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This study evaluates the quantity and composition of solid waste produce in secondary schools and assesses level of environmental consciousness and management activities. This is aimed for the present and future planning of high schools' environment as well as integrating the system into urban waste management.

This research used primary and secondary data to realize its purpose. Primary data was obtained through measurement of actual waste generation and questionnaire administration. Secondary data was the official information obtained on the schools selected. The primary data collected was analysed with descriptive statistical method such as percentage, mean cross measures of central tendency, frequency distribution and cross tabulation.

The study established that a total of 375.6 kg of solid waste is generated in the selected schools and daily per capita waste generation is 0.56 kg. Paper material is the waste component with the highest quantity and 88.5% of waste produced is recyclable. Thus, solid waste generated in secondary schools if carefully managed with suitable management options has potential for promoting circular economy and sustainable development. The paper recommends environmental education for stakeholders in secondary schools and waste segregation culture should be enforced in every secondary school.

The paper builds on the reasons for poor environmental quality in secondary schools in developing countries and revealed unscientific means by which resources are wasted and the environment is mismanaged through low understanding of solid waste.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate waste at a Portuguese university setting in order to suggest improvements on foodservice sustainability.

The work was developed during four weeks in order to allow the evaluation of parameters of an entire menu cycle. The index of waste/consumption (%) was obtained by the ratio between plate waste and the quantity of foods distributed, subtracting the weight of leftovers.

The average index of waste/consumption was approximately 24 percent, higher in the days with a fish menu, values considered unacceptable. Each canteen user is served with approximately 940 g of foods, from which only 660 g were effectively consumed, corresponding to 80 g of leftovers and 200 g of waste.

It seems possible and desirable to reduce food waste in order to optimize food unit profitability and sustainability. Reducing food waste will contribute to improve foodservice quality as well as consumer's satisfaction. Potential strategies to achieve this goal may include previous booking of meals, to adopt tray less during lunch and additionally analyze the eating patterns for a particular forecasted meal, and then prepare and serve food based on the appropriate forecast.

Production and consumption of textile garments contribute significantly to environment problems. The purpose of this paper is to perform the evaluation of textile waste generated at Lithuanian clothing enterprises based on statistical data analysis and business cases studies.

For the evaluation of real situation of waste generation in companies, an original methodology was developed and used during investigation. In order to get an overall view, statistical data of waste generation and management in Lithuania were also analysed. Waste accounting covered data such as wastes from unprocessed textile fibres and wastes from processed textile fibres and textiles (not otherwise specified).

The investigation showed that the amount of cutting waste reaches 20-25 per cent of the total quantity of materials used for production. It was found that the waste is not sorted in Lithuanian clothing enterprises and is disposed in landfills in most cases, notwithstanding the positive tendencies of recycling of waste that were observed during past year. However, a practical recycling strategy and broader perception of developing products with greater added value from waste are missing in Lithuania.

In this research, a simple methodology was developed for determining the quantity of the textile waste generated by enterprises, the introduction of which would allow us to expect better results in waste accounting and management. The results of investigation are useful to gain in-depth understanding of waste generation in various countries.

This research studies a plastic recycling system from a reverse logistics angle and investigates the potential benefits of a multimodality strategy to the network design of plastic recycling. This research aims to quantify the impact of multimodality on the network, to provide decision support for the design of more sustainable plastic recycling networks in the future.

A MILP model is developed to assess different plastic waste collection, treatment and transportation scenarios. Comprehensive costs of the network are considered, including emission costs. A baseline scenario represents the optimized current situation while other scenarios allow multimodality options (barge and train) to be applied.

Results show that transportation cost contributes to about 7 percent of the total cost and multimodality can bring a reduction of almost 20 percent in transportation costs (CO₂‐eq emissions included). In our illustrative case with two plastic separation methods, the post‐separation channel benefits more from a multimodality strategy than the source‐separation channel. This relates to the locations and availability of intermediate facilities and the quantity of waste transported on each route.

This study applies a reverse logistics network model to design a plastic recycling network with special structures and incorporates a multimodality strategy to improve sustainability. Emission costs (carbon emission equivalents times carbon tax) are added to the total cost of the network to be optimized.

Over the last 15 years, all the legislation on waste management in the Republic of Macedonia has been brought in compliance with the European legislation. The major challenge in the economy, however, still happens to be the (non) implementation of the enforced laws on green economy. Major constrains in waste management practices remain to be organization of institutions and human resources; financing of services and investments; stakeholder (non) awareness; and lack of technical management in all phases from collection to final disposal of waste. It is not only that the present situation has negative impact on the public health and the environment, but it also has serious negative economic effects which consequently affects issues related to the total economic growth of the country.

The paper has a special focus on managing packaging and packaging waste and analyzes the results of the implementation of the Law of Management of Packaging and Packaging Waste which was enforced in 2009. Positive initiatives in waste management practices were undertaken by PAKOMAK, the first Macedonian company that has been holding the license for selecting and processing of packaging waste since January 2011. The company has a proactive role in promoting the importance of packaging waste and its management, with a special emphasis on projects that increase the awareness of the whole society, especially that of the young population. Some of the projects that increase the eco-awareness of young population will be presented in the paper.

A measurement campaign was carried out for assessing the waste flow in a pilot hospital of a region in central Italy, with the purpose of having a complete overview of the waste stream and of the personnel behavior in managing and handling waste flow both internally and in outsourcing. The main aim of the work was to provide instruction for decreasing waste quantities, improving segregation and decreasing costs and environmental risks. Moreover an analysis of the effectiveness of outsourcing the waste management service in terms of cost reduction and efficiency improvements and of the limits has been performed.

A self‐assessment model was proposed for evaluating waste generation patterns, quantities and sources and identifying anomalies. The research team comprised the hospital administrator, the head physician and charge nurse of each hospital ward, the administrative in charge of the waste management documents, the head of the hospital pharmacy, the responsible for the external outsourcing company in charge of waste collection and disposal, and the research team of Università Politecnica delle Marche. The data were obtained through the questionnaires elaborated by the group and submitted to a selected sample of personnel; they were asked to provide information on waste management practices (generation, collection, segregation, cleaning, storage) and quantities.

Anomalous behaviors were identified in the high amount of solid waste going into the medical waste stream; corrective actions have been proposed and their effectiveness has been monitored after implementation. The measures allowed a reduction of medical waste from 13 to 15 percent in two analyzed wards with a significant reduction of waste management costs.

This work has been requested and supported by the management of the healthcare structure analyzed, and represents a first step in the implementation of a policy that considers waste management as one of the fundamental processes for the proper functioning of the hospital.

A systems perspective of waste management allows an integrated approach not only to the five basic functional elements of waste management itself (generation, reduction, collection, recycling, disposal), but to the problems arising at the interfaces with the management of energy, nature conservation, environmental protection, economic factors like unemployment and productivity, etc. This monograph separately describes present practices and the problems to be solved in each of the functional areas of waste management and at the important interfaces. Strategies for more efficient control are then proposed from a systems perspective. Systematic and objective means of solving problems become possible leading to optimal management and a positive contribution to economic development, not least through resource conservation. India is the particular context within which waste generation and management are discussed. In considering waste disposal techniques, special attention is given to sewage and radioactive wastes.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the socio-economic factors related to household solid waste generation and its type based on field surveys in South Delhi Municipal Corporation area in Delhi, India.

This paper develops a framework to systematically identify the socio-economic factors related to household waste generation and its type. The framework uses both primary and secondary data. The primary data are collected through the instruments of questionnaire and interviews, and the secondary data are collected from the literature available in public domain. Multinomial logistic models are developed. The models are analyzed using the SPSS software version 22.0.

The study reports that socio-economic parameters like monthly income of the family, number of family members, occupation, education are statistically significant predictors. Further, detailed disaggregated models reveal more insights that are not apparent otherwise, such as the number of females can also be a significant factor for a targeted socio-economic group.

The results can help in forecasting the resource requirement for waste collection, establishment of processing facilities and other policy planning measures for effective waste management, as summarized in the discussion.

A systematic process to determine resource requirement according to socio-economic (and consequently spatial) group constitute an important component of the novelty of this study. Further, it provides new insights on the role of various socio-economic factors in determining the quantity and composition of household waste, e.g. quantity and type of waste can also be affected by male and female qualification within a socio-economic category.

Waste disposal is big business. Some 20 million tonnes of household and commercial waste is disposed of each year in the United Kingdom. A similar quantity of industrial waste — some of it hazardous — requires treatment and disposal. Household, commercial and industrial wastes as defined in the Control of Pollution Act 1974 are known as controlled wastes. In addition there are vast quantities of mining and quarry wastes. Approximately 90 per cent of all these materials is landfilled in its crude state. Much of the remainder is landfilled after treatment. Clearly, then, the proper selection, preparation, operation and aftercare of landfill sites is of paramount importance. Landfill is popular because it is significantly less costly than other methods of disposal — indeed it is the only option for a wide range of wastes. It must not, however, be regarded or perceived as a cheap and nasty option. Many professional disciplines and skills are involved in the sequence from site selection through to aftercare. Among these are geology, hydrogeology, property purchase, civil, mechanical and gas engineering, chemistry and agriculture. If landfill is to retain and deserve its pre‐eminent position, every step must be taken to the highest professional standards.

The construction industry struggles in environmental and economic performance due to waste generation. Several studies have measured this waste in the construction industry of developing countries like India, Brazil, China, Nigeria and Iran, and proposed strategies to enhance the overall efficiency. But no such work exists in Pakistan's context. The construction industry of Pakistan contributes significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). And with several mega projects in progress to overcome the energy crises and improve the infrastructure of the country, the absence of proper waste management policies and plans calls for empirical research. Therefore, this study quantifies and benchmarks material waste in the local context, its impact on project cost and the effect of multiple subcontracting arrangements on waste generation. It also proposes a conceptual waste management plan (WMP) for local conditions which can be generalized for developing countries.

This paper uses a mixed research approach by leveraging Saunders's research onion model. To benchmark the current wastage practices, quantitative data of material waste in the Pakistani construction industry are gathered through document review of accounting systems, inventory and payment records of 40 completed building projects. Using the data, the waste rate of different materials is measured along with their impact on cost. Additionally, the role of subcontracting arrangements in waste generation is also investigated. Also, semi-structured interviews are conducted with project managers of high- and low-performing construction organizations to propose a conceptual WMP for the local industry and developing countries.

The highest wasteful materials by quantity are wood, sand and concrete blocks, and those by cost are wood, bricks and steel. By quantity, 123% more material was used on average than the actual productive work. Also, the labor only (L-O) subcontracting arrangement causes maximum waste. Moreover, the difference between the highest (155%) and lowest wasting company (104%) is 51%, highlighting the proactive and resistive waste management culture and approach by the worst- and best-performing companies. Further, the impact of waste quantities is more than 2% of the project cost. Finally, a conceptual model consisting of measures at the project, industry and national levels is also proposed as a guide for developing countries.

The findings of this benchmarking study can help improve the project planning, execution and monitoring, and control practices by providing a better understanding of the material waste potential. This will help economize the construction industry and improve its sustainability.

This is the first benchmarking study that quantitatively measures material waste in the construction industry of Pakistan. It highlights that costly as well as sustainability-implicating materials are frequently wasted in the local construction projects. Also, this study correlates the wastage with subcontracting arrangements. Additionally, an original conceptual WMP is proposed that could help the industry improve its performance. The findings could help the construction professionals identify the loopholes in their material management practices and not only save money but also ensure better sustainability.