Transportation systems are a major and growing source of global carbon emissions, accelerating climate change and exacerbating extreme temperature risk. This study investigates the long-term dynamics of transportation carbon emissions (TCE) and temperature in China and the United States from 1970 to 2023, employing an integrated framework that combines Mann-Kendall and Theil-Sen trend analyses, decomposition-assisted forecasting, and Quantile-on-Quantile (Q-Q) analysis. To ensure the robustness of the results, a bandwidth sensitivity test is used. The results show significant warming trends across both countries, with urban warming rates ranging from 0.018°C to 0.033°C yr− 1. Structural break diagnostics reveal major regime transitions during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. Supplementary stationarity diagnostics further demonstrate substantial long-memory persistence and strong nonstationarity in transportation-emissions systems, particularly in China. Forecast results indicate continued warming through 2035 in both countries, while transportation-emissions trajectories diverge markedly. The United States exhibits comparatively slower emissions growth and partial stabilization tendencies, whereas China shows persistent long-term emissions acceleration and stronger structural persistence. Q-Q analysis further reveals stronger upper-tail temperature-emissions synchronization in China (r = 0.747) than in the United States (r = 0.630), indicating more pronounced coupling under high-emission and elevated-warming regimes. The study provides governments with tailored transportation decarbonization policy measures.
]]>Plastic waste generation has evolved into a critical environmental crisis, exerting severe ecological pressure on the global terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Concurrently, the environmental accumulation of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) has escalated due to widespread polymer consumption and systemic waste management inefficiencies. Developing sustainable, scalable remediation strategies is an ecological priority. Phytoremediation—the use of plants to clean up contaminated environments—can be effectively applied to mitigate MP pollution, offering advantages such as high efficiency, environmental friendliness, aesthetic appeal, and cost-effectiveness. Although phytoremediation shows considerable potential for MP and NP remediation, its mechanisms and field-scale applicability remain insufficiently explored. Hence, this review discusses the mechanisms of MP remediation and the environmental feasibility of adopting plant-based systems for environmental plastic interception. By discussing the toxicological effects of MPs across multiple taxa, this paper establishes a baseline justification for the urgent need for environmental remediation. The mechanism of interaction between plants and MP/NP at the molecular level has been given special attention, and it was observed that plants rely on uptake, translocation, compartmentalization, and sometimes it stores MP along with other contaminants. Further, we evaluate the synergistic potential of plant-microbe co-remediation. To establish a closed-loop framework, postremediation biomass management strategies are addressed, focusing on the thermochemical conversion of the contaminated biomass into biochar. Ultimately, plant-based systems represent a promising component of integrated MP remediation strategies; however, significant mechanistic and scalability gaps remain, necessitating focused, interdisciplinary research to validate field-scale implementation.
]]>The rising use of plastic and its harm on individual and public health through microplastic pollution in food and water is a growing concern. Although Indonesia maintains general and hazardous waste regulations, it lacks targeted legal measures for microplastic management. This study applies a normative juridical method to analyze Indonesia's regulatory framework and compares it with California's comprehensive microplastic strategy to assess legal adequacy and identify regulatory gaps. Findings indicate key deficiencies in Indonesia: absence of microplastic specific prohibitions across critical sectors (including tobacco related sources), limited enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and insufficient monitoring and public education. In contrast, California has enacted detailed product, established statewide monitoring standards, integrated Low Impact Development (LID) for runoff control, upgraded wastewater treatment requirements, increase public awareness, and research initiatives. Based on these results, this paper recommends that Indonesia needs to: strengthen EPR through clear incentives and penalties; expand microplastic specific bans; incorporate LID into spatial planning; enhance wastewater treatment plants for microplastic removal; and enhance environmental education curricula. Empowering multi stakeholder platform, such as National Plastic Action Partnership, with expert led research and data driven thresholds which will support effective policy and better protect public health from microplastic pollution.
]]>Characterizing watershed soils is essential, as these properties directly dictate agricultural output, ecosystem well-being, and the migration of pollutants. Focusing on the Tamiraparani River Basin (TRB), this research evaluates soil health and pollution status by systematically collecting and analyzing 39 samples to measure key chemical parameters and specific metal concentrations. While the TRB faces escalating pressure from intensive agriculture and industrialization, a comprehensive assessment linking land-use-specific metal accumulation remains largely absent; this study addresses this gap by pairing high-resolution spatial mapping with pollution assessment. Conventional techniques were utilized to determine attributes like pH, electrical conductivity, and trace element levels. The contamination degree spanned from 6.47 to 14.54, with four locations recording minimal contamination while the rest displayed moderate levels. Meanwhile, Pollution Load Index metrics fluctuated from 0.73 to 1.26, with 16 locations pointing to a gradual decline in soil health driven by human activities. Overall, the results point to minimal overall contamination accompanied by slight localized enrichment, highlighting the necessity for proactive environmental monitoring. Consequently, these localized PLI elevations highlight critical zones requiring immediate source-specific management to arrest further catchment degradation. This baseline assessment provides a transferable geochemical framework to identify early-stage soil deterioration, enabling targeted land-use interventions before marginal enrichment transitions into widespread eco-toxicological and public health liabilities.
]]>This paper examines whether government favoritism in public procurement generates negative social costs, even within redistributive institutional frameworks such as the European Union. Rather than relying on perception-based corruption indicators, we employ an objective proxy of corruption risk—the share of awarded public contracts which received only one bid. This measure captures non-competitive allocation and mitigates reverse causality concerns. Using static and dynamic fixed effects panel models, we find that procurement favoritism is systematically associated with adverse social outcomes across EU member states. Specifically, we document robust, statistically significant negative effects on educational attainment, income inequality, and poverty. Our results suggest that governance quality—and not merely the volume of public expenditure—is a critical determinant of social development, and that distortions in procurement processes can undermine the effectiveness of public spending even where formal cohesion commitments exist.
]]>A provincial-scale GIS-MCDA framework was developed to assess landfill suitability in Edirne Province by integrating flood susceptibility, river proximity, slope, elevation, road accessibility, LULC, geology, and soil criteria. AHP-derived weights were applied through weighted overlay analysis to generate the Landfill Suitability Index. The results show that very high-suitability areas are limited and fragmented, underscoring the need for detailed site-specific assessments and integrated waste management planning.
Municipal solid waste management is a critical challenge in hydro-environmentally sensitive regions, requiring complex evaluations for landfill siting. This study develops a risk-informed Geographic Information System (GIS)-based multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework for landfill site selection in Edirne Province. Edirne represents a highly constrained decision space due to its low-lying topography, floodplain dynamics, dense river networks, and intensive agriculture. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the framework integrates eight key criteria: flood susceptibility, river proximity, slope, elevation, land use/land cover (LULC), geological structure, soil characteristics, and accessibility. Results reveal that moderate suitability areas dominate the province (64.1%), followed by high (21.9%) and low (12.4%) suitability. Very high suitability areas are severely restricted, covering only 0.8% (52.3 km2) and emerging as fragmented patches where favorable conditions intersect. This spatial scarcity is primarily driven by critical environmental bottlenecks, specifically compatible LULC (0.4%), suitable geology (4.8%), and low-permeability soils (3.9%), which collectively exert a strong spatial filtering effect. Ultimately, this structured GIS-MCDA screening approach informs sustainable waste management planning in environmentally constrained regions. The severe limitation of highly suitable land demonstrates that conventional landfill expansion is spatially restrictive. The findings underscore the urgent need for strategies aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 6 and 11), emphasizing surface and groundwater protection, resource recovery, recycling, and a critical transition away from landfill-dependent waste systems.
]]>Steam-based thermal remediation is increasingly applied to hydrocarbon-contaminated soils in cold and permafrost regions, but its performance varies markedly across laboratory and field conditions due to coupled thermal, hydraulic, mechanical and physicochemical processes. This review develops a multiscale framework integrating pore-, fracture- and field-scale mechanisms controlling steam-based thermal remediation in frozen soils. At the pore scale, freeze–thaw cycling modifies pore connectivity, unfrozen water distribution and contaminant mobility. At the fracture scale, fractures may enhance heat transfer or induce thermal short-circuiting depending on their connectivity and evolution. At the field scale, subsurface heterogeneity, ice content and operational parameters jointly determine heating efficiency and contaminant removal. The review further evaluates the capabilities and limitations of multiphysics coupling models, highlighting uncertainties caused by parameter non-uniqueness, scale mismatch and limited field observability. Optimization approaches, including adaptive steam injection, hybrid remediation and low-carbon energy integration, are discussed as site-dependent strategies. This review provides a multiscale perspective for interpreting, modelling and optimizing steam-based thermal remediation in cold-region environments.
]]>Co-pyrolysis of plastics is a simultaneous thermochemical conversion of a mixture of plastics to value-added products. This study quantified air emissions from co-pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at varying mixture compositions. The emissions were modelled using simplex lattice design (SLD) and artificial neural network (ANN). A mixture containing 100% LDPE, 0% PS, and 0% PET emits the highest quantities of hydrocarbons (HCs), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxide (NO) with values of 7980.46, 1793.67, and 41.41 mg/m3, respectively, with no indication of NO2, SO2, H2S, or CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, mixture containing 0% LDPE, 0% PS, and 100% PET emits the lowest quantities of HCs and CO, with values of 200.47 and 44.69 mg/m3, respectively. Mixtures containing 17% LDPE, 17% PS, and 66% PET; 17% LDPE, 66% PS, and 17% PET; and 0% LDPE, 50% PS, and 50% PET showed no emissions of NO. The study generated predictive models for the emissions of HC, CO, and NO and statistically established that using SLD, a special quartic model best describes HC and CO emissions, while a quadratic model best describes NO emissions. Although ANN shows good modelling of the emissions, the coefficients of estimate were lower than that of simplex lattice design.
]]>From the perspective of negotiated governance, this study examines how companies respond to regulatory measures that combine hard and soft elements, assigning them greater responsibility for addressing social problems. Focusing on the Swedish gambling market, the study analyzes gambling operators' interpretation of the legal concept of duty of care. While this duty obliges operators to protect gamblers from excessive gambling, what it entails in practice and how responsibilities are understood are largely left to operators to define. Guided by the concept of responsibility, the analysis shows that interpretations vary and it is unclear what duty of care aims to prevent. Despite variations, duty of care is often framed in terms of responsible gambling, thereby individualizing responsibility for gambling-related harm, and the action plans largely describe compliance with other legal requirements. In conclusion, the findings suggest a need for greater regulatory clarity regarding the normative foundations of duty of care regulation.
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Microplastics (MPs) have emerged as a pervasive pollutant in marine environments worldwide, yet the Arabian Gulf remains underrepresented in global assessments despite its ecological and economic significance. The estimated mass of MPs entering the water of the Gulf ranged from 155 to 413.4 kt per year. This review synthesizes peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024, covering seawater, sediments, and biota. Reported concentrations vary considerably: seawater ranged from 0–3 MPs/m3 in Qatar to 12,000 MPs/m3 in Kuwait, while sediments concentrations reached up to 665 MPs/kg in Oman and as many as 195,104 particles at Iranian hotspots. In biota, MPs were frequently detected in fish and prawns, with up to 828 particles recorded in digestive tracts and 18.5 MPs/10 g in edible muscle tissues. Fibers and fragments dominate across all matrices, with polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) as the most common polymers. Furthermore, legislation and regulations available on the regional and national level to reduce the amount of marine litter including plastics and MPs were discussed. Microplastics in the Gulf are examined across four themes: (1) source and pathway, (2) classification, (3) occurrence and fate, and (4) environmental impacts and future risks. Cross-study comparison reveals spatial and temporal variability, contradictory biotic load estimates across countries, and significant methodological inconsistencies that limit data comparability. Critical knowledge gaps persist, including the absence of Gulf-specific studies on lower trophic levels, ecotoxicological thresholds, and quantitative human exposure models. Although Gulf states have introduced measures such as single-use plastic bag bans, legislation remains fragmented, compliance data are scarce, and certain policy approaches (notably the reliance on oxo-degradable plastics) are inconsistent with international best practice. The Gulf's distinctive characteristics including its semi-enclosed hydrology, extreme salinity and temperature, and shared governance challenges position it as both a natural laboratory for studying microplastic fate and transport and a potential testbed for regional policy harmonization. Insights from this region can inform management strategies for other enclosed and semi-enclosed seas worldwide.
]]>Indoor air pollution poses a critical public health risk, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions like Bangladesh, where inadequate ventilation and climatic conditions intensify exposure risks. This study investigated seasonal and diurnal variations in indoor air quality (IAQ) across AC and Non-AC environments in Mymensingh, assessing compliance, pollutant correlations, and quantification of health risks (ELCR, HQ). Measurements of PM1, PM2.5, PM10, TVOCs, HCHO, temperature, and humidity were taken from 56 rooms (28 AC, 28 Non-AC) during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons using real-time monitors. During the post-monsoon season, PM2.5 levels in Non-AC rooms reached 123.29 µg/m3 in the afternoon, compared to 79.79 µg/m3 in AC rooms, while PM10 concentrations peaked at 145.32 µg/m3 in Non-AC environments and 89.75 µg/m3 in AC rooms. TVOC levels were highest in AC rooms, reaching 884 µg/m3, likely due to limited ventilation, and HCHO concentrations in AC spaces (301.14 µg/m3) consistently exceeded WHO guidelines. Temperature and humidity influenced pollutant dynamics, with PM levels positively correlated with temperature and HCHO negatively correlated. Health risk assessments revealed significant hazards during the post-monsoon season, with children in Non-AC environments facing high estimated lifetime cancer risks (ELCR) from PM1 (5.16E-03) and PM2.5 (2.7E-03), while AC environments showed elevated risks from HCHO (8.75E-06). Hazard Quotients (HQ) for PM2.5 (9.30) and PM10 (3.21) in Non-AC environments reached alarming levels, indicating severe non-carcinogenic risks. Source apportionment using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) identified distinct pollutant sources, underscoring the complex interplay of indoor and outdoor factors. Spatial analysis highlighted central urban zones as high-risk areas due to traffic emissions and commercial activities. These findings emphasize the dual burden of particulate exposure in Non-AC spaces and chemical accumulation in AC environments, influenced by seasonal shifts. Policy reforms focusing on source reduction, improved building codes, and public awareness are crucial to mitigate health disparities in tropical urban settings.
]]>Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding offers a non-invasive approach to wetland bird community monitoring, yet its capacity to detect conservation-priority migratory species at stopover wetlands with no prior systematic baseline remains largely untested. We conducted the first spatially replicated eDNA survey at Baima Lake Wetland (Huai'an, China), a Ramsar site designated in 2023 and an important stopover along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. We sampled 24 sites across three habitat zones during spring migration (March 2024) and the post-breeding period (September 2024) using the 12SV05 primer targeting the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. eDNA detected 49 bird species, including four absent from the published checklist of Baima Lake. Most notably, Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri; CR, IUCN) and the Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana; EN, IUCN), both globally threatened migratory visitors, were detected exclusively in spring at 25% and 8% of sites respectively, illustrating the value of eDNA temporal persistence for capturing evidence of brief stopover events. Despite non-significant alpha diversity differences among zones, community composition differed significantly (PERMANOVA: R 2 = 0.48–0.52, p ≤ 0.03), with only 2 of 162 OTUs shared across all three lake zones. These findings establish the first molecular avian biodiversity baseline for Baima Lake and demonstrate that spring eDNA surveys can systematically document conservation-priority migratory species and reveal fine-scale zone-level community differentiation at inland Ramsar wetlands, complementing traditional and camera-based monitoring approaches where they are most limited.
]]>Cyanobacteria bloom in freshwater sources such as reservoirs produce harmful toxins that can adversely affect water quality, aquatic environment and public safety. These harmful organisms can be removed from water sources using flock and sink techniques. In this study, we examined the efficacy of a low dose coagulants (Moringa stenopetala seeds (MSS), Aloe barbadensis miller leaf (AVL) and Opuntia ficus-indica leaf (OFIL)) both alone and in combination with local red soil (LRS) as a ballast material to remove the cyanobacterial biomass from Koka Reservoir's water (Ethiopia). The plant extracts obtained from dried biomass treated with NaCl. The results of the experiments determined the lowest dose of coagulants and ballast that effectively coagulate and sediment cyanobacterial biomass from the sample. The removal efficiency was estimated using phycocyanin pigment as surrogate of biomass. The mixed effect model was conducted to assess the effects of coagulant dose, LRS dose, and replication on the measured responses. The results indicated that treatment dose significantly affected the phycocyanin concentrations both at the top and bottom of the test-tubes, whereas the effect of replicates was negligible. MSS extracts proved to be more effective alone (87.64%) or combined with LRS than other treatments. The coagulants, either alone or in combination with natural ballast, provide prominent sustainable alternative for cyanobacterial removal in freshwaters in tropical systems particularly for low-income countries.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an escalating One Health challenge driven by the persistence of antibiotics, resistant microorganisms, and resistance genes across clinical, agricultural, and aquatic environments. Bioremediation offers microbial and enzymatic pathways for degrading antibiotic residues, but its effectiveness is often limited by slow kinetics, environmental heterogeneity, and system instability. Nanotechnology provides complementary capabilities, including enhanced antimicrobial delivery, photocatalytic degradation, enzyme stabilization, biofilm disruption, and damage to extracellular resistance genes, while also introducing concerns related to toxicity, ecological risk, and resistance selection. This review synthesizes primary experimental evidence across nanotechnology and bioremediation to evaluate their integration as an environmental AMR mitigation strategy. The analysis indicates that integrated systems can improve antibiotic removal, antimicrobial performance, and biofilm control, although direct reductions in resistance-gene abundance or transfer have been demonstrated in only a subset of studies. The review further identifies key barriers to implementation, including limited field validation, inconsistent system characterization, and insufficient assessment of transformation products and ecological impacts. Overall, integrated nano-bioremediation represents a promising pre-field approach whose advancement will depend on environmentally informed design, standardized evaluation, and responsible deployment.
]]>Air pollution is a major environmental health risk. The study aimed to evaluate the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks of indoor BTEX and indoor/outdoor NO2 in preschools at Melusi informal settlement. Materials and Methods Eight preschools in Melusi, City of Tshwane, were included. A total of 36 Radiello passive samplers measured indoor BTEX and indoor/outdoor NO2 over 14 consecutive days. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) human health risk assessment model was used to estimate non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks. Mean indoor concentrations were 7.4 µg/m3 (benzene), 7.7 µg/m3 (toluene), 2.8 µg/m3 (ethylbenzene), and 2.3 µg/m3 (xylenes). Mean NO2 levels were 15.6 µg/m3 indoors and 17.8 µg/m3 outdoors. Hazard quotient values were below the safe threshold of 1 for all BTEX among the subgroups (range: 0.002–0.267), when U.S. EPA reference values were applied. The cancer risks were 5.8 × 10− 5 for benzene and 6.9 × 10− 6 for ethylbenzene. Indoor BTEX and indoor/outdoor NO2 health risks were evaluated across different subgroups, indicating both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks in preschools at Melusi informal settlement. These findings underscore the urgent need for air pollution mitigation strategies in informal settlements and similar settings.
]]>Paddy residue burning has emerged as a major environmental challenge in north-western India, highlighting the need for sustainable and economically viable residue management alternatives. In this context, baler technology has gained importance as an effective ex-situ crop residue management practice that supports biomass utilization and reduces open-field burning. The study aimed to evaluate the supply chain dynamics, economics, farmers' perceptions, and constraints associated with baler-based paddy residue management. The study was conducted in the south-western zone of Punjab during 2025–26. Primary data were collected from 10 paddy residue aggregators selected using the snowball sampling technique and 60 farmers selected through simple random sampling from the Bathinda and Mansa districts of Punjab. The study revealed that the average baling operation covered 2676.67 acres per season and handled approximately 70,400 quintals of paddy residue with an effective field capacity of 3.60 acres per hour. Economic analysis indicated that the total cost of baling was INR 150.69 per quintal, while the net return was INR 36.56 per quintal with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.22 and a payback period of 1.37 years, indicating the economic viability of the technology. Transportation cost emerged as the major component of operational expenditure. Farmers showed a generally favorable perception towards baler technology, particularly regarding its economic and environmental benefits. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that education (β = 1.4127), farm size (β = 1.1371), and extension contact (β = 17.3939) positively and significantly influenced farmers' perceptions, whereas age (β = −0.5790) had a significant negative effect. Major constraints faced by residue collectors included high initial investment, poor transportation infrastructure, low residue prices, and labor shortages. The study concludes that baler technology offers a sustainable and economically feasible solution for paddy residue management; however, improved policy support, institutional interventions, infrastructure development, and awareness programs are essential for its wider adoption and long-term success.
]]>Microplastic (MP) pollution is an ever-growing issue in the marine ecosystem around the world. However, the study on MP pollution in marine fish remains limited, particularly those conducted in Eastern Sarawak, Malaysia. Hence, this study investigated the occurrence of MP on the marine fish, collected from local fish market in the city of Sibu and Kuching, Eastern Sarawak, Malaysia. The MP samples were examined from 5 g of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) across 22 species of fish. The samples were extracted by digesting (KOH solution), followed by density separation (NaCl solution) and filtration. Then, the samples were identified and characterized under stereomicroscope and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). As the result, an estimated of 6107 particles of MP were found on GIT from all species. The highest abundance was found in Pacific Sardine (Sardinops Sagax) with 383.24 particles, while the lowest abundance was found in Japanese Sea Bass (Lateolabrax Japonicus) with 181.22 particles. The most dominant shape was fiber with 61.46%, the dominant size of MP was less than 1000 µm with 87%, and the blue was the most prevalent color, with a proportion of 65.83%. The FTIR analysis detected polyester (PES) and polyamide (PA) in the sample. This study investigates the occurrence of MP ingestion in commercial marine fish and indicates the potential for human exposure to contaminated fish. Moreover, this study provides additional data references, to support long-term monitoring program, as well as the development and implementation of standardized sampling and analytical protocols for local policymakers and stakeholders, which could help improve the understanding of MP pollution and protect marine ecosystem in the cities of Sibu and Kuching, Eastern Sarawak, Malaysia.
]]>Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS)—such as Fairtrade International and the Forest Stewardship Council—aim to improve sustainability in global supply chains by setting high social and environmental standards and certifying businesses that adopt them. This article examines why some VSS adopt ambitious goals for living wages or living incomes yet continue to certify businesses that only pay a minimum wage. Drawing on previous literature, it offers a typology of five ways that VSS can decouple. Drawing on documents, interviews, and participant observation, it offers detailed case studies of how five VSS have engaged in the coupling and decoupling of wage standards. The research identifies four drivers of decoupling: priorities that complete, costs of coupling, low risk of decoupling, and anticipation that coupling will be easier in the future. It also describes several factors that influence these drivers. Finally, it shows how decoupling may paradoxically facilitate progress, while pressure to fully couple may inhibit transformative change, and concludes with recommendations for avoiding empty claims while harnessing aspirational standards.
]]>Saccharum officinarum (sugarcane) is a perennial tropical crop grown in Malaysia for its raw cane sugar production. Sugarcane bagasse, which is the fibrous part left after the cane juice extraction has an average amount of lignin content (17%–25%) which has previously shown to have anti-UV properties. The limited valorization of sugarcane bagasse and the ongoing ozone layer depletion have led to the study of lignin extraction and its efficacy in blocking UV radiation. This study aims to optimize organosolv lignin extraction method from sugarcane bagasse for high lignin recovery. The sugarcane bagasse used in the study has been characterized to contain 16.7% lignin and the organosolv lignin extraction method was further optimized using Box-Behnken design (BBD) to achieve the highest lignin yield. The lignin was extracted under reflux with three manipulated parameters of reaction time (2–6 h), concentration of catalyst (0–0.4 M), and liquid/solid ratio (10/1–50/1 v/w). The lignin extracted from the optimized parameters was characterized for its surface morphology (VPSEM), functional groups (FTIR), thermal stability (TGA) and sun protection properties (SPF). Through this study, it is determined that the best extraction condition yielded 42.95% of lignin when performed at 5.75 h of reflux duration, 0.357 M of catalyst concentration and 27/1 of liquid/solid ratio. Remarkably, when 10% (w/w) of the extracted organosolv lignin is incorporated, the SPF value of a base cream increased by more than seven folds to 104.58 which highlight its potential as a biobased UV filter in sunscreen. This study shows that biomass lignin is highly potential as a UV protection agent which can be incorporated into sunscreens.
]]>Construction and demolition waste (CDW) management depends on the interaction among economic, operational, and behavioral factors, with reward and penalty policies acting as central instruments that remain comparatively underexplored from a systemic perspective for influencing generator behavior. This study conducted a systematic literature review in the Scopus and Web of Science databases (2018–2024), following the ProKnow-C approach, from which a portfolio of 101 articles was selected from 498 initially identified records. Based on the reviewed literature, a conceptual Cause-and-Effect Diagram (CED) grounded in System Dynamics principles was developed, comprising eight feedback loops (five reinforcing and three balancing). The results show that the effectiveness of reward and penalty policies depends less on the isolated intensity of each instrument and more on its combination with source separation practices and the availability of adequate infrastructure, such as Voluntary Drop-off Points, to reduce improper disposal. The contribution of this study lies in the systemic integration of these policy instruments within a single causal framework and in the identification of seven recurring practical challenges in the implementation of these policies, for which operational solutions grounded in the reviewed literature are proposed, aimed at supporting the formulation of municipal solid waste management plans.
]]>The present study was conducted along the lower stretch of the Ganga River in the southernmost region of West Bengal, India, encompassing four major districts—Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, and Kolkata, which collectively represent one of the state's principal industrial corridors. A total of 12 sampling sites (36 water and sediment samples collected in triplicate) were selected from different river ghats across these districts. Water and sediment samples were collected during the study period for the analysis of physicochemical parameters and sediment-associated microplastic contamination. Significant spatial variability was observed in key water quality parameters, particularly pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total hardness, and total solids (TS, including TSS and TDS). Spatial distribution patterns were analyzed using the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation technique in ArcGIS software. The lowest Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) water quality index (WQI) value (39.50) was recorded at Gournagar (Nadia), indicating poor water quality and substantial environmental degradation at this location. Sediment characteristics also exhibited considerable spatial variation, particularly with respect to organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents. Microplastic analysis of sediment samples revealed a predominance of fibrous particles (45.5%), closely followed by fragments (45%), while spherules accounted for 9.5% of the total microplastic composition. The abundance of microplastics varied markedly among the 12 sampling sites, with Jorabagan and Fairley Ghat showing the highest concentrations (30–38 particles per 100 g of dry sediment), highlighting the influence of intense urbanization and anthropogenic activities. The transparent microplastic particles were dominant across all sites, while white particles were consistently observed. In contrast, the remaining color categories displayed considerable site-specific variability, suggesting multiple local sources of plastic contamination associated with domestic, commercial, and industrial activities.
]]>The use of the Welsh language is generally understood as a ‘right’ in contemporary Wales. While this right is often lauded as one of Welsh devolution's defining achievements, the efficacy of current protections is contested. This article contributes to the debate by focusing on the prison context, where the question of Welsh language rights is particularly complex. Drawing on interviews with Welsh-speaking former prisoners, stakeholders with experience of monitoring Welsh language provision in prison, and documentary analysis, we subject the ‘rights’ label to empirical scrutiny. We find implementation gaps in official policy across the Welsh prison estate, scepticism among former prisoners towards existing protections, and limited oversight. The article concludes that while Welsh-speaking prisoners may have ‘rights’ in a broad sense, these rights guarantee little in practice. Entirely contingent on the goodwill of prison authorities and weakened by constitutional complexity, they are a stark reminder of Welsh devolution's limited progress.
]]>Plastic pollution has become the major global environmental problem due to the extensive accumulation and recalcitrance of synthetic polymers in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Traditional methods of plastic waste degradation, such as landfilling, incineration, and mechanical recycling, have various environmental limitations, like the production of more harmful toxic components, secondary pollutants, and inefficient waste handling. Therefore, current research is focused on more promising and environmentally sustainable alternatives for plastic waste management by microbial biodegradation. This review includes various bacterial and fungal enzymes such as PETase, MHETase, cutinase, laccase, and polyesterase associated with major stages of microbial plastic degradation, including biodeterioration, biofragmentation, bioassimilation, and mineralization. The degradation mechanism of synthetic polymers like polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane (PU), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are discussed along with the importance of analytical validation techniques such as FTIR, SEM, GC–MS, respirometry assays, and stable isotope probing for accurately confirming biodegradation. Additionally, the existing limitations of poor degrading efficiency, polymer recalcitrance, mixed plastic waste complexity, scaling challenges, and the gap between laboratory results and environmental application are comprehensively analyzed. Overall, the review provides a comprehensive overview of microbial and enzymatic plastic biodegradation and highlights recent advancements in metagenomics, enzyme engineering, synthetic biology, and multi-omics approaches that helps in improving the efficiency and large-scale industrial feasibility of microbial plastic degradation.
]]>Climate change mitigation requires robust greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting frameworks capable of identifying major emission sources within institutional systems. Higher education institutions represent complex operational environments characterized by substantial energy demand, transportation activities, and material consumption, all of which contribute to measurable greenhouse gas emissions. This study developed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the Instituto Federal Goiano—Rio Verde Campus (Brazil) using institutional activity data for the year 2022. The assessment adopted a gate-to-gate system boundary and included electricity consumption, fossil fuel use by the institutional fleet, and solid waste generation. Emissions were quantified using internationally recognized emission factors and expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq). In addition, an exploratory assessment of vegetation carbon sequestration was conducted to evaluate the mitigation potential of campus green areas.Total verified emissions reached approximately 311.68 Mg CO2-eq year− 1. Diesel consumption represented the largest contribution (165.34 Mg CO2-eq year− 1), followed by solid waste disposal (74.90 Mg CO2-eq year− 1), electricity consumption (47.08 Mg CO2-eq year− 1), and gasoline use (24.36 Mg CO2-eq year− 1). The estimated annual carbon sequestration potential of campus vegetation reached approximately 239.39 Mg CO2 year− 1, indicating that existing green infrastructure may offset a substantial proportion of the emissions generated by campus activities, although this does not constitute a formal carbon neutrality assessment. The results identify fossil fuel consumption, waste management, and electricity demand as the principal operational emission hotspots within the campus system. The proposed inventory framework provides a transparent and reproducible methodological basis for institutional carbon management and contributes to advancing greenhouse gas accounting practices in higher education environments, particularly in developing countries where campus-scale inventories remain limited.
]]>Circular agricultural and agro-industrial systems have always been traditionally present, but the growth of the industrialization process and globalization is causing increasing inefficiencies of resources and the appearance of massive amounts of waste at the farm-to-processing continuum. Food waste or loss causes almost one-third of the total food produced globally; agro-industrial processes produce large volumes of solid residues, wastewater, and process by-products. In Agro-based economies like the Tamil Nadu region in India, where agriculture and agricultural related industries are key economic considerations, issues of water scarcity, poor waste management and recovery of resources have continued to limit sustainability. This review paper derives a policy-based framework on using 8R circular hierarchy of Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Recover, Recycle, and Rot to apply to agricultural and agro-industrial systems. The research assesses policy instruments at the national and state level using an 8R Policy Embedding Matrix based on systematic document review, thematic content analysis, and structured policy mapping. An Agro-Industrial 8R Index (A-8RI) is also constructed in the form of a composite to measure the degree of circularity of policy, regulatory, and institutional aspects. The results suggest the presence of medium degree of circular integration (A-8RI = 41%), and the policy focus is mostly on the resource-use efficiency (Reduce) and partial supporting recycling and biological treatment routes (Recycle and Rot). On the contrary, there are high gaps in upstream waste prevention (Refuse), resource recovery at industrial scale (Recover), wastewater reuse and infrastructure modernization (Refurbish). These loopholes show how the existing policy frameworks have structural constraints, especially in facilitating the nutrient recovery, water reuse, and reintroducing the recovered products in the market. The review paper concludes that the integration of the 8R framework in the agricultural policy frameworks can become a scalable option to achieve resource-positive and climate-positive agro-industrial frameworks through the strengthening of circularity, waste valorization, and cross-sectoral policy coherence.
]]>Soil erosion and sediment export pose major threats to water quality and reservoir sustainability under a changing climate and land use. This study assessed sediment export in the Tungabhadra watershed, Karnataka, India, from 2001–2024 using SWAT model. Wet years produced high sediment export (20.7–20.9 t/ha/y), while dry years showed lower yields due to sustained groundwater contribution. Future land-use change scenarios revealed that urbanization and land degradation greatly increased sediment export (up to 47.6 t/ha/y), whereas reforestation, wetland expansion, and sustainable development reduced sediment yield to ∼6 t/ha/y. Results highlight the importance of integrated watershed management for erosion control and climate resilience.
]]>Organized crime (OC) can influence firms through coercion, collusion, financial ties, and supply-chain relationships, yet these interactions remain underexamined in stakeholder theory. This article conceptualizes organized crime as an analytically relevant but non-normatively legitimate stakeholder and develops a risk-based framework combining stakeholder salience, interface channel, interest level, and influence strategy. The framework specifies when OC is likely to command managerial attention and which configurations are expected to pose the greatest risks of value destruction and escalation. Three illustrative Italian cases involving preventive anti-mafia measures show variation from latent relational exposure, through indirect supply-chain contamination, to embedded ownership and financial control. By linking these configurations to graduated governance responses, the framework helps managers and regulators calibrate proportionate, revisable, and auditable interventions. It extends stakeholder theory to adversarial actors while clarifying institutional conditions that shape the credibility of prevention and remediation.
]]>This special issue demonstrates that regulatory studies and criminology both have virtue. Regulatory criminology has neglected virtues that exceed the sum of its parts. The editors did a splendid job of pointing out in their introduction that criminology created a number of theoretical traditions that have had moments of passing value and relevance to regulatory studies. In both fields, and at their intersections, one of these traditions, an economism of rational choice, even enjoyed periods of domination. At times, this narrowed scholarly imagination has won Nobel Prizes in economics. Today economists are less present at criminology, law and society, and regulation and governance conferences. Economists must be attracted back so that intellectual renewal on offer from regulatory studies and criminology might broaden their imaginations, and they ours. Regulation and governance can benefit greatly from noting how criminologists integrate insights from micro and macro levels by fine-grained studies of the modus operandi of lawbreakers that are connected to a historical imagination for the longue durée and a sociological imagination of macrostructures.
]]>Against a backdrop of increasing political, economic, and ecological volatility, participatory governance could provide a valuable mechanism to counteract democratic backsliding caused by unchecked power and regulatory capture. Food systems in particular are a site where many interests and sectors converge—including health, agriculture, land use, labor, environment, and climate change—and where there has been increasing interest and experimentation in forms of participatory governance. This research uses the example of the organic standards governance process to understand how governance structures can enable transitions to more sustainable and just systems (including but not limited to food systems), and what we can learn from existing participatory governance approaches about how to govern complex systems in a collaborative and inclusive way. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with individuals who have participated in recent organic standards review processes and analyzed key documents to characterize the sources and arenas of power at play. We found that formal authority and discursive legitimacy are enabling some participants to maintain influence at a time when increasing professionalization and resource-based power would otherwise dominate the process. In particular, the processes in place to ensure opportunities for public comment, diverse sector representation, and limited political influence all contribute to a collaborative, participatory process. At the same time, the organic sector is facing significant challenges due to the high costs of administering such a labor-intensive process, a lack of consistent funding, and the imminent closure of the Canadian General Standards Board as an institutional structure to support the organic standards review process. Despite these challenges, the governance of the Canadian organic standards has been a robust and unique instance of participatory governance that merits continued support.
]]>The study assessed the physicochemical and microbiological profiles of wastewater effluents discharged from three academic laboratories: Environmental Science (EL), Chemistry (CL), and Soil Science (SS) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Using a baseline cross-sectional grab approach during peak operational hours, effluent quality was evaluated against Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana EPA) limits. The findings revealed severe regulatory non-compliance across all laboratories. Effluents exhibited hyper-acidic operational phases dropping to pH 1.75–1.82, which act to increase toxic metal mobility. The SS facility generated an extraordinary mean Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) load of 69,167 ± 28,669 mg/L, exceeding the 1000 mg/L national ceiling by nearly 70-fold and forming prominent mineral crusts along the discharge channel. Applying a mathematically standardized Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) classified all discharges as critically polluted, with recalibrated scores ranging from 12,548.09 to 19,166.72 (critical threshold = 100), driven heavily by the strict regulatory weights of Mercury and Cadmium. Structural sewer cross-connections and sample-handling pathways introduced severe biological hazards, yielding Escherichia coli densities (4.72 to 5.62 log10 CFU/100 mL) comparable to untreated municipal sewage. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) distinguished laboratories pollution fingerprints, separating the macro-mineral Soil Science vector from the hyper-acidic, trace-metal signatures of the CL and EL. The study concludes that raw direct-disposal practices are environmentally unsustainable, and highlights an urgent need for institutional waste governance to mandate decentralized, point-of-source neutralization, chemical precipitation, and disinfection pretreatment units.
]]>This study examines the fundamental knowledge structure of research on the impact of single-use plastics (SUPs) on marine life. Although publications on plastic pollution have increased substantially over the years, the literature remains fragmented across multiple disciplines and research domains. Limited understanding of key themes, gaps, and future direction highlights the need for a systematic review to consolidate existing knowledge and guide both research and policy. Applying a bibliometric analysis via science mapping, this study explores the emerging and future trajectory of plastic pollution and its consequences within the aquatic environment. A total of 341 journal publications from 2017 to 2026 were retrieved and analyzed from the Web of Science (WoS) to form the basis of this analysis. Using the software VOSviewer, the emerging and current themes were analyzed using bibliographic coupling, producing four distinct clusters centered on the impact and solutions of global plastic pollution. The co-word analysis also produced four clusters related to marine plastic pollution as a global environmental issue. By synthesizing the temporal and topological structure of the literature, a comprehensive overview of research developments and gaps is provided, outlining emerging and future directions for understanding and addressing the ecological impacts of single-use plastic on marine ecosystems. The findings suggest that a dominant emphasis on environmental impact assessment, but limited attention to behavioral change mechanisms, the governance framework, and socio-economic dimensions. Future research should prioritize multidisciplinary approaches, including embedding the circular economy model with grounded policy interventions to address the complexity of marine plastic pollution. This research serves as a strategic roadmap for stakeholders to align policy interventions with the evolving scientific landscape of marine conservation.
]]>With demands for criminal justice reform in the state of New York, the Raise the Age Legislation was passed in 2017, which changed the age that an individual can be found guilty of a felony and incarcerated in a corrections facility from 16 to 18. While this was a step in the right direction, far too many children and teens are being detained in secure facilities and are not receiving treatment that they need, and are being further subjected to trauma at the hands of the criminal justice system.
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The main motivation and rationale of this study was to interpret the wastewater treatability results in terms of their implications for environmental sustainability as such an evaluation did not take place so far. Ozonation and combined peroxide (peroxydisulfate/percarbonate)/ozone treatments were applied to simulated reactive dyebath effluent bearing Reactive Red 21 -commercially known as Remazol Brilliant Red BB (RR21; 100 mg/L reactive dye; 25 mg/L TOC)- 50 g/L NaCl and 15 g/L Na2CO3 under previously optimized reaction conditions (1.5 mM peroxide, 72 mg/min ozone feed rate) at its natural, alkaline pH (= 11.0–11.5). The treatment systems were examined based on color (peak visual absorbance value of RR21) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal rates. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was adopted to determine the environmental impacts of the proposed chemical oxidation systems with a functional unit of 1 m3 treated effluent to choose the most sustainable treatment alternative. The GaBi software was used for modeling and the CML 2001 method to evaluate the environmental impact categories: Abiotic depletion-elements (ADP-elements), abiotic depletion-fossil (ADP-Fossil), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity (FAETP), global warming (GWP), human toxicity (HTP), marine aquatic ecotoxicity (MAETP), ozone depletion (ODP), photochemical ozone creation (POCP) and terrestrial ecotoxicity (TETP) potentials. The results designated that ozonation in the absence of peroxides required an electricity input of 1.390 kWh/m3 as the alternative with the least unwanted environmental impacts. Furthermore, it was possible to lower the environmental impacts by using renewable energy sources instead of grid electricity.
]]>Assigning the preparation of decisions to specialized committees composed of member state representatives is a widespread response to the ‘governor's dilemma’, that is, the tension between competence and control, in international organizations (IOs). We theorize a causal mechanism referring to self-selection and agenda-setting effects and show how the resulting division of labor among IO bodies produces organizational influence beyond current accounts of committee governance. We demonstrate why specialized committees develop a distinct rationale of accommodating expertise with member state preferences, even if composed of member state representatives, and why agreed committee proposals are difficult to overcome by final decision-making bodies. We argue that the organization of IO decision processes constitutes an important source of IO autonomy beyond the activities of IO administrations and independent from socialization or predispositions of individual committee members. Empirically, we show that IO committees meet the theoretically derived prerequisites for activating the causal mechanism and trace how committee influence according to the mechanism has shaped an important IO decision.
]]>We perform bibliometric analysis on documents for 255 Regulatory Impact Analyzes (RIAs) prepared by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1980 through 2024. Using a series of automated information extraction methods, we extract references from these documents and match them to bibliographic records. We then build a database of relevant articles (whether cited in an RIA or not) and fit a two-stage regression model that predicts whether, and how many times, a reference is used in RIAs as a function of journal prestige, professional popularity, article accessibility, EPA funding, and involvement of EPA employees as co-authors. By considering cited and uncited articles related to similar scientific concepts, we can observe systematic differences in what types of research products get used in policy analysis. Academic popularity, open access status, and EPA authorship and sponsorship all predict more likely and more frequent article use. Articles in prestigious journals are no more likely to be referenced, but once referenced in the corpus are then referenced more frequently.
]]>How should the law regulate the use and management of a resource in market activity? The resource can be perceived as an entitlement, granting market participants veto power over its use and management. Alternatively, market participants can be protected as consumers with rules focusing on disclosure, repair, and safety. The two alternative protections reflect different ways of regulating the economic power of large corporate actors in the market. Property law grants individual control over the resource, while consumer law protects consumers from exploitation but leaves them dependent on corporations for the continued use and management of the resource. This article examines the nature and scope of these protections by engaging with cases where there is a shift from a property protection to a consumer protection. In all these cases, market participants who manage resources are no longer perceived as owners; they are consumers. This article points to the normative and political economy implications of this shift.
]]>Regulatory review—assessing the legality, use of evidence, and correct calculation of costs and benefits in regulations before they are enacted—is a core function of regulatory oversight bodies. In principle, reviewing aims to improve the effectiveness of regulations through economic rationality, tools, and methods. In practice, the work of oversight bodies occurs amid the politics of the rulemaking process and can be a way for the executive to control the regulatory agenda. Based on a 13-month ethnography of Mexico's regulatory oversight body, I examine how analysts enact the technical and legal requirements of regulatory improvement while facing political tensions and interference. Using negotiated order theory, I show how analysts respond to political attention, conflict, or interference by expanding, shielding, or bending their mandate and conducting their work accordingly. Reviewing to improve regulations takes on different meanings and forms, allowing analysts to protect their work, organization, and techno-legal mandate in the long term. The article contributes to a better understanding of regulatory review and oversight bodies. More importantly, it draws attention to how workers make ambitious statecraft projects like regulatory improvement possible by continuously reconciling the legal, technical, and political dimensions of their work.
]]>The European Commission's decision to expand its 2014 Regulation on electronic identification and trust services toward wallet-based digital identities marked a significant shift in the governance of users' digital identities. The intersection between private digital services, public prerogatives, and individual self-determination raises questions of data governance, notably power conflicts over control and usage. This study investigates the governance of the European Digital Identity Framework using institutional isomorphism to understand how EU policy-making evolves and gains legitimacy by mimicking successful regulatory models like the GDPR. Our analysis shows that the narrowly defined scope of power for supervisory bodies allows greater discretion for Member States, which could make the system vulnerable to abuse. Additionally, the lack of organizational independence among these bodies further complicates governance arrangements.
]]>Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, many countries worldwide have resorted to social distancing to maintain a certain physical distance to avoid direct contact between people. Despite the abundant literature on social distancing, how this mode of direct state intervention, which inevitably requires a lot of regulatory resources, was implemented has been a rare source of scientific inquiry. This paper attempts to fill this gap by presenting a case study that explores how regulatory resource deficits faced by regulators implementing social distancing were addressed in the regulator-intermediary-target (RIT) network. This paper highlights the role of local facilities as regulatory intermediaries in implementing social distancing in South Korea. Although social distancing was purported to keep physical distance among individuals, authorities' enforcement activities were primarily, though not entirely, targeted at local facilities. Analyzing in-depth interviews with 30 local frontline inspectors conducted in September 2021, this paper finds that local facilities played a key intermediary role in deterring the spread of COVID-19 as a private regulator. We argue that this role, constructed in the RIT network, was one reason South Korea could successfully deter the spread of the virus without a lockdown in the early stage of the Pandemic.
]]>Citizen trust in regulatory agencies is crucial for the effective functioning of financial markets and broader public governance. This paper investigates the validity of the Citizens' Trust in Government Organizations (CTGO) scale in a transitioning society with historically low institutional trust. Using the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (PFSA) as the focal organization, our study examines how trustworthiness dimensions—ability, integrity, and benevolence—apply in this context. The research combines a quantitative study, which validates the CTGO-scale in a new cultural and institutional setting, with qualitative focus groups that explore citizens' perceptions of PFSA's trustworthiness. Our findings confirm the CTGO-scale's reliability and extend its applicability to low-trust contexts and specific regulatory agencies. However, focus group data suggest that the label for the “benevolence” dimension is best changed to reflect the impartial, commitment to the public good aspects typical of public organizations. We propose replacing benevolence with impartiality in trust measurement tools to better capture the structured, duty-driven nature of public governance. This study advances the conceptualization of trust in regulatory agencies and provides a foundation for future comparative research across diverse governance settings.
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