Article
Environmental Sciences
Michal Struk, Eduard Bakos
Summary: Intermunicipal cooperation provides cost benefits for small municipalities in providing public services, with annual savings of up to 13.5% by reducing service costs and maintaining municipal sovereignty. In addition to financial benefits, cooperation also brings other qualitative and non-financial benefits, such as improved service quality and relief from administrative burdens.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Luciana Alves Rodrigues Macedo, Lisete Celina Lange, Cynthia Fantoni Alves Ferreira, Ricardo Alberto Gutierrez
Summary: This study proposes a set of indicators and an index to evaluate the performance of municipal waste management in Brazil, finding that most operating consortia have regular performance. Adequate disposal in regional sanitary landfills is common practice among municipalities, and reducing landfill areas is the main advance in waste management.
WASTE MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Shubhagato Dasgupta, Neha Agarwal
Summary: Local government partnerships for producing services are common in many countries, but they have rarely been used in India due to its centralized planning and independent urban and rural governance systems. However, India's sanitation program could benefit from intergovernmental partnerships for scaling services quickly and efficiently. This paper critically reviews an experiment in the Dhenkanal district, Odisha, India, which used this approach to provide sanitation services. The findings show that the urban-rural partnership increased access to sanitation services, lowered service charges, and clarified institutional responsibilities. However, issues related to planning, responsibility, accountability, and financing need to be addressed to strengthen the model.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Maria Molinos-Senante, Alexandros Maziotis
Summary: Efficient management of municipal solid waste sector is crucial for a sustainable circular economy, and the eco-efficiency assessment reveals significant eco-inefficiency in the sector. Reducing unsorted waste can greatly reduce operational costs, with an average marginal cost of 32.28 Chilean pesos per ton.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Seejeen Park, Sounman Hong
Summary: This study analyzed the impact of outsourcing solid waste services on the solid waste management budget using time-series cross-sectional data, finding that outsourcing does not save costs. The proportion of private sector waste treatment also does not significantly affect the solid waste management budget.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Giulia Romano, Maria Molinos-Senante, Laura Carosi, Paula Llanquileo-Melgarejo, Ramon Sala-Garrido, Manuel Mocholi-Arce
Summary: On average, the eco-productivity of Italian waste service providers increased by 8% from 2016 to 2019. Although municipalities with private utilities improved their ecoproductivity most, the differences among the three clusters reflecting utility ownership are not statistically significant. The results show that publicly owned waste operators drive technology and that the technological levels of private utilities have deteriorated relative to global technological progress.
Article
Geography
Anders Tonnesen, Monica Guillen-Royo, Sindre Cottis Hoff
Summary: This paper investigates how land-use management practices in four Norwegian rural municipalities incorporate nature conservation concerns. The study finds that nature conservation is less integrated into land-policy practices when it conflicts with wider economic or social considerations. The study also highlights the importance of rural municipalities being equipped with sufficient resources to prioritize environmental concerns in their land-use management practices.
JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES
(2023)
Article
Economics
Dede W. Gafa, Aklesso Y. G. Egbendewe, Laurent Jodoin
Summary: This study proposes a redefinition of the affordability criterion within the energy justice framework and applies it to rural data from Benin, Senegal, and Togo. The results indicate that non-monetary costs account for 29-35% of household income in rural areas and not accounting for these costs may misclassify 17% of households as having affordable energy.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Flavia Tuane Ferreira Moraes, Andriani Tavares Tenorio Goncalves, Josiane Palma Lima, Renato da Silva Lima
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has added pressure to healthcare waste management systems globally. In Brazil, where municipalities face challenges in proper healthcare waste disposal, the pandemic has exacerbated the situation. Therefore, the development of tools to aid municipal HCWM during the pandemic is crucial.
WASTE MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Tinku Casper D' Silva, Srishti Verma, Rinku Mary Magdaline, Ram Chandra, Abid Ali Khan
Summary: This study examines the feasibility of green technologies in solving environmental issues in rural coastal regions of developing countries. The results show that rainwater harvesting, sand filtration, and composting are effective solutions for addressing water and solid waste concerns. Further analysis indicates that the public interest in adopting these technologies is influenced by investment costs, additional resource requirements, and governmental policies. The study suggests further research and the development of site-specific rural governmental policies to promote the implementation of green technologies and achieve sustainability goals.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Fei Meng, Hang Chen, Zhenning Yu, Wu Xiao, Yongzhong Tan
Summary: The study found that farmers' participation in environmental actions is a result of a combination of internal and external factors, with life inertia, loss of personal interests, and objective conditions acting as barriers to their participation. On the other hand, environmental awareness, household benefits, and social-cultural influences can motivate farmers to participate in rural environmental governance.
Article
Environmental Studies
Weifang Wang
Summary: Understanding land buyer perceptions in rural land transactions is crucial for institutional land reform, policymaking, and academia. Buyers' perceptions are mainly determined by future costs rather than historical costs, shedding light on buyers' dilemmas in land investments. This study contributes nuanced insights of buyer perceptions based on China's empirical evidence, highlighting the importance of taking into account distinctive variants of costs.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Marcos Garcia-Lopez, Joaquin Melgarejo, Borja Montano
Summary: Efficient and adequately financed wastewater treatment is essential to minimize environmental impact, but the current funding tool does not address this issue. Changes are needed in the financing of water services to tackle environmental problems effectively.
Article
Agronomy
Yiming Song, Yating Zhan, Yanbin Qi, Dingde Xu, Xin Deng
Summary: The study found that political participation significantly affects waste classification behavior among rural residents. Farmers who participated in general elections were more likely to conduct waste classification. Additionally, groups receiving government subsidies and residents in areas with high economic development were also more likely to engage in waste classification.
Article
Public Administration
Daniel Albalate, Germa Bel, Francisco Gonzalez-Gomez, Andres J. Picazo-Tadeo
Summary: This article provides empirical evidence on the factors determining the result of contract renewals for private provision of urban water services in public tenders. The findings suggest that competition and transparency in tender management increase the likelihood of provider alternation, while the incumbent's size does not play a role. Additionally, larger municipality size and discretionary power of political parties might favor incumbent contract renewal.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Economics
Germa Bel, Stephan Joseph, Ferran A. Mazaira-Font
Summary: The study reveals that the moratorium implemented by the newly elected City Council of Barcelona on hotel construction led to a significant increase in hotel prices, indicating the protection of the interests of local industry incumbents.
APPLIED ECONOMICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Daniel Albalate, Germa Bel, Francisco Gonzalez-Gomez, Andres J. Picazo-Tadeo
Summary: This paper examines the concentration dynamics in the Spanish market for urban water service provided by private contract operators from 2000 to 2020. The study finds that the market is highly concentrated, with concentration increasing until 2007, declining after the passing of Law 30/2007 on Public Sector Contracts and Organic Law 8/2007 on Political Party Financing, and rising again from 2016 onwards. This trend is attributed to strategic behavior by the two leading operators, who acquire smaller companies with a significant presence in regional markets. Legislative reforms are proposed to safeguard competition space.
Article
Management
Thomas Elston, Germa Bel
Summary: Resilient organizations can maintain functioning during unexpected adversity, and collaboration plays a significant role in enhancing resilience. However, collaboration may also impede rapid and flexible decision-making. Through a case study on 'inter-municipal' collaboration in England, we find that collaboration partly limited the decline in service accuracy but did not protect service speed.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Economics
Daniel Albalate, Germa Bel, Ferran A. Mazaira-Font
Summary: The study shows that nature and geography play a key role in economic growth and social welfare. Data analysis suggests that policies that are not aligned with nature and geography can have negative effects on economic performance.
JOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Regional & Urban Planning
Germa Bel, Ivo Bischoff, Sara Blaka, Mattia Casula, Jakub Lysek, Pawel Swianiewicz, Antonio F. Tavares, Bart Voorn
Summary: This article compares inter-municipal cooperation in seven countries with different institutional settings and investigates the rules of governance and how they deal with the multiple principal problem. The authors find that in almost all cases, all participating municipalities are represented on the supervisory board of the cooperative entity.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDIES
(2023)
Article
Political Science
Daniel Albalate, Germa Bel, Ferran A. Mazaira-Font
Summary: This article examines the impact of the cessation of terrorism and the pro-independence movement in Catalonia on intergroup conflict in Spain. The study finds that the end of terrorism has improved attitudes between the Basque national minority and the rest of Spain, while attitudes from Catalans towards the rest of Spain have worsened.
POLITICS GROUPS AND IDENTITIES
(2023)
Article
Development Studies
Daniel Albalate, Germa Bel, Albert Gragera
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in urban mobility. The shift towards individual modes of transport and the financial challenges faced by public transportation are the biggest hurdles for city planners. Implementing appropriate policies and measures is necessary to address and mitigate these risks.
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF REGIONS ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Political Science
Gustav Egede Hansen, Germa Bel, Ole Helby Petersen
Summary: This study examines the impact of government contracting out on workers' wages and employment in the public and private sectors. The findings show a significant decline in work income and employment for workers overall, with major differences among different groups. Female, low-skilled, and younger workers are more adversely affected by government contracting out.
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
(2023)
Article
Development Studies
Oscar Gasulla, Germa Bel, Ferran A. Mazaira-Font
Summary: This study investigates whether weak executive federalism in the USA was beneficial or damaging for COVID-19 management. A policy response model is formulated for subnational governments, taking into account the national government's preferred policy and other factors, with both incomplete and complete information. Econometric techniques are used to test the derived hypotheses. The results suggest that ideological and political biases were more influential in a situation of incomplete information, while they were found to be irrelevant when information was complete.
CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF REGIONS ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Management
Germa Bel, Thomas Elston
Summary: This study examines the impact of time and timing on public service collaborations, specifically on the financial performance of inter-municipal partnerships for solid waste collection in Catalonia. The findings suggest that the cost advantages of cooperation declined over time due to population growth and reduced interdependence between municipalities. The timing of cooperation does not affect savings, although early adopters and followers have different policy objectives.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Public Administration
Marianna Sebo, Germa Bel
Summary: This article examines an initiative in Barcelona where citizens monitor public services using a feedback system, and analyzes how socioeconomic factors, political activism, and partisan alignment influence citizen complaints. The results show that political participation is related to a higher propensity to complain.
INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Law
Germa Bel
Summary: The relationship between government size and corruption is complex, with the type of government intervention in the economy being more crucial than government size. Fiscal burden shows no significant relationship with corruption, while regulatory quality is consistently and significantly positively associated with corruption. Legal origins and democratic experience also play a role in explaining differences in corruption levels.
REGULATION & GOVERNANCE
(2022)
Article
Management
Germa Bel, Alejandro Belerdas-Castro
Summary: Cooperation between different levels of government is an efficient tool for expanding fire protection services, while privatization does not show a significant relationship with costs incurred by the government.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Management
Daniel Albalate, Germa Bel, Eoin Reeves
Summary: Recent studies have found that service characteristics and institutional factors play a significant role in the implementation of re-municipalization, particularly the strong network characteristics which are associated with lower probabilities of implementation and longer processes. Interestingly, the re-municipalization of personal services is more likely to be fully implemented and finalized faster. Moreover, the probability of implementing reforms increased after the great recession.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Political Science
Germa Bel, Marc Esteve, Juan Carlos Garrido, Jose Luis Zafra-Gomez
Summary: This study examines the effects of different forms of corporatization on public service costs, finding that services provided by public corporations are not less costly than those provided by public agencies, and that public services offered by mixed corporations with government majorities tend to cost more.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaojian Liu, Bei Wang, Yayun Ma, Xiangyang Zhou, Juan Yang, Yuehui He, Jingjing Tang, Fanyun Su, Wan Yang
Summary: This study proposes a combined process of reduction roasting of herb-medicine residue and oxalic acid leaching to improve the recovery efficiency of lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries. By utilizing the reducing gas produced from the pyrolysis of herb-medicine residue, the layered structure of the cathode powder is destroyed and converted into Li2CO3, Ni, Co, and MnO. Additionally, selective extraction of lithium is achieved using oxalic acid, and the efficiency and kinetics of lithium extraction are improved under the combined action of herb-medicine residue and oxalic acid.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Muxina Konarova, Nuno Batalha, Gabriel Fraga, Mohamed H. M. Ahmed, Steven Pratt, Bronwyn Laycock
Summary: This study presents a proof of concept for a technology that integrates PET recovery from mixed plastic waste and plastic pyrolysis. By depolymerizing PET into TPA using a low volatility oil as medium, it achieves low-pressure operation and a selective separation and recovery of TPA from the product mix. Full PET conversion and high TPA recovery were achieved, making it an effective solution for processing mixed waste streams and improving the yield and quality of liquid product from thermal pyrolysis compared to untreated feedstock.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Zhenhua Sun, Jing Li, Xuejiang Wang, Siqing Xia, Jianfu Zhao
Summary: This study investigated the influence of in-situ formed MgFe2O4 on the hydrothermal treatment of swine manure. The results showed that the in-situ formation of MgFe2O4 improved the dehydration and decarboxylation of organic components in swine manure, thereby improving its carbonization degree. Furthermore, it enhanced the stabilization of heavy metals and the retention of phosphorus. MgFe2O4 modified hydrochars exhibited remarkable adsorption capacity for Pb(II) and Cu(II) without any leaching of heavy metals.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yijing Jiang, Boyang Leng, Jingxin Xi
Summary: The increased generation of municipal solid waste has had a significant impact on the economy, environment, and public health. The current waste treatment process has limitations. By developing a comprehensive social costing model, this study assesses the impacts of municipal solid waste management throughout its life cycle and provides policymakers with best practices and feasibility information.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Marina Hernandes de Paula e Silva, Ricardo Coser Mergulha, Jose Geraldo Vidal Vieira, Andrea Brasco Pampanelli, Rodrigo Salvador, Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva
Summary: This study developed and implemented a self-assessment tool to assist companies in decision-making processes for establishing circular flows based on Lean Manufacturing and Circular Economy principles. The tool utilized a maturity model and was applied to nine companies of varying characteristics. The findings revealed that certain companies showed higher maturity in water-waste and chemical-emissions management, with larger enterprises focusing on these strategies. However, many companies lacked sufficient training and employee awareness prior to seeking cleaner alternatives, and comprehensive actions to manage the product lifecycle were lacking. To address these gaps, the tool provided tailored recommendations for each company to improve their processes, products, and value chain.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Gamze Dogdu, Turgay Pekdemir, Sanaz Lakestani, Seyda Karabork, Osman Cavus
Summary: This paper presents data on food waste associated with mini size food packaging services, highlighting the difficulties in emptying the food and consumer wastefulness as the main causes. These findings have significant implications for the sustainability of food and relevant packaging.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qingxia Li, Xin Kong, Yuxin Chen, Jianan Niu, Jia Jing, Jin Yuan, Yifeng Zhang
Summary: This study investigates how to enhance methane production from food waste after hydrothermal pretreatment. The results demonstrate a significant increase in methane yield when zero-valent iron and magnetite are used together, and high organic loading is favorable for methane production. Microbial diversity analysis further reveals the dominant pathways and metabolic processes involved in methane generation.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
D. H. H. Sim, I. A. W. Tan, L. L. P. Lim, E. T. Lau, B. H. Hameed
Summary: The development of controlled-release fertilizer formulation is important for preventing environmental pollution caused by nutrient leaching and volatilization. This study combined biochar-based fertilizer with encapsulation technology to improve the nutrient release mechanism. Optimal conditions for synthesizing urea-impregnated biochar (UIB) were determined using central composite design, and the release of nitrogen was described by mathematical models. Results showed that encapsulated UIB (EUIB) achieved complete release of nitrogen in water and exhibited improved water retention in sandy-textural soil. Therefore, EUIB derived from peppercorn waste has the potential to be used as a sustainable controlled-release fertilizer for agriculture.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yuchuan Wang, Neslihan Akdeniz
Summary: Incorporating biochar into composting systems can increase compost temperatures. This study developed a heat transfer model for a biochar-amended co-composting system and found that biochar increased thermal conductive losses but also enhanced microbial activity, resulting in an overall increase in total heat unit. When biochar was applied on the surface, it mainly functioned as an insulator.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
George Tsalis, Birger Boutrup Jensen, Jessica Aschemann-Witzel
Summary: This paper empirically explores the relationship between retail price promotions and household food waste. The results show that households with a higher proportion of discount food purchases and environmental awareness tend to waste less food, while larger households and those lacking food handling skills tend to waste more food.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lukas Friederici, Arne Koch, Patrick Martens, Jana Pantzke, Sebastiano Di Bucchianico, Thorsten Streibel, Christopher P. Rueger, Ralf Zimmermann
Summary: The increasing demand for lightweight materials has led to a rise in fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) production. However, the properties and compositional range of FRPs pose challenges to recycling strategies. Pyrolysis has emerged as a promising method for separating the fibers from the polymer matrix. This study investigated the pyrolysis process using thermal analysis and high-resolution mass spectrometry, and also assessed the toxicity of the recovered fibers using an in vitro model.
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Devika Kannan, Shakiba Khademolqorani, Nassibeh Janatyan, Somaieh Alavi
Summary: This paper introduces Smart Waste Management (SWM) that applies Industry 4.0 technologies in waste management. A framework called SWM4.0 is developed, which highlights the importance of smart people, smart cities, smart enterprises, and smart factories in achieving successful waste management. The paper also suggests future research directions and managerial implications.
