The role and place of solid waste transfer station in the waste management system

The municipal waste is a waste type that includes predominantly household waste (domestic waste) with sometimes the addition of commercial wastes collected by a municipality within a given area. EU waste management principles were defined in the Waste Framework Directive 75/442/EEC. A transfer station is a building or processing site for the temporary deposi-tion of waste. Transfer stations are often used as places where local waste collection vehicles will deposit their waste cargo prior to loading it into larger vehicles. The primary reason for using transfer station is to reduce the cost of transporting waste to disposal facilities. There are many countries in Europe using this solution in waste management system, for example: Germany, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland. Waste transfer stations play there an important role in a community's total waste management system, serving as the link between a community's solid waste collection program and a final waste disposal facility. In Poland only several waste transfer stations exist, but none of them fulfils the role like this station located in EU or United States of America. This article includes characteristics and role of solid waste transfer stations (located mainly at rural area) in waste management systems.     ...

Assessment of segregated waste accumulation efficiency in selected suburban communities

Among solid wastes one may distinguish mixed wastes, segregated wastes (collected selectively) and biodegradable wastes originating from open-air markets, green areas or cemeteries. Mixed wastes have constituted the largest proportion in the stream of municipal solid waste (MSW), both before and after the changes in waste management system in Poland introduced on 1 July 2013. The other group, regarding the collected wastes volume, is so-called segregation. It has been forecasted that in the nearest future the amount of segregated wastes will be successively growing. The article presents the analysis of selectively collected wastes (paper, plastics, glass and metal) indicators from lower administrative units of Liszki and Mogilany communities. The degree of segregated wastes accumulation efficiency was assessed on the basis of conducted computation. The communities selected for the analysis are suburban municipalities, situated in the area of Krakow agglomeration in the immediate vicinity of the main city of the Malopolskie voivodeship.The main aim of the work was an assessment of selective accumulation of municipal solid wastes in suburban communities. Values of quantitative indices, characterizing mixed and segregated municipal solid waste generated by the inhabitants of individual lower administrative units of the studied communities were subjected to a detailed ...

Characteristics of illegal dumping sites – case study: watercourses

Illegal waste deposition in places unadapted for this purpose poses a hazard to the natural environment. Each year over 10 000 illegal dumping sites are liquidated in Poland. The areas where illegal landfills occur are most frequently situated in the vicinity of waste management plants, wastelands, roadsides, byways or unfenced private plots (particularly on the city outskirts), forests and water courses. Despite of the changes introduced in recent years in the system of municipal solid waste management in Poland, which in the first place aimed to prevent formation of illegal dumps, such places still arise causing pollutant emission into the atmosphere. The aim of the paper was conducting an analysis of the existing illegal dumping sites in Krosno commune (Podkarpackie voivodship). The investigations were conducted along the selected stretches of the Wisłok and Lubatówka rivers. The analyses were carried out in three measurement series during the period from March to October 2014. As results from the analyses, new illegal dumping sites arise all the time in the water courses in Krosno city and a majority of them can be easily identified in this area. Glass and plastics have the biggest share in the morphological composition of the waste deposited on ...

ANALYSIS OF ILLEGAL LANDFILLS IN THE NORTH-WEST PART OF BARLINEK MUNICIPALITY

During the conducted study, 18 objects of illegal dumping of waste were inventoried. All inventoried objects are located in the north-west part of the Barlinek municipality. Each found illegal landfill was measured with measuring tape and its length, width and height of the deposited waste was recorded. For each location, percentage content of waste deposited, as well as its surface area and volume were calculated. All located waste landfills were divided into spot waste landfills, multi-point landfills, area landfills and linear landfills. Spot landfill is the dominant type of illegal waste landfills  12 objects, multi-point landfills were found in three locations and area landfills in two locations. Only one linear landfill was located. Waste disposal sites were located at different distance from residential areas. It has been determined, that the formation of illegal waste landfills is very often linked to the ease of availability of the local residents to the locations of waste disposal in the form of access roads or good location of the site. It has been determined, that despite the reforms of the waste management, abandonment of waste on undesignated sites is still observed - at six places the new wastes has been added after the 4 ...

SYNTHESIS OF BEES’ CHITOSAN BASED HYDROGELS CONTAINING ALOE VERA

Chitosan based hydrogels due to their specific properties and structure belong to the group of materials widely used in medicine. They are used as drug carriers with controlled release of active substances and in the preparation of innovative wound dressings. The main aim of the conducted research was the choice of the most favorable parameters for carrying the cross-linking reaction by means of UV radiation and microwaves. Subsequently, an adequate composition of the mixture containing chitosan and gelatin for further modification of such prepared the polymer matrix with Aloe vera extract was selected. Subsequently, an impact of introduction of Aloe vera extract into hydrogel on its physicochemical properties and structure was determined. The scope of the research included the measurement of swelling abilities of hydrogels in distilled water and selected simulated body fluids as well as incubation studies aimed at determination of tendency of prepared materials to degradation in previously mentioned fluids and their compatibility in relation to such environments. In order to characterize the chemical structure of the polymers and impact of incubation on this structure spectroscopic analysis was performed. Microscopic analysis was used to define the surface morphology of the hydrogels. Moreover, materials containing Aloe vera extract ...

METHODS OF DISPOSAL AND MANAGEMENT OF PACKAGING WASTE USED BY RESIDENTS OF WADOWICE COUNTY

The aim of the paper was to examine the methods of disposal and management of selected packaging waste used by the residents of Wadowice County. Packaging, based on its function, can be made of different materials, which may make its correct segregation more difficult. This may influence the way the consumer manages of packaging waste. The study was carried out in 5 rural municipalities in Wadowice County in the period of 2015- 2017. The scope of the study included different types of packaging: plastic, metal, paper and cardboard, glass, wood and multi-material. An anonymous survey was the research tool employed in the study. The paper showed a correlation between people interested in getting back a deposit for returnable glass packaging and actions taken in the scope of waste segregation. ...

EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL POLLUTING FACTORS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Some practices such as fertilisation and pesticide use are carried out in order to obtain high yields in agricultural production. However, as a result of these practices, agricultural pollutants may occur as a result of incorrect agricultural practices. Problems such as water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, nutrient imbalance, salination in soils, eutrophication in waters, beneficial microorganisms in soils and damage to human and animal health occur due to faulty fertilisation and pesticide applications, misuse of agricultural soils, and inaccuracies in the disposal of plastic wastes. In this study, the literature on agricultural polluting factors was examined and it was aimed to raise awareness about agricultural pollution by explaining the harms of agricultural polluting factors to the environment and the health of living beings and by trying to offer solutions. Within the scope of this targeted awareness, this study; It is aimed to raise the awareness of producers in future production processes and to provide a stepping stone for scientific studies on this subject. ...