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Waste Management and Recycling Innovations for Environmental Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Waste and Recycling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 1437

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
Interests: energy; exergy; power plant; environmental sustainability; renewable and low-carbon energy systems

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria
Interests: crop processing; drying technology; solar energy; evaporative cooling

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Interests: energy management; energy alternatives; thermo-fluids; machine learning; optimization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The production of solid waste by human activity deteriorates both the condition of the environment and the health of the living organisms that inhabit it. Landfills are the most prevalent method of waste disposal worldwide. A large number of landfills remain neglected and highly polluted due to the significant costs associated with its maintenance. Despite the limited nature of natural resources, new policy tools are needed worldwide to maintain the most effective waste recycling systems. Investigating every technological process that underlies the actions of solid waste researchers and professionals is crucial in order to achieve the set objectives. Waste management needs more careful planning as a result of climate change, which has made it increasingly important to find tools that support long-term sustainable development in order to implement industrial policies for the environment. There are growing implications for both natural and built settings, especially for industrial-related activities. Thus, in many nations throughout the world, waste policy now has a stake in the sustainability of human activity.

In addition, a lack of professional health regulations exposes informal landfill workers to a variety of contaminants, infections, respiration and dermatological issues, and other major health concerns that lower life expectancy. Bringing the informal and formal sectors together could help manage waste better while solving these grave concerns regarding employment and health. Solid waste production is an inevitable byproduct of human existence. Policymakers are very concerned about the conversion of garbage into useful resources since it is a crucial step in the direction of green growth and environmentally friendly development. Waste management greatly benefits from technological innovation, so it is important to comprehend how regulations could promote innovation in this area. Although hygiene concerns were first given high priority, in today’s economically stable countries, waste management has become a major concern due to the exponential increase in trash volume and its complexity. Waste management evolved through multiple stages to achieve the high scientific level seen today, coinciding with economic development. This guarantees a comprehensive perspective, confirming that energy is valuable and that dangerous materials are considered from the point of waste management until deposit in conclusive basins. Rapid population expansion and growing industrialization have made solid waste management an increasingly pressing problem.

In future generations, waste management will need to adopt a more systems-oriented methodology that tackles the underlying causes of issues in order to manage resources and waste in a sustainable manner. The creation of better feedback data or statistics on the relationship between trash generation and consumption is a particular issue that has to be addressed.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Hazardous waste management: its extent and sustainability challenge.
  • Public safety, waste management, unofficial recycling, and environmental contamination.
  • Developments and obstacles facing the world’s waste management systems.
  • Bio-waste recycling’s ecological effects on the manufacturing circular economy and sustainability.
  • Sustainable garbage disposal and environmental product development for waste glass reprocessing.
  • Reusing and recovering nutrients through sustainable innovation in wastewater treatment.
  • Solid waste management in developing nations: prospects and obstacles.
  • Indigenous ideas in extreme metropolitan settings: the push for inclusive recycling.
  • Integrity of social enterprises engaged in recycling and waste collection.
  • Solid waste regeneration and reuse in emerging economies: possibilities and challenges.
  • Technology innovation and recycling measures adopted by the automotive industry.

Dr. Fidelis Ibiang Abam
Prof. Dr. Macmanus Chinenye Ndukwu
Dr. Odufuwa Olumuyiwa Yinus
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental sustainability
  • waste management
  • wastewater treatment
  • solid waste management
  • reusing and recovering
  • bio-waste recycling

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 2456 KB  
Article
Impacts of Non-Modified and Acid-Modified Biochars Generated from Date Palm Residues on Soil Fertility Improvement and Maize Growth
by Xu Zhang, Naxin Cui, Fuxing Liu, Yong Xue, Huaqiang Chu, Xuefei Zhou, Yalei Zhang, Mohamed H. H. Abbas, Mohammed E. Younis and Ahmed A. Abdelhafez
Sustainability 2026, 18(7), 3499; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18073499 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 492
Abstract
This research evaluated the efficacy of using two types of biochar (non-modified and acidified) from date palm residues (fronds, leaves, pits) as soil amendments for enhancing soil fertility and maize growth. These biochars were produced through slow pyrolysis under oxygen-limited conditions at 500 [...] Read more.
This research evaluated the efficacy of using two types of biochar (non-modified and acidified) from date palm residues (fronds, leaves, pits) as soil amendments for enhancing soil fertility and maize growth. These biochars were produced through slow pyrolysis under oxygen-limited conditions at 500 °C. Our innovative approach was to minimize gas emissions by converting smoke into liquid fertilizer (LS), which was expected to improve seed germination and early plant growth stages. To assess this aim, a completely randomized experiment was conducted under lab conditions, in which 10 maize seeds were placed on double filter papers in Petri dishes and then exposed to seven concentrations of LS (0.0, 0.01, 0.10, 1.0, 10 and 100%, using distilled water for dilution v/v). The LS contains nutrients and bioactive compounds that may enhance seed germination and early plant growth at low concentrations, whereas higher concentrations may cause phytotoxic effects. Results showed that liquefied smoke at 0.1% increased the absolute percentage of maize germination from 75% (control) to 100% and achieved the highest root length of 9.80 cm. Acidified biochars at 5% reduced soil pH from 8.87 to 8.12 and enhanced potassium availability to 87.93 mg kg−1. Conversely, the non-modified biochars contributed to further increases in soil organic matter (up to 1.02%), nitrogen, and phosphorus. In addition, the application of acidified leaf biochar (5%) enhanced maize shoot growth by 133%, chlorophyll content by 39%, and potassium uptake by 110%. This research establishes a scalable approach for converting agricultural waste into climate-resilient resources, effectively addressing soil degradation in arid environments, boosting crop resilience, and furthering the objectives of a circular bioeconomy. Full article
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