Solid Waste Management for Resource-Efficient Systems: Circularity in Action promotes innovation and shares best practices based on the principles of the circular economy and resource conservation on different aspects of sustainable solid waste management. The book also explains sources, impacts, and recycling potential of emerging wastes. It presents management strategies, including emerging green infrastructure and digitalization for recycling and gainful application of waste. In addition, sections highlight various environmental and health hazards while providing different management strategies based on the principle of resource recovery and circular economy that can help to minimize the environmental impacts.@en

Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic. Among them, plastics smaller than 5mm, defined as microplastics (MPs), have caused severe environmental pollution and emerged as the second major global environmental and ecological issue in the 21st century. As the major receptacles for land-based MPs, the aquatic systems in the urbanized region are considered to be one of the most widely polluted environments, where waterborne MPs can be transported and distributed through water flow; coherent strategies are required to segregate and control MPs pollution. This chapter reviews and describes MPs pollution in urbanized aquatic environments, where wastewater treatment plants and estuarine fronts (for coastal cities) can act as control points for the retention of MPs during transportation. Furthermore, waterborne MPs also undergo complex processes, including sedimentation, fragmentation, aging, and aggregation, further increasing the challenge of MPs pollution assessment and control. This chapter highlights that the Asiatic region displays greater MPs pollution in the aquatic environment. Hence, taking Asia as an example, we further explored the causes of increased MPs pollution and provided an outlook on plausible management strategies for pollution control.

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In this study, we report the implementation of a comprehensive wastewater surveillance testing program at a university campus in Singapore to identify Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected individuals and the usage of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as well as other emerging contaminants (ECs). This unique co-monitoring program simultaneously measured SARS-CoV-2 with chemical markers/contaminants as the COVID-19 situation evolved from pandemic to endemic stages, following a nationwide mass vaccination drive. SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater from campus dormitories were measured using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and corroborated with the number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases confirmed with the antigen rapid test (ART). Consistent results were observed where the concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in wastewater increased proportionately with the number of COVID-19 infected individuals residing on campus. Similarly, a wide range of ECs, including disinfectants and antibiotics, were detected through sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) techniques to establish PPCPs consumption patterns during various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. Statistical correlation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed with few ECs belonging to disinfectants, PCPs and antibiotics. A high concentration of disinfectants and subsequent positive correlation with the number of reported cases on the university campus indicates that disinfectants could serve as a chemical marker during such unprecedented times.@en