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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™

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Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Series

Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Fate Of Methoprene In Temperate Salt Marsh Ditches Following Aerial Applications, David J. Tonjes, Anne E. Mcelroy, Robin K. Barnes, Dominick V. Ninivaggi, Walter Dawydiak, Gregory T. Greene, Bruce J. Brownawell Jan 2018

Fate Of Methoprene In Temperate Salt Marsh Ditches Following Aerial Applications, David J. Tonjes, Anne E. Mcelroy, Robin K. Barnes, Dominick V. Ninivaggi, Walter Dawydiak, Gregory T. Greene, Bruce J. Brownawell

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Aerial applications of liquid methoprene are used in salt marshes to control mosquitoes by preventing adult emergence. Despite concern about toxicity to non-target organisms, little is known about environmental concentrations after applications, nor methoprene's persistence in salt marsh environments. Aqueous and sediment samples were collected from two marshes receiving weekly applications. Aqueous samples were collected as early as 30 minutes after applications and as long as nine days afterwards; sediment samples were taken within hours of application and as long as 19 days post-application. Use of time-of-flight liquid chromatography – mass spectral analysis allowed for ultra low detection limits (0.5 …

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The Environmental Impacts Of Alternative Food Waste Treatment Technologies In The U.S., Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes Jan 2017

The Environmental Impacts Of Alternative Food Waste Treatment Technologies In The U.S., Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted to determine the environmental impacts of several waste treatment scenarios for a suburban New York (U.S.) municipality. The study goal was to determine if separate food waste recovery and management was environmentally sounder than waste-to-energy incineration (the baseline case). Three alternatives, enclosed tunnel composting, enclosed windrow composting, and anaerobic digestion with subsequent enclosed windrow composting of residuals, were examined considering the entire residual waste stream (not just separated food wastes). Impact categories assessed were climate change, environmental eutrophication and acidification, resource depletion, and stratospheric ozone depletion. A normalized, aggregated impact assessment was created …

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Drivers Of Food Wastage And Their Implications For Sustainable Policy Development, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes Jan 2016

Drivers Of Food Wastage And Their Implications For Sustainable Policy Development, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

There has been growing interest in establishing food waste prevention and recovery programs throughout the world. The drive to target food waste stems from increasing concerns about resource conservation, food security, food waste’s environmental and economic costs, and a general trend in the waste management industry to transition to more sustainable practices. Here the drivers of residential, institutional, and commercial food waste generation in developed countries, particularly in the U.S., are explored. The impacts of food system modernization on food waste generation are examined, particularly impacts related to food system industrialization, urbanization, globalization, and economic growth. Socio-demographic, cultural, political, and …

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Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan Jan 2016

Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Methane (CH4) is now considered a bridge fuel between present fossil (carbon) economy and desired renewables and this energy molecule is projected to play an important role in the global energy mix well beyond 2035. The atmospheric warming potential of CH4 is 28-36 times, when averaged over a 100-year period, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this necessitates a close scrutiny of global CH4 emissions inventory. As the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG), the annual global CH4 emissions were 645 million metric tons (MMT), accounting for 14.3% of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Of this, five key anthropogenic sources: …

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A Management Framework For Municipal Solid Waste Systems And Its Application To Food Waste Prevention, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes Jan 2015

A Management Framework For Municipal Solid Waste Systems And Its Application To Food Waste Prevention, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Waste management is a complex task involving numerous waste fractions, a range of technological treatment options, and many outputs that are circulated back to society. A systematic, interdisciplinary systems management framework was developed to facilitate the planning, implementation, and maintenance of sustainable waste systems. It aims not to replace existing decision-making approaches, but rather to enable their integration to allow for inclusion of overall sustainability concerns and address the complexity of solid waste management. The framework defines key considerations for system design, steps for performance monitoring, and approaches for facilitating continual system improvements. It was developed by critically examining the …

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Differences In Waste Generation, Waste Composition, And Source Separation Across Three Waste Districts In A New York Suburb, Omkar Aphale, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes Jan 2015

Differences In Waste Generation, Waste Composition, And Source Separation Across Three Waste Districts In A New York Suburb, Omkar Aphale, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Six tonnes of discards and recyclables from three waste districts in a New York suburb were sorted in 2012. The districts were chosen because one had a higher recycling percentage, one had median performance, and one was a low performing district. ASTM standards were followed for the waste composition sorting. The results showed, as expected, that the waste district with the highest recycling rate appeared to have the highest separation efficiencies, leading to greater amounts of recyclable materials being source separated. The waste districts also had different overall waste generation, both in terms of the amounts of wastes generated, and …

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Quantification Of Food Waste Disposal In The United States: A Meta-Analysis, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes, Jessica Gurevitch Jan 2015

Quantification Of Food Waste Disposal In The United States: A Meta-Analysis, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes, Jessica Gurevitch

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Food waste has major consequences for social, nutritional, economic, and environmental issues, and yet the amount of food waste disposed in the U.S. has not been accurately quantified. We introduce the transparent and repeatable methods of meta-analysis and systematic reviewing to determine how much food is discarded in the U.S., and to determine if specific factors drive increased disposal. The aggregate proportion of food waste in U.S. municipal solid waste from 1995 to 2013 was found to be 0.147 (95% CI 0.137-0.157) of total waste, which is lower than that estimated by USEPA for the same period (0.176). The proportion …

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A Review Of The Hyporheic Zone, Stream Restoration, And Means To Enhance Denitrification, Leanne Merill, David J. Tonjes Jan 2014

A Review Of The Hyporheic Zone, Stream Restoration, And Means To Enhance Denitrification, Leanne Merill, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

The hyporheic zone is the subsurface area below and adjacent to a stream where groundwater mixes with stream water, through vertical, lateral, and longitudinal flows. The hyporheic zone connects the stream to uplands and other terrestrial environments. It is a zone of distinct faunal communities, high biological diversity and ecological complexity, and is the site of chemical processing and transformations of ground- and stream waters. The hyporheic zone is important to the overall ecosystem ecology of the stream, and it can influence stream water chemistry. Flows, reactions, and biota in the hyporheic zone are heterogeneous and patchy, making it difficult …

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Quantitative Assessments Of Municipal Waste Management Systems: Using Different Indicators To Compare And Rank Programs In New York State, Krista L. Greene, David J. Tonjes Jan 2014

Quantitative Assessments Of Municipal Waste Management Systems: Using Different Indicators To Compare And Rank Programs In New York State, Krista L. Greene, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

The primary objective of waste management technologies and policies in theUnited Statesis to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of waste, particularly those relating to energy consumption and climate change. Performance indicators are frequently used to evaluate the environmental quality of municipal waste systems, as well as to compare and rank programs relative to each other in terms of environmental performance. However, there currently is no consensus on the best indicator for performing these environmental evaluations. The purpose of this study is to examine the common performance indicators used to assess the environmental benefits of municipal waste systems to determine if …

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Degradable Plastics And Their Potential To Affect Solid Waste Systems, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes Jan 2014

Degradable Plastics And Their Potential To Affect Solid Waste Systems, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Plastic waste forms a substantial part of municipal solid waste and has caused environmental concerns, particularly due to chemical contamination of the environment and effects from persistent litter. Plastics also complicate waste management processes, such as by having poor recovery rates through recycling, and causing contamination in composting operations. One potential means to address some of these challenges is through degradable plastics which, unlike conventional plastics, are designed to decompose at an accelerated rate in specific environments. Degradable plastics aim to address the end-of-life of plastic products and are intended to reduce the environmental impacts associated with their use and …

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Energy Assessment Of Smithtown, New York, Allyson Murray, David J. Tonjes Jan 2013

Energy Assessment Of Smithtown, New York, Allyson Murray, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Energy management and carbon mitigation plans, often created to address global issues, must be implemented locally. Each specific area has its own needs and problems. For this study, we used publicly available data to create an energy assessment for the Town of Smithtown, a municipality of 116,000 people on the north shore of Long Island (New York). We found that motor vehicles consume the largest amount of energy, followed by space heating for both residential and commercial-industrial purposes. Local policies probably can only modestly affect transportation energy use, although federal policies may have significant effects over the next several decades. …

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Cost Effectiveness Of Recycling: A Systems Model, David J. Tonjes, Sreekanth Mallikarjun Jan 2013

Cost Effectiveness Of Recycling: A Systems Model, David J. Tonjes, Sreekanth Mallikarjun

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Financial analytical models of waste management systems have often found that recycling costs exceed direct benefits, and in order to economically justify recycling activities, externalities such as household expenses or environmental impacts must be invoked. Certain more empirically based studies have also found that recycling is more expensive than disposal. Other work, both through models and surveys, have found differently. Here we present an empirical systems model, largely drawn from a suburban Long Island municipality. The model accounts for changes in distribution of effort as recycling tonnages displace disposal tonnages, and the seven different cases examined all show that curbside …

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A Classification Methodology For Landfill Leachates, David J. Tonjes Jan 2013

A Classification Methodology For Landfill Leachates, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

A characterization scheme based on landfill leachate chemical signatures could support studies of leachate evolution over time, liner performance, and help confirm or disprove potential leachate contamination of groundwater. Wide variations in single constituents across time, sites, and site practices, and inconsistencies related to common bivariate measures suggest a robust, multivariate analysis could be useful. A variant Stiff diagram approach (a subjective analytical comparison of soluble salts) has been developed, and supports graphical depictions of multiple samples. The hypothesis is that leachates with similar chemistry form clusters, and this was tested using a data set of 652 samples from 26 …

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Degradable Plastics And Solid Waste Management Systems, David J. Tonjes, Krista L. Thyberg Jan 2013

Degradable Plastics And Solid Waste Management Systems, David J. Tonjes, Krista L. Thyberg

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Plastics, which are woven into the fabric of modern life, have consequential impacts on the environment. Many of these are associated with end-of-lifetime processes, and include chemical contamination of the environment and effects from litter. Plastics also complicate waste management processes, causing contamination in composting operations, and having poor recovery rates through recycling. Plastics that are not as biologically recalcitrant, that decompose when use is done, have been perceived as solutions to at least some of these problems. The first generation of degradable plastics did not meet marketing claims; some of the more recent formulations, partly as a consequence of …

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Municipal Waste Management: Suffolk County Municipal Systems, Services And Infrastructure, Krista L. Greene, Susan Lienau, David J. Tonjes Jan 2013

Municipal Waste Management: Suffolk County Municipal Systems, Services And Infrastructure, Krista L. Greene, Susan Lienau, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

This report describes the municipal waste management systems used by local governments to manage solid waste in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. There are ten Towns that serve as the primary planners for waste systems in Suffolk County. Many of the 33 villages in Suffolk County have established their own waste management programs and policies. All programs tend to follow the same general plan of the approaches used by their respective Towns, however. All programs provide some degree of recycling services, although the scope of the services varies tremendously.

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A Review Of National Msw Generation Assessments In The United States, David J. Tonjes, Krista L. Greene Jan 2012

A Review Of National Msw Generation Assessments In The United States, David J. Tonjes, Krista L. Greene

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated in very large quantities (probably, between 200 and 400 million tonnes per year) in the United States (US). MSW is generated at millions of places and there is no one precise, general definition for MSW that is generally applied, despite US Environmental Protection Agency efforts. As an element of both commerce and politics, reporting may be framed towards particular ends. Therefore, the two best known assessments of the quantity of US MSW production differ by approximately 50%. The assessors understand some of the reasons for the differences, but our analysis suggests that there are …

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Human Sanitary Wastes And Waste Treatment In New York City, David J. Tonjes, Christine O'Connell, Omkar Aphale, R. Lawrence Swanson Jan 2011

Human Sanitary Wastes And Waste Treatment In New York City, David J. Tonjes, Christine O'Connell, Omkar Aphale, R. Lawrence Swanson

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Henry Hudson first sailed toNew Yorkharbor 400 years ago. Since then,New York Cityhas both affected and been affected by water quality in greaterNew YorkHarbor. In this paper, we focus on sewers, sewerage, and sewage treatment inManhattanand their effects on theHudson River. It is clear that feedbacks among drinking water quality and quantity, population, public perceptions, regulations, and estuarine water quality exist, although their strength and character have varied over time. Early land uses damaged local water supplies found on ManhattanIsland. New Yorkthen began to exploit the large fresh water resources available to its north, which helped the City to expand …

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