Basic diagnosis of solid waste generated at Agua Blanca State Park to propose waste management strategies

Abstract

State parks are highly sensitive areas of great natural importance and tourism value. Herein a case study involving a basic survey of solid waste which was carried out in 2006 in Agua Blanca State Park, Macuspana, Tabasco, Mexico with two sampling periods representing the high and low tourist season is presented. The survey had five objectives: to find out the number of visitors in the different seasons, to consider the daily generation of solid waste from tourist activities, to determine bulk density, to select and quantify sub-products; and to suggest a possible treatment. A daily average of 368 people visited the park: 18,862 people in 14 days during the high season holiday (in just one day, Easter Sunday, up to 4425 visitors) and 2092 visitors in 43 days during the low season. The average weight of the generated solid waste was 61.267 kg day(-1) and the generated solid waste average per person was 0.155 kg person(-1 ) day(-1). During the high season, the average increased to 0.188 kg person(-1 ) day(-1) and during the low season, the average decreased to 0.144 kg person(-1 ) day(-1). The bulk density average was 75.014 kg m(-3), the maximum value was 92.472 kg m(-3) and the minimum was 68.274 kg m(-3). The sub-products comprised 54.52% inorganic matter; 32.03% organic matter, 10.60% non-recyclable and 2.85% others. Based on these results, waste management strategies such as reuse/recycling, aerobic and anaerobic digestion, the construction of a manual landfill and the employment of a specialist firm were suggested.

US National Park Service and concession staff perceptions regarding waste management in Yosemite, Grand Teton, and Denali National Parks

“…In general, there is a lack of empirical research regarding waste and recycling behaviors in a protected areas context. That which has taken place has focused on waste generation and management (Basnet 1993;Kaseva and Moirana 2009;Başak 2007;Canepa et al 2012;Grazhdini 2016) and visitor behaviors regarding litter (Brown et al 2010) and the disposal of waste and recyclables (Miller et al 2019;Mateer et al 2020;Taff et al 2022). However, there is a significant gap in understanding the perceptions and behaviors of NPS staff and concession (Pitas 2020) operators-those individuals that manage these parks on a daily basistoward waste and recycling in parks.…”

Rapid Waste Composition Studies for the Assessment of Solid Waste Management Systems in Developing Countries

“…Accurate waste composition data can be a crucial tool for selecting an appropriate waste management approach; the relative fractions of food waste, plastics, metals, and other components dictate the viability of technologies such as composting, anaerobic digestion, thermal energy recovery, and recycling. Such data are often lacking in developing countries [3][4][5][6], and even rarer in rural areas [7,8]. The cost and nature of the studies can be prohibitive to small and local governments, as they are typically performed over a period of multiple days or weeks, and sampling events are repeated throughout the year [9][10][11].…”