Municipal waste generation and characterization

Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries

Dr. Christian Zurbrgg

Introduction

What do we want to know and

why?
Waste generation
Key properties of waste
Composition
Moisture
Density
Calorific value
How can we measure these
parameters?
What would we want to know and why?

Influence policy and measures

for waste prevention and
reduction
Determine capacity and number
of collection vehicles and/or
transfer stations
Assess feasibility and scale of
treatment option
Identify recycling opportunities
Estimate lifespan of landfill
Estimate trends to plan for the
future
GWMO (2015)
D-Waste (Waste Atlas)
What influences generation rates?

Lifestyle
Urbanization
Income
Hoornweg and Bhada-Tata (2012)
GWMO (2015)
 Organic
Material
5%
Paper
7%

Plastics
Other 20%
48%

Glass
4%
Metals
4%
Textiles
12%

Nouakchott, Mauretania
Variations of composition

Paper Paper
9% 5%
Plastic
Plastic 4%
Glass
13%
Others 2%
10%
Glass Metal
2% 1%

Metal Others
1% 47%
Organic
41%
Organic
65%

2000 - using gas 2000 - using coal

Hoornweg & Bhada-Tata (2012)

Variations of composition
Other properties of waste

Properties Low Income Middle Income High Income

Sector. UMP Technical Paper, No. 13.

Cointreau-Levine, S. (1994). Private

Solid Waste Services in Developing

Countries. Volume 1 - The Formal
Country Country Country

Sector Participation in Municipal

Moisture content % 40-80 40-60 20-30

Density in Truck (kg/m3) 250-500 170-330 100-170

Lower Calorific Value 800-1000 1000-1300 1500-2700

(kcal/kg)
Estimating the lower calorific value (LCV)

Incineration without adding fuel requires LCV > 1'000 kcal/kg

Incineration with energy recovery requires LCV 1'500 - 1'650 kcal/kg

% of wet weight:
a = Paper
b = Textiles
c = Wood and leaves
d = Food waste
e = Plastic & rubber
W = Water
Estimating the lower calorific value (LCV)

Incineration without adding fuel requires LCV > 1'000 kcal/kg

Incineration with energy recovery requires LCV 1'500 - 1'650 kcal/kg

% of wet weight:
a = Paper
b = Textiles
c = Wood and leaves
d = Food waste
e = Plastic & rubber
W = Water
Where and how to measure ?

Divide into subareas (income)?

Decide on properties to measure
Random sampling
Full week sampling for weekly
variation
Multi seasonal sampling for
seasonal variation
Summary

Your questions define what you

should measure and where
Waste generation
Varies by country and city
Correlates to income and
lifestyle
Composition
Low income = high organics,
high moisture, high density,
low calorific value
Capture variation of week and
season and ensure random
sampling