Urban Households' Willingness to Pay to Improve Municipal Solid Waste Collection Services and Associated Factors: A Double-Bounded Contingent Valuation Study in Harar City, Ethiopia.

Municipal solid waste collection (MSWC) service financing is a challenge for governments in developing countries, with little or no contribution from the service users. In most Ethiopian cities, residents do not pay for MSWC. This study aims to estimate households' willingness to pay (WTP) for improved municipal solid waste collection service in Harar city. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 331 households employing the contingent valuation method with a double-bounded dichotomous choice format. The hypothetical program works to collect solid waste twice a week, house-to-house, and safely dispose of it to reduce environmental and health impacts. The Tobit regression model was used to account for the determinants of households' WTP. Findings showed that 89% (95% CI: 85.4, 92.5) of households were WTP for the improved waste collection program, with an average yearly amount of US$12. The Tobit model shows that being married (ß = 6.9, 95% CI: 1.2, 13.7), having a monthly household income of >8000 ETB (ß = 31.9, 95% CI: 22.1, 41.7), attending education about MSWM (ß = 11.8, 95% CI: 5.6, 18.1), having temporary storage at household level (ß = 15.3, 95% CI: 9.5, 21.2), and recycling practices (ß = 5.5, 95% CI: 1.2, 10.8) positively influenced the WTP. Interventions like providing educational programs about waste handling and recycling and providing or encouraging households to have temporary storage at the household level are needed to enhance users' WTP. The policy implication of the finding is that community contribution through service fees could be a strategy for sustainable financing.

Integrating Geographic Information System network analysis and nighttime light satellite imagery to optimize landfill regionalization on a regional level.

More than half of financial resources allocated for municipal solid waste management are typically spent on waste collection and transportation. An optimized landfill siting and waste collection system can save fuel costs, reduce collection truck emissions, and provide higher accessibility with lower traffic impacts. In this study, a data-driven analytical framework is developed to optimize population coverage by landfills using network analysis and satellite imagery. Two scenarios, SC1 and SC2, with different truck travel times were used to simulate generation-site-disposal-site distances in three Canadian provinces. Under status quo conditions, Landfill Regionalization Index (LFRI) ranging from 0 to 2 population centers per landfill in all three jurisdictions. LFRI consistently improved after optimization, with average LFRI ranging from 1.3 to 2.0 population centers per landfill. Lower average truck travel times and better coverage of the population centers are generally observed in the optimized systems. The proposed analytical method is found effective in improving landfill regionalization. Under SC1 and SC2, LFRI percentages of improvement ranging from 58.3% to 64.5% and 22.7% to 59.4%, respectively. Separation distance between the generation and disposal sites and truck capacity appear not a decisive factor in the optimization process. The proposed optimization framework is generally applicable to regions with different geographical and demographical attributes, and is particularly applicable in rural regions with sparsely located population centers.

Perception of work and health among waste collectors.

Introduction: Despite the major social and environmental importance of domestic waste collectors, who perform one of the most unsanitary types of work, they still have to deal with the stigma attached to their profession for collecting what society has discarded. Objectives: To analyze the perception of waste collectors about their work and health. Methods: Interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with domestic waste collectors from the municipal government staff of a medium-sized city in the state of Paraná, Brazil. A demographic questionnaire was also applied. Answers were analyzed according to Bardin's content analysis. Results: Data were collected from 17 participants, all men, with a mean age of 47.7 years. Workers showed different points of view regarding work difficulties and problems, health, people's perception about their work, and the importance of their work. Discussion: Although some answers had opposite perspectives, all participants recognized the importance of their work for society, which is not reciprocated. The way collection activities are performed, with collectors using their bodies as an instrument, and the lack of recognition by society may result in physical and psychological problems. Conclusions: Improving working conditions and making these workers visible to society, considering their indispensability, could promote health strategies directed at this working class.

Introdução: Os coletores de lixo doméstico, que, apesar da relevância social e ambiental que representam, realizam um trabalho considerado insalubre em grau máximo, ainda lidam com o estigma ligado à profissão por realizarem a coleta do que a sociedade descartou. Objetivos: Analisar a percepção dos catadores de lixo sobre o seu trabalho e sua saúde. Métodos: Foram realizadas entrevistas com questões abertas, submetidas à análise de conteúdo de Bardin, com coletores de lixo domiciliar pertencentes ao quadro de funcionários de prefeitura municipal de uma cidade de porte médio do estado do Paraná, além de um questionário social. Resultados: Foram coletados dados de 17 coletores, todos do sexo masculino, com idade média de 47,7 anos. Diferentes olhares foram apresentados sobre dificuldades, problemas, sua saúde, o olhar da população e a importância de seu trabalho. Discussão: Por vezes, as falas indicaram opiniões opostas, mas eles reconhecem a importância de seu trabalho para a sociedade, o que não é recíproco. Problemas físicos e mentais podem decorrer da maneira como o trabalho é exercido, usando o corpo como instrumento, e da forma como sentem o reconhecimento de seu trabalho pela sociedade. Conclusões: Melhorar as condições de trabalho e torná-los visíveis para a sociedade, dada sua imprescindibilidade, são estratégias de promoção da saúde para esses trabalhadores.

The efficiency of municipal solid waste collection in Mexico.

Since the 1980's, some Mexican municipalities have subcontracted waste collection services to private companies, with an eye on increasing the efficiency of this service. However, the impact of private management on the Mexican waste sector performance has not been evaluated. In this study, the efficiency of waste collection in Mexico was analyzed to test the hypothesis that private companies are more efficient at waste collection than municipal governments. A two stage double bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was applied to a sample of 1,626 municipalities. In the first stage, unbiased efficiency scores were calculated, and in the second stage, these scores were regressed against a set of environmental covariates which were thought to affect efficiency, including a dummy variable to identify the municipalities where waste is collected by a private company. Results suggest that private waste collection companies are more efficient than municipal governments. Other environmental variables such as population density, average household income, and tourism were also found to affect waste collection efficiency. The analysis also indicates that curbside collection is associated with a higher efficiency, while separate collection of waste is negatively correlated to efficiency.

Municipal solid waste transfer station planning through vehicle routing problem-based scenario analysis.

Collection, transfer and transport of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the most challenging tasks of local municipalities and occupies a significant portion of the municipal expenses. Appropriately planned transfer stations (TSs) can increase system performance and reduce costs. Therefore, this study aims to develop a spatial modelling approach for investigating the optimum siting and economic impacts of MSW TSs. A geographic information system-based land suitability analysis was conducted to identify potential TS sites followed by a scenario analysis to determine optimum TS sites and waste collection routes for various collection vehicle capacities through vehicle routing problem modelling. The approach was implemented in the southeastern region of Izmir where a new landfill is to be built to serve three district municipalities. The addition of a TS in the study area reduced the collection time and number of shifts by 9%. Similarly, collection with large vehicles decreased the collection time and number of shifts by 25% and 17%, respectively. However, the unit cost of the system increased from 17.52 to 18.60 US$ metric tonnes-1 waste with the TS addition because of the additional costs of the TS. The results indicated that TS addition is not economically feasible in the study area because of the small collection vehicle fleet (eight collection vehicles), proximity of landfill to areas with high waste density and district level collection. On the other hand, TS addition resulted in lower fuel consumption which may help reduce fuel-induced air pollution.

Biomechanical analysis of common solid waste collection throwing techniques using OpenSim and an EMG-assisted solver.

The solid waste collection industry is one of the most common occupations resulting in low back pain (LBP). Lumbar peak joint reaction forces and peak and integrated moments are strong correlates of LBP. To investigate these risks, this study compared three common waste collection throwing techniques of varying lumbar symmetry: the symmetric (SYM) technique, the asymmetric fixed stance (AFS) technique, and the asymmetric with pivot (AWP) technique. Lumbar moments and joint reaction loads were computed for throwing garbage bags of 3, 7, and 11 kg to quantify the effects that technique and object weight have on LBP risk. LBP risk factors were computed using a full-body musculoskeletal model in OpenSim. Muscle activations were estimated using two methods: the EMG-assisted method, which included electromyography data in the solution, and the conventional static optimization method, which did not. The EMG-assisted method more accurately reproduced measured muscle activation, resulting in significantly larger peak compressive and shear forces (p < 0.05) of magnitudes indicative of LBP risk. Risk factors associated with the SYM technique were either larger or not statistically different compared to the asymmetric techniques for the 3 kg condition; however, the opposite result occurred for the 7 and 11 kg conditions (p < 0.05). These results suggest using rapid, asymmetric techniques when handling lightweight objects and slower, symmetric techniques for heavier objects to reduce LBP risk during waste collection throwing techniques. Results indicating increased risk between asymmetric techniques were mostly inconclusive. As expected, increasing bag mass generally increased LBP risk factors, regardless of technique (p < 0.05).

Optimization of a Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem for Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Collection Management Using the PSO-TS Algorithm.

Sustainable management of municipal solid waste (MSW) collection has been of increasing concern in terms of its economic, environmental, and social impacts in recent years. Current literature frequently studies economic and environmental dimensions, but rarely focuses on social aspects, let alone an analysis of the combination of the three abovementioned aspects. This paper considers the three benefits simultaneously, aiming at facilitating decision-making for a comprehensive solution to the capacitated vehicle routing problem in the MSW collection system, where the number and location of vehicles, depots, and disposal facilities are predetermined beforehand. Besides the traditional concerns of economic costs, this paper considers environmental issues correlated to the carbon emissions generated from burning fossil fuels, and evaluates social benefits by penalty costs which are derived from imbalanced trip assignments for disposal facilities. Then, the optimization model is proposed to minimize system costs composed of fixed costs of vehicles, fuel consumption costs, carbon emissions costs, and penalty costs. Two meta-heuristic algorithms, particle swarm optimization (PSO) and tabu search (TS), are adopted for a two-phase algorithm to obtain an efficient solution for the proposed model. A balanced solution is acquired and the results suggest a compromise between economic, environmental, and social benefits.

Estoque e descarte de medicamentos no domicílio: uma revisão sistemática / Storage and disposal of pharmaceuticals at home: a systematic review

Resumo Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a evidência científica nacional e internacional existente sobre o motivo do estoque e a forma de descarte dos medicamentos no domicílio. Realizou-se uma revisão sistemática da literatura de 2001 a 2016 nas bases de dados PubMed, Lilacs e Elsevier's Scopus Database, utilizando os seguintes unitermos: "Disposal of medicines in household", "Disposal of expired drugs", "Residential expired drugs", "Management of expired medications in household". Foram selecionados 33 estudos originais após aplicação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Os estudos analisados demonstraram que os principais motivos de estoque no domicílio foram: automedicação; guarda para uso futuro e sobras de tratamentos anteriores. E quanto ao descarte dos medicamentos, prevalecem práticas inadequadas, como descarte no lixo comum e na rede de esgoto. Alguns países têm adotado programas de orientação sobre o armazenamento e o descarte correto, no entanto, foi apenas encontrado um estudo que descreve um programa nacional gratuito, para orientar essas práticas. A partir das evidências cientificas verificou-se a importância do incentivo para a elaboração e a implementação de políticas públicas voltadas para o uso e descarte adequado de medicamentos no domicílio.

Abstract This study's objective was to analyze Brazilian and international scientific evidence on the reasons people store medication at home and the disposal methods used. This systematic literature review includes studies published from 2001 to 2016 and indexed in PubMed, Lilacs and Elsevier's Scopus Database, using the following key words: Disposal of medicines in household, Disposal of drugs expired, Residential expired drugs, Management of expired medications in household. Thirty-three studies were selected after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The studies reveal that the main reasons people keep a stock of medicines at home include the possibility of future use, leftovers from previous treatments, and self-medication. Inappropriate disposal methods prevail, such as throwing medicines in the household trash or flushing them into the sewer. Some countries have adopted programs to educate on proper storage and disposal of medicines, though only one study describes a national program guiding these practices that is free of charge. Evidence shows there is a need to implement public policies intended to provide guidance on the proper storage and disposal of medicines at home.

Saneamento básico e saúde autoavaliada nas capitais brasileiras: uma análise multinível / Basic sanitation and self-reported health in Brazilian capitals: a multilevel analysis

RESUMO: Objetivo: Analisar a associação entre os determinantes contextuais referentes ao saneamento básico e a autoavaliação de saúde nas capitais brasileiras. Métodos: Analisaram-se 27.017 adultos (≥ 18 anos) residentes nas 27 capitais brasileiras em 2013, utilizando dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde (PNS). Ajustaram-se modelos multiníveis logísticos bayesianos para analisar a associação entre a autoavaliação de saúde e a cobertura dos serviços de saneamento básico (rede de esgoto, abastecimento de água e coleta de lixo), controlando a análise por fatores individuais (primeiro nível do modelo) e renda per capita da cidade de residência (segundo nível). Resultados: A maior cobertura de serviços de saneamento básico esteve consistentemente associada à melhor percepção da saúde, mesmo após o controle pelas características individuais e contextuais. Observou-se menor chance de autoavaliação ruim de saúde entre indivíduos que viviam em capitais com média (odds ratio - OR = 0,59; intervalo de confiança - IC95% = 0,57 - 0,61) e alta (OR = 0,61; IC95% = 0,57 - 0,66) cobertura da rede de coleta de esgoto; média (OR = 0,77; IC95% = 0,71 - 0,83) cobertura de serviço de abastecimento de água; e alta (OR = 0,78; IC95% = 0,69 - 0,89) proporção de coleta de lixo. Conclusão: A associação positiva entre melhores condições de saneamento básico e a autoavaliação da saúde, independentemente dos fatores individuais e das condições socioeconômicas do local de residência, confirma a necessidade de se considerar o saneamento básico na elaboração de políticas de saúde.

ABSTRACT: Objective: This study aimed to analyze the association between the contextual determinants related to basic sanitation and self-reported health in Brazilian capitals. Methods: The sample consisted of 27,017 adults (≥18 years) residing in the 27 Brazilian capitals in 2013, from the National Health Survey (PNS). The association between self-reported health and sanitation (sewage system, water supply and garbage collection) was analyzed using Bayesian multilevel models, controlling for individual factors (first level of the model) and area-level socioeconomic characteristics (second level). Results: We found a consistent association between better self-reported health and better sanitation levels, even after controlling for individual and contextual characteristics. At the contextual level, lower odds of poor self-reported health was observed among those living in areas with medium (OR = 0.59, 95%CI 0.57 - 0.61) or high (OR = 0.61, 95%CI 0.57 - 0.66) sewage system level; medium (OR = 0.77, 95%CI 0.71 - 0.83) coverage of water supply; and high (OR = 0.78, 95%CI 0.69 - 0.89) garbage collection level. Conclusion: The positive association between better sanitation conditions and health, independently of the individual factors and the socioeconomic characteristics of the place of residence, confirms the need to consider sanitation in the planning of health policies.

What is "informal" in informal waste management? Insights from the case of waste collection in the Tepito neighbourhood, Mexico City.

This paper explores the meaning of the concept of informality as applied to the waste management sector, by presenting the case of municipal waste collection in a neighbourhood of Mexico City called Tepito. Tepito's municipal service of waste collection is intricately related to informal activities of waste collection and management. This paper focuses on the work of informal street sweepers, who collect waste in certain streets of the neighbourhood, replacing the municipal collection service; and on that of "volunteers", unwaged informal workers recruited by the garbage-men to help on the municipal collection route. The informal cash flows resulting from the work of the volunteers are also described. The case of Tepito illustrates two formal-informal arrangements in the provision of the waste collection service: the coordination of independent services, and a relation of interdependence where the formal system is sustained by informal work. By exploring the scale of informality, the actors involved, and its governance system, this paper suggests that informality exists not as a particular sector of waste management, but rather as unregulated practices carried out by governmental and non-governmental actors, which are enabled by an informal governance system, and which (in Tepito) play a crucial role in sustaining the municipal waste collection service. As different systems of service provision are co-constructed by both formal and informal elements, informality may best be identified at the level of practices that occur within such systems. Conclusions discuss policy implications and avenues for future research.

A Study of the Relationships between the Characteristics of the Village Population Structure and Rural Residential Solid Waste Collection Services: Evidence from China.

Based on survey data collected in 2016 from 100 villages across five provinces in China, this paper uses binary logistic model to explore the main factors related to the supply and quality of rural residential solid waste collection (RRSWC) services, especially focusing on the role of village population structure characteristics. It is indicated from the results that village population structure characteristics are significantly correlated with RRSWC services; specifically: (1) the total registered population of village households is significantly positively correlated with the supply of RRSWC services, however, the correlation between the registered population and the quality of RRSWC services is negative and the more the labors working and living outside the village, the less likely the village is to provide RRSWC services; (2) the villagers' educational levels and RRSWC services show no significant correlativity at the present stage; (3) the preferential policies brought by population structure advantage play a positive role in the supply of RRSWC services but is not clearly related to the quality of RRSWC services, especially in the villages with a larger minority population. In addition, the study finds that, the economic development level of a village and the characteristics of village leaders are also positively correlated with the supply and quality of RRSWC services and; the natural and traffic conditions have no significant correlation with RRSWC services. This study can act as a reference for the further promotion of the development of RRSWC services in China.

SGA: spatial GIS-based genetic algorithm for route optimization of municipal solid waste collection.

Designing optimization models and meta-heuristic algorithms for minimization of traveling routes of vehicles in solid waste collection has been gaining interest in environmental modeling. The computer models and methods are useful to bring out specific strategies for prevention and precaution of possible disasters that could be foreseen worldwide. This paper proposes a new Spatial Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Genetic Algorithm for optimizing the route of solid waste collection. The proposed algorithm, called SGA, uses a modified version of the original Dijkstra algorithm in GIS to generate optimal solutions for vehicles. Then, a pool of solutions, which are optimal routes of all vehicles, is encoded in Genetic Algorithm. It is iteratively evolved to a better one and finally to the optimal solution. Experiments on the case study at Sfax city in Tunisia are performed to validate the performance of the proposal. It has been shown that the proposed method has better performance than the practical route and the original Dijkstra method.

Door-to-door recyclables collection programmes: Willingness to participate and influential factors with a case study in the city of Xanthi (Greece).

The implementation of a recyclable waste management system is a serious challenge for a society that aims to contribute to sustainability. The first operational step of such system is waste collection. In a number of European countries, the solid waste collection system has changed from the conventional kerbside system to a door-to-door collection. However, this type of waste collection system has not yet been introduced in Greece and its public acceptance prior to potential full implementation needs to be considered. This study aims to investigate the willingness of the residents of a Greek city (Xanthi, Thrace) to change from the existing kerbside collection system and initiate and participate in a door-to-door recyclable waste collection system instead. A questionnaire was designed and distributed randomly to 150 residents of Xanthi and a statistical analysis was then performed to assess the influence of a number of explanatory variables on recycling behaviour and the willingness to participate in a door-to-door collection system. The findings of this study indicate that most of the respondents (72.7%) were willing to participate in a future door-to-door recyclables collection programme in Xanthi. The factors that influenced the respondents' attitude with regard to such a programme were associated with level of education, their beliefs about the effectiveness of the current recycling system and also their attitudes towards recycling issues in general. Age and religion significantly affected recycling frequency. The survey and statistics presented in this article can be used as a model to assess the behaviour of citizens towards recyclable waste management systems worldwide.

Greenhouse gas contribution of municipal solid waste collection: A case study in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.

This article estimates greenhouse gas emissions and global warming factors resulting from collection of municipal solid waste to the transfer stations or landfills in Istanbul for the year of 2015. The aim of this study is to quantify and compare diesel fuel consumption and estimate the greenhouse gas emissions and global warming factors associated with municipal solid waste collection of the 39 districts of Istanbul. Each district's greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the provision and combustion of diesel fuel was estimated by considering the number of collection trips and distances to municipal solid waste facilities. The estimated greenhouse gases and global warming factors for the districts varied from 61.2 to 2759.1 t CO2-eq and from 4.60 to 15.20 kg CO2-eq t-1, respectively. The total greenhouse gas emission was estimated as 46.4E3 t CO2-eq. Lastly, the collection data from the districts was used to parameterise a collection model that can be used to estimate fuel consumption associated with municipal solid waste collection. This mechanistic model can then be used to predict future fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with municipal solid waste collection based on projected population, waste generation, and distance to transfer stations and landfills. The greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by decreasing the trip numbers and trip distances, building more transfer stations around the city, and making sure that the collection trucks are full in each trip.

Parameter interrelationships in a dual phase GIS-based municipal solid waste collection model.

Geographic information systems are a valuable tool for waste collection and optimization, but they have been underutilized in helping to understand the complex interrelationships that exist within a dual phase solid waste collection system. A GIS-based dual phase model integrating the handcart pre-collection phase and truck collection phase for a study area located in Hai Phong, Vietnam was proposed, and a resulting total system cost was estimated. Temporary collection points were first identified using both the maximize coverage and minimize facility location-allocation tools from a list of candidate temporary collection points and constraints. Two vehicle routing problems were then separately modeled for handcart and truck routes. A total of 30 scenarios were considered in order to investigate the interrelationships between the model parameters, with respect to the total operation costs and maintenance system costs. The scenario with 11 temporary collection points and a maximum handcart collection distance of 500 m gave the lowest overall cost in the study area. The results suggest a single temporary collection point in the study is able to serve about 2,590 people in an area of 0.11 km2. Compared to the status quo condition, a 13.76% reduction in truck travel distances is attainable using the proposed model. It is found that the number and distribution of temporary collection points greatly affected the cost effectiveness in both pre-collection and collection phases.

A novel approach to find and optimize bin locations and collection routes using a geographic information system.

One of the major challenges in big cities is planning and implementation of an optimized, integrated solid waste management system. This optimization is crucial if environmental problems are to be prevented and the expenses to be reduced. A solid waste management system consists of many stages including collection, transfer and disposal. In this research, an integrated model was proposed and used to optimize two functional elements of municipal solid waste management (storage and collection systems) in the Ahmadabad neighbourhood located in the City of Mashhad - Iran. The integrated model was performed by modelling and solving the location allocation problem and capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) through Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results showed that the current collection system is not efficient owing to its incompatibility with the existing urban structure and population distribution. Application of the proposed model could significantly improve the storage and collection system. Based on the results of minimizing facilities analyses, scenarios with 100, 150 and 180 m walking distance were considered to find optimal bin locations for Alamdasht, C-metri and Koohsangi. The total number of daily collection tours was reduced to seven as compared to the eight tours carried out in the current system (12.50% reduction). In addition, the total number of required crews was minimized and reduced by 41.70% (24 crews in the current collection system vs 14 in the system provided by the model). The total collection vehicle routing was also optimized such that the total travelled distances during night and day working shifts was cut back by 53%.

Assessment strategies for municipal selective waste collection schemes.

An important strategy to promote a strong sustainable growth relies on an efficient municipal waste management, and phasing out waste landfilling through waste prevention and recycling emerges as a major target. For this purpose, effective collection schemes are required, in particular those regarding selective waste collection, pursuing a more efficient and high quality recycling of reusable materials. This paper addresses the assessment and benchmarking of selective collection schemes, relevant to guide future operational improvements. In particular, the assessment is based on the monitoring and statistical analysis of a core-set of performance indicators that highlights collection trends, complemented with a performance index that gathers a weighted linear combination of these indicators. This combined analysis underlines a potential tool to support decision makers involved in the process of selecting the collection scheme with best overall performance. The presented approach was applied to a case study conducted in Oporto Municipality, with data gathered from two distinct selective collection schemes.

Modeling municipal solid waste collection: A generalized vehicle routing model with multiple transfer stations, gather sites and inhomogeneous vehicles in time windows.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collection is a necessary process in any municipality resulting in the quality-of-life, economic aspects and urban structuralization. The intrinsic nature of MSW collection relates to the development of effective vehicle routing models that optimize the total traveling distances of vehicles, the environmental emission and the investment costs. In this article, we propose a generalized vehicle routing model including multiple transfer stations, gather sites and inhomogeneous vehicles in time windows for MSW collection. It takes into account traveling in one-way routes, the number of vehicles per m(2) and waiting time at traffic stops for reduction of operational time. The proposed model could be used for scenarios having similar node structures and vehicles' characteristics. A case study at Danang city, Vietnam is given to illustrate the applicability of this model. The experimental results have clearly shown that the new model reduces both total traveling distances and operational hours of vehicles in comparison with those of practical scenarios. Optimal routes of vehicles on streets and markets at Danang are given. Those results are significant to practitioners and local policy makers.

An algorithm for the optimal collection of wet waste.

This work refers to the development of an approach for planning wet waste (food waste and other) collection at a metropolitan scale. Some specific modeling features distinguish this specific waste collection problem from the other ones. For instance, there may be significant differences as regards the values of the parameters (such as weight and volume) characterizing the various collection points. As it happens for classical waste collection planning, even in the case of wet waste, one has to deal with difficult combinatorial problems, where the determination of an optimal solution may require a very large computational effort, in the case of problem instances having a noticeable dimensionality. For this reason, in this work, a heuristic procedure for the optimal planning of wet waste is developed and applied to problem instances drawn from a real case study. The performances that can be obtained by applying such a procedure are evaluated by a comparison with those obtainable via a general-purpose mathematical programming software package, as well as those obtained by applying very simple decision rules commonly used in practice. The considered case study consists in an area corresponding to the historical center of the Municipality of Genoa.

Descarte de medicamentos: programas de recolhimento e novos desafios / Disposal of medicines: gathering programs and new challenges

O descarte de medicamento feito pela população é um tema que vem sendo cada vez mais discutido, Há uma crescente preocupação, pois a grande maioria da população não tem o conhecimento das consequências ambientais e nem das consequências à saúde pública que o descarte incorreto de medicamentos pode causar, Surgem ao redor do país, algumas iniciativas privativas e isoladas apresentando soluções à problemática, oferecendo à população estrutura para o descarte correto e informação sobre o tema, Por ainda não haver uma legislação nacional efetiva sobre o assunto, os estados lançam leis, regulamentando a problemática em seus territórios, No Ceará, foi sancionada em 2012 a lei no 15.192, obrigando às farmácias, drogarias e distribuidoras de medicamentos a recolherem os medicamentos da população, porém, devido à realidade local, não está sendo totalmente cumprida, Com a intensificação de discussões sobre as iniciativas particulares e as legislações locais, com o envolvimento de vários setores da sociedade e com a troca de experiências de programas em funcionamento, torna-se possível impulsionar projetos em locais onde a população ainda não tem oportunidade de dar a destinação correta aos medicamentos em desuso, Esse artigo traz à discussão a ocorrência de resíduos de medicamentos no meio ambiente, aspectos relacionados aos avanços na legislação brasileira quanto ao manejo de resíduos de medicamentos, às propostas de implantação de programas de recolhimento de medicamentos no país e alguns de seus desafios...

Drug disposal by the population is an important issue that has been widely discussed. There is a growing concern, because the vast majority of the population has no awareness on the environmental and public health consequences related to incorrect disposal of drugs. Some isolated initiatives arise around the country presenting solutions to the problem, and offering structure and information for proper disposal. There is still no effective national legislation in Brazil on the subject hence states launch laws regulating the problem in their own territory. In the state of Ceará the law 15192 was enacted in 2012 forcing pharmacies, drugstores and drug distributors to collect the population’s disposed drug, but due to local conditions, has not yet been fully met. With the intensification of discussions about particular initiatives and local laws, with the involvement of various segments of society and the exchange of experiences of running programs, it is possible to boost projects in areas where the population has no opportunity to give the correct destination for unused medicines. This article brings to the discussion the occurrence of drug waste in the environment, issues related to advances in Brazilian legislation regarding management of drug waste, proposals for implantation of drug collecting programs in the country and some of its challenges...