-gal (68L), open-top bins. The study, conducted over a seven-week period, was comprised of both an urban and suburban area. Six litter characterizations were conducted in which all new litter larger than 1in.2 was collected, segregated, counted, and weighed. We found that each week the open-top recycling bins contributed approximately 20,590 pieces of litter over 1in. in size per every 1000 households, which resulted in the generation of 3.74 tons of litter per 1000 households per year. In addition to the bins having no top, the primary root causes of the litter were constantly overflowing recycling bins, the method of collection, and material scavenging. Based on an estimated cost of litter cleanup ranging from $0.17 to $0.79 per piece of litter, the direct economic costs from the collection of litter and loss in recycling revenues were estimated at US$3920 to US$19,250 per 1000 households per year. Other notable impacts from the litter, such as increased risk of flood damage from storm drain impairment and marine ecosystem damages exist, but were not monetized. The results strongly suggest that modification of the curbside collection system would decrease the amount and associated cost of litter by replacing existing curbside collection containers with larger volume containers with covers and by modifying the task-based incentive system to emphasize litter prevention rather than the current aim of completing the task most quickly.

Marine Pollution: The Problematic of Microplastics

Throughout the history of mankind and the conquest of the seas and oceans, these water masses were always seen as unlimited sinks of wastes since they were assumed as being able to disperse, dilute and redistribute natural and synthetic substances. However, in the last few decades, we have finally realized that this capacity is not unlimited [1,2]. According to the literature, each year about 6.4 million tons of litter are deposited in oceans and seas. Per year, there are about 8 million tons of daily sewage, together with 5 million tons of solid residues, thrown into the marine environment by boats. Moreover, it was estimated that more than 13,000 plastic pieces are floating per each square kilometer of ocean [3]. The marine litter is a great and crescent environmental threat since it can be found in all oceans and seas, even in remote places far away from obvious sources of pollution. Marine litter can migrate long distances through oceans currents and winds being observed in marine and coastal environments, from poles to equator, from continental littorals to small remote islands. Islands completely made of litter already exist and the slow degradation process of litter aggravates this problem [4].

Creating a bridge between city and state to solve a problem: A case study of the City of Bakersfield Solid Waste Division Initiative

As a non-profit prong of the City of Bakersfield Solid Waste Division, Keep Bakersfield Beautiful (KBB) is able to act as a link between various government agencies to achieve common goals across jurisdictional boundaries. As such, KBB is the hub of a multi-award-winning Freeway Litter Cleanup programme. With KBB at the centre, this multi-agency, corporate and volunteer-led effort employs homeless-centre clients to clean up massive amounts of freeway litter. This unorthodox approach is a win–win solution connecting the state department of transport, the city, the county, the private sector and the community. Keep Bakersfield Beautiful’s partnership with the city and state make this a bold and ground-breaking approach, as it empowers and contracts with the local homeless centre to clean up the state’s rights of way. The programme is as heart-warming as it is productive. To date this programme has enabled 250 formerly homeless family members to live in a home again by cleaning up tons of litter monthly, and other stakeholders have come forward to contribute funds and manpower to expand the programme.

낙동강 유출 부유쓰레기의 거동 특성

낙동강은 하구의 수문 개방 시 연간 수천 톤의 쓰레기가 남해로 유입되어 인근 연안을 이동하며 사회 경제적 피해를 유발하고 있다. 이에 본 연구에서 낙동강 유출 부유쓰레기의 거동 특성을 파악하기 위해 2012년 장마, 태풍 내습 시를 대상으로 피해지로 추정되는 거제도 북동측 해안 1개소에 대한 조사와 부이를 활용한 이동 경로 추적 시험을 수행하였다. 또한, 해양기상 환경에 대한 분석을 통해 부유쓰레기의 이동과 관련된 흐름을 파악하였다. 연구 결과 장마 시기인 7월 16일 초목류를 비롯한 총 40톤 정도의 쓰레기가 흥남해수욕장으로 유입되었다. 또한 9월 14일 태풍 '산바' 내습 시기에 투하된 위치 추적 부이는 가덕도 남쪽 해상을 지나 1 ~ 2일 후 거제도 해안가로 유입되는 결과를 보여주었다. 부유쓰레기와 위치 추적 부이가 거제도 북동측 해안가로 유입될 당시 거제 해역에서 북동풍계열의 풍향이 지배적이었으며 연안으로 유입되는 공통적인 해수 표층 흐름이 나타났다. When the mouth of the Nakdong River, opens its floodgate, thousands of tons of litter should flown into the South Sea, moving towards nearby coast, thus causing serious social and economic damage. For this reason, in the present study, research was performed on one certain area in northeast coast of Geoje island, which is assumed as area damaged due to rainy season and typhoon in 2012, and research for trace of movement route was implemented by using buoy to identify characteristic of movement of floating debris caused from Nakdong River. Flows related to the movement of floating debris was also identified by analyzing ocean meteorological environment. As a result of the study, total 40 tons of litter composed of grasses and trees(or plants litter) were flown into Heungnam beach on 16th, Jul which is the rainy season. Plus, the location tracking buoy, which was dropped when the typhoon SANBA was coming, was passed by southern sea of Gadeok-do and was flown into Geoje beach 1 ~ 2 days after it was dropped. The wind direction was mostly northeasterly wind around the Geoje beach at the time the buoy and floating debris were flown into northeast coast and there was common sea surface currents which was flowing into the coast.

A comprehensive GIS-based poultry litter management system for nutrient management planning and litter transportation

Confined poultry (broiler) production in Alabama results in about 1.8 million tons of litter annually. Because poultry production mainly occurs in the Appalachian Plateau region of north Alabama, this region suffers from excessive land application of litter, resulting in buildup of phosphorus (P) in soils and runoff of pathogens and P from land-applied areas. Conversely, the Black Belt region of south-central Alabama suffers from depressed agricultural economy because of poor soil fertility. In order to achieve optimal poultry litter management in Alabama, litter produced in the concentrated production areas within the Appalachian Plateau region must be optimally distributed in this region or transported south for utilization in the Black Belt region. Hence, a comprehensive system to provide improved waste management strategies (optimal land application and transportation) for sustainable on- and off-farm litter utilization in Alabama is needed. The primary focus of this study was to develop a comprehensive, geographic information system (GIS)-integrated poultry litter decision support system (PLDSS) for on- and off-farm management of poultry litter in the Appalachian Plateau and Black Belt regions of Alabama. The PLDSS is a user-friendly, comprehensive system that supports nutrient management planning, transportation analysis, and data management for poultry litter management using ArcObjects, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and Network Analyst in ArcGIS. Important functional components and analytical capability of ArcGIS 9.1 were implemented in several sets of customized tools. Because the PLDSS allows efficient development of nutrient management plan, it can help to reduce over-application of poultry litter. Also, through PLDSS’ transportation analysis, the litter can be optimally transported to nutrient deficit areas. Therefore, the PLDSS will help poultry producers with optimal, cost-effective and environmentally sound poultry litter management in Alabama.

Implications of Policy Regulations on Land Applications of Poultry Litter

The growth of the poultry industry in Arkansas has exploded in the past decade. As a result, approximately 1.5 million tons of litter are produced every year. Concerns about possible contamination of ground and surface water from land applications of poultry litter have been raised. This paper compares four policy scenarios in terms of their efficiency and practicality to manage land applications of poultry litter. The results indicate that a litter tax per ton of litter applied could achieve the same level of litter control as that of a land tax on litter applications, but at a lower tax rate.

The Feasibility of Poultry Litter Transportation from Environmentally Sensitive Areas to Delta Row Crop Production

Arkansas ranks first in broiler production in the USA with more than a billion broilers and 1.5 million tons of litter produced in 1993. Transporting litter from western to eastern Arkansas can accomplish two goals: 1) avoid potential threat to clean water in western Arkansas and 2) can increase productivity of graded lands in the Delta. This paper examines the feasibility of litter transport from areas of high poultry concentrations to the Delta for use as a soil amendment. We establish the conditions for economical litter transport from source to destinations and determine the optimal rates of litter applications. The results suggest that it is economical to transport significant portions of litter.

Nutrient cycling in forests.

Studies of nutrient cycling in forests span more than 100 yr. In earlier years, most attention was given to the measurement of the pools of nutrients in plants and soil and of the return of nutrients from plant to soil in litterfall. The past 20 yr or so have seen a major concentration on the processes of nutrient cycling, with particular emphasis on those processes by which the supply of nutrients to the growing forest is sustained. In the more highly productive forests, up to 10 tonnes of litter of low nutritional quality is deposited annually on the forest floor. The decomposition of this litter, the mineralization of the nutrients it holds, and the uptake of nutrients by tree roots in the carbon-rich environment which results are the themes of this review. Studies of decomposition of litter in forests have been dominated by the role of nitrogen as a limiting factor, a domination which reflects the preponderance of studies of temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere. For many forests of the world growing on soils of considerable age, it seems more probable that growth and nutrient cycling are limited by phosphorus (or some other element). There is increasing evidence for a number of forests that phosphorus is immobilized in the first stages of decomposition to a significantly greater extent than is nitrogen. Advances in research will depend, as with studies of soil organic matter, in denning and developing analytical techniques for studying biologically active forms of potentially limiting nutrients, rather than total elemental concentrations. The availability of phosphorus in forests is sustained by phosphorus cycling. More than 50% of the total phosphorus in the surface soils is in organic forms and much of the more labile phosphorus is in the form of diesters. Phosphorus availability is determined by competition between biological and geochemical sinks, and it is clear that the sinks in the rhizosphere (plant roots, microorganisms, soil mineral and organic components) are extensively modified by active processes (e.g. production of exudates, nutrient storage in a variety of organic or polymeric forms and nutrient transport away from sites of uptake). There is abundant evidence that roots of many species exude compounds which have the ability to solubilize sources of phosphorus of otherwise low availability. The significance of root exudates (for example, phosphatases, organic acids) in the functioning of perennial ecosystems has yet to be quantified and there are conflicting reports as to the effects of simple organic acids on phosphorus availability. The distribution of phosphorus sinks and their relative competitiveness and their modification are topics of fundamental importance for future research. In contrast to the mineralization of phosphorus, our knowledge of transformations and availability of nitrogen in forest soils is well-developed. Net nitrogen mineralization rates approximate rates of nitrogen return in litterfall but the contribution of nitrification is variable. Nitrification is not inhibited by the low pH of many forest soils and there is increasing evidence of nitrate immobilization by microorganisms and of increased diversity and better competitiveness for NH4 + of nitrifying microorganisms than has previously been accepted. Variability in rates of nitrification is often interpreted as being due to allelopathy. Hypotheses invoking allelopathy are more or less untestable, and it seems likely that new techniques using 15 N in situ will lead to a more fundamental understanding of nitrogen transformations in forest soils. Recent studies in coniferous forest soils have highlighted the short (< 1 d) turnover time of NH4 + . Finally, it seems that forest soils are resistant to major changes in patterns of nitrogen mineralization (and certainly, because of the large number of sinks, in patterns of phosphorus mineralization) following disturbance by natural events such as wind-throw and fire, and by man-made events such as logging and fertilizing. The long-term disturbance by acid rain is a more complex matter since forest ecosystems are not adequate buffers for nitrate. Contents Summary 561 I. Introduction 562 II. Linking nutrient cycling to nutrient availability - Setting the themes 563 III. The nature of soil organic matter 566 IV. Tree roots and the availability of nutrients 566 V. The decomposition of forest litter 569 VI. Mineralization of organically-bound nutrients 571 Acknowledgements 576 References 576.

1st International seminar on coast cities, tourism and environment, Eilat (Israel) April 27–30, 1992

The increased awareness of the need to preserve and improve the natural and social environment has given rise to many studies and international conferences. Coast cities are especially vulnerable, since many have to cope with industrial and other pollution from inland as well as their own (which may include smog, e.g. Los Angeles), while their tourism depends on the attractiveness of their beaches (which may be restricted in length and area), water quality etc. Their urban and tourism development may have detracted from their attractiveness. Tourism movement to, in and from them may be highly seasonal, causing congestion and accidents, and entailing the building of accommodation and other services for peak demand. Many once popular resorts have lost much of their past tourism. The urban coastal population is over 800 million, and is forecasted to reach one billion about the year 2000, about 16% of the world's population: over 6 million tons of litter reach the sea each year [Time Magazine June 1, 1992 — based on UNEP and World Resources Inc.].

Biomass of algae epiphytic on pneumatophores of the mangrove, Avicennia marina, in the St Lucia estuary

Over a period of 4 years sampling was carried out for biomass determinations of algae epiphytic on pneumatophores of Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. The biomass showed trends towards high values in the warmer months and low values in the cooler period of the year. These trends were disrupted by abnormally high silt loads on the pneumatophores and by cyclones Domoina and Imboa. The cyclones did not appear to have altered the species composition of the algal community which was dominated by Bostrychia radicans (Mont.) Mont. B. radicans and B. moritziana (Sonder) J. Agardh provided the greatest biomass in the sampling area throughout the year, although the relative proportion of Caloglossa leprieurii (Mont.) J. Ag. showed an increase in late spring/early summer. There is evidence that epiphytic algae can provide a mean annual input of approximately 10.05 tons of litter which is considered significant for this system.

OR Practice—Making a Clean Sweep: Simulating the Effects of Illegally Parked Cars on New York City's Mechanical Street-Cleaning Efforts

On a peak day, New York City's Department of Sanitation deploys 354 mechanical sweepers to pick up a substantial portion of the 100 tons of litter deposited daily on the city's 6,000 street miles. Field studies conducted by the department indicated that the major obstacle to doing a thorough job of cleaning was the number of illegally parked cars blocking the curb. We used Monte Carlo simulations to determine the increase in sweeping effectiveness that could be expected from significant reduction in illegally parked cars. The simulations provided information that was critical to the decision making process and resulted in the redeployment of 30% of the city's mobile traffic enforcement agents. The redeployment led to fewer illegally parked cars and more curb space available for cleaning.

Impact of Earthworm Introduction on Litter Burial and Nutrient Distribution in Ohio Strip‐Mine Spoil Banks

AbstractEarthworms (Lumbricus terrestris L.) actively buried leaf litter and humus, and deposited castings on the surface of an acid (pH 3.5–4.0) shale spoil bank revegetated with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.). Earthworms persisted for 5 years in the coal spoils and buried or consumed the equivalent of 5 metric tons of leaf litter/ha. In a greenhouse study, earth‐worms in cores of spoil from the mined area buried or consumed a 60‐mm thick layer of litter and humus in 174 days. The equivalent of 9.5 metric tons of litter and 52.5 metric tons of humus was buried or consumed/ha, while the equivalent of 16.7 metric tons of castings was deposited on the surface. Exchangeable cations and available P in the mineral spoils increased as follows: K from 0.17 to 0.19, Ca from 1.7 to 2.7, and Mg from 1.8 to 2.5 meq/100 g of spoil; and available P increased from 1.7 to 4.2 ppm. Earthworm activity did not influence growth of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings planted in the cores.In another study, 10 Lumbricus terrestris were introduced on a calcareous strip‐mine spoil revegetated with European alder (Alnus glutinosa L.). In 5 years, the earthworm population increased to a density of 60 middens/m2 over an area of 700 m2.Clearly, earthworms can be established on revegetated coal spoil banks, where they promote incorporation of organic matter into the mineral spoil.