An important aspect of sustainable development is the implementation of effective and sustainable waste management strategies. The present study focuses on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to different waste management strategies for natural cork stoppers, namely incineration at a municipal solid waste incinerator, landfilling in a sanitary landfill, and recycling. In the literature, there are no LCA studies analyzing in detail the end-of-life stage of natural cork stoppers as well as other cork products. In addition, cork is usually treated as wood at the end-of-life stage. Thus, the outcome of this study can provide an important insight into this matter. The results showed that different management alternatives, namely incineration and recycling, could be chosen depending on the impact category considered. The former alternative presented the best environmental results in the impact categories of climate change, ozone depletion and acidification, while the latter for photochemical ozone formation and mineral and fossil resource depletion. The landfilling alternative did not present the best environmental performance in any of the impact categories. However, when the biogenic carbon dioxide emission was assessed for the climate change category, the landfilling alternative was found to be the most effective since most of the biogenic carbon would be permanently stored in the cork products and not emitted into the atmosphere. A sensitivity analysis was performed and the results showed that there are various parameters that can significantly influence the results (e.g., carbon content in cork and decay rate of cork in the landfill). Thus, LCA studies should include a detailed description concerning their assumptions when the end-of-life stage is included in the boundaries since they can influence the results, and furthermore, to facilitate the comparison of different end-of-life scenarios. The present study and the obtained results could be useful for the decision-making process concerning public solid waste policies and industrial strategies.

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is conducting a series of long term tests at the ??sp?? Hard Rock Laboratory to assess the behaviour of the bentonite buffer under conditions similar to those expected in a KBS-3 repository for high level nuclear waste. The LOT A2 experiment consists of a vertical borehole with a central heater inside a copper tube surrounded by compacted bentonite. During four years, the temperature of the copper tube was maintained at 130. ??C, while the bentonite was progressively water saturated by the injection of groundwater. During this period, physical and hydro-geochemical data were collected. By using the code TOUGHREACT, a model was made to simulate the processes of solute transport which control the chemical and the mineralogical distribution observed in the bentonite at the end of the test. Additionally, a series of sensitivity analyses was performed to assess the influence of key parameters controlling the thermal-hydro-geochemical processes. Numerical results indicate that, within the first year, the heated bentonite blocks are completely water saturated, which agree with the measured data. The simulated transport of chloride, the dissolution/precipitation of Ca sulphate minerals, and the cation redistribution in the montmorillonite interlayer also agree with data measured at the end of the experiment.

Joining methods were set as a field of study and the state of the art on connections in buildings within building materials circularity was reviewed. The cross reference of fields of connections in buildings and resources and waste management has highlighted a set of constraints for implementing circularity strategies such as reversibility of connections: the gap between existing systematisation of knowledge on connections in buildings and the strategies and guidance to support their design, the divergent conclusions reached resulting from partial approaches on circularity and its strategies and, lastly, the questions raised by the consequences of adopting reversible solutions that are still open for discussion. | This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 642384. | The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the financial support under Reference SFRH/BD/79082/2011.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) pose a significant and pressing societal challenge in the twenty-first century, demanding immediate attention. Innovative approaches are actively being explored in the quest for more effective NDDs therapies. The pipeline of potential medicines offers hope, encompassing disease-modifying drugs, symptomatic treatments, and regenerative strategies. In parallel, natural products derived from plants are being investigated for their potential in alleviating associated symptoms but also impacting disease progression. The green synthesis of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) through environmentally friendly processes instigated the researchers to apply them in NDDs. This approach to synthesis of MNPs combines the best of both worlds, nanotechnology and natural products. Bio-inspired fabrication of MNPs proves distinct advantages over traditional methods, including scalability, low cost, and waste reduction. This chapter gives an overview of current challenges in NDDs management, current therapeutic options, and innovative strategies being developed, with a focus on nature-based solutions.

The mining sector is growing in parallel with societal demands for minerals. One of the most important environmental issues and economic burdens of industrial mining on land is the safe storage of the vast amounts of waste produced. Traditionally, tailings have been stored in land dams, but the lack of land availability, potential risk of dam failure and topography in coastal areas in certain countries results in increasing disposal of tailings into marine systems. This review describes the different submarine tailing disposal methods used in the world in general and in Norway in particular, their impact on the environment (e.g. hyper-sedimentation, toxicity, processes related to changes in grain shape and size, turbidity), current legislation and need for future research. Understanding these impacts on the habitat and biota is essential to assess potential ecosystem changes and to develop best available techniques and robust management plans.

As part of a monitoring program conducted by IDAD – Institute for Environment and Development and supported by regional municipal solid waste (MSW) management authorities, dioxin concentrations in ambient air were measured in three regions of Portugal: Porto, Lisbon and Madeira. These independent studies were performed with the intention of providing data as a basis for the evaluation of potential impacts of the operation of recently built MSW incinerators. Thus, 170 samples were collected in nine different sites from January 1999 till present. The measured levels revealed an extremely variable content of PCDDs/PCDFs depending both on the area and the season of the year. Samples taken in Porto and Lisbon reveal a similar homologue structure even if concentrations measured in the Porto region are significantly greater. Data from Madeira is characteristic of a remote site with some of the congeners concentrations below the detection limit.

Purpose – The main focus of this paper is on a study of environmental perceptions in the municipality of Aveiro, Portugal. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws pn complaints regarding environmental matters submitted to the City Council and on a critical analysis of the results in comparison with the opinions of local government authorities and non-governmental organisations, which have responsibilities for local environmental management, and experts. Findings – The results reflect the local actors relevant to the protests, including, among these citizens and local authorities, the main concerns intrinsic to the complaints and questionnaire responses, such as those relating to urban solid waste, water, air pollution, noise and unhealthy lots; and the “preferential zones” in which environmental problems are most likely to generate complaints, more specifically the dense urban areas and, to a lesser extent, the classified natural areas, and the preferential zones for the occurrence of environmental problems in the opinion of the respondents, namely the hydrographical nets and associated margins and the rural or sparse areas. The respondents were also encouraged to identify measures required to solve the local environmental problems, revealing a great range of suggested procedures, from educational to coercive types. Originality/value – There are few studies concerning complaints on environmental issues and a comparison of these data with the perceptions of local decision-makers and experts offers a useful route to the characterisation and evaluation of local environmental concerns, identifying the most significant environmental problems within the study area. Proper management of this information can positively influence the decision-making processes, allowing a more directed and efficient performance on the part of local government. | FCT-SFRH/BD/37010/2007

Fisheries can have profound impacts on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems and affect seabird populations. For seabirds, impacts can include direct mortality in fishing gear, but fisheries also represent an abundant source of food that may otherwise be inaccessible. Previous studies with seabirds have revealed the occurrence of individual foraging specializations, and therefore in scavenging species some individuals may have a higher propensity to feed on fisheries discharges than the rest of the population. Here we used recently developed techniques (spatio-temporal match of positions) to detect interactions between black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris and fishing vessels, and also stable isotope analysis of tissues with different turnovers, to investigate long-term individual specialization in fishery waste products. We combined global positioning system tracking data from 89 birds with vessel monitoring system data from the entire fleet operating around the Falklands Islands, in 2009 and 2011. Interactions with vessels (freezer/factory bottom trawlers) occurred in 15 out of 89 independent albatross trips. Among individuals tracked in both years, those that associated with fisheries in 2009 were not more likely to do so again in 2011. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures in whole blood and feathers of albatrosses that interacted with trawlers were similar to those of individuals that did not. Also, we found no correlation between feather and blood isotopic ratios of carbon or nitrogen, indicating no long-term consistency in the isotopic niche of study birds. These results suggest no specialization of individual albatrosses with regard to fisheries. Studies of other albatrosses have also failed to show long-term trophic consistency, which may indicate that scavenging albatrosses, a group particularly threatened by fisheries activity, do not specialize in discards. Therefore, any management actions leading to a reduction of discards will be beneficial, decreasing the numbers of birds behind vessels and consequently the likelihood of incidental mortality.