Environmental problems that result from increases in the generation of urban solid waste are compounded by the inadequate management of wastes generated by large-scale meal production at Food and Nutrition Units (FNUs). With the growth of eating out sector, solid waste management of FNUs should be focused on minimizing waste generation, while considering all regulations enforced, including those related to hygienic quality of food. The goal of this study was to determine the quantities and types of waste generated by a university cafeteria in Brazil to help implement a solid waste management plan that adhered to the Brazilian National Policy on Solid Waste. For this purpose, the waste generated during each stage of the meal production process was weighed according to its type for 21 days. Additionally, structured observations were conducted to identify adopted waste management practices and further opportunities for waste reduction at the facility. During this study, 6,553.5 kg of waste was generated, of which 82.6% resulted from organic food waste and 17.4% resulted from recyclable and other residual waste. Based on the collected data and structured observations, certain recommendations were provided for reducing the waste generated during cafeteria processes and for modifying the cafeteria activities to meet environmental and hygienic-sanitary requirements. The analysis presented in this study could guide the implementation of waste management plans in similar establishments that seek sustainability in meal production and that intends to comply with current legislation.

Hospitals consume a large volume of water to carry out their activities and, hence, generate a large volume of effluent that is commonly discharged into the local sewage system without any treatment. Among the various sectors of healthcare facilities, the laundry is responsible for the majority of water consumption and generates a highly complex effluent. Although several advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are currently under investigation on the degradation of a variety of contaminants, few of them are based on real wastewater samples. In this paper, the UV/HO AOP was evaluated on the treatment of a hospital laundry wastewater, after the application of a physicochemical pretreatment composed of coagulation-flocculation and anthracite filtration. For the UV/HO process, a photoreactor equipped with a low-pressure UV-C lamp was used and the effects of initial pH and [HO]/chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratio on COD removal were investigated through a randomized factorial block design that considered the batches of effluent as blocks. The results indicated that the initial pH had no significant effect on the COD removal, and the process was favored by the increase in [HO]/COD ratio. Color and turbidity were satisfactorily reduced after the application of the physicochemical pretreatment, and COD was completely removed by the UV/HO process under suitable conditions. The results of this study show that the UV/HO AOP is a promising candidate for hospital laundry wastewater treatment and should be explored to enable wastewater reuse in the washing process.

A geração de resíduos sólidos em Unidades de Alimentação e Nutrição (UAN) é uma realidade, dada a produção de refeições em larga escala. Tendo em vista que boa parte dos resíduos gerados nesses estabelecimentos é de origem orgânica, a minimização da sua geração envolve, necessariamente, a redução do desperdício de alimentos. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o desperdício de alimentos no restaurante universitário da Universidade Estadual de Maringá, de forma a identificar os fatores que mais contribuem com o desperdício na unidade e propor ações que visem a sua redução. Os indicadores de desperdício de alimentos avaliados foram: fator de correção, percentual de sobras e percentual de restos. Para isso, realizou-se diariamente a pesagem de alimentos e resíduos alimentares nas etapas de pré-preparo, preparo e pós-consumo, nos meses de março e agosto de 2012, além da observação sistemática de todo o processo de produção e distribuição de refeições e rotina do estabelecimento. Os valores obtidos de fator de correção foram próximos aos citados na literatura, indicando que a perda de alimentos na etapa de pré-preparo de hortaliças está de acordo com o previsto. O percentual de sobras foi superior a 10% nos dois meses de análise, indicando deficiência no planejamento da quantidade de alimento a ser preparada. O mesmo comportamento foi observado para o percentual de restos, o que classificou o desempenho da UAN estudada como regular. Diante dos resultados obtidos, foram propostas medidas que visam à redução do desperdício de alimentos, além da padronização das atividades, a fim de que os indicadores avaliados sejam utilizados de forma confiável e sirvam de base para ações corretivas com enfoque na redução do desperdício.

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