Mountain environments impose particular challenges for waste management activities due to geographical restrictions related to land availability, collection and transportation routes, or logistics. The built environment is often developed along the river networks and, in such a context, freshwater bodies appear to be more exposed to environmental pollution. This work examines the plastic waste management in Bicaz city, from Neamt County (Romania), and the susceptibility of the main rivers (Bistrita and Bicaz), in addition to Izvorul Muntelui dam lake, to plastic pollution. Bicaz city has several rural localities under administration and its complex local geographies are reflected in the waste management challenges (such as collection, sorting, treatment, and disposal) and plastic mismanagement practices (e.g., litter or river dumping). Nearby these concerns, amplified by plastic input from tourism, the role of floods in plastic mobilization generated in upstream areas should not be neglected. In this context, utilizing the waste management performance analysis, the prospects of circular economy framework applied at the urban scale are further examined.

Florin-Constantin MIHAI, Simona-Roxana ULMAN
CERNESIM Center, Department of Exact Sciences and Natural Sciences, Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania

 
ID Abstract: 290