Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Attitudes and behaviour towards waste management in the Dublin, Ireland region
    (Elsevier, 2010-10) ;
    The hypothesis of this research was that attitudes about the management of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) are spatially variable, even within a city of modest (1.2 million) population. For a select number of representative electoral districts in the Dublin, Ireland region, residents were surveyed regarding attitudes towards waste management in general, and BMW management in particular. A total of 850 survey responses were collected. Door-to-door interviews produced 688 responses in the residential sector; these were supplemented by 162 responses to a web-based survey. The surveys revealed that the majority of households use local authority, rather than private, waste collection services (both are available). The majority of residents, regardless of the local authority in which they live, were satisfied with their waste management service. “Reducing the quantity of waste generated” was regarded the most important future issue for 28% of residential respondents. Statistical analyses of the survey responses showed that the local authority in which respondents resided significantly influenced most responses (including waste collection service used, waste service satisfaction and backyard composting activity). Many responses (including waste service satisfaction, waste management influences) were also significantly related to the respondents’ personal characteristics (e.g., education level, type of accommodation, age, etc.). These statistical results proved the hypothesis of the research and demonstrated that waste management initiatives designed for one area of the city (or, indeed, for uniform application to the city as a whole) could ignore the needs of other areas. The survey responses suggest that targeted intervention strategies would lead to improved diversion rates of BMW from landfill, a requirement of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC.
      3354Scopus© Citations 54
  • Publication
    Composition and distribution of organic waste in Ireland : implications for land application practices
    (European Society of Agricultural Engineers, 2008-06) ;
    Questions about the economic and environmental sustainability of current waste management scenarios in Europe for various organic wastes, the policy drive at the EU, and the subsequent adoption of EU policy at national levels, has given momentum for diversion of organic wastes away from landfills and ultimately on to the land. The land has always been the receptor of choice for animal manures, but it is now becoming a popular management route for other organic wastes. Currently in Ireland, land is examined by specific sectors and regarded as a resource available uniquely to each sector. In contrast, it is reasoned in this paper that treating the diverse organic wastes potentially suited for land application as a unit waste stream and developing a detailed accounting of waste quantities and characteristics would serve as a gateway towards a consistent and holistic strategy from which a comprehensive land application strategy at national level or regional level could be developed. The methodology used is a desk-based inventory that relied on existing secondary data in published reports. A literature based survey and quantification of organic wastes potentially suited for land application, in Ireland, was completed. The survey included a broad range of organic wastes from agricultural and non-agricultural activities - with animal manure, spent mushroom compost, biodegradable municipal waste, biosolids, sludge from onsite treatment plants, organic wastes from industrial sources the major ones. Reports from the Central Statistical Office of Ireland, study reports at the Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Waste Management Plans, Sludge Management Plans, County Waste Registries and European sources were consulted in association with codes and guidelines to determine the quantity and composition of organic wastes potentially suited for land application. Major and minor plant nutrients were used as a basis to describe the composition of the organic wastes. Finally a GIS-based database of the organic wastes potentially suited for land application was developed and a distributional analysis was performed at different spatial scales. Results of our analysis confirm that animal waste remains the largest source of organic waste in Ireland - as in most other European countries - and the major concern for management through land application due to the sheer volume of the waste. Between the small percentage of organic wastes of non-animal origin biosolids, sludge from industrial sources, biodegradable municipal wastes and spent mushroom compost constitute the major share. There is a spatial distribution of the organic wastes in terms of both the total quantity of organic waste and type of the organic wastes. While the volume of the non-agricultural wastes appears to be insignificant – compared to organic waste of animal origin – at a National level it constitutes a high local problem at lesser spatial scales, i.e. counties and regions. The research suggests that there is a need to a leap from the present, sector-specific approach used in managing the land application of waste to a comprehensive land application strategy that considers the total quantity and quality of waste relative to the land base suitable for receiving them.
      7731
  • Publication
    Urban attitude towards land application of municipal and industrial biosolids
    (The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, 2010-03) ;
    Managing municipal and industrial biosolids by recycling through the land is currently a strategic policy direction in Ireland. Although recycling biosolids is a plausible management alternative it can also be a contentious issue. A descriptive- correlational study was conducted in the city of Dublin, Ireland to determine the public’s knowledge about biosolids and attitude to biosolids recycling. Door-to-door surveys of 500 households were conducted. Data were evaluated with respect to population demographics (gender, age, education level, etc.) and contingency analysis was performed. The results show that , while a general high level of consensus exists on the general idea of recycling of waste and beneficial reuse of biosolids, support decreases the closer (both physically and psychologically) this activity is to respondents. There is a gap between people’s positive view of biosolids as a resource and the scepticism about recycling biosolids. To make biosolids reuse on land more appealing to an urban community, education and awareness campaigns should capitalise on the positive views the public has about biosolids as a resource and the concept of recycling.
      909