Plastic mismanagement and its subsequent pollution by rapid economic development and urbanisation pose significant challenges for modern world society. Notwithstanding one of the main sources for macro plastic leakage into the ocean from land, precise assessment of plastic pollution origins from Southeast Asia is yet to be clearly examined. In order to make informed decisions and prioritise areas of improvement it is required to better understand the waste leakage dynamics at the local level. In this work, the Waste Flow Diagram (WFD) was applied to understand the sources and fates of plastics leaking from the solid waste management system for the case of Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen, Vietnam. The study shows scenarios of leakage into the aquatic environment ranging from 0.8 to 2.7 kg/cap/year, which originates mainly from the collection system. Targeted improvements to this stage of the service could reduce leakages and the overall environmental impacts of mismanaged plastic waste. The results of this study show the necessity and importance of having up to date and reliable data to better inform stakeholders and service planning, facilitating efficient action against plastic pollution. As the first peer-reviewed scientific article critically applying the WFD, this work highlights the steps and challenges of the methodology and critically analyses different methodological pathways.

Access to safe and affordable drinking water remains a major challenge worldwide, especially in rural areas. While passive in-line chlorination offers a promising approach for providing consistent treatment of water supplies in resource-limited settings, little is known about the factors influencing the uptake and use of these technologies. This study used a controlled pre-post intervention design to evaluate the technical performance and user acceptance of a low-cost and locally constructed chlorinator (the A’Jín) in four water distribution systems in rural Guatemala. Data sources included household surveys (N = 319) and operator interviews (N = 25), with regular monitoring of faecal contamination, pH, temperature and free residual chlorine (FRC) at reservoir tanks, taps and households. Faecal contamination was significantly reduced in water systems actively using the A’Jín device. In these systems, the share of tap and household drinking water samples with detectable E. coli decreased from 28% to 1% and 25% to 15%, respectively. Chlorine dosing consistency with the A’Jín was low, with only 24% of tap samples meeting the recommended minimal FRC threshold of 0.2 mg/L. Overall, the share of users expressing satisfaction with their water increased by 14% in the water distribution systems with the A’Jín and stayed constant for users of control systems. While the device’s low cost and simple design offered advantages over other chlorinators on the market, operators reported challenges with high maintenance needs and frequent clogging. To ensure the future success of passive in-line chlorination for small community supplies, we recommend prioritising ease of use combined with external support for addressing maintenance needs.

Ensuring universal access to safe drinking water is a global challenge, especially in rural areas. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of a risk-based strategy to improve drinking water safety for five gravity-fed piped schemes in rural communities of the Mid-Western Region of Nepal. The strategy was based on establishing community-led monitoring of the microbial water quality and the sanitary status of the schemes. The interventions examined included field-robust laboratories, centralized data management, targeted infrastructure improvements, household hygiene and filter promotion, and community training. The results indicate a statistically significant improvement in the microbial water quality eight months after intervention implementation, with the share of taps and household stored water containers meeting the international guidelines increasing from 7% to 50% and from 17% to 53%, respectively. At the study endline, all taps had a concentration of <10 CFU Escherichia coli/100 mL. These water quality improvements were driven by scheme-level chlorination, improved hygiene behavior, and the universal uptake of household water treatment. Sanitary inspection tools did not predict microbial water quality and, alone, are not sufficient for decision making. Implementation of this risk-based water safety strategy in remote rural communities can support efforts towards achieving universal water safety.