Assessment of solid waste generation, characterization and current practices for sustainable waste management of universities in Türkiye
JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CYCLES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT, cilt.27, sa.6, ss.4312-4326, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 27 Sayı: 6
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10163-025-02360-y
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CYCLES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, Compendex, Environment Index, INSPEC
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4312-4326
- İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet
Özet
Universities function as small-scale models of cities, consuming significant resources and generating considerable waste. This study, therefore, focused on the determination of the quantity, composition, and recycling potential of solid waste generated at eight universities across T & uuml;rkiye over an academic year. Results revealed that 78% of total waste is recyclable, indicating significant potential for implementing integrated waste management systems. The average daily waste generation per university was 2,588.1 kg, with major components being paper and cardboard (27.77%, 718.72 kg/day), organic waste (15.90%, 411.50 kg/day), plastics (19.40%, 502.09 kg/day), metals (7.14%, 184.79 kg/day), glass (7.77%, 201.10 kg/day), and non-recyclable materials (22.02%, 569.90 kg/day). These findings highlight the importance of waste characterization for the development of sustainable waste management strategies. Emphasizing waste reduction, reuse and recycling can contribute to reduce the overall environmental impact of universities. The study provides a baseline data set that can support the development of tailored, data-driven waste management programs to improve resource efficiency and sustainability in universities.