In the present study, accumulations of airborne heavy metals in lichen and soil samples were determined on the basis of pollutant source groups by conducting Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), Cobalt (Co) and Manganese (Mn) analyses on a total of 48 samples collected in the periods of May 2014 and August 2014 from 12 sampling points in a heavily industrialized area, a mixed industrial and residential area, an agricultural area and a background area in the Meric-Ergene Basin, and pH and total organic carbon determination was carried out on soil samples. With the obtained data, heavy metal levels were statistically assessed in detail by being associated with each other and with their probable sources; the accumulations found in soil and lichen samples were compared and spatial variances were set forth. Based on the results, it was observed that heavy metal pollution is at high levels particularly in industrialized areas, and that the differences between the cleanest and most polluted levels determined from soil samples for As, Cr, Cd and Pb reach 10 folds. The highest levels of all heavy metals were determined in both the soil and lichen samples collected from the areas in the south-east part of the region, where industrial activities and particularly leather and chemical industries are concentrated. With the comparison of the indication properties of soil and lichen, it was determined that significant and comparable results can be observed in both matrices.

In this study, the situation of waste management and zero waste applications in educational institutions was investigated in Turkey. For this purpose, the wastes collected and separated within the scope of zero waste and the wastes collected without separating them in trash cans were determined at certain periods and the total amount of waste generated per unit time and per person was calculated for an engineering faculty, vocational school, high school and primary school. A questionnaire study was conducted to determine the viewpoints of the students studying at the engineering faculty on zero waste management. According to the obtained data, the amount of waste collected in the faculty was calculated as 184 kg day-1 and only 27 kg day-1 of this amount is being recycled. Considering all types of waste in the whole schools, waste generation rates were found to be 17,6, 32,3, 93,7 and 113 g person-1 day-1 respectively for primary school, high school, vocational school, and engineering faculty. One of the important results obtained in the study is that the necessary training and awareness-raising activities in zero waste implementation are very important, and every stage from the reduction of the number of trash cans to the correct placement of zero waste sets requires detailed planning.

The fact that the impacts of climate change cannot be prevented in the short term has increased the importance of climate change adaptation activities, and many national and international studies have been initiated in this regard. Greywater reuse (GWR) activities have become important methods recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for adaptation to climate change. This study selects GWR from 3 different real typologies, a hotel, a residential building, and an industrial plant planned in Izmir Province of Türkiye, to design greywater systems followed by cost-benefit analyses. The applicability of GWR systems in these typologies has been analyzed, and comparisons have been made. GWR systems at the project design stage eliminate the need for installation modifications. Therefore, it is concluded that new buildings should be designed to integrate these alternative water resource systems. Recovered water through the installation of GWR systems is recommended to be used as flushing water, and the excess for garden irrigation, car washing and cleaning. The payback periods were calculated as 12 years for the hotel and industrial plant and 6 years for the residential building. The water savings were calculated as 46% for the hotel, 44% for the residential building, and 29% for the industrial plant. The results put forth the feasibility of this alternative water resource.