LEE- Çevre Bilimleri Mühendisliği ve Yönetimi- Yüksek Lisans

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http://hdl.handle.net/11527/19237

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Yazar "Aykut Dodak, Ezgi" ile LEE- Çevre Bilimleri Mühendisliği ve Yönetimi- Yüksek Lisans'a göz atma
  • Öge
    Sustainable waste management in universities: The case of İstanbul Technical University
    (Graduate School, 2024-06-24) Aykut Dodak, Ezgi ; Arıkan, Osman Atilla ; 501201716 ; Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Management
    Today, rapid urbanization, industrialization and the high demands placed on limited resources by a growing population have led to an increase in the amount of waste generated on a global scale, which has made efficient waste management (WM) a major issuee. Effective solid WM is aimed to protect the environment and human health through the minimization of waste generation and the recycling of wastes. Studies on university campuses deserve more attention since a significant amount of solid waste is generated due to their large population and the variety of activities taking place on the campus. In addition, WM is critical for universities with the goals of achieving sustainable and green campuses. To achieve these goals, recycling activities must be maximized and the amount of waste sent to final disposal must be reduced to a minimum as much as possible. Universities play an important role in creating sustainability and reducing their environmental impact. Istanbul Technical University (ITU) adopted the concept of a green campus. The Green Campus project started in 2013. The project aimed to raise awareness of the need for respect for people and the environment through the protection of natural life. This approach has recently been transformed into a sustainable campus concept. In 2021, the Sustainability Office was established with a series of committees working on seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since different types of waste are generated in the different building units of the campus, depending on the consumption, it is necessary to make suggestions by identifying the current situation. The thesis aims to determine waste generation and waste characterization of the wastes generated in ITU Ayazağa campus through a waste amount study and to establish sustainable waste management (SWM) by preventing wastes from going to landfill. In this regard, a one-week (Monday to Saturday) field study was conducted in May 2022 and recommendations for SWM were provided. ITU has been using a dual collection system for recyclable and non-recyclable wastes since 2013. In 2019, SWM practices were started on the campus. As a part of SWM, new separate waste containers were located in the buildings throughout the campus. Outside of the buildings, recyclable waste is transferred to 800 L blue containers, and non-recyclable waste is directed to 800 L grey containers. There are separate green containers for glass at the building entrances and glass bins outside the building. The first step in the study was to interview the building managers and cleaning staff and inform them before the study began. After that, the number of containers and the locations of the temporary storage areas on the campus were determined. The containers were labeled and new containers were added to necessary regions. Then, arrangements were made with the drivers and supervisors of the waste collection vehicles and the waste collection routes were created. The waste collection vehicles were accompanied by one of the students who was involved in the study and the routes of the waste collection trucks have been recorded. Finally, recyclable and non-recyclable waste trucks were weighed entering and exiting the campus. The results showed that the generation of non-recyclable and recyclable waste was 6827±344 kg/day and 875±262 kg/day, respectively from the campus. The waste characterization study was carried out one-week (Monday to Friday) for 4 regions: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Dining Hall, Girls' Dormitory, and Student Affairs. Relevant information was provided to the building managers and cleaning staff of the pilot regions. The cleaning staff brought the waste directly to the waste sorting area inside of the building The first step in the waste characterization study was the identification of separate containers for each type of waste. The containers were labeled according to the type of waste. The next step was the determination of the tare weight of each of the containers. The waste collected from the four regions was then hand sorted into the following categories: glass, aluminum, other metal, plastic bottles, plastic bags, other plastic, paper-cardboard, organic waste (park garden), organic waste (food waste), textile, toilet paper, tetrapak, packaging, other (unclassified). The classified wastes were then collected in the appropriate waste containers. Finally, the amount of waste in each container was measured and the results were recorded. The results of the waste characterization study indicated that paper-cardboard waste (26.97%) and organic waste (15.86%) have the largest proportion in the Faculty of Civil Engineering. These are followed by other waste (12.70%), glass (11.86%), plastic bottles (8.98%), and toilet paper (7.17%). In Student Affairs, paper-cardboard waste (28.74%) and glass (24.15%) have the largest proportion. These are followed by organic waste (11.48%), other plastics (9.02%), bags (7.62%) and toilet paper (5.43%). In the Dining Hall, organic waste (74.56%) and paper-cardboard waste (13.78%) have the highest proportion. In the girls' dormitory, organic waste (42.15%) and cardboard waste (10.79%) are the most common types of waste. These are followed by glass (10.30%), other waste (8.89%), and other plastics (7.59%). Paper-cardboard waste has the highest proportion in the Faculty of Civil Engineering (26.97%) and Student Affairs (28.74%), while organic waste has the highest proportion in the Dining Hall (74.56%) and Girls' Dormitory (42.15%). In the study, waste generation and waste characterisation in ITU Ayazağa Campus were presented. In order to ensure SWM, awareness of university staff and students should be raised. Waste generation can be reduced and recycling rates can be increased through the awareness and participation of students and staff in the management system. The number of sustainability-related courses and researches can be increased to improve the knowledge, skills and understanding of staff and students on sustainability. Seminars and conferences on waste minimisation and recycling can be organised to raise awareness. Regular surveys can be used to collect opinions, suggestions and complaints from students and staff on waste management. The study revealed that paper and cardboard waste is mainly generated in the Civil Engineering Faculty and Student Affairs. When the studies conducted in different universities are examined, it is seen that paper and cardboard wastes are mainly generated in academic and administrative buildings, while the dining hall is the main source of organic wastes. In this context, periodic waste characterisation studies can be carried out and a building and unit-based waste management strategy can be implemented. It is critical to determine the amount and characterization of waste SWM in universities. This is the only way to assess whether or not the results of the new policies and measures to be implemented are successful. Therefore, waste amount and characterization studies should be repeated in certain periods. It would be useful to carry out such studies on campus, especially in buildings such as faculties, dormitories, cafeterias, administrative units and enterprises (canteens, cafes, restaurants, etc.) that generate waste in different amounts and with different characteristics. The amount of waste per student generated on campuses varies widely in the literature. One of the main reasons for this difference is that the number of active students on campus is not known. Most of the students go to the university only on the days when they have classes, and the time spent on campus is relatively less, especially for graduate students. Therefore, it is suggested to use the number of active students on campus instead of the total number of students when giving the amount of waste per student generated on campus. Another issue is the ratio of the number of students living in dormitories on campus. Since most of the students living in dormitories spend almost all of their time on campus, the amount of waste per capita generated by students living in dormitories is higher than other students. Campuses have become cities where more people live than the population of many municipalities. For a sustainable waste management in campuses, separate units should be established in universities where Environmental Engineers work for waste management. Only in this way, these studies can be carried out and improvements can be achieved.