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The purpose of this paper is to propose a process management framework for Chemical Waste Treatment Laboratories (CWTL) that can be used as a management tool to identify and manage critical process.

Proposition of a generic classification for categories of chemical waste; use of the ABC analysis as a tool for analysis of priority in relation to the inputs of an CWTL; use of the process matrix (variety vs volume) to identify the key resources required to perform the activities of a CWTL; and use of mapping process techniques to map the processes defined and calculate times.

The proposed framework was applied to a CWTL at University of São Paulo, Brazil, and showed that the high variability of demand is a significant factor in the management of this laboratory, requiring processes that are flexible to meet this demand. The results showed that the applicability of the production and operations management theories within the scope of process management of CWTLs, proved to be useful tools for improving the treatment efficiency of chemical waste in these facilities.

The novelty of this work is in the fact of using production and operations management tools in the management of CWTLs to propose diagnoses to improve the management of their processes. The proposition of a comprehensive classification for chemical wastes generated in CWTLs is also highlighted.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the accuracy of evaluation efficiency by constructing parallel structures considering the main components of industrial pollutants, and then to consider some external influence factors to eliminate random errors.

In this paper, data transformation has been used to deal with undesirable output, and a model with a parallel structure based on the three-stage data envelopment analysis model to calculate the efficiency scores of different division in pollution treatment has been composed.

The analysis shows that the external environmental factors and random factors of the economy and society greatly affect the efficiency of industrial pollutant treatment; moreover, there is an imbalance between regions in China in the treatment of industrial pollutants.

Optimal improvement requires each province to take targeted measures to improve its efficiency of pollutant treatment measures, which are tailored to specific situations and determined by efficiency analysis in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to compare various landfill gas (LFG) and leachate treatment technologies in a life‐cycle perspective.

Since a landfill causes emissions for a very long‐time period, life‐cycle‐based environmental assessment was carried out to compare different technological options for sustainable leachate treatment and LFG collection and utilization. WAMPS, the life‐cycle assessment (LCA) model for waste management planning, was used for the environmental assessment of selected leachate and LFG treatment technologies.

Results of both direct measurements in the studied landfills and LCA support the fact that leachate treatment with reverse osmosis has the best environmental performance compared to aerobic‐activated sludge treatment. Recently, the collection efficiency of LFG in the studied landfills is relatively low. In order to improve the overall environmental performance of LFG management the gas collection rate should be improved. LFG utilisation for energy recovery is an essential part of the system. The results of the study show that the avoided impacts of energy recovery can be even greater than direct impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Therefore, measures which combine LFG collection with energy generation should be preferred to treatment in flare.

It should be noted that the results of this study do not express the total environmental impacts of the entire landfill system, but only the eutrophicating impacts and global warming related to the studied leachate and LFG management options. Therefore, it is recommended that further LCAs investigate also other relevant impact categories.

The results of LCA modelling show that it is important to ensure the highest collection and treatment efficiency of leachate and LFG, since poor capture compromises the overall environmental performance of a landfill.

The paper provides a site‐specific data on sustainable leachate and LFG management in selected Estonian conventional municipal solid waste landfills. As such, the paper contributes to the development of the regional reference input data for LCA in waste management.

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.

This paper seeks to focus on energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) in Croatia. The state strategy is based on the mechanical and biological treatment of waste in the future waste management centers (WMC). Left over after the treatment is waste that can be used as fuel (e.g. RDF).

Starting from the geographical distribution of waste generation (quantities and transport distances), taking into account the costs of collection, transfer and thermal treatment, recommendations on optimal number and size of the dedicated waste‐to‐energy (WtE) plants in Croatia as well as their potential locations are given. The opportunity of the cement industry to utilize ash from thermal treatment of waste in the process of the cement production and the RDF as a substitute fuel is also examined.

By varying the number of WMCs, the minimal specific cost of waste collection of €33 is obtained, for maximal number of WMCs, which is 21. The optimal capacity of WtE facility is approximately 300,000 t/year, for expected quantity of 600,000 t/year of waste available for energy recovery. However, the geographical shape of Croatia and traffic connections suggest that its area could be better covered by four WtE facilities, each with the capacity of 150,000 t/year. The alternative solution could include the existing cement industry. In this case one bigger WtE plant (preferably near the city of Zagreb) could be built, with the capacity of 400,000 t/year, while the rest of the waste would be used in the cement industry, which capacity amounts to 167,000 tons of RDF annually.

This analysis gives another view of a possible system for energy recovery from MSW in Croatia. MSW has never been used in Croatia for the purpose of energy generation on a wider scale.

Nowadays healthcare waste (HCW) has become a big challenge for the hospital management, especially, in developing countries like India. Like other developing countries, Indian healthcare waste disposal (HCWD) industry is also fragmented, as some hospitals are having their own in-house waste treatment facilities and others are outsourcing the process to government authorized Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities. Literature also lacks the quantitative studies in selecting the HCWD strategy and, hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the factors, which affect the selection of HCWD strategy and to propose the model to select the HCWD strategy and to apply the proposed model to select the HCWD strategy in Uttarakhand, Northern State of India.

Grey theory-based analytic hierarchy process approach has been applied to evaluate the HCWD options and select the appropriate strategy for the healthcare facilities (HCFs).

From the literature, six criteria have been used to evaluate the HCWD strategies: “access to expertise,” “overdependence,” “transportation & risk associated,” “Government rules,” “environmental factors,” and “economic factors.” “Outsourcing” strategic option (0.61) got the higher desirability index than “in-house treatment” (0.39).

The proposed methodology can be used by the researchers and experts in the field to evaluate the strategic options and select the appropriate strategy.

The HCFs and other generators of HCW can select the alternative, whether they should treat the infectious waste in-house or they should go for outsourcing.

In the field of HCW management, this is the first study of its kind, which helps to evaluate and select the HCWD strategies. The proposed model has been applied in Uttarakhand, Northern State of India to make the comparison between “in-house” and “outsource” strategies.

Because medical waste may present potential hazards to employees, waste handlers and the general public, all facilities generating this form of waste should develop and implement a medical waste management strategy. This strategy should be prepared after conducting a survey to determine the types and estimated amounts of medical waste generated by the facility. The strategy should address medical waste handling, including segregation, packaging, in‐house transport and storage. The management plan must also prescribe appropriate treatment procedures for contaminated waste, and designate proper methods for final disposal of medical wastes and treatment residues. Finally, the facility must ensure the implementation and monitoring of this strategy.

Sustainable waste management (SWM) leads to human safety by eliminating dangerous substances, increasing cost efficiency and reducing environmental impacts. Integrating social, economic and environmental factors is the standard for successfully implementing SWM. However, prior studies have not incorporated the triple bottom line with technological performance and occupational safety in establishing SWM. To drive sustainability in waste management, this study aims to provide a set of SWM attributes and identify a causality model based on the interrelationships among the attributes.

This study used the Delphi method to list the relevant attributes and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) involving 18 experts from the medical and health-care industry to present the interrelationships indicating the group of cause–effect attributes of SWM.

The study selected 5 aspects and 20 criteria as the relevant attributes of SWM. The cause group consists of environmental impacts and occupational safety, with positive values of 27.031 and 24.499, respectively. The effect group includes technological performance, economic performance and social performance. In particular, the challenges and practices of technological performance are linked to environmental impacts and occupational safety.

The top four criteria for industrial improvement are green practices, government policy and rules, the awareness of workers and waste separation and collection. These results present deeper insights into theoretical and managerial implications.

This study contributes to addressing the challenges and practices of SWM in technological performance leading to environmental impacts and occupational safety. Studies on the technological performance aspect in the causality relationships between environmental impacts and occupational safety are lacking. This study describes SWM using qualitative information and quantitative data.

This chapter provides an overview of waste management across Europe. It offers an outlook of evolution of waste generation and how European Union (EU) countries treat waste, by providing historical and current data as well as by describing a few best practices of waste management companies and municipalities throughout Europe. The circular economy framework applied to urban waste management and the zero waste strategy are described.