Understanding the public perceptions towards green infrastructure can be instrumental in identifying effective strategies for greening.  This research focuses on the less exploited green boundary walls among the different green infrastructure options. A questionnaire survey was conducted among three hundred twenty-eight residents in residential areas of Colombo district, Sri Lanka, to understand the public perceptions that affect green urban boundary walls. Using Likert scales, participants expressed their perception of benefits and challenges related to greening boundary walls along with socio-economic data. Relaxation effects, improvement of aesthetic appearance, becoming close to nature, and improving air quality were among the highest-rated benefits. Lack of knowledge and time and money requirement was identified as significant challenges. Misconceptions about property damages and nuisance to the owner are demotivators for nearly 38% of the sample as determined by the cluster analysis. Interventions such as providing relevant knowledge on methods of green wall construction and maintenance methods and subsidies can be recommended. Raising awareness through pilot programs and opportunities for experience sharing may motivate people towards greening boundary walls. The study concludes with strategies applicable in motivating residents towards greening their boundary walls.

Tourists and others who are unfamiliar with an environment may be sensitive to environmental cues when choosing their walking routes. In this study, we combined inductive and deductive approaches to evaluate walkability cues. We defined a set of walkability variables by analyzing the narratives of participants, who walked along one of 19 diverse routes. These cues were then supplemented with environmental and walkability variables from Mehrabian and Russel scales (Russel et al., 1981) and SPACES (Pikora, 2003), resulting in a total of 48 descriptors. Using the 48 descriptors, 60 diverse photos of streetscape views were rated, and we identified 14 relevant walkability correlates. Using principal component analysis, we identified six components that best predicted walking decisions: safety from traffic, comfort of walking area, environmental appearance, activity potential, shade and exploration. These results suggest that real walkers make more finely grained walking judgments than those measured by current, conceptualized walkability scales.

No abstract

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a critical step in preventing the spread of COVID 19. It is a relatively new phenomenon in many countries, including Sri Lanka. However, used PPE is classified as hazardous waste due to the possibility of pathogen contamination, and the majority of them are made of PET, making them non-biodegradable waste. This study estimated the daily disposal of PPE waste and gathered data on the disposal techniques used by people, ultimately estimating the environmental impact of this newly added waste stream. Data collection was solely based on a questionnaire circulated online. Almost 12 million face masks, 0.2 million gloves, and 0.3 million face shields are used in a single day in Sri Lanka. In addition, as empty sanitizer bottles, 0.7 million PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are discarded. The estimated annual climate change impact of PPE use across the country was nearly 100 kT CO2 eq. Open burning is the most common method of disposal for face masks and gloves used by households; nearly half of all used face masks and gloves are burned. Transferring waste to municipal solid waste collections also results in waste ending up in open dumps with other waste. As a result of the toxins released into the air during open burning and the release of microplastics during photovoltaic degradation, PPE disposal practices in Sri Lanka have a massive environmental and public health impact. Nevertheless, PPE can be used to generate energy through incineration or pyrolysis, reducing environmental impacts while providing economic benefits if proper plans and policies are in place.