Search results for: healthcare waste management

Authors: Demisash, Abate Getnet, Gudisa, Ababo Geleta, Daba, Berhane Olani

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As consumption trends of fish are rising in Ethiopia, assessment of the environmental performance of Fisheries becomes vital. Hence, Cleaner Production Assessment was conducted on Lake Tana No.1 Fish Supply Association. This paper focuses on determining the characteristics, quantity, and setting up cleaner production options for the site with the experimental investigation. The survey analysis showed that illegal waste dumping in Lake Tana is common practice in the area, and some of the main reasons raised were they have no option than doing this for dis-charging fish wastes. Quantifying a fish waste by examination of records at the point of generation resulted in a generation rate of 72,822.61 kg per year, which is a significant amount of waste and needs management system. The result of the proximate analysis showed high free fat content of about 12.33%, and this was a good candidate for the production of biodiesel that has been set as an option for fish waste utilization. Among the different waste management options, waste reduction by product optimization, which involves biodiesel production, was chosen as a potential method. Laboratory scale experiments were performed to produce a renewable energy source from the wastes. The resulting biodiesel was characterized and found to have a density of 0.756kg/L, viscosity 0.24p, and 153°C flashpoints, which shows the product has values in compliance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards.

Keywords: biodiesel, cleaner production, renewable energy, waste management

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Authors: Anil Kumar Baral

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The research introduces a ground-breaking approach to waste management, emphasizing innovation, education, and transformation. Using Chandragiri Municipality as a case study, the study advocates a shift from traditional to progressive waste management strategies, contributing an inventive waste framework, sustainability advocacy, and a transformative blueprint. The waste composition analysis highlights Chandragiri's representative profile, leading to a comprehensive plan addressing challenges and recommending a transition to a profitable waste treatment model, supported by relevant statistics. The data-driven approach incorporates the official data of waste Composition from Chandragiri Municipality as secondary data and incorporates the primary data from Chandragiri households, ensuring a nuanced perspective. Discussions on implementation, viability, and environmental preservation underscore the dual benefit of sustainability. The study includes a comparative analysis, monitoring, and evaluation framework, examining international relevance and collaboration, and conducting a social and environmental impact assessment. The results indicate the necessity for creative changes in Chandragiri's waste practices, recommending separate treatment centers in wards level rather than Municipal level, composting machines, and a centralized waste treatment plant. Educational reforms involve revising school curricula and awareness campaigns. The transformation's success hinges on reducing waste size, efficient treatment center operation, and ongoing public literacy. The conclusion summarizes key findings, envisioning a future with sustainable waste management practices deeply embedded in the community fabric.

Keywords: innovate, educate, transform, municipality, method

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Authors: G. Petruzzelli, F. Pedron, M. Grifoni, F. Gorini, I. Rosellini, B. Pezzarossa

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Composting is a controlled technology to enhance the natural aerobic process of organic wastes degradation. The resulting product is a humified material that is principally recyclable for agricultural purpose. The composting process is one of the most important tools for waste management, by the European Community legislation. In recent years composting has been increasingly used as a remediation technology to remove biodegradable contaminants from soil, and to modulate heavy metals bioavailability in phytoremediation strategies. An optimization in the recovery of resources from wastes through composting could enhance soil fertility and promote its use in the remediation biotechnologies of contaminated soils.

Keywords: agriculture, biopile, compost, soil clean-up, waste recycling

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Authors: Andressa S. T. Gomes, Luiza A. Souza, Luciana H. Yamane, Renato R. Siman

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The segregation of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the generating source, its characterization (quali-quantitative) and identification of origin, besides being integral parts of classification reports, are crucial steps to the success of its integrated management. The aim of this paper was to count WEEE generation at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Brazil, as well as to define sources, temporary storage sites, main transportations routes and destinations, the most generated WEEE and its recycling potential. Quantification of WEEE generated at the University in the years between 2010 and 2015 was performed using data analysis provided by UFES’s sector of assets management. EEE and WEEE flow in the campuses information were obtained through questionnaires applied to the University workers. It was recorded 6028 WEEEs units of data processing equipment disposed by the university between 2010 and 2015. Among these waste, the most generated were CRT screens, desktops, keyboards and printers. Furthermore, it was observed that these WEEEs are temporarily stored in inappropriate places at the University campuses. In general, these WEEE units are donated to NGOs of the city, or sold through auctions (2010 and 2013). As for recycling potential, from the primary processing and further sale of printed circuit boards (PCB) from the computers, the amount collected could reach U$ 27,839.23. The results highlight the importance of a WEEE management policy at the University.

Keywords: solid waste, waste of electrical and electronic equipment, waste management, institutional solid waste generation

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Authors: Inas S. Khayal, Weiping Zhou, Jonathan Skinner

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Healthcare delivery systems around the world are in crisis. The need to improve health outcomes while decreasing healthcare costs have led to an imminent call to action to transform the healthcare delivery system. While Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering have primarily focused on biological level data and biomedical technology, there is clear evidence of the importance of the delivery of care on patient outcomes. Classic singular decomposition approaches from reductionist science are not capable of explaining complex systems. Approaches and methods from systems science and systems engineering are utilized to structure healthcare delivery system data. Specifically, systems architecture is used to develop a multi-scale and multi-dimensional characterization of the healthcare delivery system, defined here as the Healthcare Delivery System Knowledge Base. This paper is the first to contribute a new method of structuring and visualizing a multi-dimensional and multi-scale healthcare delivery system using systems architecture in order to better understand healthcare delivery.

Keywords: health informatics, systems thinking, systems architecture, healthcare delivery system, data analytics

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Authors: Nikunj Agarwal, M. P. Sebastian

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Cloud computing can reduce the start-up expenses of implementing EHR (Electronic Health Records). However, many of the healthcare institutions are yet to implement cloud computing due to the associated privacy and security issues. In this paper, we analyze the challenges and opportunities of implementing cloud computing in healthcare. We also analyze data of over 5000 US hospitals that use Telemedicine applications. This analysis helps to understand the importance of smart phones over the desktop systems in different departments of the healthcare institutions. The wide usage of smartphones and cloud computing allows ubiquitous and affordable access to the health data by authorized persons, including patients and doctors. Cloud computing will prove to be beneficial to a majority of the departments in healthcare. Through this analysis, we attempt to understand the different healthcare departments that may benefit significantly from the implementation of cloud computing.

Keywords: cloud computing, smart devices, healthcare, telemedicine

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Authors: Maryam Meftahi, Yashar Hamidzadeh

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In recent decades, the amount of solid waste production has been rising. In the meantime, plastic waste is one of the major parts of urban solid waste, so, recycling plastic waste from water bottles has become a serious challenge in the whole world. The experimental program includes the study of the effect of waste plastic fibers on maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC) with different sizes and contents. Also, one dimensional consolidation tests were carried out to evaluate the benefit of utilizing randomly distributed waste plastics fiber to improve the engineering behavior of a tested soils. Silty soil specimens were prepared and tested at five different percentages of plastic waste content (i.e. 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1% and 1.25% by weight of the parent soil). The size of plastic chips used, are 4 mm, 8 mm and 12 mm long and 4 mm in width. The results show that with the addition of waste plastic fibers, the MDD and OMC and also the compressibility of soil decrease significantly.

Keywords: silty soil, waste plastic, compaction, consolidation, reinforcement

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Authors: Vandita Mishra

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From the management of patients, reception, record, and assistants in a clinical practice; to the management of ongoing research, clinical cases and department profile in an academic setup, the healthcare provider has to deal with all of it. The victory lies in smooth running of the show in both the above situations with an apt solution of problems encountered and smooth management of crisis faced. Thus this paper amalgamates dental science with health administration by means of introduction of a concept for practice management and problem-solving called 'Quality Circles'. This concept uses various tools for problem solving given by experts from different fields. QC tools can be applied in both clinical and academic settings in dentistry for better productivity and for scientifically approaching the process of continuous improvement in both the categories. When approached through QC, our organization showed better patient outcomes and more patient satisfaction. Introduced in 1962 by Kaoru Ishikawa, this tool has been extensively applied in certain fields outside dentistry and healthcare. By exemplification of some clinical cases and virtual scenarios, the tools of Quality circles will be elaborated and discussed upon.

Keywords: academics, dentistry, healthcare, quality

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Authors: Teo Hao Jing, Shane Ho Ken Wae, Lee Jin Yu, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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Current distributed healthcare systems face the challenge of interoperability of health data. Storing electronic health records (EHR) in local databases causes them to be fragmented. This problem is aggravated as patients visit multiple healthcare providers in their lifetime. Existing solutions are unable to solve this issue and have caused burdens to healthcare specialists and patients alike. Blockchain technology was found to be able to increase the interoperability of health data by implementing digital access rules, enabling uniformed patient identity, and providing data aggregation. Consortium blockchain was found to have high read throughputs, is more trustworthy, more secure against external disruptions and accommodates transactions without fees. Therefore, this paper proposes a blockchain-based model for data management applications. In this model, a consortium blockchain is implemented by using a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) as its consensus mechanism. This blockchain allows collaboration between users from different organizations such as hospitals and medical bureaus. Patients serve as the owner of their information, where users from other parties require authorization from the patient to view their information. Hospitals upload the hash value of patients’ generated data to the blockchain, whereas the encrypted information is stored in a distributed cloud storage.

Keywords: blockchain technology, data management applications, healthcare, interoperability, delegated proof of stake

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Authors: N. Anusree, P. Sughosh, G. L. Sivakumar Babu

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Municipalities throughout the world are marred with serious issues related to the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collection, treatment, and safe disposal. While the Waste Management sector contributes around 3-9 % of the overall anthropogenic methane emission, measures towards mitigating these emissions are rarely given attention in developing countries. In the case of Bangalore, India, around 5680 tons of MSW is generated in a day, and its collection and treatment efficiency are around 90-95 % and 26.4 %, respectively. About 33.4 % of the waste collected is directly landfilled without any treatment, further aggravating the situation. The potential of reducing the emissions emanating from the MSW of Bangalore city without any severe consequences on the current MSW management practices is evaluated in this study. Three emission scenarios consisting of the baseline condition (current practices – Case-1), the application of biocovers for methane oxidation in the dumpsites (case-2), and the diversion of Organic Fraction of MSW (OFMSW) along with the application of biocovers (case-3) are evaluated and compared with each other. The emissions are calculated based on the aerobic and anaerobic stochiometric relations for the three scenarios. Laboratory scale column studies are carried out to determine the methane oxidation potential of three different biocover material (digested MBT (mechanically biologically treated) waste, Fresh MBT waste, and charcoal amended with fresh MBT waste). The results shown that around 40 % and 83 % reduction in carbon emissions can be achieved in case 3 and 2 in comparison to the baseline condition. The study clearly shows that with minor changes in the waste management practices, substantial reductions in the carbon emissions can be attained in Bangalore City.

Keywords: MSW, biocover, composting, carbon emission

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Authors: Ananya Mitra Pramanik, Anjali Agrawal

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This paper traces the waste produced by the textile industry and evaluates the need for this waste to be reused or repurposed. From ancient times the textile industry has been a prominent part of all the economies of the world. It is famous for traditional as well as mill made fabrics. However the beauty and utility radiated by the textiles are juxtaposed by the piling amount of waste that the whole life cycle of a textile production and disposal entails. Waste happens in stages in a textile life cycle. It can be broadly categorised as pre-consumer and post-consumer waste. This research suggests suitable processes and techniques for channelizing post-industrial waste. It explores the scope of textile waste as a raw material for innovation and design. It discusses the role of designers in using waste to create useful and appealing designs. The paper examines the need of designers to create novel ideas to reuse textiles. This paper is based on secondary research. Most of the information used is taken from books and journals. The DEFRA report 2009 is also consulted for comprehensive data on textile waste percentage.

Keywords: designers, repurposing, textiles, waste

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Authors: Merve Sogancioglu, Esra Yel, Ferda Tartar, Nihan Canan Iskender

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Waste polyethylene (PE) is classified as waste low density polyethylene (LDPE) and waste high density polyethylene (HDPE) according to their densities. Pyrolysis of plastic waste may have an important role in dealing with the enormous amounts of plastic waste produced all over the world, by decreasing their negative impact on the environment. This waste may be converted into economically valuable hydrocarbons, which can be used both as fuels and as feed stock in the petrochemical industry. End product yields and properties depend on the plastic waste composition. Pyrolytic biochar is one of the most important products of waste plastics pyrolysis. In this study, HDPE and LDPE plastic wastes were co-pyrolyzed together with waste olive pomace. Pyrolysis runs were performed at temperature 700°C with heating rates of 5°C/min. Higher pyrolysis oil and gas yields were observed by the using waste olive pomace. The biochar yields of HDPE- olive pomace and LDPEolive pomace were 6.37% and 7.26% respectively for 50% olive pomace doses. The calorific value of HDPE-olive pomace and LDPE-olive pomace of pyrolysis oil were 8350 and 8495 kCal.

Keywords: biochar, co-pyrolysis, waste plastic, waste olive pomace

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Authors: Wasmi Woishi

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Smart card technology is a secure and safe technology that is expanding its capabilities day by day in terms of holding important information without alteration. It is readily available, and its ease of portability makes it more efficient in terms of its usage. The smart card is in use by many industries such as financial, insurance, governmental industries, personal identification, to name a few. Smart card technology is popular for its wide familiarity, adaptability, accessibility, benefits, and portability. This research aims to find out the perception toward the application of a cloud-based healthcare system through a smart card in KSA. The research has compiled the countries using a smart card or smart healthcare card and indicated the potential benefits of implementing smart healthcare cards. 120 participants from Riyadh city were surveyed by the means of a closed-ended questionnaire. Data were analyzed through SPSS. This research extends the research body in the healthcare system. Empirical evidence regarding smart healthcare cards is scarce and hence undertaken in this study. The study provides a useful insight into collecting, storing, analyzing, manipulating, and accessibility of medical information regarding smart healthcare cards. Research findings can help achieve KSA's Vision 2030 goals in terms of the digitalization of healthcare systems in improving its efficiency and effectiveness in storing and accessing healthcare data.

Keywords: smart card technology, healthcare using smart cards, smart healthcare cards, KSA healthcare information system, cloud-based healthcare cards

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Authors: ȘercăIanu Mihai, Aldea Mihaela, Iacoboaea Cristina, Luca Oana, Nenciu Ioana

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The emergence and neutralization of illegal waste dumps represent a global concern for waste management ecosystems with a particularly pronounced impact on disadvantaged communities. All over the world, and in this particular case in Romania, a relevant number of people resided in houses lacking any legal forms such as land ownership documents or building permits. These areas are referred to as “informal settlements”. An increasing number of regions and cities in Romania are struggling to manage their waste dumps, especially in the context of increasing poverty and lack of regulation related to informal settlements. An example of such informal settlement can be found at the terminus of Bistra Street in Câlnic, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Reșița in Caras Severin County. The article presents a case study that focuses on employing remote sensing techniques and spatial data to monitor and map illegal waste practices, with subsequent integration into a geographic information system tailored for the Reșița community. In addition, the paper outlines the steps involved in devising strategies aimed at enhancing waste management practices in disadvantaged areas, aligning with the shift toward a circular economy. Results presented in the paper contain a spatial mapping and visualization methodology calibrated with in situ data collection applicable for identifying illegal landfills. The emergence and neutralization of illegal dumps pose a challenge in the field of waste management. These approaches, which prove effective where conventional solutions have failed, need to be replicated and adopted more wisely.

Keywords: waste dumps, waste management, monitoring, GIS, informal settlements

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Authors: Joseph Omeiza Alao

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The wobbly state of waste management and the high level of environmental irresponsibility is a threat to environmental security, which invariably endangered public health, regional groundwater systems and atmospheric condition. The dumping of waste materials in water bodies and gutters and the frequent burning of waste materials heaped at dumpsites as well depict the highest level of environmental indiscipline. These unruly human factors have compelled this study to apply four different techniques for environmental impact assessment and the possible public health risks of poor waste management in Nigeria. The techniques include a geophysical survey (resistivity data acquisition), dispatched questionnaire surveys, physiochemical water analysis and a physical survey of several dumpsites. While the resistivity data indicates high-level dumpsite leachate invading the ground soil down to the water table, the physiochemical water analysis depicts high content of BOD (401 – 711) mg/l, COD (731 – 1312) mg/l, TDS (419 – 1871) mg/l and heavy metals (0.014 – 1.971) mg/l present in the regional groundwater systems, which have altered the chemistry of the regional groundwater. The resistivity data shows that the overburdened soil layer overlaying the regional groundwater systems was very low (4.5 Ωm – 151 Ωm) as against the existing data (180 Ωm – 3500 Ωm). However, the physical surveys and the dispatched questionnaire surveys explore the depth of environmental irresponsibility among the citizen. While the imprints of gross environmental indiscipline may be absolutely irreversible, adequate knowledge of the environmental implications of careless waste disposal. After a critical examination of the current waste management strategies in Nigeria, the study suggests a future direction for environmental security and sustainability. Several influential regional factors, such as geology, climatic conditions, and hydrology, were also discussed.

Keywords: groundwater, environmental indiscipline, waste management, water analysis, leachate plumes, public health

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Authors: Qingsheng Qi, Cuijuan Gao, Carol Sze Ki Lin

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Food waste can be defined as a by-product of food processing by industries and consumers, which has not been recycled or used for other purposes. Stringent waste regulations worldwide are pushing local companies and sectors towards higher sustainability standards. The development of novel strategies for food waste re-use is economically and environmentally sound, as it solves a waste management issue and represents an inexpensive nutrient source for biotechnological processes. For example, Yarrowia lipolytica is a yeast which can utilize hydrophobic substrates, such as fatty acids, lipids, and alkanes and simple carbon sources, such as glucose and glycerol, which can all be found in food waste. This broad substrate range makes Y. lipolytica a promising candidate for the degradation and valorisation of food waste, and for the production of organic acids, such as citric and α-ketoglutaric acids. Current research conducted in our group demonstrated that Y. lipolytica was shown to be able to produce succinic acid. In this talk, we will focus on the application of genetically modified yeast Y. lipolytica for fermentative succinic acid production with an aim to increase productivity and yield.

Keywords: food waste, succinic acid, Yarrowia lipolytica, bioplastic

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Authors: Sharifah Liew, Azlihanis Abdul Hadi, Nurul Shahida Mohd Saffe, Azhar Hamzah, Maslina Musa

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Fatigue is a common health problem among healthcare workers, ranging from ambulance drivers to specialist doctors. In Malaysia, majority of healthcare workers prefer to commute to work by their own vehicle compared to public transport. Thus, exposed to risk on the road while commuting to work. The aim of the study is to find out the effects of fatigue on road crashes among healthcare workers while they commute to work. The research conducted using the semi-quantitative approach based on self- reported questionnaires. In total, five hundred and fifty-one healthcare workers from selected five hospitals were involved in this study. Results showed significant differences between crash involvement, travelling distance and time to and from work among healthcare workers. Most of the participants (37%) reported that causes of road crashes were due to fatigue, sleepiness and microsleep while driving to and back from work. In addition, there were significant differences between fatigue and road crashes and near misses. This research suggests that the hospitals’ management may need to review their staffs’ job scopes and workloads to overcome the fatigue problems and, consider their feedback when designing work schedules and investigate staff commuting distance from home to workplace and vice-versa.

Keywords: fatigue, healthcare, road crashes, near misses, Malaysia

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Authors: Subhro Sarkar, Umesh Mishra

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Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) is the municipal body which regulates and governs the Agartala city. MSW management may be proclaimed as a tool which rests on the principles of public health, economy, engineering and other aesthetic or environmental factors by dealing with the controlled generation, collection, transport, processing and disposal of MSW. Around 220-250 MT of solid waste per day is collected by AMC out of which 12-14 MT is plastic and is disposed of in Devendra Chandra Nagar dumping ground (33 acres), nearly 12-15 km from the city. A survey was performed to list down the prevailing operations conducted by the AMC which includes road sweeping, garbage lifting, carcass removal, biomedical waste collection, dumping, and incineration. Different types of vehicles are engaged to carry out these operations. Door to door collection of garbage is done from the houses with the help of 220 tricycles issued by 53 NGOs. The location of the dustbin containers were earmarked which consisted of 4.5 cum, 0.6 cum containers and 0.1 cum containers, placed at various locations within the city. The total household waste was categorized as organic, recyclable and other wastes. It was found that East Pratapgarh ward produced 99.3% organic waste out of the total MSW generated in that ward which is maximum among all the wards. A comparison of the waste generation versus the family size has been made. A questionnaire for the survey of MSW from household and market place was prepared. The average waste generated (in kg) per person per day was found out for each of the wards. It has been noted that East Jogendranagar ward had a maximum per person per day waste generation of 0.493 kg/day.In view of the studies made, it has been found that AMC has failed to implement MSWM in an effective way because of the unavailability of suitable facilities for treatment and disposal of the large amount of MSW. It has also been noted that AMC is not following the standard procedures of handling MSW. Transportation system has also been found less effective leading to waste of time, money and manpower.

Keywords: MSW, waste generation, solid waste disposal, management

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Authors: Beata Bilska, Marzena Tomaszewska, Danuta Kolozyn-Krajewska

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Food loss and food waste are a global problem of the modern economy. The research undertaken aimed to analyze how food is handled in catering establishments when it comes to food waste and to demonstrate the main ways of management with foods/dishes not served to consumers. A survey study was conducted from January to June 2019. The selection of catering establishments participating in the study was deliberate. The study included establishments located only in Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Poland). Forty-two completed questionnaires were collected. In some questions, answers were based on a 5-point scale of 1 to 5 (from "always" / "every day" to "never"). The survey also included closed questions with a suggested cafeteria of answers. The respondents stated that in their workplaces, dishes served cold and hot ready meals are discarded every day or almost every day (23.7% and 20.5% of answers respectively). A procedure most frequently used for dealing with dishes not served to consumers on a given day is their storage at a cool temperature until the following day. In the research, 1/5 of respondents admitted that consumers "always" or "usually" leave uneaten meals on their plates, and over 41% "sometimes" do so. It was found additionally that food not used in the foodservice sector is most often thrown into a public container for rubbish. Most often thrown into the public container (with communal trash) were: expired products (80.0%), plate waste (80.0%) and inedible products (fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells) (77.5%). Most frequently into the container dedicated only to food waste were thrown out used deep-frying oil (62.5%). 10% of respondents indicated that inedible products in their workplaces are allocated for animal feeds. Food waste in the foodservice sector remains an insufficiently studied issue, as owners of these objects are often unwilling to disclose data about the subject. Incorrect ways of management with foods not served to consumers were observed. There is a need to develop educational activities for employees and management in the context of food waste management in the foodservice sector.

Keywords: food waste, inedible products, plate waste, used deep-frying oil

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Authors: Jilbert Novelero, Oliver Mariano

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In a world where technological evolution and competition to create innovative products are at its peak, problems on Electronic Waste (E-Waste) are now becoming a global concern. E-waste is said to be any electrical or electronic devices that have reached the terminal of its useful life. The major issue are the volume and the raw materials used in crafting E-waste which is non-biodegradable and contains hazardous substances that are toxic to human health and the environment. The objective of this study is to gather baseline data in terms of the composition of E-waste in the solid waste stream and to determine the top 5 E-waste categories in a highly urbanized city. Recommendations in managing these wastes for its reduction were provided which may serve as a guide for acceptance and implementation in the locality. Pasig City was the chosen beneficiary of the research output and through the collaboration of the City Government of Pasig and its Solid Waste Management Office (SWMO); the researcher successfully conducted the Electronic Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (E-WACS) to achieve the objectives. E-WACS that was conducted on April 2019 showed that E-waste ranked 4th which comprises the 10.39% of the overall solid waste volume. Out of 345, 127.24kg which is the total daily domestic waste generation in the city, E-waste covers 35,858.72kg. Moreover, an average of 40 grams was determined to be the E-waste generation per person per day. The top 5 E-waste categories were then classified after the analysis. The category which ranked first is the office and telecommunications equipment that contained the 63.18% of the total generated E-waste. Second in ranking was the household appliances category with 21.13% composition. Third was the lighting devices category with 8.17%. Fourth on ranking was the consumer electronics and batteries category which was composed of 5.97% and fifth was the wires and cables category where it comprised the 1.41% of the average generated E-waste samples. One of the recommendations provided in this research is the implementation of the Pasig City Waste Advantage Card. The card can be used as a privilege card and earned points can be converted to avail of and enjoy services such as haircut, massage, dental services, medical check-up, and etc. Another recommendation raised is for the LGU to encourage a communication or dialogue with the technology and electronics manufacturers and distributors and international and local companies to plan the retrieval and disposal of the E-wastes in accordance with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy where producers are given significant responsibilities for the treatment and disposal of post-consumer products.

Keywords: E-waste, E-WACS, E-waste characterization, electronic waste, electronic waste analysis

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Authors: Saeed M. Alshahrani

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This research integrated blockchain technology to reform medical records management in healthcare informatics. It was aimed at resolving the limitations of centralized systems by establishing a secure, decentralized, and user-centric platform. The system was architected with a sophisticated three-tiered structure, integrating advanced cryptographic methodologies, consensus algorithms, and the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) standard to ensure data security, transaction validity, and semantic interoperability. The research has profound implications for healthcare delivery, patient care, legal compliance, operational efficiency, and academic advancements in blockchain technology and healthcare IT sectors. The methodology adapted in this research comprises of Preliminary Feasibility Study, Literature Review, Design and Development, Cryptographic Algorithm Integration, Modeling the data and testing the system. The research employed a permissioned blockchain with a Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) consensus algorithm and Ethereum-based smart contracts. It integrated advanced cryptographic algorithms, role-based access control, multi-factor authentication, and RESTful APIs to ensure security, regulate access, authenticate user identities, and facilitate seamless data exchange between the blockchain and legacy healthcare systems. The research contributed to the development of a secure, interoperable, and decentralized system for managing medical records, addressing the limitations of the centralized systems that were in place. Future work will delve into optimizing the system further, exploring additional blockchain use cases in healthcare, and expanding the adoption of the system globally, contributing to the evolution of global healthcare practices and policies.

Keywords: healthcare informatics, blockchain, medical records management, decentralized architecture, data security, cryptographic algorithms

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Authors: Sk Ajim Ali

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The present study is an attempt to overview on the major environmental and health impacts due to hazardous waste generation and poor management. In present scenario, not only hazardous waste, but as a common term ‘Waste’ is one of the acceptable and thinkable environmental issues. With excessive increasing population, industrialization and standardization of human’s life style heap in extra waste generation which is directly or indirectly related with hazardous waste generation. Urbanization and population growth are solely responsible for establishing industrial sector and generating various Hazardous Waste (HW) and concomitantly poor management practice arising adverse effect on environment and human health. As compare to other Indian state, West Bengal is not too much former in HW generation. West Bengal makes a rank of 7th in HW generation followed by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, U.P, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. During the last 30 years, the industrial sectors in W.B have quadrupled in size, during 1995 there were only 440 HW generating Units in West Bengal which produced 129826 MTA hazardous waste but in 2011, it rose up into 609 units and it produced about 259777 MTA hazardous waste. So, the notable thing is that during a 15 year interval there increased 169 waste generating units but it produced about 129951 MTA of hazardous waste. Major chemical industries are the main sources of HW and causes of adverse effect on the environment and human health. HW from industrial sectors contains heavy metals, cyanides, pesticides, complex aromatic compounds (i.e. PCB) and other chemical which are toxic, flammable, reactive, and corrosive and have explosive properties which highly affect the surrounding environment and human health in and around he disposal sites. The main objective of present study is to highlight on the sources and components of hazardous waste in West Bengal and impacts of improper HW management on health and environment. This study is carried out based on a secondary source of data and qualitative method of research. The secondary data has been collected annual report of WBPCB, WHO’s report, research paper, article, books and so on. It has been found that excessive HW generation from various sources and communities has serious health hazards that lead to the spreading of infectious disease and environmental change.

Keywords: environmental impacts, existing HW generation and management practice, hazardous waste (HW), health impacts, recommendation and planning

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Authors: Qiannan Zhuo, Wanglin Yan

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Minamata City and its citizens have been suffered from Minamata Disease, one of the worst environmental problems in Japan, since 1956. To mitigate the bad images brought by Minamata Disease, Minamata City has started a series of environmental friendly activities from 60 years ago. Garbage separation is the very beginning one. It has been already done for more than 20 years since Minamata citizens started to separate their garbage into more than 20 categories. In this research, the author evaluated the effectiveness of the waste management policy in Minamata city by analyzing the recycle rate and the landfill amount., and also pointed out the problems brought by it through the qualitative survey.

Keywords: Minamata City, households waste, garbage separation, recycle reduce reuse

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Authors: Dhvanidevi N. Jadeja, Daya S. Kaul, Anurag A. Kandya

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Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collection in a city is performed in less effective manner which results in the poor management of the environment and natural resources. Municipal corporation does not possess efficient waste management and recycling programs because of the complex task involving many factors. Solid waste collection system depends upon various factors such as manpower, number and size of vehicles, transfer station size, dustbin size and weight, on-road traffic, and many others. These factors affect the collection cost, energy and overall municipal tax for the city. Generally, different types of waste are scattered throughout the city in a heterogeneous way that poses changes for efficient collection of solid waste. Efficient waste collection and transportation strategy must be effectively undertaken which will include optimization of routes, volume of waste, and manpower. Being these optimized, the overall cost can be reduced as the fuel and energy requirements would be less and also the municipal waste taxes levied will be less. To carry out the optimization study of collection system various data needs to be collected from the Ahmedabad municipal corporation such as amount of waste generated per day, number of workers, collection schedule, road maps, number of transfer station, location of transfer station, number of equipment (tractors, machineries), number of zones, route of collection etc. The ArcGis Network Analyst is introduced for the best routing identification applied in municipal waste collection. The simulation consists of scenarios of visiting loading spots in the municipality of Ahmedabad, considering dynamic factors like network traffic changes, closed roads due to natural or technical causes. Different routes were selected in a particular area of Ahmedabad city, and present routes were optimized to reduce the length of the routes, by using ArcGis Network Analyst. The result indicates up to 35% length minimization in the routes.

Keywords: collection routes, efficiency, municipal solid waste, optimization

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Authors: Nadia Adnan, Muhammad Mohsin Raza, Latha Ravindran

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Based on the principles above, the study presents an economic model of food waste for consumers, intermediaries, and producers. We discriminate between purchasing and selling, purchases versus customers consumption, and gross output versus sales for each intermediary. To compensate for waste at each level of the supply chain, agents must charge higher sales prices. The research model can produce more accurate predictions about how actions (public regulations or private efforts) to reduce food waste impact markets, including indirect (cascading) effects. With a formal model, researchers demonstrate the uniqueness of these interaction effects and simulate an empirical model calibrated to market characteristics and waste rates in Saudi Arabia. Researchers demonstrate that the effects of waste reduction differ per commodity, depending on supply and demand elasticities, degree of openness to international commerce, and the beginning rates of food loss and waste at each level of the value chain. Because of the consequential effects related to the supply chain, initiatives to minimize food waste will be strengthened in some circumstances and partially countered in others.

Keywords: food loss, food waste, supply chain management, Saudi Arabia, food supply

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Authors: Hanan Anwar

Abstract:

All systems recycle. The construction industry has not only become a major consumer of natural materials along with a source of pollution. Environmental integrated production, reusing and recycling is of great importance in Egypt nowadays. Governments should ensure that the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of alternative systems is considered and is taken into account before construction starts. Hereby this paper focuses on the recycle of building materials as a way for environment protection and sustainable development. Environmental management integrates the requirements of sustainable development. There are many methods used to reduce waste and increase profits through salvage, reuse, and the recycling of construction waste. Sustainable development as a tool to continual improvement cycle processes innovations to save money.

Keywords: environment, management, reuse, recycling, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Tolulope A. Olukunle

Abstract:

Plastic waste management has emerged as one of the greatest challenges facing developing countries. This paper describes the design of various components of a plastic shredder. This machine is widely used in industries and recycling plants. The introduction of plastic shredder machine will promote reduction of post-consumer plastic waste accumulation and serves as a system for wealth creation and empowerment through conversion of waste into economically viable products. In this design research, a 10 kW electric motor with a rotational speed of 500 rpm was chosen to drive the shredder. A pulley size of 400 mm is mounted on the electric motor at a distance of 1000 mm away from the shredder pulley. The shredder rotational speed is 300 rpm.

Keywords: design, machine, plastic waste, recycling

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Authors: Longondjo Etambakonga Clement

Abstract:

Local municipality responsible for solid waste management (SWM) in many developing countries is facing real challenge. This is even more critical in the country facing political instability. Few decades ago, it has emerged new urban governance including partnerships and involvement of formal and informal actors for an effective and sustainable solid waste management. This paper identifies SWM actors and analyzes their roles to sustainable development in Kinshasa. An attempt has been to examine the challenges facing the actors in managing effectively waste in the city. The study is based on the empirical data gathered in the years 2009 and 2014 in Kinshasa using expert interviews, observation and documentation. The findings indicate that solid waste in the city is poorly managed, activities not coordinated and fragmented, as consequence severe public health and environmental problems. Five group actors are involved in SWM in the city including government, private business, NGOs/CBOs/donors, household, scavengers, in which, scavengers are more visible in collection and recycling activities. The results suggest that recognition of informal collectors and recyclers (scavengers) and strengthening alliances among all SWM stakeholders can lead to greater effective SWM in the city. The key lessons learned include lack of city’s SWM culture over SWM, unwillingness to pay and lack of environmental consciences are the main obstructions to sustainable SWM, therefore there is a need for social capital approach to empower individual and group actors as to create capabilities for an sustainable SWM.

Keywords: challenges, institutions, political instability, scavengers, solid waste management, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Anis A. Ansari, Aftab A. Ansari

Abstract:

Electronic waste is inundating the traditional solid-waste-disposal facilities, which are inadequately designed to handle and manage such type of new wastes. Since electronic waste contains mostly hazardous and even toxic materials, the seriousness of its effects on human health and the environment cannot be ignored in present scenario. Waste from the electronic industry is increasing exponentially day by day. From the last 20 years, we are continuously generating huge quantities of e-waste such as obsolete computers and other discarded electronic components, mainly due to evolution of newer technologies as a result of constant efforts in research and development in this sector. Polymers, one of the major constituents in almost every electronic waste, such as computers, printers, electronic equipment, entertainment devices, mobile phones, television sets etc., are if properly recycled can create a new business opportunity. This would not only create potential market for polymers to improve economy but also the priceless land used as dumping sites of electronic waste, can be utilized for other productive purposes.

Keywords: polymer recycling, electronic waste, hazardous materials, electronic components

Procedia PDF Downloads 443

Authors: Guanglin Song

Abstract:

(Objective) Situated within the context of China's tiered medical treatment system, this study aims to analyze spatial causes of urban healthcare access difficulties from the perspective of the configuration of healthcare facilities. (Methods) A social network analysis approach is employed to construct a healthcare demand and supply flow network between major residential clusters and various tiers of hospitals in the city.(Conclusion) The findings reveal that:1.there exists overall maldistribution and over-concentration of healthcare resources in Study Area, characterized by structural imbalance; 2.the low rate of primary care utilization in Study Area is a key factor contributing to congestion at higher-tier hospitals, as excessive reliance on these institutions by neighboring communities exacerbates the problem; 3.gradual optimization of the healthcare facility layout in Study Area, encompassing holistic, local, and individual institutional levels, can enhance systemic efficiency and resource balance.(Prospects) This research proposes a method for evaluating urban healthcare resource distribution structures based on service flows within hierarchical networks. It offers spatially targeted optimization suggestions for promoting the implementation of the tiered healthcare system and alleviating challenges related to accessibility and congestion in seeking medical care. Provide some new ideas for researchers and healthcare managers in countries, cities, and healthcare management around the world with similar challenges.

Keywords: flow of public services, urban networks, healthcare facilities, spatial planning, urban networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 23