Thesis (M.S.) in Civil Engineering--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Advisory Committee: Chet A. Rock, Prof. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Advisor; Willem Brutsaert, Prof. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Rose Mary Seymour, Asst. Prof. of Bio-Resource Engineering. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-104).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-82).

This study compares the procedures of formal and informal e-waste recycling; and investigates the relationship between informal e-waste recycling and the health of residents living near the recycling facilities. The informal e-waste recycling facilities are mainly located in developing countries and are operated by illegally receiving e-waste from developed countries. In these informal recycling businesses, the procedures are raw and crude without any measures in pollution control and state-of-the-art technologies, suggesting the health of the workers and residents living nearby are at risk. By conducting human health risk assessment based on the data from Guiyu town located in China, the actual exposure level of PCDD/Fs for infants is estimated. The total exposure level of infants to PCDD/Fs in Guiyu is 61.5 pg WHO-TEQ 〖kg〗^(-1) 〖day〗^(-1); among the total exposure level, dietary route accounts for over 90%. The total exposure value has also exceeded the WHO standards by 61 times at most, which reflects a harmful level of local PCDD/Fs exposure to the infants and management measures are needed. Implication can be drawn that not only the infants, but also people living near the facilities of informal e-waste recycling, including the mothers and residents are under high level of exposure to PCDD/Fs and other hazardous chemicals presented in the recycling process. Management and regulations are the weaknesses of developing countries to handle the issues on e-waste. The study reviews the e-waste management and regulations in China, India and Nigeria; their common properties have been revealed, including the lack of enforcement and the misconceptions of e-waste. Regarding the national level of regulations and legislations, recommendations have been drawn. Measures in adopting licensing system for recycling business, adopting financial mechanism on top of the existing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system to limit the use of hazardous chemicals, setting up special department for better regulating and enforcing e-waste related issues and enhancing the public education towards e-waste are of benefits. The study suggests an action plan using China as an example to illustrate how the country could act upon the existing regulations and legislations of e-waste issues. The plan could also be adopted by the other developing countries regarding their own conditions. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Every day a vast number of electrical and electronic equipments (EEE) end up as waste (e-waste); some of them would be scrapped, others were just obsolete. Without adequate infrastructure to manage e-waste, developing countries are suffering severe environmental impacts induced from e-waste which is either internally generated or imported illegally and facing huge challenges in managing it properly. This study aims at evaluating environmental impacts at prominent primitive e-waste recycling domains in China and proposing integrated approaches to its e-waste management. To explore the severity of environmental impacts due to primitive e-waste recycling, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were selected to be the contamination indicator in this study because of their high deployment in EEE as flame-retardants and high toxicity. The levels and distributions of PBDEs in air, soil, sediment, biota and human from the two most prominent informal e-waste processing domains in China, Guiyu and Taizhou, were evaluated and all resulted in several orders of magnitude higher than those international comparison values, suggesting a causal relationship between the release of PBDEs during e-waste recycling and the determined concentrations in environmental components, biota and humans. The findings clearly indicate an urgent need for better monitoring and control of the informal recycling sector in China. However, the distinct situations in China pose challenges in managing e-waste: (i) profitability of informal e-waste recycling; (ii) environmental undesirability of trial take-back scheme; (iii) lax governance and law enforcement; and (vi) problems of orphan waste and free riders. To address these challenges and effectively manage e-waste in China, a three-pronged practicable approach, consisting of global initiatives, regional initiatives, and voluntary private initiatives, is proposed. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Solving the waste problem is one of the most challenging environmental missions for Hong Kong. Currently, the amount of waste generated has reached an unsustainable level. Hong Kong’s domestic waste disposal rate is significantly higher than other international cities like Tokyo, Taipei City and Seoul. With present trends, this mounting waste has been filled up the three landfill sites at a rate much faster than anticipated. Hong Kong SAR Government is hoping to expand the landfill site and build incinerator(s). However, these plans have not been well-received by the public. Waste reduction at source would be a significant alternative for Hong Kong instead. Environmental education (EE) is a vital component of achieving sustainable waste management. This is the best strategy to help reduce waste at source. Among all the targeted trainees, it is found that little local and international research has been done on the potential role of Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs) in waste management. FDHs make up a significant proportion of the Hong Kong population. They are one of the best candidates to learn and implement sustainable waste management in the households. Thus, this study looks into the current EE to FDHs and analyses how to send green message among FDHs in an effective way. A framework of indicators for an effective waste reduction education program to FDHs is constructed as to help evaluate the performance of EE providers for FDHs. Information regarding current EE to FDHs is obtained from reviewing publicly available information and by conducting in-depth interviews with related personnel and stakeholders. To reconfirm the need and importance of providing EE to FDHs, a questionnaire survey to FDHs is developed and a pilot EE program to FDHs is designed and implemented. This study found that the current EE to FDHs is inadequate and ineffective. The knowledge of FDHs in waste reduction is not comprehensive and few of them have had green housekeeping habits. Through providing appropriate training incorporating the indicators identified, FDHs are enabled to proceed from having the right awareness to taking action in the households. The success of the pilot EE program to FDHs also gave us an insight into the importance of adequate and quality EE to the community. It is hoped that the suggestions being put forward in this study can guide Hong Kong in achieving the target of zero waste. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

This study aims to find out the solution of electronic waste problem in Hong Kong. Through case study of developed countries, it is found that implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility is the most common way in electronic waste management. This dissertation then evaluates the current situation of Hong Kong and the result show that the local recycling rate is not more than 20% while the remains are exported for recycling. Conclusion is drawn that Hong Kong needs to build up an e-waste recycling system by legislation and implementation of EPR. The interviews to Legislative Council members were conducted to collect the major concern from Legislative Council members and the voters they represent. 13 interviews were conducted and all the interviewees agree e-waste is a problem and have to be solved as soon as it can be. However they hold different opinions on legislation as a measure of e-waste management. The limitation of this study is that the limitation of time makes it hard to reserve a time with Leg Co members to conduct the interview as they were busy to the work of Legislative Council. Education, providing economic incentives, banning of landfill and illegal dumping and storage, prohibit the uncontrolled recycling activities are the possible measures the government can take other than legislation and implementation of EPR in electronic waste management. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Waste management is always a headache to the policy makers to tackle with nowadays as we are generating more waste than the past generations. Landfill is the only disposal method in Hong Kong since the early of the 1990s and the three strategic landfills are going to be filled. Therefore, the quantity-based waste charging is going to be implemented in the near future in order to reduce waste generation. A complementary recycling system is a must to complete the newly proposed waste management policy to reduce waste volume. There are some obvious problems existing in the current recycling efforts, which hinder the success of waste separation for recycling so as to reduce waste generation. As a result, it is important to review the current Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste. Moreover, a successful waste separation programme for waste reduction requires fulfilling the criteria in the aspects of Recycling Facilities/Services, Public Education & Promotion and Statutory Requirement & Complementary Policy. Based on the survey results, 40% of the current recycling facilities are inconvenient or inconvenient at all and most of the respondents think that there are insufficient recycling facilities in the territory. Nearly 70% of them agree or fully agree to implement mandatory waste separation and more than a half of them prefer to fine each non-compliance below $500. Moreover, the majority of the respondents suggest that the incentives for them to recycle are not enough or not enough at all, which take up 55% of the total. And 60% of them agree or fully agree to reward people who recycle. From the site visit, it is obvious that the public abuses the roadside 3-coloured bins especially in the Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. Meanwhile, the misuse of the recycling bins leads to the cleanness problem. The tendered contractors are not doing well in terms of emptying and locking the 3-coloured bins. There are fewer problems arising from the recycling facilities or bins collecting other recyclables as these recycling bins are designed for collecting specific types of recyclables and they are not adjacent to the rubbish bins. Also, the centers for collecting bulky recyclables have management staff to collect the recyclables. According to the reply from the Environmental Protection Department, there are many monitoring works to ensure the services quality provided by the service contractors. However, it is questionable that it can maintain the performance of the contractors. Since there are increasing complaints on the unsatisfactory performance of the service contractors. As a result, the Government should review the current Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste in accordance with recommendations proposed in the scopes of Physical Enhancement to Recycling Facilities/Services, Education and Promotion and Policy Recommendations, including increasing the convenience and availability of the recycling facilities and the range of separation; implementing compulsory environmental education and improving the promotion on waste separation; implementing complementary policy and regulations for waste separation, monitoring the performance of waste separation and providing incentives to encourage recycling. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The increased worldwide interest in nuclear power and the politically charged threat of nuclear weapons release has made understanding the components, as well as the waste, of nuclear energy an important area of research. More specifically, the identification and selective extraction of the dioxoactinide cations uranyl (UO₂²⁺) and plutonyl (PuO₂⁺), low valent actinides scuh as Am³⁺ or Cm³⁺ and various anions, such as pertechnetate (TcO₄⁻), is essential in the event of a weapons release or the spill of nuclear waste. It has been previously demonstrated that the expanded porphyrin [24]hexaphyrin(1.0.1.0.0.0), commonly referred to as isoamethyrin, displays a dramatic color change, from golden yellow to red, upon coordination of uranyl, neptunyl and plutonyl cations. Chapter 2 details quantitative investigations of isoamethyrin with the uranyl cation as well as the interactions of isoamethyrin with other, potentially competing, cations. This work was carried out in order to assess the ability of isoamethyrin to serve as a colorimetric sensor for the actinide cations. Chapter 3 describes the synthesis and properties of periphery-modified isoamethyrin analogues. The addition of functional groups to this expanded porphyrin allows for immobilization onto a solid support and may enhance its utility as a sensor. Chapter 4 presents the preliminary investigations into the metalation and anion binding properties of a new series of macrocycles, the cyclo[n]pyrroles. Chapter 5 provides experimental methods and characterization data. / text

M. Tech. Textile Design and Technology / Scientific research shows that the earth's natural resources are being depleted too fast for it to sustain a healthy balance, while global warming and pollution prove to be increasing problems for the environment. By re-using and recycling waste, natural resources are conserved while waste is prevented or delayed from being dumped or incinerated. Globally textile waste could be viewed as an untapped source. In some developed countries, up to ninety five percent of textiles that are land-filled, have the potential to be recycled. The process of textile recycling has the potential to reduce textile waste through creating marketable products from recycled waste. The aim of this research is to create better understanding regarding the reusable potential of textile waste by developing marketable strategies that can be implemented with regard to textile waste.

Abstract There is concern whether cabbage and beetroot wastes from the Fresh Produce Market are safe for feeding animals given the fact that some will have been discarded at the onset of putrefaction. This study evaluated the effects of sun-drying on microbiological load (E. coli, coliform, yeast and moulds and total bacterial count) in waste vegetables from the fresh produce market, since smallholder farmers tend to use the by-products without processing given the opportunity. Cabbage and beetroot wastes were sun dried to 14% moisture and micro-organisms were enumerated on both wet and dried samples. The results showed that sun drying reduced the level of micro-organisms significantly in both cabbage and beetroot. Although microbial load varied from batch to batch in the wet samples, coliforms were significantly more abundant in wet beetroot than in the dried samples. However, dried beetroot contained significantly more yeast and moulds. Wet cabbage contained more coliform and yeast and moulds compared to sun-dried cabbage. The sun drying process is thus an efficient processing method for resource poor farmers to reduce the microbial load in these animal feed sources and improve their shelf life.