Assessment of the performance of cruise ship waste management: Case study of the Rio de Janeiro port, Brazil.

The significant growth of the cruise ship industry has resulted in economic benefits, but there are also waste management-related challenges. The aim of this case study was to contribute to the research of cruise ship waste management at the Port of Rio de Janeiro. A3 methodology, applied for the first time in this context, was used to create questionnaires to assess the stakeholders involved, revealing that institutional bureaucracy has a negative effect on waste management. In addition, secondary data on unloaded waste, obtained from the transport manifests, showed that 56 % contained reliable information. The main wastes were plastics (57 %), glass (17 %), metal (9 %), and others. With respect to destinations, 41 % were sent to landfills, 55 % recycled and 4 % thermally treated. Only 5 % of cruise ship moorings removed waste at the Port of Rio de Janeiro, attributed to factors such as high costs.

Analyzing the territorial dimensions of work through a comparative study of waste recovery facilities in France and Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Waste production and management from residents and collection for sorting are systems heavily dependent on territorial dimensions. Ergonomic research needs to better integrate such territorial determinants to improve work conditions and design sustainable work systems. OBJECTIVE: Through studies in France and Brazil, this paper analyzes the territorial relations that raise work systems' sustainability challenges for materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and waste management in both countries and examines the links between work activity and territory in MRFs. METHODS: Both studies were based on the principles of activity-oriented ergonomics and used analyses of work activity and sociotechnical systems. The French study focused on interventions conducted over a 42-month period in five MRFs. The Brazilian study was based on a 20-month longitudinal qualitative and quantitative study. RESULTS: In this paper, we argue that territory is a key determining factor in waste production and work. Notably, the consumption patterns of residents and the economic flows within a geographic space determine the waste composition; and the territorially specified public policies, which define technical and social dimensions of waste collection and sorting. However, the territorial dimensions of waste are poorly considered in facility design. Workers' health and sorting system performance are thus affected and negatively compromising plant performance. CONCLUSION: The territory appears as a blind spot in the design of work systems. One of the challenges is to create interfaces and devices that could help to integrate better human activity and waste territorialized anchorage, in a multilevel organization, from local communities to the global recycling chains.

Searching for a sustainable economy: Work, cooperation, and territorial solutions.

BACKGROUND: This article discusses expanded governance of territorial issues as the basis for a sustainable way of producing and commercializing, as well as the relevance of work analysis within this governance. This discussion is developed from the Functionality and Cooperation Economy approach and from Brazilian experiences of organic food production and community-based solid waste management. OBJECTIVE: To identify and analyze the relationship between territorial issues and work activities in initiatives that seek territorial solutions for food and waste management in order to reflect on a sustainable economic transition and its challenges. METHODS: This article presents a reflection, a posteriori, concerning the follow-up of two initiatives that seek a sustainable economy and that, facing territorial issues, adopted different economic strategies. The field of research, by which the intended reflections are guided, originated from two intervention projects conducted by two different research/intervention groups. RESULTS: Our study highlights how the central focus on the effects of work in a territory can support the development of reflexivity and, consequently, the production of transversal cooperation and the sharing of material and immaterial resources, thereby leading to multifunctional territorial solutions. CONCLUSION: This study presents how the co-construction of multifunctional territorial solutions, involving cooperation among different actors, can be developed by an analysis of the respective activities involved. This analysis confers centrality to real work in order to feed the governance devices and enable the development of relationships of trust, necessary for living and producing in harmony, along with the construction of conventions and dynamic cooperation.

Reflections on COVID-19 pandemic and waste management in developing countries: A case study in São Paulo city, Brazil.

COVID-19 pandemic has changed several aspects in human behaviour, whereas population mobility patterns have been strongly affected by social distancing. In parallel, changes in solid waste generation patterns have been reported worldwide. This work assessed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste generation and collection in São Paulo city, Brazil, the largest city of Latin America. Data on nine types of wastes collected between 2013 and 2021 were obtained, and the quantities of wastes collected before and during the pandemic were compared. These data were also discussed in light of data on COVID-19 cases and rates of social distancing and mobility. An increase in the amount of recyclables collected during the first wave of COVID-19 (March to September 2020) was observed. Decreases in the quantities of construction, demolition and bulky wastes (first wave of COVID-19) and farmers market wastes (second wave - October 2020 to February 2021) were also evidenced. The quantities of medical wastes collected during the pandemic significantly increased. The amount of residential wastes was lower than the mean for the pre-pandemic period during the first months of COVID-19. Thus, changes in lifestyle and consumption patterns of the population of São Paulo city seem to have affected solid waste generation during the pandemic, which reinforces the need of implementing solid waste management policies based on a diagnostic that characterise and consider these changes.

Livestock waste management for energy recovery in Brazil: a life cycle assessment approach.

Livestock farming has exerted intense environmental pressure on our planet. The high emissions to the environment and the high demands of resources for the production process have encouraged the search for decarbonization and circularity in the livestock sector. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the environmental performance of two different uses for biogas generated in the anaerobic digestion of animal waste, either for electricity generation or biomethane. For this purpose, a life cycle assessment approach was applied to evaluate the potential of anaerobic digestion as a management technology for three different livestock wastes, related to beef cattle, dairy, and sheep in the Brazilian animal production context. The results suggest that the treatment scenarios focusing on biomethane generation were able to mitigate the highest percentage of damages (77 to 108%) in the global warming category when compared to the scenarios without the use of anaerobic digestion (3.00·102 to 3.71·103 kgCO2 eq) or in the perspective of electricity generation (mitigation of 74 to 96%). In terms of freshwater eutrophication, the generation of electricity (- 2.17·10-2 to 2.31·10-3 kg P eq) is more favorable than the purification of biogas to biomethane (- 1.73·10-2 to 2.44·10-3 kg P eq), due to the loss of methane in the upgrading process. In terms of terrestrial ecotoxicity, all scenarios are very similar, with negative values (- 1.19·101 to - 7.17·102 kg 1,4-DCB) due to the benefit of nutrient recovery, especially nitrogen, associated with the use of digestate as fertilizer, which was one of the critical points in all scenarios. Based on these results, it is evident that proper management of all stages of the treatment life cycle is the key to decarbonization and circularity in livestock waste management. The biogas use does not present different effects on the environmental performance of the scenarios studied, demonstrating that the purpose should be chosen according to the needs of each plant or management system.

Evidence of waste management impacting severe diarrhea prevalence more than WASH: An exhaustive analysis with Brazilian municipal-level data.

Adequate housing protects from diarrhea, which is a substantial health concern in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this study was to quantify the relationship between severe diarrhea and housing features at the municipal level to help in public health planning. Regression analyses were performed on annual (2000-2012) datasets on Brazilian municipalities (5570) in six household feature categories (e.g., waste management) and four severe diarrhea outcomes (e.g., diarrhea deaths of under-5 children). Household data were not available elsewhere of this magnitude and granularity, highlighting the scientific value-add of this study. Municipalities were clustered prior to regression analysis because of data heterogeneity. The compositional household feature data were also subjected to principal component analysis to diminish feature variable multicollinearity. The highest explanatory power was found for diarrhea deaths of under-5 children (R2 = 10-22 %), while those in the over-5 population were the least best explained (R2 = 0.3-7 %). Household features predicted diarrhea outcomes more accurately in the "advanced" housing municipality cluster (R2 = 16-22 %) than in the "mid-level" (R2 = 7-20 %) and "basic" (R2 = 6-12 %) ones (over-5 diarrhea deaths excluded). Under-5 children's diarrhea death prevalence was three times higher in the "basic" cluster than in the "advanced" cluster. Importantly, the impact of waste management was overall the largest of all household features, even larger than those of WASH, i.e., water supply, sanitation, and household drinking water treatment. This is surprising in the context of existing literature because WASH is generally regarded as the most important household factor affecting gastrointestinal health. In conclusion, public health interventions could benefit from customizing interventions for diarrhea outcomes, municipality types, and household features. Waste management's identified stronger association with diarrhea compared to WASH may have important implications beyond the water field and Brazil.

Forecasting of secondary lead recovery from motorcycle batteries in Brazil: a contribution to waste management.

This study aims to predict the potential for secondary lead recovery from motorcycle batteries in Brazil, since this is considered the second largest category of automobiles in the country. To achieve this objective, a forecasting model based on the ARIMA methodology was applied, with input data taken from Brazilian sectorial platforms. Furthermore, an analysis of the data, of the residuals, autocorrelation tests, as well as Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Dickey-Fuller tests, were performed. The SARIMA model (3,1,0) (2,0,0)12 presented a better adaptation to the behavior of the series. The results showed that the amount of secondary lead obtained based on the forecast model will be 89,972,842.08 million tons between 2021 and 2030 (14 million tons of lead originated only from motorcycle LABs in 2021). These results show a possible insufficiency of the installed capacity to supply the amount of lead to be processed in the country, not to mention the LABs from other vehicles (light and heavy) and other emerging battery technologies from electric vehicles. In addition, an analysis was conducted on the importance of secondary lead for the economy and the dangers of illegal recycling in Brazil. In general, this study contributes to the understanding of the importance of secondary production of lead in Brazil, an important asset for a country that does not have sufficient primary production for its domestic demand. The findings may assist in several alternatives for the proper planning and management of the collection, disposal and recycling of lead, providing the Brazilian government with directions for the development of new policies related to lead recycling.

Advancing plastic pollution hotspotting at the subnational level: Brazil as a case study in the Global South.

Identifying sources is crucial for proposing effective actions to combat marine litter pollution. Here, we used an innovative approach to identify hotspots of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) within Brazil and subsequent leakage to the ocean, based on population density, socio-economic conditions, municipal solid waste management and environmental parameters. We estimated plastic waste generation and MPW for each of the 5570 Brazilian municipalities, which totaled 3.44 million metric tons per year. Then, we estimated the probability of litter mobilization and transport (P) and the relative risk of leakage to the ocean (MPW × P). The Guanabara Bay and La Plata River comprised the main oceanic entry hotspots of litter produced in Brazil. The use of national databases allowed us to increase spatial and temporal granularity, offering a detailed baseline for the application of prevention and mitigation actions. However, overcoming data limitations is still a challenge in Brazil as in other Global South countries.

Proposal of a sustainability index for intermunicipal cooperation on waste management.

The management of solid waste is one of the biggest challenges for sustainability. Aiming at gains of scale, guaranteeing universal access and the technical and economic viability of the services, intermunicipal cooperation has been implemented in several countries, and in Brazil, it presents itself as one of the main instruments of public policies in the sector of sanitation. The main objective of this article is to propose a set of indicators and the construction of an index to evaluate the performance of regionalized management of urban solid waste, applying them to intermunicipal public consortia operating in Brazil. Based on the Delphi methodology, a total of 15 indicators were defined, divided into 5 sustainability dimensions, used for the construction of the Regionalized Urban Solid Waste Management Performance Index (IDGRSU). In Brazil, the performance of regionalized management was classified as Regular for most of the operating consortia analysed. The adequacy of the final disposal in regional sanitary landfills is the common practice among the municipalities, and consequently, the reduction of the areas of dumps represents the main advance in the management. The index developed proved to be an important instrument to support municipalities and consortia for waste management, contributing to the implementation of sustainable strategies and to the development of policies, and its application in other countries is feasible, regardless of the size of the municipalities.

Reducing the environmental impacts of Brazilian chicken meat production using different waste recovery strategies.

Chicken meat has achieved significant index rates worldwide, with Brazil leading production and exports. The agribusiness significance has led to strengthening attention to the environmental burdens produced by the poultry industry. This research considered reducing the environmental impacts in the life cycle of Brazilian chicken meat regarding strategies for recycling waste from the production process. An attributional cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment was performed, with the functional unit of 1 kg of slaughtered and unpacked chicken meat. The two suggested scenarios used: i) chicken bedding for biogas production and ii) chicken carcass waste as meat meals in feed production. Handling poultry litter for biogas production avoided methane and ammonia emissions, reducing over 50% of the environmental indicators of Climate Change, Terrestrial Acidification, and Freshwater Eutrophication. Reuse poultry waste to produce meat meals reduced from 12% to 55% in all impact categories, decreasing emissions from carcasses destined for decomposition in landfills and using less raw materials from bovine sources. Investigating the environmental performance of the chicken meat production chain encouraged the circularity of natural resources and waste recovery strategies in the system boundary, thus helping to accomplish Sustainable Development Goals 7, 9, 12, and 13 of the UN Agenda 2030.

The governance of E-waste recycling networks: Insights from São Paulo City.

Electronic waste is an environmental problem because its production volume exceeds its recycling capacity. Academic and managerial production affirm two reasons: (a) dominant market logic and; (b) unresolved asymmetries among actors, causing conflicts to work together. Following the qualitative methodology, we investigate the e-waste situation in São Paulo City. The results allow us to propose that governance constructed by local actors could be a thoughtful way to promote e-waste recycling. Examples from around the world sustain this proposition. The theoretical principle is that the social process of constructing the mechanisms for collective action can solve challenges because the rules, roles, and actions are discussed and assumed by the actors working together. We present a matrix of indicators to be used in future studies in order to refine the proposition of constructed governance.

Municipal solid waste management with recyclable potential in developing countries: Current scenario and future perspectives.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a complex challenge to be solved worldwide, intensified in developing countries since in addition to economic and environmental aspects there is also the social aspect represented by the collector individual. From an integrative bibliographic review this study longitudinally analyses the socio-productive inclusion of collectors in the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) at an international level. Aiming: (a) to identify relevant articles describing/studies on MSWM with social inclusion of scavengers around the world; (b) to analyse these articles in order to present its main characteristics; (c) to describe municipal solid waste management with recyclable potential (MSWRP) with socio-productive inclusion of collectors; (d) the study provides a more detailed summary of MSWRP management in some developing countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan; and (e) to provide a framework indicating the future practices and perspectives of MSWRP. As result, this study presents the paradigms and future questions for an effective improvement of WSWM, such as: Professional Training of Scavengers, Cultural Issues, Empowerment of Scavenger, Recycling Cooperatives and Cooperativism, Policy Issues and Recycling Chain, Management Systems and Process Improvement, Quality of Services Provided, Circular Economy and Informal Sector, Health Quality and Safety at Work, Barriers and Solutions for the Inclusion of the Informal Sector, Environmental, Economic and Social Benefits.

Environmental risk caused by drug waste in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the SARS-Cov19 pandemic. / Risco ambiental provocado por resíduos de medicamentos na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, durante a pandemia por SARS-Cov19.

The relationship between the distribution of medicines used in the Pandemic by SARS-COV-19 in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro and the estimated level of environmental risk caused by their residues was evaluated. The amount of medicines distributed by primary health care (PHC) units between 2019 and 2021 were collected. The risk quotient (RQ) corresponded to the ratio between the estimated predictive environmental concentration (PECest) obtained by the consumption and excretion of each drug and its non-effective predictive concentration (PNEC). Between 2019 and 2020, the PECest of azithromycin (AZI) and ivermectin (IVE) increased between 2019 and 2020, with a decrease in 2021 probably due to shortages. Dexchlorpheniramine (DEX) and fluoxetine (FLU) fell, returning to growth in 2021. While the PECest of diazepam (DIA) increased over these 3 years, ethinylestradiol (EE2) decreased possibly due to the prioritization of PHC in the treatment of COVID-19. The largest QR were from FLU, EE2 and AZI. The consumption pattern of these drugs did not reflect their environmental risk because the most consumed ones have low toxicity. It is worth noting that some data may be underestimated due to the incentive given during the pandemic to the consumption of certain groups of drugs.

Foi avaliada a relação entre a distribuição de medicamentos usados na pandemia por SARS-COV-19 no município do Rio de Janeiro e o nível de risco ambiental estimado provocado por seus resíduos. Foi coletada a quantidade de medicamentos distribuídos pelas unidades de atenção primária à saúde (APS) entre 2019 e 2021. O quociente de risco (QR) correspondeu à razão entre a concentração ambiental preditiva estimada (PECest), obtida pelo consumo e excreção de cada fármaco, e a sua concentração preditiva não efetiva (PNEC). Os PECest da azitromicina e da ivermectina aumentaram entre 2019 e 2020, tendo uma queda em 2021 provavelmente devido ao desabastecimento. Já o da dexclorfeniramina (DEX) e da fluoxetina (FLU) tiveram uma queda, retornando o crescimento em 2021. Enquanto o PECest do diazepam (DIA) aumentou ao longo desses três anos, o etinilestradiol (EE2) diminuiu, possivelmente pela priorização da APS no tratamento da COVID-19. Os maiores QR foram de FLU, EE2 e AZI. O padrão de consumo desses medicamentos não refletiu seu risco ambiental, pois os mais consumidos possuem baixa toxicidade. Vale destacar que alguns dados podem estar subestimados devido ao incentivo que foi dado durante a pandemia para o consumo de determinados grupos de fármacos.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among urban cleaning and solid waste management workers during transmission of the Omicron variant in Brazil.

This study estimated the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in urban cleaning and solid waste management workers during the transmission of the Omicron variant in one of the poorest regions of Brazil (the state of Sergipe). Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 494 workers, and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was tested by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, comorbidities, vaccination status, mask use, and use of public transport to commute to the workplace were collected. The prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated from the proportion of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases among the total number of individuals tested. The prevalence ratio (PR) with a 95% CI was the measure of association used to evaluate the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the exposure variables. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 22.5% (95% CI, 19.0 to 26.4). Individuals under the age of 40 had a higher prevalence of infection (PR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.30) as well as those who did not believe in the protective effect of vaccines (PR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.89). Our results indicate the need for better guidance on preventive measures against coronavirus disease 2019 among urban cleaning and solid waste management workers.

Transitioning towards a sustainable circular city: How to evaluate and improve urban solid waste management in Brazil.

A circular city (CC) promotes circular economy (CE) principles. Efficient urban solid waste management (USWM) strategies are essential for promoting a CE at the municipal level. New tools are needed to evaluate waste management (WM) and increase the reuse and recycling of materials to accelerate the transition towards a CC. These tools could assist decision and policymakers in adopting, implementing, and monitoring circular practices. This study proposes creating an index (USWM-index) to evaluate WM in urban areas and discuss how it could be better managed in future sustainable circular cities in Brazil. The index allows city managers to integratively and sustainably assess their USWM. Decision-makers can also use the index to set goals and objectives for recycling and reusing generated waste in cities. The index comprises 19 indicators and 51 sub-indicators. These elements were divided into five groups: Operational, Environmental, Political-economic, Educational, and Social. Cities can assess their performance in each group by using the USWM-index. The index was applied to four Brazilian cities. All cities had their USWM classified as average, and they did not have initiatives to transition to sustainable circular cities regarding WM. This study presents guidelines for transitioning from a linear city to a sustainable circular city in terms of WM.

Ceramic shell waste valorization: A new approach to increase the sustainability of the precision casting industry from a circular economy perspective.

The problem of waste generation has grown because of the need to extract natural resources, obtain materials, and consume energy to meet current societal needs. Many studies have been conducted worldwide in favor of technological solutions for the valorization of industrial waste (IW) but few discussed relevant data for effective recovery. In this study, a case study of ceramic shell waste (CSW) was performed using, for the first time, a waste valorization system based on the classification, potentiality, quantity/viability, and applicability criteria (CPQvA) in a specific region (Brazil). CPQvA is a multicriteria decision-making system that acts as a guide to help managers and researchers connect the potential of IW with the feasibility of its application in a product or another process. Using the proposed systematic criteria, it was possible to demonstrate similarities and differences in waste applications. Thirteen possible products made from CSW were analyzed based on all the parameters of CPQvA. Ceramic filters and refractory aggregates were the most viable products. Creating public policies that encourage the use of waste as a raw material could make the precision casting industry process cleaner and the economy more circular.

Estimation of lithium-ion battery scrap generation from electric vehicles in Brazil.

Among the diversity of electronic waste, lithium-ion batteries (LIB), specifically those used in the propulsion of electric vehicles (EV), are considered pollutants of significant impact. When not used and disposed of correctly, LIBs can cause damage of various types to health and the environment. The electrochemical instability inherent in these batteries releases toxic gases, risks explosion, and is always associated with a series of electronic circuits composed of various metals, including heavy metals. As a result of public policies to encourage vehicle electrification, the Brazilian EVs sector has shown high growth, even within an economic crisis scenario. In this sense, this study presents a model for estimating the production of electric vehicles and the generation of scrap LIBs, based on time series, combining battery life, car sales data, and the mileage profile covered by a car in Brazil. Around 700 thousand EVs are expected to be circulating in Brazil by 2030, with approximately 500 thousand LIBs to be converted into scrap by 2040. Finally, the delaying effect of the scrap generated from LIBs is highlighted, in line with the battery life, which, in the future, may have a very negative impact on waste management.

Sector arc routing-based spatial decision support system for waste collection in Brazil.

We present a sector arc routing problem-based spatial decision support system technology to develop tactical and operational plans and manage solid waste collection activities including household refuse collection and human and mechanical street sweeping. The proposed technology can also manage solid waste services through optimization (minimizing sector costs, distances and resources). The proposed technology is called optimized planning and integrated logistics management. It can be directly applied to Brazilian municipalities as it contains its major natural features. The system uses advanced technics from sector arc routing and sector scheduling, fleet and staff scheduling and daily plan management using mobile smartphone apps. The technology also allows for waste system inspections that are transparent to all participants in real time. We present the results of cases evaluated in the field for residential refuse collection and human and mechanical street sweeping in two Brazilian cities (Campo Grande and São Paulo). The plan implementations achieved from 12 to 28% actual fixed and variable cost savings for sectors (vehicles and workers) and routes (time and distances) for residential refuse collection and from 7 to 42% savings for human and mechanical street sweeping for the companies.

Challenges of selective collection of the household waste: A case study in a Brazilian metropolis.

This work sought to analyse the main difficulties in implementing and maintaining the selective waste collection in a Brazilian metropolis with more than one million inhabitants. Therefore, a qualitative method was used through in-depth interviews with 18 professionals working in the area of selective collection. The interviews were recorded and the data submitted to content analysis. The results showed the following difficulties: lack of management by the government, low efficiency and limited coverage; poor separation of waste at source; distortions in the selective collection logistics chain and in the distribution of waste by cooperatives; high informality, precarious work and low pay for waste collectors; the presence of middlemen and corruption in the system; and idle capacity of cooperatives and public organs. It was concluded that to overcome the difficulties in the selective collection and for it to be more effective, there is a need to improve the management of the process by the government with greater transparency and integration between the various actors involved, education of the population, better working conditions and remuneration for waste collectors.

Individuals in Collaborative Governance for Environmental Management.

Analyzing the effect of individual participants on collaborative governance processes in environmental management has been elusive due to lack of theoretical frameworks and data limitations. This study uses pattern matching to contrast identity theory with original data from 7 individuals participating in waste management and urban agriculture collaboration in Florianópolis, Brazil. What started as a self-organized initiative to manage an environmental problem, due to precarious waste management services, was scaled up to a citywide policy. Findings demonstrate that as the collaboration evolved over time, individual participants in municipal government transitioned between roles, organizations, and departments which affected their influence on the collaboration according to two transition styles: integrators (overlapping different roles) and segmenters (aligning roles with contexts without ambiguity). While the integrator-style participants were key to increasing sectoral diversity during the activation stage of the collaboration to produce innovative actions, segmenters contributed to formalizing the collaboration with appropriate institutional designs. However, the success of the collaboration after the institutionalization stage depended on the individual transition style and the power of municipal agents to have agency for influencing the collaboration. These findings have implications for adapting collaborative settings to respond to contextual changes that involve urban environmental issues.