Waste management and zero waste practices in educational institutions

Year 2021, , 126 - 133, 30.06.2021

Asude Hanedar , Burak Gül Elçin Güneş , Gül Kaykıoğlu , Yalçın Güneş

https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.887751

Cited By: 3

Abstract

In this study, the situation of waste management and zero waste applications in educational institutions was investigated in Turkey. For this purpose, the wastes collected and separated within the scope of zero waste and the wastes collected without separating them in trash cans were determined at certain periods and the total amount of waste generated per unit time and per person was calculated for an engineering faculty, vocational school, high school and primary school. A questionnaire study was conducted to determine the viewpoints of the students studying at the engineering faculty on zero waste management. According to the obtained data, the amount of waste collected in the faculty was calculated as 184 kg day^-1 and only 27 kg day^-1 of this amount is being recycled. Considering all types of waste in the whole schools, waste generation rates were found to be 17,6, 32,3, 93,7 and 113 g person^-1 day^-1 respectively for primary school, high school, vocational school, and engineering faculty. One of the important results obtained in the study is that the necessary training and awareness-raising activities in zero waste implementation are very important, and every stage from the reduction of the number of trash cans to the correct placement of zero waste sets requires detailed planning.

Keywords

Waste management, zero waste, educational instutions

Thanks

We would like to thank Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University administration and students, Çerkezköy OSB Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School administration and Kapaklı Industrialists Primary School Management for their support and assistance in completing this study.

References

• [1]. Resmî Gazete, Atık Yönetimi Yönetmeliği (Waste Management Regulation), Number: 29314, 02.04.2015, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. 2015.
• [2]. A.O. Coker, C.G. Achi, M.K.C. Sridhar and C.J. Donnett. “Solid Waste Management Practices at a Private institution of Higher Learning in Nigeria” Procedia Environmental Sciences, Vol. 35, pp. 28-39, 2016.
• [3] C.A. Vega, S. Ojeda-Benítez and M.E. Ramirez-Barreto “Solid waste characterization and recycling potential for a university campus” Waste Management, Vol. 28, pp. 21–26, 2008.
• [4]. N. Addo-yobo Felix and Ali Mansoor, “Households: passive users or active managers? The case of solid waste management in Accra Ghana” Int. Development Planning Review, Liverpool University Press, Vol. 25 (4), pp. 373–389, 2003.
• [5]. M.E. Kasseva and S.E. Mbuligwe, “Ramifications of solid waste disposal site relocation in urban areas of developing countries: a case study in Tanzania”, Resour. Conserv Recycl., Vol. 28, pp. 147–61, 2000.
• [6]. L.A. Manaf, M.A.B. Samah and N.I.M. Zukky, “Municipal solid waste management in Malaysia: Practices and challenges”, Waste management, Vol. 29, pp. 2902-2906, 2009.
• [7]. M.O., Saeed, M.N. Hassan and M.A. Mujeeb, “Assessment of municipal solid waste generation and recyclable materials potential in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”, Waste management, Vol. 29, pp. 2209-2213, 2009.
• [8]. I.A. Al-Khatib, M. Monou, A.S.F. Abu Zahra, H. Q. Shaheen and D. Kassinos, “Solid waste characterisation, quantification and management practices in developing countries. A case study: Nablus district–Palestine”, Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 91, pp. 1131-1138, 2010.
• [9]. A.E. Adeniran, A.T. Nubi and A.O. Adelopo, “Solid waste generation and characterization in the University of Lagos for a sustainable waste management”, Waste Management, Vol. 67, pp. 3–10, 2017.
• [10]. A.U. Zaman, “A comprehensive review of the development of zero waste management: lessons learned and guidelines”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 91, pp. 12-25, 2015.
• [11]. E. Baldwin and W. Dripps, “Spatial characterization and analysis of the campus residential waste stream at a small private Liberal Arts Institution”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 65, pp. 107– 115, 2012.
• [12]. F. Boysan, Ç. Özer, M. Has and M. Murat M, “Project on Solid Waste Recycling Plant in Sakarya University Campus”, Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, Vol. 15, pp. 590–595, 2015.
• [13] E. Fagnani and J. Roberto Guimaraes, “Waste management plan for higher education institutions in developing countries: The Continuous Improvement Cycle model”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 147, pp. 108-118, 2017.
• [14]. R. Lozano, R. Lukman, F.J. Lozano, D. Huisingh and W. Lambrechts, “Declarations for sustainability in higher education: becoming better leaders, through addressing the university system”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 48, pp. 10-19, 2013.
• [15]. M.A.J. Felder, R.J. Petrell and S.J.B. Duff, “A solid waste audit and directions for waste reduction at the University of British Columbia”, Canada. Waste Manage. Res., Vol. 19, pp. 354-365, 2001.
• [16]. I.G. Mason, A.K. Brooking, A. Oberender, J.M. Harford and P.G. “Horsley Implementation of a zero waste program at a university campus”, Resour. Conserv. Recy., Vol. 38, pp. 257-269, 2003.
• [17]. C. Armijo de Vega, S.O. Benitez and M.E. Ramirez-Barreto, “Solid waste characterization and recycling potential for a university campus”, Waste Management, Vol. 28, pp. 21-26, 2008.
• [18]. C. Armijo de Vega, S.O. Benitez and M.E. Ramirez-Barreto, “Mexican educational institutions and waste management programmes: a university case study”, Resource Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 39, pp. 283-296, 2003.
• [19]. Bahçelioglu, E., Bugdaycı, E.S., Dogan, N.B., Simsek, N., Kaya, S.O. and Alp, E., “Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategy of a Large Campus: A Comprehensive Study on METU Campus, Turkey”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 265, pp.121715, 2020.
• [20] Gallardo, A., Edo-Alcon, N., Carlos, M. and Renau, M., “The determination of waste generation and composition as an essential tool to improve the waste management plan of a university”. Waste Management, Vol. 53, pp. 3-11, 2016.
• [21] Yalvaç, M., Gündogdu, M. and Gündogdu, E., “Mersin Üniversitesi Çiftlikkoy Kampusu Katı Atık Karakterizasyonu ve Maliyet Analizi”. Mersin: Mersin Üniversitesi, 2014.
• [22]. S.E. Mbuligwe, “Institutional solid waste management practices in developing countries: a case study of three academic institutions in Tanzania”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 35, pp. 131–146, 2002.
• [23]. I.G. Mason, A. Oberender, and A.K. Brooking, “Source separation and potential re-use of resource residuals at a University campus”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 40, pp. 155–72, 2004.
• [24]. D.P. Smyth, A.L. Fredeen and A.L., “Booth Reducing solid waste in higher education: The first step towards ‘greening’ a university campus”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 54, pp. 1007–1016, 2010.
• [25]. R. Moreira, T.F. Malheiros, J.F. Alfaro, T.B. Cetrulo and L.V. Ávila, “Solid waste management index for Brazilian Higher Education Institutions”, Waste Management, Vol. 80, pp. 292–298, 2018.
• [26]. Resmî Gazete, Sıfır Atık Yönetmeliği (Zero Waste regulation), Number: 30829, 12.07.2019, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, 2019.
• [27].TUIK, (2016), Databases, Environment Statistics, http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreTabloArama.do?metod= search &araType=vt, [Accessed 30 January 2021].
• [28]. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Education https://www.meb.gov.tr/ (Accessed; 10 January 2021).
• [29]. Zen, I. S., Subramaniam, D., Sulaiman, H., Saleh, A. L., Omar, W. and Salim, M. R., “Institutionalize waste minimization governance towards campus sustainability: A case study of Green Office initiatives in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia”. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 135, pp. 1407-1422, 2016.
• [30]. Office of Sustainability and Energy, 2016. Waste, from Berkeley sustainability and energy: http://sustainability.berkeley.edu/waste (Accessed; 20 September 2020).
• [31]. Oztürk, R. and Isıldar, G.Y., “Gazi üniversitesi bes¸ evler kampüsü katı atıklarının geri kazanım potansiyeli”. In: 2nd International Sustainable Buildings Symposium, pp. 752., 2015.
• [32]. Tinmaz E. and Demir I., “Research on solid waste management system: To improve existing situation in Çorlu Town of Turkey”, Waste Management, Vol. 26(3), pp. 307-314, 2006.
• [33]. Aydın, N., “Materials Flow Analysis as a Tool to Improve Solid Waste Management: A Case of Ankara”. Doğ Afet Çev Derg, Vol. 6(1), pp. 90-97, 2020.