Citation: Amberber M, Addis Y (2017) Paper Burning and Associated Pollution Problems in Higher Educational Institutions of Ethiopia; The Need and Potential for Recycling. Int J Waste Resour 7: 290. doi: 10.4172/2252-5211.1000290
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absorption spectrometry and flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The PG-990 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer equipped with a graphite furnace and ASC- 990 auto-sampler for GFAAS and ASC- 900 auto-sampler for flame was used for determinations [8] at JIJE Analytical Testing Service Laboratory. Determination of pH and macro-nutrients on the sludge : Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) and pH values of the sludge were determined following the APHA [9] procedures at JIJE Analytical Testing Service Laboratory. Data analysis The collected data were analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics using excel and significant differences at 0.05 levels was analyzed in paired samples t-test using SPSS version 20. Finally the results were reported in mean ± SD. Results and Discussion Quantity of paper purchased and used for assessment From the sampled public Universities, KMU and ECSU, the amount of paper utilized per year for assessment and associated activities is presented in Figure 1. As it’s indicated in Figure 1, the consumption rate as well as the burning rate of assessment paper is increasing annually which highly associated with the universities expansion and the increase in yearly intake of students. This is one indication of the amount of burned paper and associated risks (Table 1), and waste paper potential for recycling purpose. Environmental emissions during burning paper The 34% of the instructors responded that they manage waste papers by burning the assessment paper each year. Burning paper is not environmentally sound because during burning particulates and gaseous air pollutants are emitted to the atmosphere. Besides, recycling the paper provides double benefits. The first one is keeping environmental quality and the other one is that it can be used as a raw material to produce other paper based products rather than using trees. The potential gases that could be emitted during burning are measured and the report is presented in Table 1.
destruction of ecology /environment and economical/social benefits continue unnoticed. The current alarming expansions of universities in number and increasing consumption rate in Addis Ababa city and the entire country has initiated this study. Therefore, integrated sourcing of used papers and purchasing of recycled papers among recycle companies and educational institutions should be made for the sustainable use of waste materials as a raw material for production, considering the environmental impacts of manufacturing including those associated with processing scrap paper and deinking. Materials and Methods General approach This study was conducted in two governmental Universities in Addis Ababa: Kotebe Metropolitan University and Ethiopian Civil Service University. In addition to Universities, paper manufacturing companies and small scale paper recycling enterprises were also communicated to collect the data. The data was collected from departments, property offices, president office, different departments, and finance and disbursement office of the two Universities by using pre prepared semi-structured questionnaire. In order to address the paper consumption pattern (the amount of paper purchased per year and allocated for assessment and other office activities per year for each university), a total of about 422 interviewed informants were selected after preliminary survey out of which 100 key informants (lecturers and above ranked instructors) were randomly selected from purposely selected colleges and faculties and assessed the awareness level, willingness to provide assessment paper for university delegated companies and reused the recycled paper for assessment and other office activities. Determination of pollutants The concentrations of the selected pollutants (CO, CO2, SO 2 , NOx and VOCs) were measured using Aero-Qual series 300. Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) were measured as they could be components included during ink manufacturing (Better paper project, 2015). Concentration of Pb, and Cd were determined in the sludge using furnace atomic
10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000
Amount purchased (Desta/year) (KMU)
y = 3414.7x + 6339.6
Amount purchased (Desta/year) (ECSU)
Amount used for exam (Desta/year)(KMU)
0 5000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Year
Figure 1 : Amount of paper purchased versus used for assessment.
Int J Waste Resour, an open access journal ISSN: 2252-5211
Volume 7 • Issue 3 • 1000290
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