Suchergebnisse

The exposure of rural communities to illegal waste dumping practices associated with the lack of or poor waste collection schemes prior to the closure of rural dumpsites under EU regulations and the role of collection efficiency afterward in reducing this critical environmental threat constitutes a key issue in rural Romania. The present study reveals huge amounts of household uncollected waste released into the natural environment outside the official statistics of rural dumpsites. Despite the expansion of waste collection coverage towards rural areas since 2010, the problem of illegal dumping practice is difficult to solve. The improvement of collection efficiency, better law enforcement, and surveillance of environmental authorities coupled with educational and environmental awareness are necessary steps to combat this bad practice. A circular economy paradigm must be enacted in rural regions through separate collection schemes and to improve cost-efficient alternatives, such as home composting, and traditional and creative reuse practices, particularly in less developed regions.

Changes in the contemporary world materialized in particular through population growth and mobility, urbanization, and economic expansion also result in an increased exposure of people and assets to extreme events and impose, implicitly, adequate management of induced risks. The occurrence of natural and anthropogenic risk phenomena, known as hazards, puts a heavy tribute on disaster-sensitive human communities regardless of their level of development. The magnitude of the disasters and their increasing frequency and severity imply the need for their approach by the entire world community and for global action. Knowledge of risks becomes a sine qua condition in carrying out impact studies, risk prevention plans, spatial planning plans, and, in general, a condition for effective management of natural resources or sustainable development projects.

International audience ; Environmental risks are a multi- and interdisciplinary topic with a great interest in current society. This book examines the issues of natural hazards (e.g., typhoons, landslides, wildfires), anthropogenic activities (construction of artificial dams, the operation of nuclear power plants), and their potential risks to the environment and/ or quality of life at various scales, from local to regional and even at a global level. Th book intends to discuss concepts, methods, and techniques to address environmental risks and vulnerabilities, revealing the complex interactions between nature and human communities and activities. Policies and practices for disaster risk management should be based on the best state-of-the-art methods and techniques, integration between natural and/or social approaches, interdisciplinary research, and multilevel cooperation

Changes in the contemporary world materialized in particular through population growth and mobility, urbanization, and economic expansion also result in an increased exposure of people and assets to extreme events and impose, implicitly, adequate management of induced risks. The occurrence of natural and anthropogenic risk phenomena, known as hazards, puts a heavy tribute on disaster-sensitive human communities regardless of their level of development. The magnitude of the disasters and their increasing frequency and severity imply the need for their approach by the entire world community and for global action. Knowledge of risks becomes a sine qua condition in carrying out impact studies, risk prevention plans, spatial planning plans, and, in general, a condition for effective management of natural resources or sustainable development projects.

The exposure of rural communities to illegal waste dumping practices associated with the lack of or poor waste collection schemes prior to the closure of rural dumpsites under EU regulations and the role of collection efficiency afterward in reducing this critical environmental threat constitutes a key issue in rural Romania. The present study reveals huge amounts of household uncollected waste released into the natural environment outside the official statistics of rural dumpsites. Despite the expansion of waste collection coverage towards rural areas since 2010, the problem of illegal dumping practice is difficult to solve. The improvement of collection efficiency, better law enforcement, and surveillance of environmental authorities coupled with educational and environmental awareness are necessary steps to combat this bad practice. A circular economy paradigm must be enacted in rural regions through separate collection schemes and to improve cost-efficient alternatives, such as home composting, and traditional and creative reuse practices, particularly in less developed regions.

The paper examines the environmental threats associated with the burning of household waste in open piles across rural communities with a focus on Neamt County (Romania) as a case study of uncontrolled waste disposal practice. This option derived from the lack of efficient municipal waste collection schemes, and on the other hand, it is a traditional disposal route for agricultural wastes besides open dumping on the surroundings. This study estimates the potential amounts of household waste uncollected by formal waste management services to be burnt by rural communities related to regional waste management features and how such bad practice interacts with geographical conditions. The paper performs a quantitative analysis of waste indicators and makes estimations on consequent environmental impact focusing on inventorying air pollutants. The spatial analysis provides an appropriate cartographic representation of the analyzed phenomenon. The conclusions converge towards two main ideas: 1) open burning of mixed household waste could be a significant air pollution source at the local scale, and 2) better rural waste management practices are needed to be implemented in the study area to mitigate environmental and public health threats. ; Mihai FC., Banica A., Grozavu., A., 2019. Backyard burning of household waste in rural areas. Environmental impact with focus on air pollution. 19th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference on Ecology, Economics, Education and Legislation SGEM 2019, Conference Proceedings, vol.19 , Issue 5.1 pp. 55-62

The paper examines the environmental threats associated with the burning of household waste in open piles across rural communities with a focus on Neamt County (Romania) as a case study of uncontrolled waste disposal practice. This option derived from the lack of efficient municipal waste collection schemes, and on the other hand, it is a traditional disposal route for agricultural wastes besides open dumping on the surroundings. This study estimates the potential amounts of household waste uncollected by formal waste management services to be burnt by rural communities related to regional waste management features and how such bad practice interacts with geographical conditions. The paper performs a quantitative analysis of waste indicators and makes estimations on consequent environmental impact focusing on inventorying air pollutants. The spatial analysis provides an appropriate cartographic representation of the analyzed phenomenon. The conclusions converge towards two main ideas: 1) open burning of mixed household waste could be a significant air pollution source at the local scale, and 2) better rural waste management practices are needed to be implemented in the study area to mitigate environmental and public health threats.

The paper examines the exposure of mountain creeks towards illegal waste disposal practices related to the lack of waste collection services in rural areas of Romania prior to EU accession and the low waste collection efficiency following the closure of rural wild dumps in 2009-2010. The paper estimates the amounts of household waste uncollected and disposed in selected small Carpathian rivers in the North-East development region. The expansion of built-up areas along the water courses leads to waste dumping practices across mountain villages in the context of poor waste management facilities. Particular morphology of villages and hydrological characteristics of the creeks may influence the magnitude of such bad practices. The paper points out the role of flash floods in cleaning upstream catchments from debris, thus, polluting the downstream rivers and human settlements. An efficient waste collection system in mountain areas has a crucial role to play in mitigating and ultimately preventing the waste dumping practices in water bodies.

The paper examines the waste management issues in the villages annexed to administrative-territorial units of the Romanian cities which have been frequently neglected by urban waste operators. The lack of waste collection services in such peri-urban communities favored the illegal waste disposal practices particularly prior to EU accession. The extension of waste collection services from main cities to such areas is compulsory in order to mitigate the environmental risks and the public health threats. The paper estimates the amounts of household waste susceptible to be uncontrolled disposed of by peri-urban villages in different geographical areas of North-East region with a particular focus on Neamt county. The paper points out that these rural settlements should receive the same attention concerning the municipal waste management services as the main urban areas. Traditional recovery of waste fractions at the household level (e.g., home composting) should be further promoted in such areas in order to avoid illegal dumping issue and to prevent the landfill of biodegradable waste as requested by EU regulations.