Critical analysis of the regulations regarding the disposal of medication waste

As sobras de medicamentos oriundas do desuso ou da expiração do prazo de validade que constam nos domicílios da população, normalmente, são destinadas diretamente para o lixo comum, rede de esgoto ou, em alguns casos, devolvidas para a rede pública. Sobre essas sobras, ainda não há legislação específica que regulamenta e orienta sobre a manipulação e destinação correta do descarte dos resíduos de medicamentos. Entretanto, sobre os resíduos sólidos de serviços de saúde já se possui regulamentações definidas. O presente artigo tem como objetivo discutir modelos de gestão de descarte de resíduos de medicamentos e as recomendações de legislações internacionais e nacionais pertinentes. Por meio de revisão de literatura, analisou-se a estrutura do gerenciamento de resíduos para medicamentos de legislação internacional e as regulamentações relacionadas ao meio ambiente, assim como a legislação nacional de resíduos sólidos de serviços de saúde. Com a análise foi possível apresentar melhores esclarecimentos quanto aos possíveis impactos ao meio ambiente, à saúde da população e alternativas para se obter gestão eficaz de descarte de medicamentos, reduzindo e/ou evitando o risco sanitário, garantindo qualidade e segurança da saúde pública.Expired or unused medication at people's homes is normally disposed of in normal garbage, sewage system or, in certain cases, returned to the public health system. There is still no specific legislation regarding this leftover medication to regulate and orient the handling and correct disposal of medication waste. However, there is defined regulation regarding health services' solid waste. This article has the objective of discussing management models for the disposal of medication waste and the recommendations made by pertinent national and international legislation. By means of literature reviews, the management structure for medication waste of international legislation and the regulations regarding the environment, as well as the national legislation for the solid waste from health services was analyzed. Through the analysis it was possible to present better clarifications as to the possible impacts to the environment, to the public's health and alternatives in order to obtain the efficient disposal of medication, reducing and/or avoiding sanitary risk, guaranteeing the quality and safety of public health

Management of Port Solid Waste Framework

One of contemporary environmental issues refers to \ud progressive and diverse generation of solid waste in urban areas or \ud specific, and requires solutions because the traditional methods of \ud treatment and disposal are becoming unviable over the years and, \ud consequently, a significant contingent of these wastes presents \ud final destination inappropriate. The diversity of solid waste \ud generated as a result of human activities must have the appropriate \ud allocation to specific legislation in force, such as landfill, \ud incineration, among other procedures established by the competent \ud bodies. Thus, also the waste generated in port activities or \ud proceeding vessels require classification and segregation for proper \ud disposal later. This article aims at presenting a methodology for the \ud collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of solid waste \ud port and also application of automation technology that makes \ud possible the implementation of the same

Avaliação do ciclo de vida do gerenciamento dos resíduos da construção civil em uma bacia hidrográfica no Brasil

Orientador: Carmenlucia Santos Giordano PenteadoTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de TecnologiaResumo: No âmbito do gerenciamento dos resíduos sólidos, os resíduos da construção civil (RCC) representam um dos maiores desafios para o poder público, devido ao grande volume e altas taxas de geração, principalmente em municípios de médio e grande portes. Os RCC possuem alto potencial de reutilização e reciclagem, no entanto, tais práticas são incipientes no Brasil, sendo a disposição final em aterros a principal alternativa de gerenciamento adotada pelos municípios. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste estudo consistiu em avaliar o desempenho ambiental do gerenciamento dos RCC nos municípios representativos das Bacias Hidrográficas dos Rios Piracicaba, Capivari e Jundiaí, localizados no Estado de São Paulo, por meio da Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida, a partir da abordagem atribucional. Todas as etapas do sistema de gerenciamento dos RCC conduzidas pelo poder público municipal foram consideradas e, os impactos ambientais potenciais foram avaliados por meio das metodologias CML baseline (v3.03) e Impact 2002+ (v2.12). Os resultados obtidos por ambas metodologias evidenciaram a importância dos impactos evitados provenientes dos materiais recuperados, principalmente àqueles advindos da reciclagem do metal ferroso, do vidro e dos plásticos. Em específico, a metodologia CML baseline indicou a categoria de impacto "Toxicidade Humana" como a mais importante, principalmente devido aos impactos evitados da reciclagem do metal ferroso e dos impactos gerados de todas as etapas de transporte do sistema de gerenciamento dos RCC. Por outro lado, a metodologia Impact 2002+ indicou as categorias de impacto "Efeitos Respiratórios Inorgânicos" e "Aquecimento Global" como as mais importantes, devido aos impactos evitados da reciclagem do metal ferroso e dos impactos gerados da etapa de transporte dos resíduos sólidos para o aterro. Na fase de interpretação, a análise de sensibilidade consistiu na avaliação de cenários alternativos para o gerenciamento da fração mineral e, na análise do efeito da variação de alguns parâmetros, como o transporte, composição do RCC e modelagem das emissões da disposição dos resíduos em aterro. Os resultados demonstraram as vantagens ambientais do aumento das taxas de reciclagem em conjunto com a melhoraria da qualidade dos agregados reciclados e, revelaram que determinadas variações na composição dos RCC podem afetar significantemente os resultados; desse modo, o controle do fluxo de resíduos é fundamental para a determinação do desempenho ambiental do sistema de gerenciamento dos RCCAbstract: In the context of solid waste management, the construction and demolition waste (C&DW) represents one of the greatest challenges for the public authorities, mainly due to the large volume and high generation rates, especially in medium and large-sized municipalities. C&DW has high potential for reuse and recycling, however, such practices are incipient in Brazil; therefore, the final disposal in landfill consists the main management alternative adopted by the municipalities. In this context, this study evaluated the environmental performance of the C&DW management in the area of Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí Watershed, located in the São Paulo State, Brazil, by means of an attributional Life Cycle Assessment. The entire C&DW management under the responsibility of the municipal government was considered. The potential environmental impacts were assessed by using two specific life cycle impact assessment methodologies, CML baseline (v3.03) and Impact 2002+ (v2.12). The results obtained by both methodologies highlighted the importance of the avoided impacts from recovered materials, mainly those related to steel, glass and plastics recycling. In particular, the CML baseline indicated "Human Toxicity" as the most important category, mainly due to the avoided impacts from steel recycling and the generated impacts from transportation in all the C&DW management stages. The Impact 2002+ highlighted instead the role of the categories of "Respiratory Inorganics" and "Global Warming", in accordance with the results related again to steel recycling and transportation but also to landfilling of solid residues. In the interpretation, the sensitivity analysis consisted of the evaluation of alternative scenarios for the mineral fraction management and, in the analysis of the effect of the variation of some parameters, such as the transportation, C&DW composition and landfill modelling. The results highlighted the environmental advantages of increasing recycling rates along with improving the quality of recycled aggregates and, revealed that variations in the C&DW composition may significantly affect the results, which suggests that the control of the waste stream is fundamental to determine the environmental profile of the C&DW management systemDoutoradoAmbienteDoutora em Tecnologia37-P-4907/2018 ; 88881.131881/2016-01CAPE

Waste electrical and electronic equipment : risks and opportunities under a sustainable perspective

It is estimated that the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) increases annually due to planned obsolescence, technological changes and changes in people’s lifestyles. The aim of the present study is to identify risks and opportunities related to WEEE from an environmental, social and economic point of view, considering the intensified use of technology, the generation and the need to treat this waste. The study consisted of a bibliographic research followed by three case studies with waste disposal companies. Therefore, a table was drawn up outlining the risks and opportunities of WEEE, considering different points of view. From the environmental point of view, there is a risk of increasing the consumption of this equipment to increase the illegal and incorrect disposal, but the extraction of non-renewable raw materials can be reduced by implementing reverse logistics. From the economic perspective, the costs involved in the reverse logistics of WEEE are not clearly known; however, there is an expanding market for WEEE management. From the social point of view, the risk is the increase of informal and insecure work, which can be minimized through investments from public and private powers, thus generating formal jobs

Solid Waste in Agricultural Soils: An Approach Based on Environmental Principles, Human Health, and Food Security

In recent decades, projections involving population growth, changes in consumption patterns, modifications of the wastes produced, and a significant increase in resource extraction have caused concern in the scientific world, in treatment companies, and in environmental and governmental agencies throughout the world, regarding the destination of the large volume of solid wastes generated, the relatively high contents of potentially toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic substances and pathogenic microorganisms. Waste management has become very important to ensure elementary resources such as water, phosphorus, and food in the future. The recycling policy thus requires that wastes be classified in terms of their appropriateness for new uses and also based on their origins and hazardousness of handling. These classifications are essential in order to allow a minimum of rationality in their new destinations. Currently, several studies have been performed to use solid wastes from human activities as soil conditioners and/or fertilizers for increasing crop productivity. Therefore, studies that monitor organic waste effects on agricultural soils deserve the attention of the international scientific community, as it enables increases in the productivity of agricultural crops, fiber, and biomass energy combined to reduce risks to human, plant, and animal health and environment

Critical analysis of the regulations regarding the disposal of medication waste

Expired or unused medication at people's homes is normally disposed of in normal garbage, sewage system or, in certain cases, returned to the public health system. There is still no specific legislation regarding this leftover medication to regulate and orient the handling and correct disposal of medication waste. However, there is defined regulation regarding health services' solid waste. This article has the objective of discussing management models for the disposal of medication waste and the recommendations made by pertinent national and international legislation. By means of literature reviews, the management structure for medication waste of international legislation and the regulations regarding the environment, as well as the national legislation for the solid waste from health services was analyzed. Through the analysis it was possible to present better clarifications as to the possible impacts to the environment, to the public's health and alternatives in order to obtain the efficient disposal of medication, reducing and/or avoiding sanitary risk, guaranteeing the quality and safety of public health

Long-term characterization of landfill leachate: impacts of the tropical climate on its composition

The disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in sanitary landfills produces leachate, whose composition changes depending on the microbial community and the environmental conditions. However, these changes cannot be observed in sanitary landfill because of the superposition of cells, which makes it difficult to determinate the relationship among the phases of biodegradation of MSW, the composition of the leachate and the time required for complete stabilization of the waste. This illustrates the importance of building experimental cells that simulate landfill to monitor the leachate over a long period. This study aimed to analyze the composition of the leachate generated from an experimental cell built on the Delta A sanitary landfill of Campinas City, Brazil, over 945 days. The leachate showed a transition from an acidic anaerobic phase to a methanogenic phase within approximately 100 days. By the one-hundredth day, the leachate showed a characteristically low pH, between 5.0 and 6.0 and a high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) such as a young leachate with high biodegradability. Moreover, there was an intense leaching of the metals Cd, Fe, Pb and Mn, with concentrations higher than those allowed for the release in water bodies, according to Brazilian law. After the one-hundredth day, the leachate was characterized as stabilized. The pH increased and the concentration of volatile fatty acid, COD and BOD decreased. Co, Zn, Ni and Cu were leached. The potentially toxic metal concentrations found in the leachate also were above the values allowed by Brazilian law13211612

Resource recovery from wastewater treatment: challenges, opportunities and guidance for planning and implementation

Considering the current resources scarcity, Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) should be adapted to become more sustainable. For example, it is possible to recover resources present in municipal wastewater. However, regional studies about integration of resource recovery processes at different scales or about the main barriers to implementation in developing countries are missing in the literature. Also, there is a need for planning methodologies to identify the most sustainable solution in each context. Understanding the current situation is an essential step to support planning and accelerate resource recovery implementation. To address these issues this thesis aims to guide planning, technology and policy development towards resource recovery from municipal WWTP in large cities of developing countries. This thesis presents a comprehensive knowledge base for wastewater treatment plant managers and decision-makers leading to a better understanding of resource recovery solutions and the actions needed to facilitate implementation. The methodology comprised critical literature reviews and two case studies. Secondary data from literature and primary data (obtained through questionnaires) were collected and analysed. Megacities in developing countries are analysed in the papers, with the focus on the Macrometropolis of Sao Paulo, which is the most populous area in the Southern Hemisphere. The current situation shows a low implementation of resource recovery practices in the region, and local conditions affect the implementation of water reuse, and nutrients and energy recovery. A framework consisting of eleven steps is proposed to support planning and decision-making on resource recovery from wastewater. This new tool was tested and can be applied by decision-makers in wastewater sector for better operation and management. Market, legislation, local economic development, and cooperation with stakeholders are relevant aspects covered in the analysis. There is a great potential to expand wastewater treatment integrated with nutrient and energy recovery strategies in developing countries. Potentials for phosphorus and energy recovery were estimated and some recovery scenarios are recommended. In conclusion, the findings can help planning and elaboration of resource recovery projects in wastewater treatment in urban areas and stimulate creation of public policies. The main research gaps identified in this thesis can guide further research and technological development in this field

Práticas adotadas para o descarte de resíduos de medicamentos e saneantes domissanitários por alunos da educação básica

The study objective was to obtain information on the practices adopted by the students of the High School of Course technical of Environmental Sanitation and Biotechnology of Cedup Renato Ramos da Silva School, in Lages, SC for the disposal of residues of medicines and household cleaners in their homes. This study was developed by students of scientific initiation of High School (PIBIC/EM). For data collection a semi-structured questionnaire was applied to the students of the respective courses during the period of their classes in the Institution. It was observed that 63% do not have knowledge about the correct procedure of disposal of drug residues and 55.6% still discard the expired drugs in the common trash. Regarding household cleaning products, 90.1% of the participants do not know how to dispose of these residues in their homes, despite frequent use (83.8%). Concerning residues of insecticides, rodenticides and repellents, about 50% of the participants discard the waste in the common bin and 44% do not know how to dispose of these products. Overall, this study showed that High School students from the Environmental Sanitation and Biotechnology technical Course inappropriately dispose of the drug residues and sanitary household products in their homes. Thus, it emphasizes the importance of including the topic about waste management in basic education courses.Este estudo teve como objetivo levantar informações sobre as práticas adotadas pelos alunos de Ensino Médio do Curso técnico em Saneamento Ambiental e Biotecnologia do Cedup Renato Ramos da Silva de Lages, SC para o descarte dos resíduos de medicamentos e saneantes domissanitários em suas residências. O estudo foi desenvolvido por estudantes de iniciação científica do Ensino Médio (PIBIC/EM). Para a coleta de dados foi aplicado um questionário semiestruturado aos alunos do respectivo curso durante o período de suas aulas na Instituição. Observou-se que 63% não têm conhecimento sobre o procedimento correto de descarte dos resíduos de medicamentos e 55,6% ainda fazem o descarte dos medicamentos vencidos em lixeira comum. Com relação aos produtos domissanitários, 90,1% dos participantes desconhecem a forma de descarte desses resíduos em suas residências, apesar do uso frequente (83,8%). Já quanto relação aos resíduos de inseticidas, raticidas e repelentes, cerca de 50% dos participantes descartam os resíduos na lixeira comum e 44% desconhecem a forma de descarte desses produtos. No geral, este estudo mostrou que os estudantes do Ensino Médio do Curso técnico em Saneamento Ambiental e Biotecnologia não descartam adequadamente os resíduos de medicamentos e saneantes domissanitários gerados em seu domicílio. Dessa forma, enfatiza-se a importância da inserção do tema sobre gestão de resíduos nos cursos de formação básica. &nbsp