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Poultry Waste Generation, Management and the Environment: A Case of Minna,


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THE JOURNAL OF
SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY
AND MANAGEMENT

Formerly The Journal of Resource Management and Technology (Volumes 12-22)


Formerly NCRR Bulletin (Volumes 1-11)

May 2015 Volume 41 Number 2


THE JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 1088-1697

FOUNDER: EDITOR: SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR:


Iraj Zandi Ronald L. Mersky Wen K. Shieh
University of Pennsylvania Widener University University of Pennsylvania
U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ilan Nissim
Haluk Akgun Adam Read Israel Ministry of Energy and Water Resources
Department of Geological Engineering Knowledge Leader – Israel
Middle East Technical University Waste & Resources Management
Ankara 06531, Turkey AEA Terry Tudor
Email: hakgun@metu.edu.tr The Gemini Building, Harwell IBC University College Northampton
Didcot Oxon OX11 0QR, U.K. U.K.
Ofira Ayalon Email: Adam.Read@uk.aeat.com
Samuel Neaman Institute, Technion, Haifa; N.C. Vasuki
Natural Resources & Environmental Research David Smith Delaware Solid Waste Authority (retired)
Center, Faculty of Management The Regional Municipality of Niagara (retired) U.S.A.
University of Haifa Canada
Haifa, 3498838 , Israel Email: dgsmith1917@hotmail.com Ming-Yen Wey
Email: aofira@gmail.com National Chung Hsing University
Republic of China
Cristina Braga EDITORIAL BOARD
Universidade Federal do Paraná Keith P Williams
Setor de Tecnologia Magdy Abdelrahman Cardiff University
Departamento de Engenharia Química North Dakota State University U.K.
Centro Politécnico Cx.P. 19011 U.S.A.
Curitiba - PR - 81531-990, Brasil Anita Závodská
Email: crisbraga@avalon.sul.com.br Amimul Ahsan Barry University
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) U.S.A.
Shoou-Yuh Chang Malaysia
Department of Civil Engineering
North Carolina A&T State University Steve Bloomer
Greensboro, NC 27411, U.S.A. University of Teesside
Email: chang@ncat.edu U.K.

Mervat El-Hoz Sarvesh Chandra


Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
University of Balamand India
P.O.Box 100, Tripoli, Lebanon
Email: mervat.elhoz@balamand.edu.lb Jess Everett
Rowan University
Noah I. Galil U.S.A
Department Civil Engineering
Technion—Israel Institute of Technology Patrick Hettiaratchi
Haifa 32000, Israel University of Calgary
Email: galilno@tx.technion.ac.il Canada

Ilona Sárvári Horváth Isam Janajreh


Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery Masdar Institute
University of Borås Abu Dhabi
SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden
Email: ilona.horvath@hb.se Gennaro J. Maffia
Manhattan College
Chukwu Onu U.S.A.
Department of Civil Engineering
Southern University Richard Marsh
Southern Branch Post Office Cardiff University
Baton Rouge, LA 70813, U.S.A. U.K.
Email: onu@engr.subr.edu
Franco Medici
Paul Phillips University of Rome “La Sapienza”
School of Environmental Science Italy
University College Northampton
Boughton Green Road Yusuf Mehta
Northampton, NN2 7AL, U.K. Rowan University
Email: paul.phillips@northampton.ac.uk U.S.A.

The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, is published by Widener University School of Engineering. The responsibility for contents rests upon the
authors and not upon the University. This journal is available by subscription and may be purchased at the rates posted at solidwaste.metapress.com. Editorial and
subscription address is: Department of Civil Engineering, Widener University, One University Place, Chester, PA 19013-5792, U.S.A.; Telephone (610) 499-4042;
Fax (610) 499-4461. Email: solid.waste@widener.edu. Web site: solid-waste.org. Copyright © 2015 by Widener University. Printed in U.S.A.
THE JOURNAL OF
SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY
AND MANAGEMENT

Formerly The Journal of Resource Management and Technology (Volumes 12-22)


Formerly NCRR Bulletin (Volumes 1-11)

May 2015 Volume 41 Number 2

109 A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATION AND


MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS
Issam A. Al-Khatib, Derar Eleyan, Joy Garfield

121 THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES, WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO
PAY FOR IMPROVED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AMONG NAIROBI HOUSEHOLDS
Augustine Otieno Afullo

136 REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH


MATERIAL
Hossein Rostami, Fernando Tovia, Reza Masoodi, Mozhgan Bahadory

146 POULTRY WASTE GENERATION, MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF


MINNA, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA
Peter Aderemi Adeoye, Hasfalina Che Man, Mohd. Amin Soom, Ahmad Mohammed Thamer,
Akinbile Christopher Oluwakunmi

157 ENHANCING BIOGAS YIELD FROM COW DUNG BY CO-DIGESTING WITH CHICKEN AND
SWINE MANURES AT DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS
G. A. Ogunwande, O. A. Adeagbo, S. O. Ojo

165 MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS OF ABATTOIR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN


MINNA, NIGERIA
I.E. Ahaneku, C.F. Njemanze
THE JOURNAL OF
SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY
AND MANAGEMENT

Formerly The Journal of Resource Management and Technology (Volumes 12-22)


Formerly NCRR Bulletin (Volumes 1-11)

May 2015 Volume 41 Number 2

173 THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE: THE


IMPLEMENTATION OF PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY ACROSS THE EU-27
Susanna Paleari

189 CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE


PLASTIC WASTES
Hua-Shan Tai, Jui-LanYeh

203 DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR


LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING
Krishna R. Reddy, Rajiv K. Giri, Hanumanth S. Kulkarni
A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE
GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS

Issam A. Al-Khatib1*, Derar Eleyan2, and Joy Garfield3


1
Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Birzeit University
2
Information Systems, Birzeit University
3
Computer Science and Mathematics Department, Faculty of Science and Engineering
University of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

Email: ikhatib@birzeit.edu; Fax: 009722-2982120

ABSTRACT

This paper utilized system dynamics modeling as a new analytical approach to predict both the
municipal waste generated and the associated disposal costs in developing areas. This
approach facilitates the decomposition of general waste into its main components to enable
municipalities to manage recyclables and find out the feasibility of performing recycling better
rather than disposal by performing comparative disposal cost analysis. This study is different
from previous work as it only considers population as a factor to predict the total waste
generated and recycled, together with the associated expenditure and disposal cost savings.
The approach is verified by applying it to a case study in Nablus and demonstrates the
evaluation of the quantity and composition of generated waste by considering population as the
main influencing factor. The quantity and composition of municipal solid waste was evaluated to
identify opportunities for waste recycling in the Nablus municipality. Municipal solid waste was
collected and classified into eight main physical categories. The system dynamics model
enable the quantity of each generated component such as plastic and metals to be anticipated
together with the cost of recycling or disposal.

Keywords: System dynamic model; solid waste; waste characterization; economy; developing
areas

INTRODUCTION generated waste by considering population and quantities of


each generated waste component, such as metal and plastics
This paper presents a new analytical approach using together with the cost of recycling or disposing of the waste.
system dynamics modeling to predict municipal solid waste
(MSW) generation and disposal costs with a focus on A variety of data must be collected and analyzed before a
developing areas and uses Nablus as a case study example. community adopts and implements any waste management
The approach evaluates the quantity and composition of approach or combination of approaches. Community’s waste

______________________________________________________
*Correspondence author

A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS 109
profile, types and quantities of waste generated and how component. This could help decision makers to plan for the
much can be prevented realistically through source reduction recycling and utilization of these components.
and recycling are a prerequisite to develop a successful waste
management program. This program will help determine the
degree of detail needed in the waste characterization study. SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH
Modeling techniques are inexpensive and use generic waste
generation rates and other information to provide only a This paper considers a system dynamics methodology as a
general idea of waste volumes and types. Each management computer-assisted decision making approach. Indeed
approach carries a price tag. Estimating costs before acting is computer-assisted decision making in the public policy field
essential to long-term success (USEPA, 1995). has become more common in recent years as policymakers
The following municipal solid waste management have faced increasing demands for accountability
(MSWM) practices have been observed in the Nabulus area. (Rubenstein-Montano and Zandi, 2000).
There is very limited segregation of MSW into different System dynamics was founded as a new modeling
components. All types of MSW are collected, including approach in the 1960’s by Jay Forrester. It takes feedback
hazardous household and infectious waste from hospitals, into consideration, which is a fundamental concept of
which are disposed of together. Various issues such as the systems analysis and is widely used as a modeling and
safety of cleaning workers, public health For example, source simulation methodology for long-term decision-making
reduction and landfill projects require only gross waste analysis of industrial management problems. System
volume from estimates and recycling and waste-to-energy dynamics also helps modelers and decision makers to
projects require accurate predictions of waste quantities and conceptualize and rationally analyze the structure,
composition. and environmental protection, are often not interactions and mode of behavior of complex systems and
considered by management. For example, MSW is disposed sub-systems to explore, assess, and prognosticate their
in many randomly distributed dumping sites, causing impacts in an integrated, holistic manner. System dynamics is
pollution to surface and ground water together with the also differentiated from simple spreadsheet programs as it
spread of litter in streets and public places. Moreover, facilitates a more sophisticated, quantitative simulation and is
scavenging at disposal dumping sites often worsens the capable of more robust and reliable outcomes (Kollikkathar et
problems (Al-Khatib et al., 2007; Arafat et al., 2007; Al- al., 2010).
Khatib et al., 2010). As a method, system dynamics is particularly suited to the
A partnership was established among three organizations: simulation of complex systems, such as a waste management
Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem; PADICO, a major lo- system. It has the capability of dealing with assumptions
cal company; and Nablus municipality. The new recycling about system structures in a stringent fashion, and is, in
plant signed a contract with the municipality giving the com- particular, a way of monitoring the effects of changes in
pany exclusive rights to utilize solid waste in Nablus. The subsystems and their relationships. Furthermore, it is also
company will eliminate solid waste in an environmentally capable of representing these changes and rendering them
friendly manner; use organic solid waste to produce compost; communicable.
recycle other components that include metals, glass, and plas- The structure of system dynamics is exhibited by causal
tics; create new jobs; and reduce the municipality’s solid loop (influence) diagrams which capture the major feedback
waste disposal costs. As of 2013, the new recycling plant is mechanisms, as shown simply in Figure 1. The diagram
under construction, and it is expected to be operational by the includes elements and arrows (which are called causal links)
end of the 2013 year. linking these elements together in the same manner and a sign
Linear programming, input–output analysis, expert (either + or -) on each link to indicate the relation between the
systems (a methodology that uses expert knowledge to solve two successive variables. If the relation is positive, it means
problems of a complex system) and system dynamics have that the two variables are moving in the same direction. An
been applied to aid decision makers in the planning and increase in one variable leads to an increase in the other. If
management of solid waste management systems (Everett
and Modak, 1996; Barsi, 2000; Ming et al., 2000; Heikki,
2000). More recently emphasis has been placed on the
capability of system dynamics for the prediction of solid
waste generation (Saysel, 2002; Themelis et al., 2002; Kum +
et al., 2005; Dyson and Chang, 2005; Sufian and Bala, 2007). +
+ Death
However consideration was not given to separating the Population -
general waste into its main components, as the proposed Birth -
+
model does. This paper does not compare and contrast these
different tools but utilizes the efficiency of the system
dynamics methodology to construct a stock and flow model.
The proposed system dynamics model considers the
population as a main waste generating factor and decomposes
FIGURE 1
the generated waste into different components to provide a
Population causal loop diagram
clearer picture about the generated quantities of each

110 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
the relation is negative, it means that the two variables are practically every sort of feedback system, including business
moving in opposite directions as if one is increasing the other systems, ecological systems, social-economic systems,
is decreasing and vice versa. These signs have the following agricultural systems, political decision making systems and
meanings: environmental systems (Dyson and Chang, 2005). In terms of
 The causal link between birth and population is posi- environmental concerns, the application has covered many
tive (+), which means that the birth is added to issues. These vary from salt accumulation in lowlands under
population and an increase in births will lead to an continuous irrigation practice (Saysel and Barlas, 2001);the
increase in population. value of water conservation (Stave, 2003); the consequences
 The causal link between death and population is of dioxins to the supply chain of the chicken industry
negative (-), which means that the death is subtract- (Minegishi and Thiel, 2000); the eutrophication problem in
ed from population and an increase in death will shallow freshwater lakes (Guneralp and Barlas, 2003); the
lead to a decrease in population. impact of environmental issues on long-term behavior of a
single product supply chain with product recovery
In addition to the sign of each causal link between any (Georgiadis and Vlachos, 2004); sustainability of ecological
successive variable, the whole loop is given a sign. If the sum agricultural development at a county level (Shi and Gill
of negative signs in a loop is even, the whole loop is given a 2005); estimation of methane emissions from rice welds
positive sign, which means the loop is reinforcing and the (Anand et al., 2005), basin’s environmental management
system is in unstable equilibrium. In contrast, if the sum of system (Guo et al., 2001) and waste management (Dyson and
negative signs is odd, the whole loop is assigned with a Chang, 2005; UlliBeer, 2003; Karavezyris et al., 2002; Sudhir
negative sign, which means the loop is balancing and the et al., 1997).
system seeks to return to an equilibrium situation.
The next step in using system dynamics modeling is to
convert the causal loop diagram into a process model, called MATERIALS AND METHODS
a stock and flow diagram. Figure 2 shows a system dynamics
model: the stock and flow model. It shows a convertor used
Waste characterization
to hold a value of a variable, for example death fraction.
Another icon is used to represent the frequent flow of birth in
a time unit (e.g. year). It is therefore a time related variable. The determination of waste composition is not
Another icon represents a stock, otherwise known as a straightforward and requires a small amount of training, as
repository or accumulator. This accumulates quantities of a the nature of waste in general is heterogeneous. Therefore,
variable over a period of time, such as the number of people common sense and random sampling techniques have
in a stock population in ten years’ time. The model is built evolved as generalized field procedures (Tchobanoglous et
using the ithink simulation tool, which is a famous simulation al., 1993).
modeling tool used in system dynamics. The mathematical Sampling was conducted according to Standard test
mapping of a system dynamics stock-flow diagram occurs via method at Al-Serafi Transfer Station that is at the north east
a system of differential equations, which is solved Nablus city, for determining the composition of unprocessed
numerically via simulation as shown in Appendix A. The municipal solid waste (World Health Organization (WHO),
model is used to simulate different scenarios to find out the 1988). The determined mean composition of MSW was based
optimal situation. All the parameters leading to this situation on the collection and manual sorting of 100 samples of waste
are recorded and a real model is built by switching the during June – August 2010. Vehicle loads of waste were
relevant parameters to the optimal values. Currently, high- designated for sampling, and a sorting sample was collected
level graphical simulation programs (such as ithink®, from the discharged vehicle load and sorted manually into the
Stella®, Vensim®, and Powersim®) support the analysis and following waste components (1) Organic waste (compostable,
study of these systems. including food waste), (2) Plastics, (3) Paper and cardboard,
System dynamics modeling has been used to address (4) Glass, (5) Metals, (6) Textiles, (7) Other waste (leather,
wood, ashes, etc.) and (8) Waste less than 10 mm size
(passing through the mesh and termed as inert).
The weight fraction of each component in the sorting
sample was calculated by the weights of the components. The
Birth Fraction Death Fraction mean waste composition was calculated using the results of
Population the composition of each of the sorting samples. Vehicles for
sampling were randomly selected during the sampling period
to be representative of the waste stream.
Birth Rate Death Rate To apply the WHO method, a tank of 0.5 m3was filled
with solid waste and shaken three times without applying any
additional force. The tank contents were then disposed of on
FIGURE 2 screening equipment (1.5 x 3m) with a (10 x 10mm) mesh
Population stock and flow diagram surface size, specifically designed and fabricated for dealing
with the heterogeneity of solid waste. The waste that did not

A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS 111
pass through the mesh surface was then separated manually. elements may be costly and time consuming or totally
The ‘potential use’ categorization was used to sort the waste unrealistic. By simulating MSWM with a computer model, a
instead of the traditional material-based categorization, as it series of computer experiments can be conducted to find out
was a preferable method for examining the feasibility of the best situation for the MSWM by considering all of the
waste separation for composting and recycling (Al-Khatib et interrelated variables. Computer models enable the
al., 2010). understanding of the dynamic behavior of such complex
Eight dustbins, each with a capacity of 80 litres, were systems (Bala, 1999). Owing to the intrinsically complex
used for the separation of solid waste into the above- nature of MSWM problems, it is advantageous to implement
mentioned components. A scale was used to weigh the MSWM policy options only after careful modeling analyses
dustbins at the different sampling locations. The percentage which can lead to an optimal situation. The analysis involves
of the solid waste components and the total sample weight the use of different modeling techniques, such as
was computed. The average disposal cost was computed by optimization, econometrics, input–output analysis, multi-
dividing the total annual disposal cost by the total weight of objective analysis and system dynamics simulation.
waste generated in tons. The disposal cost was estimated on a Forrester’s system dynamics methodology provides a
monthly basis so that it was fluctuating, and based on that the foundation for constructing computer models to do what the
cost range was determined. human mind cannot do because of its complexity (Forrester
1968). The methodology can rationally analyze the structure,
System dynamics waste generation and the interactions and mode of behavior of complex socio-
disposal cost model economic, technological, and environmental systems. Hence,
the system dynamics approach is the most appropriate
technique to handle this type of complex problem, as it offers
The consideration and planning of MSWM helps to the opportunity to handle all the interrelated variables which
address several interrelated issues, such as public health, the can affect system behavior.
environment, solid waste generated and present the future The proposed system dynamics model defines the key
costs incurred to society. The MSWM is a complex, dynamic elements which have to be quantified as variables and their
and multi-faceted system, depending not only on available influences are formulated mathematically as shown in
technology but also upon economic and social factors. Appendix A. The model is definitively determined when the
Experimentation with an existing MSWM system containing parameters and the initial values for the state variables
economic, social, technological, environmental and political (stocks) have been specified. Figure 3 shows a stock-flow

FIGURE 3
System dynamics waste management model

112 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
diagram for the waste disposal cost, which is designed using includes items such as paper and plastics. The model offers
the ithink® 8.0 software package. It is a collection of the ability to anticipate the quantity of each component
different variables, such as stocks, flows and converters generated in a period of time and the cost to recycle or
which generate and influence the behavior of the whole dispose the waste. This model also provides an understanding
system. Any changes to variables will affect and result in of the future and could help with planning the best possible
changes to others. To run the model, the data available from ways of disposing or recycling of such waste. In addition, it
the Nablus municipality is used as sample data to generalize a provides the volume estimation of accumulated wastes in the
representation. The data was obtained from examining and landfill (UsedVolume). UsedVolume equals the amount of
testing different daily samples of waste and calculating the waste sent to the landfill divided by the compacted density of
average disposal cost. Table 1 shows the data used as values solid waste in the landfill. According to the United Nations
in the model. It shows the population as a primary source of Environment Programme (2012) the compacted densities of
generating waste as household people, the waste generated solid waste in landfills go up to 700-1000 kg/m3 after
per capita on an annual basis and the cost of disposal. The compaction on-site. 800 kg/m3is recommended in this case
model also shows the main components of waste, which study.
Table 1 uses samples generated throughout different the outcome for other years (not used in the initial fitting) and
subsequent years in the Nablus municipality (2002-2005). the latter is compared to real data for the years 2006-2011 for
Data from years 2002-2005 were used to fit the model and model verification (Table 2).
calibrate its parameters, then the model was used to predict Each year the population of the municipality generated a

TABLE 1
Solid waste quantities and their disposal cost for the years 2002-2005 Nablus municipality.

Year Quantity Population Mean generation Mean generation Annual Disposal Cost Range Average cost
(tons/year) rate (kg/cap/day) rate Cost (NIS)* (NIS/ ton)
(NIS / ton)
(kg/cap/year)

2002 42,153 154,649 0.75 270 1,321,200 20-45 31.3

2003 59,284 159,753 1.02 367.2 1,901,100 20-49 32.1

2004 40,716 164,864 0.68 244.8 2,492,000 60-62.5 61.2

2005 51,160 169,975 0.82 295.2 3,137,000 30-62.5 61.3


*New Israeli Shekels, 1 NIS equals 3.8 $US

TABLE 2
Solid waste quantities and their disposal cost for the years 2002-2011 Nablus municipality.

Year Quantity Population Mean generation Mean generation Annual Disposal Cost Range Average cost
(tons/year) rate (kg/cap/day) rate Cost (NIS)* (NIS/ ton)
(NIS / ton)
(kg/cap/year)

2002 42,200 154,649 0.75 270 1,321,200 20-45 31.3

2003 59,300 159,753 1.02 367.2 1,901,100 20-49 32.1

2004 40,700 164,864 0.68 244.8 2,492,000 60-62.5 61.2

2005 51,200 169,975 0.82 295.2 3,137,000 30-62.5 61.3

2006 52,700 170,211 0.85 309.6 10,604,100 45-67.3 62.3

2007 53,300 179,659 0.81 296.6 9,953,100 41-58.6 55.4

2008 51,500 185,834 0.76 277 10,927,000 38-64.3 58.8

2009 55,900 189,893 0.81 294.4 12,039,200 45-68.7 63.4

2010 56,100 195,457 0.79 287.2 12,763,300 54-67.4 65.3

2011 56,000 198,267 0.77 282.5 12,728,700 51-65.3 64.2


*New Israeli Shekels, 1 NIS equals 3.8 $US

A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS 113
certain amount of waste. Table 1 also shows the cost for (kg/day/capita) and total population. Finally, the model
disposing of the waste generated on an annual basis in local shows the total amount of waste generated by the total
currency (New Israeli Shekels which is equivalent to 3.8 $ population as shown in Table 4. The amounts of waste
US dollars). generated are accumulated amounts, which means each
amount is composed of that generated in a particular year
added to the amount of waste generated in the previous year.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION For example, in 2002 the amount of waste generated was
37,920 ton and that in 2003 was75,840 ton. This being the
The data for 2002 provided the initial values (shown in accumulated amount of waste generated in 2002 and
Table 1) in the stocks that were used to predict results yearly 2003.The difference of 37,920 ton is therefore the generated
until 2011 (shown in Table 2). Most of the core elements amount of waste in 2003.
contained in this model are now discussed below. Table 3 shows the population on a yearly basis and the
representative estimated values of all the waste fractions
Population: the population in 2002 was 154,649. For each considered that are likely to be generated in the assessment
1000 the birth and death rates were 32.7 and 4.3 respectively. year. The tonnage continues to increase with increasing
The difference between births and deaths generates the net population and changing socio-economic conditions, as
population, which is used to calculate waste generation. Table expected. For example, in a study conducted in Ghana, the
3 shows the population predicted until 2011 and how much results showed wide variation in levels of association
waste will be generated. The predicted population from the between the socioeconomic variables and environmental
model (Figure 3) was compared to the population and total conditions, with strong evidence of a real difference in
waste generated from Table 2 for verification purposes. environmental quality across socioeconomic classes with
These two numbers are quite close as Table 2 shows the respect to total waste generation (p < 0.001) and waste
population in 2006 was 170,211, while predicted population collection rate (Fobil et al., 2010). In this study, for example
from the model (Figure 3) was 178,381. This suggests the in 2002 the population was 154,648, generating 18,890 kg of
model is 95% accurate. Additionally, the simulated organic waste while generating 720 kg of glass waste. Hence
population and waste generation until 2011 are shown in the glass waste in 2011 will be 720 kg while organic waste
Table 3. The population increases from a base year data to will be 188,860 kg. The model studies the different types of
213,981 at the end of the simulation. If the constant rate of waste (i.e. cardboard, glass, inert (less than 10 mm in
birth and death in year 2002 is considered, the population diameter), metal, organic, paper, plastic, others). The model
would be 213,981 by the end of 2011. also shows the quantity of each type generated as shown in
Table 3. The model considers the possibility of adopting
Waste generation: The total quantity of waste generated is some kind of recycling, concluded from the nature of the
calculated by multiplying the waste generation rate region as agricultural where there is scope for different types

TABLE 3
Prediction of population and all the waste components

Years Population Cardboard Glass Inert Metal Organic Paper Plastic Others
(kg) (kg) (Kg) (Kg) (Kg) (Kg) (Kg) (Kg)

2002 154,648 2,130 720 2,160 1,820 18,890 750 5,060 6,400

2003 160,267 4,260 1,440 4,320 3,630 37,770 1,500 10,110 12,800

2004 166,091 6,390 2,160 6,480 5,440 56,660 2,250 15,160 19,200

2005 172,126 8,530 2,880 8,640 7,260 75,540 3,000 20,220 25,600

2006 178,381 10,660 3,600 10,800 9,070 94,430 3,750 25,270 32,000

2007 184,862 12,790 4,320 12,960 10,890 113,310 4,500 30,330 38,400

2008 191,580 14,920 5,040 15,120 12,700 132,200 5,240 35,380 44,810

2009 198,541 17,050 5,760 17,280 14,520 151,090 5,990 40,440 51,210

2010 205,756 19,180 6,480 19,440 16,330 169,970 6,740 45,490 57,610

2011 213,981 21,310 7,201.0 21,600 18,145.0 188,860 7,490 50,550 64,010

114 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 4
Prediction of population, total waste generated and used volume (the no recycling scenario)

Years Population Total Waste Generated Waste Disposal Expenditure Used Volume (m3)
(ton) (ton)

2002 154,648 37,920 2,320,800 74.4

2003 160,267 75,840 4,648,800 94.8

2004 166,091 113,750 6,973,000 147.19

2005 172,126 151,670 9,297,200 189.58

2006 178,381 189,580 11,621,400 236.98

2007 184,862 227,500 13,945,600 284.37

2008 191,580 265,410 16,269,800 331.77

2009 198,541 303,330 18,594,000 379.16

2010 205,756 341,240 20,918,200 426.55

2011 213,981 379,160 23,242,400 473.95

of recycling. When using the model for the purpose of undertaking some sorting of garbage. Thus, on a small scale
considering recycling, it is shown that large savings can be the garbage at ‘Al-Serafi Transfer Station’ is classified into
achieved. plastic, iron, and paper. Paper material is sold for Israeli
Solid waste contains significant amounts of valuable industries and Nablus factories are buying the plastic and the
materials such as steel, aluminum, copper and other metals iron. UsedVolume (m3) = (total waste – recycled waste)/800.
which, if they are recovered and recycled or reused, could The results of this scenario are summarized in Table 5.
reduce the volume of waste to be collected and occupied in
the landfill, and at the same time yield significant salvage and No recycling scenario
resale incomes. In addition, better reclamation techniques
could help to save valuable natural resources and turn waste, This scenario represents closing the Al-Serafi Transfer
which could be dangerous, into useful products. Some Station and stopping the segregation process as it is operated
important solid wastes that have been successfully reclaimed mainly manually. In this case all wastes will be disposed of in
are paper, plastics, glass and metals. the landfill, and the used volume will be maximized as
This study is undertaken to evaluate the quantity and UsedVolume (m3) = total waste (kg)/800.The results of this
composition of MSW to identify opportunities for waste scenario are presented in Table 4. The total waste generation
recycling in Nablus municipality. MSW solid waste was (ton/year) increases with time, as population increases.
collected and classified into 8 main physical categories. The Consequently, the total waste disposal expenditure will
system dynamics model was utilized for the estimation of the increase. Therefore, by the end of 2011 the total waste
yearly average MSW solid waste generation rate. The model disposal expenditure would be 23,242,450 NIS.
(Figure 3) was compared to the population and total waste
generated from Table 1 for verification purposes. Recycling all recyclables scenario
The system dynamics model generated three simulated
scenarios showing the amount of waste generated, the amount Table 6 provides estimates on the change in disposal costs
recycled and the disposal expenditure. associated with recycling all recyclables waste at the end of
each year, rather than the use of landfill. The table shows that
Partially recycling scenario total disposal expenditure will be reduced and the total waste
recycled saving will be 17,513,410 NIS (New Israeli Shekel)
Concerning the quality of service provided, Nablus as shown in Table 6. This expenditure is reduced if recycling
municipality has begun to work on plans to tackle the waste procedures have taken place. The recycled saving of
problem. These plans include improving waste collection to 17,513,410 NIS is based on an assumption that the Nablus
make streets cleaner and setting up a system to manage waste municipality adopt recycling procedures. If recycling
disposal in a way that is cost efficient as well as procedures do not occur, the resultant large expenditure
environmentally safe. In the area of waste recycling, the should prompt the authority to investigate measures to reduce
waste management department at Nablus municipality is costs and even gain an income by possible recycling methods.

A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS 115
TABLE 5
Prediction of population and total accumulated waste generated and the partially waste recycled scenario

Years Population Total Waste Partial Recycled Waste Disposal Partial Waste Used Volume
Generated (ton) Waste (ton) Expenditure (NIS) Recycled Savings
(m3)
(NIS)

2002 154,648 37,920 8,970 2,320,800 548,700 11.69

2003 160,267 75,840 17,930 4,648,800 1,099,100 23.37

2004 166,091 113,750 26,890 6,973,000 1,648,600 35.05

2005 172,126 151,670 35,860 9,297,200 2,198,100 46.73

2006 178,381 189,580 44,800 11,621,400 2,747,600 58.41

2007 184,862 227,500 53,790 13,945,600 3,297,100 70.10

2008 191,580 265,400 62,750 16,269,800 3,846,600 81.78

2009 198,541 303,330 71,710 18,594,000 4,396100 93.46

2010 205,756 341,240 80,680 20,918,200 4,945,600 105.14

2011 213,981 379,160 89,640 23,242,400 5,495,100 116.82

TABLE 6
Prediction of population, total waste and disposal expenditure and recycling saving ($US) (recycling all recyclables scenario).

Years Population Total Waste Recyclables Waste Waste Disposal Total Waste Used Volume (m3)
Generated (ton) Expenditure (NIS) Recycled Savings
(ton)
(NIS)

2002 154,648 37,920 28,570 2,320,830 1,748,700 11.69

2003 160,267 75,840 57,140 4,648,830 3,502,880 23.37

2004 166,091 113,750 85,710 6,973,030 5,254,190 35.05

2005 172,126 151,670 114,280 9,297,240 7,005,510 46.73

2006 178,381 189,580 142,850 11,621,440 8,756,830 58.41

2007 184,862 227,500 171,420 13,945,640 10,508,140 70.10

2008 191,580 265,400 199,990 16,269,840 12,259.460 81.78

2009 198,541 303,330 228,560 18,594,040 14,010,780 93.46

2010 205,756 341,240 257,130 20,918,240 15,762,090 105.14

2011 213,981 379,160 285,700 23,242,450 17,513,410 116.82

Sensitivity analysis and death rate fractions where both of them assumed to be
constant throughout the period between 2002-2011. The
Model sensitivity analysis would need to take into model can be enhanced by considering different factors
consideration key influencing factors, such as population, which affect the birth and death rates which make the model
generated waste components and costs together with more comprehensive. This will be a proposal for future
boundary and policy changes. The growth and decline of a consideration to perform further development to the model.
population would be directly influenced by changes in birth However it does not take other factors such as immigration

116 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
and emigration into consideration. Such figures could be enabling confrontation of the situation either by proposing
considered to be not significant enough to largely alter proactive and preventative procedures or by inventing
population figures, although this may become more of an creative solutions relating to recycling different types of
influential factor in cases of war and famine. Used volume waste.
depends on both the waste generated and waste recycled
(fully, or partial) while the compacted density is constant. Possible future research
Which means, if the generated waste increases due to an
increase in population, the volume used will increase. Future enhancement to the model could involve
Equilibrium will be achieved between the waste generated consideration of additional sources of waste apart from the
and the waste recycled. An increase in waste generated population, such as factories, industries and hospitals and
stimulates the municipality to increase recycling and reduce medical centers. Further development of the model is
disposal costs and landfills. Indeed the model is not fully warranted for the solution of complex problems requiring
comprehensive but built in a way that would enable the more refined results for waste generation, such as landfill
addition of such factors as further converters without altering siting capacity, waste prevention and associated budget
the structure of the model. Fluctuations in disposal costs can allocations. This study concentrated primarily on the general
be directly reflected in the results of the model. economic impacts, and certain limitations remain in the lack
of other associated economic, environmental and social
impact modeling. There exists a tremendous scope to extend
CONCLUSION and further its utility by introducing new sub-component
ranges and by integrating various natural and anthropogenic
Prediction analysis system components, thereby facilitating the system actors
across boundaries to come together for developing integrated
The paper has demonstrated an initial inquiry into the solutions. It should also be noted that other factors that
possibility of using systems dynamics to solve complex influence waste generation such as the monthly income of the
waste-management problems and reduce future uncertainty of family, education levels, consumption habits, family size and
the impact of waste generation on the economy, environment locality type could be taken into consideration.
and socio-economic environment in developing areas. It is
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118 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
Appendix A: System Dynamics Model Equations
Cardboard (t) = Cardboard (t - dt) + (Cardboard Rate) * dt
INIT Cardboard = 1

INFLOWS:
Cardboard Rate = (Cardboard Density*Cardboard Volume)
Glass (t) = Glass (t - dt) + (Glass Rate) * dt
INIT Glass = 1

INFLOWS:
Glass Rate = (Glass Density*Glass Volume)
Inert (t) = Inert (t - dt) + (Inert Rate) * dt
INIT Inert = 1

INFLOWS:
Inert Rate = (Inert Density*Inert Volume)
Metal (t) = Metal (t - dt) + (Metal Rate) * dt
INIT Metal = 1

INFLOWS:
Metal Rate = (Metal Density*Metal Volume)
Organic (t) = Organic (t - dt) + (Organic Rate) * dt
INIT Organic = 1

INFLOWS:
Organic Rate = Organic Density*Organic Volume
Others (t) = Others (t - dt) + (Others Rate) * dt
INIT Others = 1

INFLOWS:
Others Rate = (Others Density*Others Volume)
Paper (t) = Paper (t - dt) + (Paper Rate) * dt
INIT Paper = 1

INFLOWS:
Paper Rate = (Paper Density*Paper Volume)
Plastic (t) = Plastic (t - dt) + (Plastic Rate) * dt
INIT Plastic = 0

INFLOWS:
Plastic Rate = (Plastic Density*Plastic Volume)
Population (t) = Population (t - dt) + (Birth Rate – Death Rate) * dt
INIT Population = 154648

INFLOWS:
Birth Rate = Population*Birth Fraction
OUTFLOWS:
Death Rate = Population*Death Fraction
Total Waste Ton (t) = Total Waste Ton (t - dt) + (Waste Rate - Organic Rate - Plastic Rate - Metal Rate - Glass Rate - Cardboard
Rate - Others Rate - Paper Rate - Inert Rate) * dt
INIT Total Waste Ton = 1

INFLOWS:
Waste Rate = (Population*Average waste per cap)
OUTFLOWS:
Organic Rate = Organic Density*Organic Volume
Plastic Rate = (Plastic Density*Plastic Volume)
Metal Rate = (Metal Density*Metal Volume)

A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL TO PREDICT MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT COSTS IN DEVELOPING AREAS 119
Glass Rate = (Glass Density*Glass Volume)
Cardboard Rate = (Cardboard Density*Cardboard Volume)
Others Rate = (Others Density*Others Volume)
Paper Rate = (Paper Density*Paper Volume)
Inert Rate = (Inert Density*Inert Volume)
Average waste per cap = .275
Birth Fraction = .04
Cardboard Density = .08
Cardboard Percentage by Weight = Cardboard/Total Waste Generated
Cardboard Volume = 74*360
Compacted Density = 800
Death Fraction = .0043
Glass Density = 1
Glass Percentage by Weight = Glass/Total Waste Generated
Glass Volume = 2*360
Inert Density = .50
Inert Percentage by Weight = Inert/Total Waste Generated
Inert Volume = 12*360
Metal Density = .36
Metal Percentage by Weight = (Metal/Cardboard Percentage by Weight)
Metal Volume = 14*360
Organic Density = .43
Organic Percentage by Weight = Organic/Total Waste Generated
Organic Volume = 122*360
Others Density = .27
Others Percentage by Weight = Others/Total Waste Generated
Others Volume = 52*360
Paper Density = .08
Paper Percentage by Weight = Paper/Total Waste Generated
Paper Volume = 26*360
Plastic Density = .07
Plastic Percentage by Weight = Plastic/Total Waste Generated
Plastic Volume = 254*360
Recycle recyclables Waste Ton = Glass+Metal+Organic+Plastic
Total disposal Expenditure = Total Waste recycled saving + Waste disposal Expenditure
Total Waste Generated = Cardboard+Glass+Inert+Metal+Organic+Others+Paper+Plastic
Total Waste recycled saving = Recycle recyclables Waste Ton*Average cost per ton
UsedVolume m3 = (Total Waste Generated-Recycle recyclables Waste Ton)/Compacted Density
Waste disposal Expenditure = Total Waste Generated*Average cost per ton
Average cost per ton = GRAPH (time)
(2002, 31.3), (2003, 32.1), (2004, 61.2), (2005, 61.3)

120 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES,
WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO PAY FOR IMPROVED SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT AMONG NAIROBI HOUSEHOLDS

Augustine Otieno Afullo

Maasai Mara University, P.O. BOX 861-20500, Narok, Kenya


Tel: +254722690956; Email: afullochilo@yahoo.com.sg; afullochilo2012@gmail.com

Formerly: Assistant Professor and Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence (SIR), North Central College, 40N Brainard Street, Naperville
60540, Illinois / 213N Brainard Street, APR 2R, Naperville 60540, Illinois, USA
Tel: 1-630-802-9759; 1-630-637-5370; Email: aafullo@noctrl.edu

ABSTRACT

Nairobi’s residential areas are chocked with garbage. It was hypothesized that residents exhibit
a “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY) and “Not in my terms of office” (NIMTO) syndromes, with chal-
lenges in willingness and ability to pay (WATP) for improved solid waste management (SWM)
services. 30 key informant interviews, 20 Focus group discussions, and pre-tested HH ques-
tionnaires were administered in two phases in 2007 and 2010, using sample sizes of 430 and
600 Households respectively. At most 39% residents were able to pay for improved SWM ser-
vices. In 2007, 78% of Nairobi HHs had no SWM service, and by 2010, 70% had it. The effec-
tive demand is exhibited by the US$ 1.53 they are WATP for monthly garbage collection, main-
tained at statistically the same level in 2010. Open dumping as the proxy indicator of NIMBY
had a prevalence of under 30% down from over 70% in 2007. There was also evidence HHs
exhibited the NIMTO syndrome, with 54% proposing the government, NCC or a sponsor pur-
chases them a household bin. There is need for intensive public education on SWM, so that
households, through CBOs, directly participate in urban neighbourhood cleaning, and venture
into waste for wealth through informal sector incorporation into environmental management.

Keywords: Solid waste management, Nairobi Kenya, willingness to pay (WTP), ability to pay
(ATP), willingness and ability to pay (WATP), not in my backyard (NIMBY), not in my terms of
office (NIMTO).

INTRODUCTION the East, Central province to the North and North East (GoK,
2009, Afullo, 2014 and Afullo, 2014b). As per the 2009 pop-
Nairobi County was the area of study in the first study, ulation census, the total Kenyan population was 38,610,097
with its largest and most populous sub-county, Embakasi of whom Males were 19,192,458 and Females were
being the study are in the second phase of the study. Nairobi 19,417,639 in 8,767,954 households. Of these, Nairobi had
is the administrative and commercial capital city of Kenya, 3,238,369 people comprising 1,605,230 males and 1,533,139
which is one of the East African Countries. It is located at the females, distributed in 985,016 households. Embakasi dis-
equator at 6000ft above sea level. It covers an area of 684 trict, the largest and the most populous district of Nairobi,
km2, and is the smallest of Kenya’s six provinces. Other had a total population of 925,775, of whom 468, 097 were
Kenyan provinces are central, Rift Valley, Nyanza, Western, males and 457,678 females distributed in 296,942 households
Eastern, Coast and North Eastern. Nairobi province is bound- (Table 1).
ed by Rift valley to the West and South, Eastern province to

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 121


TABLE 1
Demographic characteristics of Kenya and Nairobi Districts (Source: GoK (2009))

Constituency Male Female Total Households Area in Sq. Km. Density

National 19,192,378 19,417,719 38,610,097 8,767,954 581,309.00 66.42

Nairobi 1,605,219 1,533,150 3,138,369 985,016 695.10 4,514.96

Embakasi 468,093 457,682 925,775 296,942 204.00 4,546.27

Kasarani 266,679 258,945 525,624 164,354 86.00 6,081.56

Lang'ata 185,832 169,356 355,188 108,477 223.00 1,591.63

Dagoretti 166,394 163,183 329,577 103,818 39.00 8,533.89

Starehe 142,097 132,510 274,607 87,519 11.00 25,640.24

Kamukunji 136,919 124,936 261,855 75,555 12.00 21,604.66

Westlands 124,748 122,354 247,102 75,427 97.00 2,537.52

Makadara 114,457 104,184 218,641 72,924 23.00 9,484.69

Nairobi is administratively divided into districts or admin- features and facilities of a modern city on one hand, and ex-
istrative units of Mathare, Westlands, Starehe, Dagoreti, treme pockets of poverty and destitution on the other hand
Langata, Makadara, Kamkunji and Embakasi (Figure 1). Nai- (Afullo and Odhiambo, 2009). For instance, it has Kibera,
robi is a varied city, with rapid urbanization amidst deterio- Mathare and Korokocho as major slums, among others,
rating economic, environmental and health conditions, with where about 2 million Nairobi residents live yet occupying

FIGURE 1
Distribution of informal settlements in Nairobi Administrative Divisions) (source: Mutisya and Yarime, 2011)

122 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
only 5% of the municipal residential land (JICA, 1998; GoK, robi residents able to pay for
1994). Kibera prides in being the largest slum in Kenya and (ii) To determine the prevalence of HHs exhibiting the
sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 25% of the Nairobi popu- NIMBY and NIMTO syndromes; and
lation confined in only250 hectares of land (Afullo, 2014, (iii) To evaluate the Nairobi households’ willingness to
Afullo 2014b, GoK, 2003 and WSP, 2005). pay for the improved SWM service

Classification of socio-economic status of Research question


HH by estate as a source of NIMTO 1. What is the prevalence of NIMBY and NIMTO
syndromes among the Nairobi residents?
The UN-Habitat (2009, cited in Mutisya and Yarime 2. What services are Nairobi residents willing to pay for
(2011)) observed that than 34% of Kenya’s total population improved SWM?
lives in urban areas, with more than 71% of this confined in 3. How much are Nairobi residents willing to pay for
informal settlements. Kenya’s annual informal settlements improved SWM?
growth rate of 5%, is the highest in the world and it is likely
to double in the next 30 years if positive intervention Literature review
measures are not put in place (UNDP, 2007, cited in Mutisya
and Yarime, 2011). This number will therefore continue to Determinants of WTP. Generally, HHs not satisfied with an
increase unless a serious and concerted action by all relevant existing SWM scheme may be more willing to pay more than
stakeholders is undertaken. This unfortunately is the popula- what they are currently incurring in more promising SWM
tion not served by the city councils, the one with mounds of scheme such as a private one. A positive WTP implies that
garbage in their neighborhoods, and the ones who have least households demand SWM in which the improvement in the
access to health care services- due to distance and money solid waste management will directly improve their welfare
demands. also. Theoretically, a low-income household is willing to pay
less than the higher income household. This is as incomes
Thesis statement increase, households tend to have more “discretionary income
“and hence more scope of choice about the disposition is a
Nairobi residents contribute at least 70% of all solid luxurious good.
wastes, most of which largely remains uncollected causing On the hand, it is expected the coefficient of the environ-
wanton littering. The control of how much of this solid waste ment ethics dummy will be negative. Households that take
is collected depends on the cooperation from the HHs, which sanitational precaution such as proper solid waste disposal are
is in turn dependent on the mindset of the waste generators. less willing to pay for the service via this arrangement. On
Those with the NIMBY and NIMTO syndromes can be diffi- the other hand, as income increases, many households tend to
cult to work with and may need a lot of education. But under- shy away from communal arrangements. For low income
standing who is in which category is critical in making an groups, willingness to pay ay not necessarily translate to ef-
inclusive integrated SWM program. The waste management fective demand; others cannot afford the services or are simp-
service is generally poor, with most never receiving it, and ly acting strategically or exhibiting free riding behavior.
for the few who do, many are dissatisfied with it. Instead they Khattak et al. (2009) work identified HH size, Income of HH
seek alternative services. How much they are willing and able and Higher education as important determinants of HH’s
to pay for these services, and their ability to do so, remain willingness to pay for better SWM services. Income is anoth-
largely unknown. Yet the potential of the households’ role in er very important determinant of HH demand for any service.
improving solid waste management is generally assumed, and With the increase in family income people can spare money
services continue to be provided on an assumption that SWM for improvement in their living standards. The environment is
service is a good which behaves in the market like any other, considered to be normal with income elasticity of 0.13 using
and assume an equilibrium price which has been misleading. the contingent valuation of the environmental impact of
There has been little effort, if any, to do a proper assessment SWM in San Pedro Cholula-Mexico (Viniegra et al., 2001).
of effective demand. This is partly due to the service provid-
ers’ unawareness of the type of service the HHs require, and Literature review of method
effective demand for various aspects of the service among
them. This study strives to establish the type of service de- WTP methodology. Contingent valuation methodology: ap-
manded by Nairobi households, as well as the amount of proach asks people directly what they are willing to pay for a
money they are willing and able to pay for the desired ser- good, or what they are willing to accept to give it up, rather
vices. than inferring this from observed behavior” (World Bank,
2002, cited in Khattak et al., 2009). Contingent valuation
Aim and objectives method is based on the stated valuation of a consumer for any
good or service which is not marketable. CVM is widely used
This research aims at studying the potential of households in surveys and research globally, and can also be defined as a
in improving SWM in Nairobi. The objectives are: method which measures how an individual be compensated
(i) To determine the improved SWM services that Nai- or charged for a good or service which he sells or takes as the

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 123


case may be (Khattak et al., 2009). Kimenju, et al. (2005, NIMBY.
cited in Khattak et al., 2009) has compared various methods
and found the contingent valuation method to be easy and fast Literature gap
in use. Bateman et al. (2006) contrast applications of both the
contingent valuation (CV) and contingent ranking (CR) There is a lot on the economic, social, entrepreneurial and
methods as applied to a common issue, the valuation of im- engineering aspects of solid waste in Nairobi. Most of the
provements to the water quality of an urban river. Building researches deal with supply driven aspects. The households’
upon earlier experimental work, the CV design ensures that willingness and ability to pay for this desired level of SWM
respondents are fully aware of all impending valuation tasks service as well as the exact behavioral motivations to the pre-
prior to undertaking any one of those tasks. vailing and observed behaviours of the households remain as
glaring research gaps. These are what this research aimed at
Literature review on NIMBY and NIMTO filling.

To address NIMBY and NIMTO syndromes among pro-


ducers and managers of waste, a wide variety of ideas to APPROACHES/ METHODOLOGY
overcome obstacles, some of which are very innovative, some
of which draw upon tradition; some are firmly embedded in A combination of methods, including the following were
local culture and habits, some aim at changing habits and used: These included (i) 12 key informant interviews (ii) 6
attitudes (Rodic et al., 2010, cited in Wilson et al., 2012). Focus group discussions(iii) Transect walk through different
Behaviors towards SWM may sometimes be associated estates where the questionnaire survey took place- to compare
with expectations from a service provider. For instance, the intensity of waste problem in each, as well as to confirm
Khattak et al. (2009) observes that one concern was that the some of the data already collected in questionnaires and in-
proposed services would not be provided consistently and terviews; (iv) 430 and 600 questionnaires administered to
thus, the new system would not be reliable, while the least households distributed through stratified sampling as per the
observed concern was that public was not satisfied with the socio-economic grouping and in proportionate to estate popu-
quality of the services provided by the TMAs. This gives us a lation in stages I and II respectively .
clear picture into the issue zero WTP (Khattak et al., 2009),
partly an aspect of NIMTO as it can be related to economic
sabotage. Mutisya and Yarime (2011) observe that unfortu- The sampling procedure
nately, residents of informal settlements are not empowered
to allow them to make any significant contribution to com- The sampling frame includes all households within Nairo-
munity building, pushing Nairobi city to the verge of sinking bi’s eight administrative divisions. The sampling unit is the
into abyss as the weight of mushrooming slums takes its toll. household, while the sample populations are the households
in Nairobi estates under study. The study population is the
NIMBY, NIMTO or governance? According to Oteng-Ababio actual study population, whose unit of measurement is the
(2011) a critical analysis of the SWM challenges reveals a household. The number for this is calculated as follows
fundamental cause which is skewed towards a governance [Mugenda, and Mugenda, 1999]
crisis rather than attitudinal challenges. For example, policies
relating to the adaptation of institutional arrangements and Z 2 pq
the purchasing of transportation equipment are developed in n=
the absence of both the private sector and public participa-
d2
tions. Oteng-Ababio, 2011 observes that unilateral decisions
Where n= the desired sample size (if target population ex-
ignore the realities of local conditions, as in the case of the
ceeds 10,000)
failure to acknowledge the operations of the Kaya bola. The
z = the standard normal deviate at the required confidence
authorities have also failed to implement the necessary by-
level (Thus 1.96 used)
laws to make compliance with policies enforceable (Oteng-
p= the proportion in the target population estimated to have
Ababio, 2011). This can make citizens in poor neighborhoods
characteristics being measured (garbage collection efficiency
(70% of the population) to simply refuse to pay for waste
in Nairobi; 25% used)
services and begin to dump waste indiscriminately, creating
q= 1-p (75% used)
financial challenges for service providers who will then be
d= is the level of statistical significance set (95%) (Thus 0.05
compelled to downgrade the quality of service. This can in
used)
turn possibly frustrate the fee paying residents in the middle
and high-income areas. Sandra and Adrian (2000) opine that
Going by this formula and assuming 95% Confidence
the public is generally united in its view on waste manage-
Interval and a p figure of 50% our calculated sample popula-
ment - “Pick the waste up, but don’t put it down.” ‘Everyone
tion was at least 410 and at least 600 for studies I and II re-
wants a waste collection service in their neighborhood, but no
spectively. This was either distributed across the eight admin-
one wants a disposal site near their house. NIMBY (Not in
istrative divisions of Nairobi, distributed as described in the
My Back Yard) has become a common slogan. But the waste
sampling plan, or among the estates within Embakasi / Njiru
must be deposited somewhere’. This is the concept called

124 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
districts (both carved out of the original Embakasi division). Eastlands based district, the most populous, the second larg-
est, and typically represents the face of Nairobi, with all the
Household sampling. To distribute the numbers per division socio-economic classes represented in various estates.
above among estates, Stratified random sampling method was The inclusion criterion was those who had stayed in
used because it can help achieve desired representation from Embakasi for at least 1 year. However some questions were
various sub groups in the population. The identified sub meant for comparison, and needed those who had been there
groups include the medium to high income, medium income for at least 4 years, or during both surveys for the responses
and, low-income groups and those living in slums. Normally, to be comparable. The 600 sample size in 2010 was based on
these groups can be identified from the socio-economic status the premise that about 70%, or 380-430 households were
as represented by housing development- in the Kenyan case, expected to have been in Embakasi during both studies. An
residential estates. A total of 430 and 600 HHs in 2007 and estimate of 6-8% emigration rate from the estate was as-
2010 respectively were selected through stratified sampling sumed, giving 30% over the 4 years between the surveys.
from dwellings with different social status (as represented by Further sampling was done on estates as shown in Table 2
estate). The first level of sampling in 2007 was the division; and Figure 2.
all the 8 divisions in Nairobi were represented, in a ratio pro-
portionate to HHs numbers. In 2010, only Embakasi- an

TABLE 2
Household sampling plan 2007 and 2010

Income of estates Sample size Estate 2007 % 2007 Sample 2010 % 2010 Estates represented

Middle-high income 60 Langata 20.9% 0 None

Lower middle 100 Riruta / satellite, 23.2% 121 20.2% Embakasi,


Kangemi,
Umoja,
Easily
Donhom:

Low income 100 Kayole, Makongeni 23.2% 329 39.8% Ruai,


Ngundu and Kayole

Slums 140 Kibera, Mathare, 32.6% 249 40% Mukuru,


Korokocho
Maili Saba and Sowe-
to:

430 100 600 100

FIGURE 2
Household sampling plan in 2007 and 2010

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 125


RESULTS AND DISCUSION munity activities / volunteer service activities a HH does.
Therefore the household economic activity and income were
Demographics. The mean household size was 4.6 + 0.2 in used as the first proxy indicators of ability to pay.
2007 and 4.4+0.18 in 2010. The households interviewed had
stayed in the area for a mean of 6.5+0.4 years, with a range Source of income. There were at least 15 sources of income
between 1 year and more than 10 years, with the majority for the households, summarized in Figure 3. The main ones
having stayed for over 10 years (22.9%), followed by 1-4 were casual labour (31.8%); formal employment (26.5%);
years (21.5%), and then followed by 1-2 years. At least 60% food related enterprises (12.4%); selling of various wares
of the respondents (360 households) had stayed in Embakasi (7.1%); farming (3.6%); sell water / hawk (2.2%) and build-
for at least 4 years, and were able to give a clear comparison ing contractor (2%). Of these, all the specified economic ac-
between the 2010 and 2007. A comparison of the number of tivities earn fairly good and reliable income source. It is the
households who were interviewed in 2010, who were also group of others which may include other non income earners
there in 2007 were 360, compared with sample size of 410 in such as students / or school leavers who are struggling to
2007. This was the reason the sample size was increased to place themselves in the city whose source of income is still
600 in 2010. shaky.

Ability to pay. The concept of ability is exhibited in different Income as an indicator of ability to pay. Mean monthly
ways. This is because services can be accessed in kind and household income is Kshs 16,070.80 + 1072 (US$ 214.3+
cash payments. These can be in terms of economic activity of 14.3), with the distribution shown in Figure 4 above and Ta-
HH, the wages / salary earned by the HH and the other com- ble 3. The cut off point for per capita dollar per day is 11,088

FIGURE 3
The main economic activity of HHs in the last 2 years

FIGURE 4
Distribution of Household income across income groups (in Kshs)

126 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 3
The household income Statistics (Kshs per month in Eastlands, 2010)

N Valid 546
Missing 0
Mean 16073.53
Std. Error of Mean 1072.207
Median 10000.00
Mode 10000
Std. Deviation 25053.876
Variance 627696715.739
Skewness 8.766
Std. Error of Skewness .105
Kurtosis 112.749
Std. Error of Kurtosis .209
Range 399800
Minimum 200
Maximum 400000
Sum 8776150
Percentiles 5 2000.00
10 3000.00
20 5000.00
25 6000.00
30 6000.00
40 8000.00
50 10000.00
60 12000.00
70 15000.00
75 18000.00
80 20000.00
90 30000.00
95 43950.00
99 101200.00

per household per month (assuming a HH size of 4.4), waste and want to contribute monetarily for this purpose.
61.045% earn less than a dollar per person per day, earning Khattak et al. (2009) found out that the other two income
only 38.8% are considered as able to pay for SWM services. categories i.e. Q2 and Q4 failed to represent any significant
Those who pay weekly spend Kshs 122 (US$ 1.63) (0.76%) relationship with WTP. Nevertheless, it is still understandable
of their monthly income, whereas those who do monthly because those HH which falls in the second income quartiles
payment spend Kshs 94 (US$ 1.26) (0.59%) of their income might be left with no money after fulfilling their basic neces-
on SWM, indicating disparities. However, all pay less than 1- sities. Thus they will find it hard to spare money for other
2% of the HH income, rendering the rates as affordable. The social issues.
threshold (1-2%) for affordability for weekly payment is 160- On the other side, HHs that come under the fourth income
320(US$ 2.14- 4.28) per month (or Kshs 40-80 per week) quartile (the rich) have often careless attitude or they are al-
(US$ 0.54-1.08), while the threshold for those who pay ready spending a fair amount of money to get their home and
monthly is Kshs 159-318 (US$ 2.12- 4.24). Kasozi and surroundings clean. Thus if proper motivation and persuasion
Blottnitz (2010) argues that the average household charge for is achieved, there is great possibility that they will become
the disposal of all generated waste at Dandora would be about willing to contribute in monetary terms for better SWM ser-
Kshs 310 (US$ 4.14) per month using weight based charging, vices (Njagi et al., 2013 and Khattak et al., 2009). According
which seems reasonable in light of current private charges in to the regression results education, income and HH size are
all income level areas. Lower income household would pay the important determinants of HH demand and consequently
on average about KShs. 205 (US$ 2.74) per month. Whereas their WTP for better SWM services. There is lacking aware-
Nairobi expresses a willingness and ability to pay for ser- ness among the HHs as it failed to establish any significant
vices, results of such a study in Uganda suggested little statistical relationship with HH Willingness to pay, despite
chance of success if solid waste collection service charges are the huge claim of being aware. These types of claims are
introduced (Niringiye and Omortor 2010). normally observed in the surveyed analysis as respondents
Khattak et al. (2009) found out that low income and the feel social pressure while exhibiting some information.
rich were not unwilling to pay, but there is no association
with willing either. Results exhibit that HHs which are in the Willingness to pay for improved SWM services. Primary
third income quartile (Q3 or middle income and Q1- slum) SWM services vary, ranging from storage bin, to household
are WTP to get better SWM services. Thus people who fall in collection services, to secondary and tertiary services. An
the upper middle class are willing to have better manage solid environment with an array of all these services is likely to be

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 127


fairly good in terms of SWM and the state of its environment 78.2% of households are willing to purchase at least one
in general. The services can be available to the consumer waste bin (Figure 5). The bulk of those who are unwilling cite
through self-doing or self-purchase of goods and services poverty as their main reason for not being able. Given the
required. critical mass is willing, a program can be designed that sup-
ports the 20% very poor households, while utilizing the
Willingness to buy household waste bins / container(s). There goodwill of the rest of the households willingness to purchase
has been a marked improvement in willingness to purchase bins. This is bound to significantly improve household stor-
household storage bins from 72% in 2007 to 83% in 2010. In age service. The households have one waste bin, meaning the
2007, 72.3% of Nairobi households were willing to purchase 72% who were willing to purchase at least a waste bin went
waste bins. These figures compare favorably with those of ahead and implemented their wish. As shown in Figure 5, the
JICA (1998) which found out that 76% and 58% of high and HH willingness to purchase waste bins increased sharply
low income residents respectively were willing to pay for from 72.3% in 2007 to 95% in 2010 (Figure 5). Statistically,
improved services. This is a significant change which has since the sampling in this research was pegged on 95% confi-
been capitalized on for improvement in SWM in Nairobi. By dence level, the current 95% willing to purchase a bin statis-
2010, 82.7% HHs were actually purchasing waste bins either tically implies all are willing to purchase bins. This augers
individually (11.4%), or through a privately engaged compa- well for the future of the city.
ny (71.3%).
Amount of money to spend on HH waste
Who supplies HH waste storage bins vs WTP. The containers bins
are largely supplied by a waste collector (71.3%), improvised
(6.1%), and bought by HH (5.3%). Another 14-17% doesn’t
use any HH storage container. The high % that are supplied Willingness and ability to purchase Household waste bins
by waste collector implies an arrangement / some contract (WTP for bins). In 2007, the majority of the Nairobi HHs
exists for solid waste collection, and HHs are getting the were willing and able to spend US$ 0.74 on bins. By Kenyan
waste bin (a good) and the collection service from a service standards, this can purchase a plastic bin of 5-10 litres,
provider. This over 71% with HH storage containers supplied rendering it fairly reasonable. There is therefore a high
by private provider, in addition to the 5.3% who buy HH effective demand for bins. In 2010, the households not only
storage containers, represents the households willing to pay maintained their willingness to buy a bin, but went ahead and
for improved SWM services. Thus it can be inferred that acquired some means however temporary, which they were
about 76.8% are willing to pay for improved SW services in using. Only less than 20% were not using any bin at all. This
the Eastlands of Nairobi. In 2007, in terms of number of bins again indicates a positive development on the mindset of Nai-
HHs state they can buy, 20.7% were unwilling to buy any; robi residents; they are willing to purchase a bin commensu-
47.9% are willing to buy one bin; 25.3% are willing to buy rate with their level of income; less than 2% feel they are
two bins; 3.7% are willing to buy three; 1.9% is willing to constrained by ability.
buy 4 bins; and 0.5% is willing to buy 5. On the average,

FIGURE 5
% Of Nairobi households willing to buy at least a household waste bin

128 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
The 2010 situation on waste bins. In 2010, the household income groupings are willing and able to spend Kshs 20 (US$
containers are largely supplied by a waste collector (71.3%), 0.3), Kshs 50 (US$ 0.74), Kshs 20 (US$ 0.3) and Kshs 200
improvised bin (6.1%), and bought by HH (5.3%). Another (US$ 3) respectively for waste bin purchase. These represent
14-17% doesn’t use any HH storage container. The HHs the modal amounts. Thus 24.8% of slum dwellers are willing
actually looks for and engages the private collector at a fee. to spend Kshs 20 (US$ 0.3); 47.1% of low income estates are
This indicated a great deal of change within the 4 years. The willing and able to spend Kshs 50 (US$ 0.74); 37.1% of low-
high % of HHs who are supplied by private waste collector er middle income is willing and able to spend Kshs 20 (US$
implies an arrangement / some contract exists for solid waste 0.27) on waste bins; and 22.4% of middle-high income
collection, and HHs are getting the waste bin (a good) and the households are willing and able to spend Kshs 200 (US$ 2.7)
collection service from a service provider. This over 70% in on bins. The thin plastic (Jwala) is still the most prevalence at
addition to the 5.3% who buy, represents the household 74.1%, followed by Plastic bin (8.8%) and carton box at
willing to pay for improved SWM services. Thus it can be 1.8%. Another 14.5% have no HH storage bin (Figure 6),
inferred that about 76.8% are willing to pay for improved SW indicating plastic HH container is still the most popular hav-
services in the Eastlands of Nairobi. ing increased from 59.6% to 82.9% in 2007 and 2010 respec-
In terms of distribution by socio-economic grouping, the tively. Figure 7 also shows primary waste collection, with a
majority of slum, low income, lower middle and middle-high focus on how households dispose of garbage.

FIGURE 6:
% Distribution of materials of which waste bins used by Nairobi Households are made

FIGURE 7
Primary waste collection: How does your HH dispose of garbage?

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 129


Unlike Accra and Kumasi, 100% and 65% of respondents state (solid) to gaseous, and from one geographical state (the
in the high and middle-income areas of Tema, respectively, estate) to another geographical location, with the gaseous
used the standard plastic containers. This is primarily due to waste causing wanton respiratory and environmental impacts
the planned nature of Tema. Additionally, the authorities in as it moves as smoke. In his case, everybody- including the
Tema, through the Waste Management Department (WMD), HH which does the burning suffers the consequences of the
have been supplying plastic containers to residents at a fee, resulting air pollutant. The HH suffers without knowing. It
thus providing motivation and impetus for the use of the has no intention of anybody suffering. Therefore because
standard containers. Consequently, littering in these areas is they also suffer albeit without knowing, they are not clearly
relatively minimal and thus the city has a relatively clean in the NIMBY syndrome category of HHs.
environment (Oteng-Ababio, 2011). In Bulawayo City Coun- However, the last group- constituting 9.6% do suffer from
cil (Zimbabwe) used to supply metal bins to its residents but not in my backyard (NIMBY) syndrome. Their approach is to
due to high manufacturing costs, plastics bins became com- remove the waste from their backyard where it is offensive to
mon as temporary waste storage facility as 48% of the house- them, to the next point where perhaps it offends nobody. If
holds store their refuse in plastic bags. 44% were still using the HH happens to throw the waste where it happens to of-
metal bins while 8% neither have metal bins nor plastic bins fend anybody, the dumper hopes that the offended person /
and this is caused by the introduction of a fee of US$2 per HH will push it to the next point, and the pushing continues
plastic bin which some cannot afford. Mangizo (2007) also until it reaches appoint where it clearly does not offend any-
highlighted the same challenges in her study, which was done body- at which time it rests there. These final resting points
in Gweru the provincial town of Midlands Province in Zim- for wastes happen to be pathways, hinds of residential hous-
babwe. She recommended the city councils to make sure re- es, public plots and private plots without an active owner.
fuse bins are readily available to residents for sustainable The Nairobi households are highly willing and able to pay
waste management. Refuse bins must be charged at a nominal those collecting garbage from their households. The weighted
fee so that members of the community can afford them (Njagi effective demand in Nairobi, i.e. what they are willing and
et al., 2013; Fungai and Chigwenya, 2012)). able to pay for monthly garbage collection is Kshs 107.65
(US$ 1.44) (Figure 8). This figure seemingly has been main-
Disposal of garbage- current practice 2010 tained at 107 in 2010, with the lower income residents who
pay per week spending more (Kshs 122) (US$1.63) per
In the Nairobi Eastland’s, about 22% (20.8% - 25.2) of the month, compared with those with more regular monthly sala-
HHs don’t have a garbage collection service. The households ry, who pay Kshs 94.4 (US$1.26) per month. This willing-
dispose of garbage by engaging private company (62.9%); ness should be capitalized on by the service providers to im-
burning (15.6%); throwing outside dwelling (9.6%); collected prove the garbage situation of the estates.
by CBO (4.9%); collected by NCC (3.7%) (Fig 7). Of these,
the 71.5% HHs with collection services by private, communi- Willingness and ability to pay for garbage
ty organization (CBO) or NCC constitute the proper disposal collection
mechanisms. Whereas those who burn garbage (15.6%) do
not fit into the not in my backyard syndrome (NIMBY) In 2010, households are willing to pay at most an average
group, they practice a seriously polluting waste management to Kshs 108.52 (US$ US$1.45) the Nairobi households are
approach whereby the waste is transferred from one physical willing and able to pay for garbage collection per month (Fig

FIGURE 8
Secondary collection: Who collect the garbage where you have disposed of it

130 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
9). This, however, is a weighted mean from all estates, whose (Kshs 105 or US$ 1.4 in 2007); and lower middle income
socio-economic grouping are willing and able to pay as Kshs 190 (US$ 2.53) from Kshs 131 (US$ 1.75) in 2007.
follows for garbage collection: Slums- Kshs 23.13 (US$ This gives a net WTP of Kshs 108.52 (US$ 1.45) up from
0.31); Low income- Kshs 105.48 (US$1.41); Lower middle Kshs 107 (US$ 1.43) in 2007. This compare closely with
income group- Kshs 131.43 (US$ 1.75); and Middle-high what they are already paying as follows: mean of Kshs 107
income group- Kshs 173.75 (US$2.32). This figure has been (US$ 1.43) in 2010, with those paying weekly in at a rate of
maintained at around 107 four years down the lane 2007- Kshs 122 (US$ 1.67) and those paying monthly incurring a
2010. In 2007, households were willing and able to pay Kshs mean of Kshs 94 (US$ 1.26).
107.65 (US$1.44) per month. By socio-economic class; the
mean amounts for slum (Kshs 23.13) (US$0.31); Low income Willingness to pay (WTP) by various
(105.48) (US$1.41); Lower middle income (Kshs income groups
131.43)(US$1.75) and Middle-high income (Kshs 173.75)
(US$ 2.32). This gives a weighted mean of Kshs 107.65 (US$ Q2 (low income) and Q4 (the rich) not unwilling, but
1.44). The low income and slum estates are struggling to eke there are no association with willing either. Results exhibit
a living, and are understandably not able to ay any more than that HHs which are in the third income quartile (Q3 or middle
Kshs 50 (US$ 0.67) per month. income and Q1- slum) are WTP to get better SWM services.
Thus people who fall in the upper middle class are willing to
Are current charges reasonable? have better manage solid waste and want to contribute mone-
(Affordability) tarily for this purpose. Khattak et al. (2009) found out that the
other two income categories i.e. Q2 and Q4 failed to repre-
Only 178, representing 29.6% of the 600 surveyed did sent any significant relationship with WTP. Nevertheless, it is
their payment for SWM services per week, while 290 paid still understandable because those HH which falls in the se-
per month. Of those who pay per week, the mean was Kshs cond income quartiles might be left with no money after ful-
40.67 (US$ 0.54). The modal weekly fee was of Kshs 50 filling their basic necessities. Thus they will find it hard to
(US$ 0.67), Q1 of Kshs 20 (US$ 0.27; Q2 (median) of Kshs spare money for other social issues.
40 (US$ 0.54); and Q3 of Kshs 60 (US$ 0.81). This translates On the other side, HHs that come under the fourth income
to a mean monthly pay of Kshs 122.01 (US$ 1.63), mode of quartile (the rich) have often careless attitude or they are al-
Kshs 200 (US$ 2.7); Q1 of Kshs 80 (US$ 1.08); median of ready spending a fair amount of money to get their home and
Kshs 200 (US$ 2.7); and Q3 of Kshs 240 (US$ 3.2). The low surroundings clean. Thus if proper motivation and persuasion
income and slum estates are struggling to eke a living, and is achieved, there is great possibility that they will become
are understandably not able to pay any more than Kshs 50 willing to contribute in monetary terms for better SWM ser-
(US$0.67) per month. For these, Nairobi HHs are willing and vices (Khattak et al., 2009). According to the regression re-
able to pay Kshs 66.59 (US$ 0.89) for garbage containers and sults education, income and HH size are the important deter-
Kshs 107.65 (US$ 1.44) for garbage collection per month. minants of HH demand and consequently their WTP for bet-
The households are willing to pay for improved solid waste ter SWM services. There is lacking awareness among the
management services as follows: slum Kshs 64 (US$ 0.85) HHs as it failed to establish any significant statistical rela-
(Kshs 23or US$ 0.31 in 2007); low income Kshs 130 (1.73) tionship with HH Willingness to pay, despite the huge claim

FIGURE 9
How much maximum are you willing and able to pay for household garbage collection per month

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 131


of being aware. These types of claims are normally observed thereby exhibiting the NIMTO syndrome. These are clear
in the surveyed analysis as respondents feel social pressure cases of NIMTO (Figures 10 and 11).
while exhibiting some information. The last group- constituting 9.6% who simply dump waste
out of the house do suffer from not in my backyard (NIMBY)
Exhibition of NIMBY and NIMTO syndrome. Their approach is to remove the waste from their
syndromes backyard where it is offensive to them, to the next point
where perhaps it offends nobody. If the HH happens to throw
the waste where it happens to offend anybody, the dumper
Where the waste is deposited. Whereas those who burn hopes that the offended person / HH will push it to the next
garbage (15.6%) do not fit into the not in my backyard point, and the pushing continues until it reaches appoint
syndrome (NIMBY) group, they engage in a seriously where it clearly does not offend anybody- at which time it
polluting waste management practice whereby the waste is rests there. These final resting points for wastes happen to be
transferred from one physical state (solid) to gaseous, and pathways, hinds of residential houses, public plots and private
from one geographical state (the estate) to another plots without an active owner. About 17.3% HHs do not col-
geographical location, with the gaseous waste causing wanton lect waste, but are aware where it goes after leaving their
respiratory and environmental impacts as it moves as smoke. household. Of the 83% who are not aware, 28.8% think they
In this case, everybody- including the HH which does the need to know where their wastes are taken after collection.
burning -suffers the consequences of the resulting air This puts a total of those who care to 40.9 (83% of 28.8%)
pollutant. The HH suffers without knowing, and has no plus the 17.3% (Figure 12).
intention of anybody suffering as it engages in burning- it’s
all done in good faith. Therefore because they also suffer NIMBY in HH waste storage. Those with some form of HH
albeit without knowing, they are not clearly in the NIMBY storage container are likely to store sizeable enough quanti-
syndrome category of HHs. ties to feel ashamed of dumping them in the immediate
Sanjay (2011) observed that the Pune city (India) neighbourhood, and are most unlikely to exhibit NIMBY
households are expected to deposit their solid waste in bins syndrome. About 14% use no household container, meaning
located at street corners and at specific intervals. Even though they simply dump outside their door as the wastes are gener-
the storage arrangements are conveniently located in city, ated. Lack of HH container implies they use hand, again im-
solid waste tends to be thrown around the storage area, plying they cannot take the wastes far. They are likely to
roadside gutters etc. It happens partly because of indiscipline dump them out of the immediate household space, perhaps at
among people and partly by rag pickers. Here the households the nearest next point where they are not offended as a HH.
behave with the NIMTO syndrome- as they deposit wastes The neighbours who find this waste- because it’s in small
carelessly into the communal bin area. According to Khattak quantity- eg a ball of plastic, paper, etc, nobody takes offence
et al. (2009), the second most observed reason for avoiding and simply remove the waste from their area of control and
monetary contribution for better SWM services was that 28% interest. This waste may be pushed to the point where nobody
of the HHs thought that government was responsible to makes a claim. This is a group which may fall in the not in
ensure the availability of basic amenities to its masses. In my backyard syndrome.
Nairobi’s 2010 research, of the households, 54% require
government/ NCC or sponsor to purchase HH waste bins,

FIGURE 10
% Distribution of who Nairobi households feel should purchase household waste bins

132 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 11
% Distribution of feelings of Nairobi households who feel they should know where their household waste is taken after removal
from their residences.

FIGURE 12
% Distribution of reasons why the Nairobi households feel they should know the destination of their household wastes even
after collection by non-household agent.

Over three in five (61.3%) households believe the house- syndrome. However, 7.7% completely disagree, and can be
hold has a role to play in SWM, and to improve the state of classified as the group with the NIMTO syndrome. Another
their environment. This group is liberated, and take responsi- 3.1% don’t know, but 27.5% are already fully involved and
bility, and are not ready to blame other authorities; they are chose to be silent on this question. Those who are not happy
free from the NIMTO syndrome, meaning the rest of about cite the following reasons: littering (29.4%); blocked drains
38% of HHs may , though not necessarily exhibit the NIMTO (18.5%); cause diseases (9.5%); human and livestock scav-

THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 133


enging (10.8%); polluting water (5.8%); and to 23.2% this waste collection. This effective demand is exhibited by the
was not applicable because they were happy with the state of amounts they are willing and able to pay, that is, Kshs 107.4
the environment in their estate (Figure 12). In terms of opti- (USD 1.5) for garbage collection per month for 2007 and
mism, 65.3% believe the state can be improved, while 3.2% 2010. 72.3% are willing to purchase waste bins.
believe it cannot, and the rest were happy with the environ- Even though at least 30% of the households are able to
ment the way it is. pay, given they are either landlords (28%) or live above pov-
This would mean that those who think there is room for erty line (40%), there are prospects of at least 95% being pro-
improvement (65.3%) neither exhibit the syndromes of gressively able to pay given the latrine use as an indicator of
NIMTO and NIMBY, but also would be willing to pay for abject poverty indicates they are not abjectly poor, and have
improvement services, regardless of their ability to pay. The positive prospects. The evidence shows that Kenyans exhibit
optimistic propose the following for improvement in state of NIMBY syndrome through burning of waste and open dump-
the environment in the estates: Collect wastes regularly ing of waste. This constitutes less than 30% of Nairobi resi-
(23.3%); more resident participation on SWM (18.8%); clear dents, down from almost 70% in 2007 when the weight of
the waste heaps around the estates (16.3%); organize regular filth in the neighborhoods had not sunk deep into the com-
waste collection and cleaning days (13.3%); teach sanitation munity.
in schools and community (9.4%); supply HH waste storage After 2007, an increased level of awareness and responsi-
containers (7.5%); incorporate SWN as part of kazi kwa bility has been exhibited by the residents of Nairobi, leading
vijana (5.5%); privatize waste collection (3.1%); and pay to the majority willing to engage private collection of waste
CBOs to remove wastes from narrow corridors 91.1%). however low their income is. They have also gone ahead and
Already, at least 25.6% of the HHs are aware of involve- forming CBOs to specifically deal with solid waste, which is
ment of the local community CBO in SWM in income gener- no longer seen as a liability but as a resource.
ation. These do a wide range of activities as follows: recycle Kenyans exhibit NIMTO syndrome through their feeling
(25%); CBO (20%); private company (10%); making some government, CBO or NGO should give them free SWM ser-
product (reuse 7%); dumping (7%); among others. At least vices even without paying, improper disposal of waste into
67% believe wastes can be used to generate wealth. This communal bins and / or sending children to dispose of house-
would imply the 67% recognition waste as a resource would holds wastes into full communal bins. Other indications of
be willing to commercially engage in its collection as a re- NIMTO include household lack of interest in knowing the
source or raw material for another activity or process, and fate of their wastes after collection. These habits are exhibited
therefore can never exhibit NIMTO or NIMBY syndromes. by at least 15% of Nairobi residents in 2010, down from al-
They would, however, be willing to pay to collect and pro- most 50% in 2007. This indicates a remarkable improvement
cess the garbage. in attitude towards SWM.

Burning wastes- NIMBY in disguise. Burning of waste leads Recommendations


to air pollution in terms of increased total suspended solids
(TSP) and especially particles less than 10 micrometers in Facilitate a process to allow the willing and able
diameter (PM10) emissions, which is equivalent to vehicular households to pay the amounts they feel feasible for their
emissions at times Gupta et al. (1998). Ladu et al. (2012) desired level of solid waste collection service. In addition,
revealed that 36% household said that public health depart- waste bins of the appropriate design options (size, shape,
ment burned solid waste on-site, 30% said that they collected durability and material) should be designed and availed in the
domestic solid waste, 20% said they transported solid wastes, market that matches the amount households in various socio-
14% said they burn solid waste at main dumps and no wastes economic statuses are willing and able to pay. This will help
containers were provided to them. Ladu et al., 2012. Similar- match the demand with supply of bins, rendering their use
ly, 74.6% of respondents in Adisababa, Ethiopia, indicated more popular.
that they burn organic waste together with the other solid
waste (Nigatu et al., 2011).
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THE APPLICABILITY OF NIMBY AND NIMTO SYNDROMES 135


REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN
CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH MATERIAL

Hossein Rostami1, Fernando Tovia2 Reza Masoodi3 and Mozhgan Bahadory4

1
Professor of Science and Engineering, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia PA, 19144
Phone: (215) 951-2877, Fax: (215) 951-6812, Email: rostamih@philau.edu
2
Associate Professor of Engineering, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia PA, 19144
Phone: (215) 951-5652, Email: toviaf@philau.edu

3
Associate Professor of Engineering, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia PA, 19144
Phone: (215) 951-5630, Email: masoodir@philau.edu

4
Assistant Faculty, Department of Chemistry, Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA, 19130
Phone: (215)751-8616, Email: mbahadory@ccp.edu

ABSTRACT

Approximately 850 million tons of coal are consumed for electric generation and industrial use
in the United States each year. This generates about 100 million tons of by-products including
bottom ash, fly ash, flue gas desulfurization sludge, and boiler slag. One of these by-products,
fly ash, has a potential to reduce the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concert. In this paper, the
effect of Alkali activated Ash Material (AAM) on mechanical properties and corrosion protection
are investigated. Our experiments showed that coating the rebar with AAM reduces the corro-
sion rate significantly. The most important advantage of using AAM coated rebar over epoxy
coated rebar is their corrosion rate when the coating is damaged. The corrosion rate in a rebar
coated with AAM remained almost the same after damaging the coating, while the corrosion
rate of a rebar with damaged epoxy coating was the same as an uncoated rebar.

Keywords: Fly ash, Alkali Activated Ash Material (AAM), Corrosion, Rebar, Concrete, Coating

INTRODUCTION main causes of steel rebar corrosion are chloride induced cor-
rosion and carbonations attack. In this paper, mechanical
Corrosion is the destructive attack of a material by reac- properties and corrosion protection of Alkali activated Ash
tion with its environment. In the United States, the cost of Material (AAM) are investigated.
corrosion is about $500 billion/year. The annual economical
loss due to corrosion of reinforcement in concrete is estimat- Alkali Activated Ash Materials
ed around $200 billion/year.
Concrete alkalinity should provide for protection of rein- Approximately 1050 million tons of coal is consumed
forcing steel against corrosion. This desirable environment annually for electric generation and industrial use in the Unit-
should not allow deterioration of reinforcing steel during its ed States. This generates about 130 million tons of by-
design life. However, the steel-friendly environment does not products including bottom ash, fly ash, flue gas desulfuriza-
always remain intact, thus resulting in the problem of deterio- tion sludge, and boiler slag. The majority of these materials
ration of reinforcing steel by means of corrosion. The two are landfilled [1]. The disposal of huge quantities of these

136 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
materials poses a potentially significant environmental prob- sion resistance of AAM for the creation of more durable con-
lem. Coal combustion ash contains concentrations of Arsenic, crete structures in marine applications and structures exposed
Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Selenium, to aggressive environments.
and Silver, which can be leached and pollute groundwater This technology is based on the use of fly ash as a raw
supplies [2, 3]. material. Fly ash includes those particles collected from coal
combustion flue gases to meet the Clean Air Act particulate
Composition of Fly Ash standards. Fly ash particles are very small in size, over 50%
have diameter less than 45 microns and present a more signif-
There are two primary types of fly ash according to ASTM icant danger to the environment than the heavy metals would.
C-618: Class F, low calcium fly ash and Class C, high calcium The large surface area of the fly ash and its fine particle size
fly ash. Table 1 gives the chemical composition of Class F and makes it likely to leach its hazardous components to the envi-
Class C fly ash, Portland cement, and the fly ash used in this ronment, if it is not handled with utmost care. This means
work. The same oxides appear in fly ash and Portland cement there is a greater risk of hazardous materials leaching from
concrete, but in different amounts. Fly ash has higher SiO2 fly ash and contaminating groundwater supplies. Superfund
content while Portland cement contains more CaO. Typically, sites have resulted from improper disposal of these materials,
Class F fly ash has less than 15% CaO content and Class C fly and studies have shown higher levels of certain metals in
ash has greater than 20% CaO. More than 70% of the Class F groundwater down gradient from ash disposal sites [12]. Su-
fly ash consists of the oxides of silicon, aluminum and iron. Its perfund sites are toxic site in the United States which requir-
particles are classified as an aluminosilicate glass which ex- ing cleanup and has been placed on the National Priorities
hibit pozzolanic reactivity in the presence of alkali, but do not List (NPL). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
themselves exhibit cementitious properties when mixed with ensures the clean-up and the maintenance of superfund sites
water. Class C fly ash has a combined silicon oxide, aluminum to protect the environment and the health of all in the United
oxide, and iron oxide content greater than 50%. The material States.
is a calcium aluminosilicate and exhibits cementitious proper- The addition of fly ash to cement mixtures is well estab-
ties when exposed to water along with pozzolanic reactivity lished and a great body of research on the subject is available
[4]. [13-18]. There are significant benefits to the use of fly ash in
A new technology has been developed which transforms concrete including better economics, increased ultimate
fly ash into a high performance cementitious material. In this strength, improved chemical resistance, reduced alkali-silica
technology, fly ash replaces Portland cement and a part of reactivity, and a number of other property improvements [2,
fine aggregate in concrete. Fly ash is chemically activated 3]. The greatest shortcoming of utilizing fly ash is that there
and as a result, Alkali activated Ash Material (AAM) is pro- is a limited amount which can be used in this application.
duced [5-11]. This technique creates a high performance con- Inclusion of higher levels of fly ash in the concrete (about
crete material which resists chemical attacks and corrosion 20% replacement of Portland cement) would create severe
better than Portland cement. This work describes the corro- adverse effects in the properties of the final products (i.e.

TABLE 1
Composition of Class F and C Fly Ash and Portland Cement

Oxides Class F Fly Ash Class C Fly Ash Portland Cement Fly Ash (this work)

SiO2 45-65 48-68 20 61.3

Al2O3 20-45 18-34 6 22.7

Fe2O3 3-12 2-8 3 4.8

CaO 3-10 15-39 63 4.1

MgO 1-3 3-6 1.5 1.3

Alkali <1.5 <2 0.9 1.1

SO3 1-5 1-5 2 1.2

LOI (% unburned C) 0.1-12 0.1-12 2 0.2

Heavy Metals trace trace none trace

REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH MATERIAL 137
interfering with air entraining agent). Sodium hydroxide (aq) mixed with concentrated sodium
Ordinary Portland cement concrete can only utilize fly ash silicate (aq) reacts with fly ash to create a material with
which passes C-618 specification. Fly ash in Portland cement cementitious characteristics. AAM mixtures consists of 80%-
concrete can replace only up to 20% by weight of Portland 90% solid (by mass): low carbon class F fly ash (less than 4%
cement. AAM concrete dramatically increases the utilization C, See Table 1), fine aggregate and coarse aggregate. The rest
of fly ash, it replaces all Portland cement and up to 60% of is liquid: sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate and water. The
fine aggregates. A cubic meter of AAM Concrete will have mixing procedure consists of:
about 350-1000 kilograms of fly ash, whereas a cubic meter 1. Thoroughly mixing fly ash, fine aggregates and coarse
of Portland cement concrete is limited to 40 kilograms of fly aggregates
ash for a typical 35 MPa mix design. Currently about 10 mil- 2. Mixing together the activating chemicals, sodium
lion tons of Portland cement are used annually in precast con- hydroxide, sodium silicate and water
crete. The use of AAM technology will reduce the consump- 3. Adding the activating chemicals to the solids and mixing
tion of energy for Portland cement production by about 12 them until uniformity is reached. A typical mix design
million MW and consequently reduce carbon dioxide emis- that produces compressive strength of 90 MPa is shown in
sions. There is significant potential for reducing greenhouse Table 2
emissions, increasing the productive utilization of fly ash, and
increasing the quality of concrete construction. The wet mix is cast into 6” x 12” cylinders for compressive
testing or 3” x 4” x 16” prisms for freeze-thaw durability and
Physical and Chemical Properties of Alkali flexural strength measurements. The samples are placed in
Ash Materials dry heat (40˚C to 90˚C) for up to 12 hours. Cured samples are
taken out of the mold and defective samples are rejected.
The physical and chemical properties of AAM materials
were compared to those of Portland cement concrete using Mechanical and Durability Properties
more than 3000 high performance AAM mixes prepared to
date. In the following sections, mixing procedure is described Properties of AAM materials (binder, mortar, and con-
followed by comparison of AAM and Portland cement with crete) were investigated. The high performance properties of
respect to compressive strength, freeze-thaw durability, and AAM concrete are described below.
aggressive environmental resistance.
AAM compositions have been studied using Scanning Compressive Strength. The compressive strength
Electron Micrograph (SEM) Micrographs and Energy Disper- development and the ultimate strength of AAM increase as a
sive Spectroscopy (EDS). The microstructure following long function of curing time and temperature. Increasing the
term exposure to strong acid is also investigated. The results temperature results in more rapid strength development and a
from this work indicate a unique cementitious material with shorter time needed to reach maximum compressive strength.
an excellent binder-aggregate interface. There is a maximum curing temperature in the early stages of
hardening of about 100°C.
AAM concrete and mortars can reach compressive
strengths as high as 110 MPa (Figure 1). A range of strength
Preparing AAM Samples levels can be created in AAM cementitious material by vary-

TABLE 2
Mix Design for Alkali Ash Material (90 MPa)

Material Mass (kg) %Mass

Sodium Hydroxide 2.2 8.7

Sodium Silicate 2.3 9.1

Water 0.5 1.8

Fly Ash 5.3 20.9

Fine Aggregate 6.1 24.1

Coarse Aggregate 9.8 38.7

138 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
ing the amount of activating chemicals. As the percentage of freezing and thawing. To improve the freezing and thawing in
activating chemical increases, the compressive strength of concrete, the addition of air entraining agents to the wet mix
AAM also increases. For example, AAM with compressive is a common practice.
strength of 35 MPa contains about 10% (by weight) activat- Samples with and without air entrainment were tested
ing chemicals, while AAM (90 MPa) contains 16%. This is based on ASTM C-666. The results indicated that AAM has
shown for AAM mortar Figure 2. good resistance to freeze and thaw. In addition, AAM sam-
ples with varying compositions have different resistance to
Freeze/Thaw. The weathering action of freezing and thawing freeze and thaw. It was found that air entraining admixtures
on AAM concrete has been investigated. ASTM C-666 that were commonly used to increase the freeze thaw durabil-
prescribes two procedures for determination of the resistance ity did not increase the durability of AAM. Common air en-
to rapidly repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. In the first training agents do not create a uniform and stable pore struc-
procedure, both the freezing and thawing takes place in ture and were unnecessary for increasing the freeze-thaw
water. In the second procedure, freezing takes place in air but durability of AAM. This is shown in Figure 3.
thawing takes place in water. In this work, the first procedure
was used since freezing saturated concrete in water is much Chemical Resistance. Chemical attack of concrete occurs
more severe than in air. The deterioration of concrete can be through decomposition of the products of hydration leading
assessed by measuring the change in dynamic modulus, the to formation of new compounds. The new compound either
loss of compressive or flexural strength, or the decrease in leaches out or disrupts the integrity of the concrete in-situ
mass of the specimen before and after a number of cycles of (19, 20). The most vulnerable component of cement hydrate

FIGURE 1
Compressive strength of HPC-AAM vs. time at varying temperatures

FIGURE 2
Percent of activating solution vs. 1 day compressive strength of AAM Mortar

REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH MATERIAL 139
24 PC Concrete: No Air
22 Air
E Entrained
i CAFA
C
CAFA Concrete: No Air
20 Air Entrained
E i PC
18 C
CAFA Mortar: No Air
16 i

% Weight Loss
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Number of Freeze-Thaw Cycles

FIGURE 3
Freeze and Thaw Durability of AAM Material and Portland Cement Concrete.
Temperature Cycled from 0°F-40°F according to ASTM C-666.

is Ca(OH)2. Calcareous aggregates are also susceptible to low mersed in 20% solutions of hydrochloric acid, 20% sulfuric
pH. Acid rain (with pH of 4 to 4.5 ) containing sulfuric and acid, 20 % nitric acid, and 100% acetic acid. Weight loss
nitric acids can cause surface weathering of exposed concrete (over a one year period), change in flexural strength, and
(20). Domestic sewage is alkaline and does not attack the change in compressive strength were determined based on
concrete, however, severe damage of sewage pipes takes ASTM C-267.
place due to formation of sulfuric acid on their surfaces (21). In comparison, Portland cement concrete, which has a
The sulfur compounds produced by anaerobic bacteria are large amount of calcium, has very poor chemical resistance to
reduced to H2S. On the exposed surface of concrete, H2S the strong acidic solutions used in these experiments (Figure
undergoes oxidation by aerobic bacteria and sulfuric acid is 4). The best compositions use 20% silica fume to reduce
produced. The hardened cement paste is gradually dissolved permeability and reduce the rate of deterioration. Based on a
in sulfuric acid, and progressive deterioration of concrete failure criterion of 25% weight loss, even the best Portland
takes place. AAM made with class F fly ash which contains cement compositions will fail after 35 days in 5% sulfuric
only small amounts of CaO (Table 1), is not vulnerable to acid and 220 days in 1% sulfuric acid. For nitric and hydro-
low pH. chloric acid, Portland cement concrete fails within 7 days.
The ability of AAM to withstand aggressive chemical The chemical resistant properties of AAM are more similar to
environments was also investigated. AAM samples were im- silicate cements than Portland cement. Thus, AAM has poten-

FIGURE 4
Weight loss of AAM and Silica Fume Concrete immersed in various acids for one year

140 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
tial for chemical resistant applications including sewage Grade 2 on FHWA HPC Performance Grades. (16)
pipes, chemical resistant overlays, containment structures,
septic tanks, marine applications, etc. Microstructural Investigation
AAM concrete is an alkali activated system and there
were concerns raised as to the potential for deleterious alkali-
silica reactivity. However, using ASTM C-227, samples ex- Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) and Energy Disper-
hibited no indications of alkali-silica reactivity. Samples were sive Spectroscopy (EDS) of AAM has been conducted. The
tested using crushed Pyrex glass aggregate and high quality results can be seen in Figure 6. The SEM micrograph indi-
concrete grade fly ash, with results as shown in Figure 5. cates the low porosity of elevated temperature cured AAM.
Strength of AAM appears to be related to the fusion of the fly
Abrasion Resistance. The abrasion resistance of AAM is ash particles into a solid mass. This solid mass has little po-
excellent. The depth of wear of AAM based on ASTM C- rosity and is very dense. The formation process is yet un-
779-A is 0.01” (0.0265 cm) after 30 minutes and 0.025” known but it is theorized that the hardening can be likened to
(0.0630 cm) after 60 minutes. The chloride permeability of low temperature sintering of the fly ash. This process is
AAM concrete with high quality fly ash is 960 coulombs. brought about by a combination of chemicals and heat and
This is low compared to typical concrete mixes and rates results in very strong bonding.

FIGURE 5
Alkali Silica Reactivity Testing based on ASTM C-227 with Pyrex glass aggregate
and immersion in 1 M NaOH at 38°C (100°F)

FIGURE 6
SEM and EDS of AAM activated with a sodium-based system and cured at 60°C.
Notice the composition of AAM taken at the indicated box on the SEM- the paste becomes a aluminosilicate

REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH MATERIAL 141
Mechanisms of Deterioration of Portland 3 CaO.2SiO2.aq + MgSO4.7H2O → CaSO4.2H2O +
Cement Concrete Mg(OH)2 +SiO2.aq

The results of magnesium exposure is the production of white


The performance of concrete in sulfate rich and seawater
deposits of Mg(OH)2 and magnesium silicate. Because of the
environments has been known for a long period of time.
very low solubility of Mg(OH)2, this reaction proceeds to
Vicat in 1818 documented the deleterious effects of sulfate in
completion so that under certain conditions, the attack by
seawater on concrete [9]. Since that time, a great deal of in-
magnesium sulfate is more severe than that of other sulfates.
formation has been developed since regarding use of concrete
A further reaction between Mg(OH)2 and silica gel is possible
in seawater. In sulfate rich environments and seawater, there
and may also cause deterioration. The deterioration is a result
are two main mechanisms by which concrete is deteriorated:
of expansion of the concrete and production of non-
1) Direct deterioration from exposure to sulfate and magne-
cementitious products.
sium,
An accepted mechanism of increasing the resistance of
2) Corrosion of steel reinforcement within the concrete due
concrete to sulfates is by the addition of fly ash. Quality Class
to exposure to chloride.
F fly ashes have shown favorable influences on the resistance
to seawater and magnesium sulfate. [13]
Direct Mechanism of Deterioration
Indirect Deterioration Mechanism
Direct deterioration of concrete is covered in part by ACI
Code 318-83, Deterioration of concrete exposed to seawater
The corrosion of embedded steel is the major cause of
and sulfate rich environment. This classifies the severity of
concrete deterioration for concrete with high permeability.
sulfate exposure to seawater as moderate, based on the con-
This is due to the electromechanical process in which the
centration of sulfate. An additional mechanism of deteriora-
corrosion of steel takes place. Corrosion takes place through
tion is from long term exposure to magnesium ions. Sulfate
the creation of an electric potential through the chemical re-
attack can manifest in the form of expansion of concrete.
action of materials. The two primary mechanisms are:
When concrete cracks, its permeability increases and the ag-
1) Two dissimilar metals are embedded and composition
gressive water penetrates more easily into the interior, thus
cell is produced (aluminum and steel),
accelerating the process of deterioration. Sulfate attack can
2) Differences in concentration of dissolved ions in the vi-
also take the form of a progressive loss of strength and loss of
cinity of steel, such as, alkalis, chlorides and, oxygen
mass due to deterioration in the cohesiveness of the cement
creates concentration cells.
hydration products. Solid salt does not attack concrete, but
when present in solution, they can react with hardened ce-
In particular, the presence of high levels of Cl- results in cor-
ment paste. Alkali magnesium, calcium sulfate and water are
rosion. When the Cl-/OH- molar ratio (chloride to hydroxide
in effect a sulfate solution. Attack of cement can thus take
ratio) exceeds 0.6, the steel is susceptible to corrosion. In the
place, the sulfate reacting with Ca(OH)2 and with calcium
presence of large amounts of chloride, concrete tends to hold
aluminate hydrate [20, 21]. The products of the reaction have
more moisture. This lowers the electrical conductivity which
a considerably greater volume than the compound they re-
results in steel corrosion.
place, so that the reactions with the sulfate lead to expansion
Chloride is probably responsible for the majority of the
and disruption of concrete. The reaction of sodium sulfate
economic loss due to the corrosion of steel in concrete struc-
with Ca(OH)2 can be written as follows [20].
tures. The corrosion of steel in concrete involves an iron: iron
half cell, the reaction is [10]:
Ca(OH)2 + Na2SO4.10H2O → CaSO4.2H2O +
2 NaOH + 8 H2O
Fe→ Fe++ + 2e-
The reaction with calcium aluminate hydrate can be formu-
The chloride ion acts as a catalyst for the oxidation of the iron
lated as follows.
by taking an active part in the reaction.
2(3CaO.Al2O3.12H2O) + (Na2SO4.10H2O) →
Fe++ + 6Cl- → FeCl6-4
3 CaO.Al2O3.3CaSO4.31H2O + 2 Al(OH)3 +6
NaOH + 17 H2O
Where it reacts with the available hydroxyl ions to form
Calcium sulfate attacks only calcium aluminate hydrate,
Fe(OH)2
forming calcium sulphoaluminate
FeCl6-4 + 2OH - → Fe(OH)2
(3 CaO.Al2O3.3CaSO4.31H2O)
This reaction produces rust on reinforcing steel. Its volume
increases drastically and the resulting pressure cracks the
On the other hand, magnesium sulfate attacks calcium silicate
concrete. Figure 7, illustrates the effect of chloride attack on
hydrates as well as Ca(OH)2 and calcium aluminates hydrate.
the concrete reinforcing steel.
This reaction is as follows.

142 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
Corrosion of rebar embedded in AAM  ∆E  B
Rp =   I corr =
 ∆I  ∆E → 0 Rp A
To measure the resistance of rebar corrosion embedded in
AAM, the rebars were coated with AAM and its corrosion
The value of the polarization resistance (Rp) is expressed by
behavior was investigated. The Linear polarization resistance
the slope of the curve. The limiting value for RP when the
technique was used to measure this property.
increment diminishes to zero is the corrosion current Icorr.
The Linear polarization resistance technique continuously
measures the corrosion-rate, using a permanently installed
A is the area of the metal surface
probe in the corrosive fluid. This electrochemical measure-
ment utilizes application of a small potential shift to a corrod-
B is a constant, B = 26 mV for corroding steel, B = 52 mV
ing metal electrode, the resultant current being proportional
passivated steel.
to the corrosion rate. Conversion factors and linear polariza-
tion instrumentation converts the current measured to corro-
For the purposes of this study, five types of steel rebars were
sion rate readings in mils per year (mpy).
tested for corrosion and LPR method was used for their cor-
The commonly accepted method of preventing corrosion
rosion resistance. These rebars were uncoated rebar, epoxy
of steel reinforcement is to decrease the permeability of the
coated rebar, damaged coated epoxy rebars, AAM coated
concrete to chloride ions [21]. Reduction of salt water intru-
rebar and damaged epoxy rebar. To test for the corrosion of
sion was significantly effected by the water/cement ratio
these rebars, they were placed in a saturated Ca(OH)2 solu-
based on a Federal Highway Administration project [22]. The
tion with 2000 ppm NaCl. Figure 8 shows the experimental
creation of microsilica-blended cements showed 3 times bet-
test set up for LPR.
ter performance in terms of corrosion initiation time [23].
As the results indicate the AAM coated rebar exhibits
This is due to the decreased permeability of silica fume con-
high resistance to corrosion as compared with uncoated rebar.
taining concrete as described by Roy et al. [14]. The re-
Polarization resistance (Rp) is 10,500 ohm cm2 for the AAM
sistance of concrete to chloride intrusion is directly related to
coated rebar while that of uncoated rebar was 2100 ohm cm2
concrete’s ability to protect against corrosion of reinforcing
as shown in Figure 9.
steel [21-23]. In the case of AAM concrete, the increased
The epoxy coated rebars shows enhanced resistance to
concentration of hydroxyl will dramatically increase the re-
corrosion by exhibiting polarization resistance of 31,000 ohm
quired concentration of chloride required for corrosion initia-
cm2. However, damaged epoxy coated rebar showed dramati-
tion. This must be evaluated and reflected in supporting tests
cally reduced polarization resistance of less than 2000 ohm
[23-28].
cm2. The AAM coated rebar did not show any vulnerability
This technique enables the measurement of the instanta-
to damage and its polarization resistance remained around
neous corrosion rate. It measures the amount of corroded
10,000 ohm cm2.
steel per unit area per unit time. The technique is based on the
Converting the polarization resistance to corrosion rate
observation of the linearity of the polarization curves near the
will provide the amount of corrosion of rebar per year. Figure
potential Ecorr. The slope expresses the value of the polariza-
10 shows this important parameter.
tion resistance (Rp) if the increment diminishes to zero. This
Rp value is related to the corrosion current Icorr by means of
the following expression:

Chloride
Oxygen
Corrosion Rust

Rebar

Concrete

FIGURE 7
Rust on reinforcing steel occupies more volume than steel, concrete cracks due to resulting pressure [12]

REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH MATERIAL 143
FIGURE 8
Shows the experimental test set up for LPR

25000
Polarization Reistance

20000
(Ohm.cm2)

15000

10000

5000

0
Uncoated AAM Damaged Epoxy Damaged
Coated AAM Coated Epoxy
Coated Coated
Coating Type

FIGURE 9
Polarization resistance of AAM Coated rebar as compared with uncoated and epoxy coated

0.16
Corrosion Rate (mm/year)

0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
Uncoated AAM Coated Damaged Epoxy Damaged
AAM Coated Coated Epoxy
Coated
Coating Type

FIGURE 10
Corrosion rate of AAM Coated rebar as compared with uncoated and epoxy coated

CONCLUSION uncoated rebar. The epoxy coated rebar revels high resistance
to deterioration from corrosion while any form damage to
The AAM coated rebar successfully slowed down the integrity of this coating causes accelerated corrosion. Dam-
corrosion of rebar to 0.35 mm/year from 0.15 mm/year for aged AAM coated rebar did not exhibit any difference in its
corrosion resistance and protected the rebar.

144 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
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REDUCTION OF CORROSION OF REINFORCING STEEL IN CONCRETE USING ALKALI ASH MATERIAL 145
POULTRY WASTE GENERATION, MANAGEMENT AND THE
ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF MINNA, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA
1*
Peter Aderemi Adeoye, 1Hasfalina Che Man, 1Mohd. Amin Soom
2
Ahmad Mohammed Thamer, 3Akinbile Christopher Oluwakunmi
1
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University Putra, Darul Ehsan, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra, Darul Ehsan, Selangor, Malaysia
3
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Technology,
Akure, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

To develop an acceptable manure management and pollution prevention plan in poultry produc-
tion, accurate accounting of waste generation and nutrient concentration of the waste need to
be ascertained. In view of this, a field study was conducted in Minna, Nigeria to assess quantity
of waste generated and the quality of the wastes in selected registered poultry farms in the
town. This is with a view to knowing present waste generation status and managements strate-
gies with respect to environmental protection and to recommend appropriate management
methods if the present practice is not acceptable. Questionnaires focusing on farm information,
birds’ information and waste management were administered in the farms. Fresh poultry waste
samples (manure) were collected from layer, broiler and cockerel sections of three of the se-
lected farms at birds growth stage of 6 and 12 weeks respectively. The samples were analyzed
for nitrates, phosphates and bacteriological parameters. Findings from the questionnaires
showed that a total of 2,131,400 layers, 1,224,840 broilers and 848,570 cockerels which
amount to a total of 4,204,810 birds are raised annually in confinement in the farms covering an
area of 170 hectares of land. From calculation, the farms generate 100.97 metric tons of dead
birds over a brooding cycle with about 26,565 metric ton of waste excluding slaughter house lit-
ter and hatchery wastes. Laboratory analysis results showed that the waste samples contain
values as high as 206.75mg/g and 34.21mg/g of nitrates and phosphates respectively. Bacte-
riological values recorded are 25767.21cfu/100mg, 48214cfu/100mg and 17647.9mg/g for fae-
cal coliform, total coliform and faecal streptococci respectively. Management of the waste is
poor in the farms visited as indiscriminate dumping on land and burning are major waste man-
agement systems in these farms. Only a few adopt re-feed method, dead birds are buried with-
out minding the shallow water table of the area. None of the farm visited adopt modern green
disposal as waste management strategy. This waste generation and management method
need to be changed to safe Minna environment from imminent hazards. It is therefore recom-
mended that the poor management system of land application should be replaced with modern
management strategy like green disposal, gasification, composting and re-feeding. These
methods are more environmental friendly and can generate of resources from the waste.

Keywords: Environmental protection, green disposal, manure management and poultry farms

INTRODUCTION try in the world today and reason may be attributed to popula-
tion increase and rising demand for poultry meat and egg
The poultry industry is a fast growing agro-based indus- product probably because of poultry meat is low in cholester-
ol content (Bolan et al. 2010). Though, these farms produce

_____________________________________________________________
*Corresponding author: Email: pheterhardey@yahoo.com; Phone: +60166539206

146 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
meat and egg products and they also generate employment, cation and oxygen depletion for aquatic animal (Adeoye et al.
however, one of the problems confronting the industry is the 2012). Some percentage of the waste is burnt while the re-
accumulation of waste which may pose pollution problems maining is buried inside soil without any prior treatment. This
unless it is managed in an environmental friendly manner. process is known to be capable of causing groundwater pollu-
Waste from poultry industries varies from litter from broiler tion by nitrates, phosphates, heavy metal and pathogenic or-
and cockerel production, manure from layers for egg produc- ganisms. The volume of poultry litter and manure generated
tion to dead birds from the entire farms and poultry slaughter today may be a major obstacle to future expansion of the in-
house waste. The rate of litter production from a farm and dustry if urgent action is not taken to waste management
nutrient content of the litter is affected by many factors, type strategies adopted at present. Researchers, (Sangodoyin and
and amount of bedding materials, number of flock reared, Adeyemo, 2003; Adeoye et al. 2004; Pagani et al., 2008)
feed types and rate of feeding, litter management strategy, have tried to document poultry waste production and man-
collection frequency, stocking density and ventilation (Kelle- agement pattern in some other state across Nigeria. However,
her et al. 2002). Quantity and nutrient values of manure from since the waste constituents varies with locations and man-
layer house also depend on feed formulation, type of bird agement systems, there is a need to conduct a study to deter-
reared, waste collection and management plan, collection mine the quantity of poultry waste generated annually in
frequency and stocking density. Poultry waste contains high Minna, to assess its present management strategy with respect
moisture content and other organic materials, which create to environment. This is with a view to suggesting or develop-
environmental problem such as fly breeding, odour nuisance ing a viable management plans that will be environmental
and greenhouse gas emission if not disposed of or managed friendly. The objectives of this work are therefore to deter-
appropriately (Coufal et al. 2006). Amount of dead birds in mine the total quantity of waste generated in some registered
the entire farm is determined by stage of growth, climate, poultry farms in Minna, to assess their current waste man-
management efficiency and natural occurrence like disease agement methods and to evaluate the nutrients values or pol-
outbreaks. All these waste generation avenues from a poultry lution potential of the generated waste.
farm need to be assessed carefully to be able to predict waste
generation pattern and recommend effective waste utilization Study Area
and management type.
In Nigeria, like any developing nation, there is a rapid The study area for this work is Minna, capital of Niger
expansion of small and medium scale poultry farms with the State, a semi – arid town in North central Nigeria, Figure 1
attendant effect of huge waste generation. The magnitude of which lies on latitude 90 36’ 50’’N and longitude 60 33’25’’.
this generated poultry waste has given rise to improper dis- Minna has two local Governments, Chanchaga Local Gov-
posal which include over application to land, improper timing ernment which has its headquarter in Minna and Bosso Local
of application thereby creating pollution problem to soil wa- Government with its headquarter in Maikunkele. The popula-
ter and air environment. Modern management methods for tion of Minna as at 2012 was 613,246 (NPC, 2012). River
poultry waste like re-feeding to animals, green disposal, gasi- Chinchaga is the major river in Minna which drains into Riv-
fication and biogas production have not gained prominence in er Kaduna at about 45km Northwestern Minna. Geology of
Nigeria probably due to level of awareness, lack of strict reg- Minna belongs to basement complex rock of Precambrian in
ulation from government in respect of poultry waste disposal age though some of them are found in the early Paleozoic.
and care-free attitude of the farm owners (Adeoye et al. The rock have been grouped into four lithological units by
2004). It is still a common site in Nigeria to see huge deposit Shekwolo and Brisbe,(1999) as gneiss-quartzite complex,
of poultry waste around the farm, flushing of the waste into schist belts, granitoids and metamorphosed basic rocks. Min-
water courses through open canals from farms are also com- imum temperature in Minna is 190C while maximum is about
mon sites (Ojolo et al. 2007). These method is not only un- 380C. Precipitation divides the town into two major seasons,
sightly, it also create a lot of environmental nuisance and wet season which spans from May to October and dry season
surface and groundwater pollution. Another poor manage- from November to April. Average annual precipitation is
ment method for the poultry waste that has gained promi- 1300mm with highest rainfall in August. An average daily
nence in Nigeria is open burning after the waste has been sunshine hour is 9.2 and evapotranspiration ranges from
subjected to sun drying to reduce the moisture content and 25mm in august and 90mm in March. Annual groundwater
thereby raising the calorific value. The open drying itself recharge in Minna is about 13% of total annual precipitation
releases excessive ammonia and other emissions capable of (Edoga and Suzzy, 2008).
creating climate change. The eventual burning leads to seri-
ous environmental hazards for the people living around the
area. Methods of Data Collection
Minna, a town in North central area of Nigeria is not an
exception to revolution poultry farms emergence and poor There are 43 large scale and 74 medium and small scale
poultry waste management systems. The management pattern poultry farms in Minna (Ministry of Agriculture and rural
in Minna is characterized by a low level of specialization. development, Niger State). For the purpose of this assess-
Most of the huge amount of poultry waste produced in Minna ment, twenty registered poultry farms were randomly select-
is either applied excessively to agricultural land, flushed into ed, Figure 2. The farms were visited and two structured ques-
water courses thereby creating serious pollution of eutrophi- tionnaires were administered in each of the farms. The ques-

POULTRY WASTE GENERATION, MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF MINNA, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA 147
FIGURE 1
Map of Niger State of Nigeria Showing Minna

FIGURE 2
Map of Nigeria Showing Minna and map of Minna Showing Poultry Farms Visited

tionnaire has five segments, background information of the and faecal streptococci. Variation in these parameters within
respondent, information about the size and ownership of the bird’s species was examined by testing for layer, broiler and
farm, number of birds in the farm, water sources in the farm cockerels dropping at a growth stage of 6 weeks (Body
and the method of waste management in the farm. weight less than 1kg) and at 12 weeks (body weight greater
In order to determine the effect of location and feed than 1kg). The analysis was carried out by diluting 1g of
types on component of poultry waste, fresh poultry waste fresh waste (manure) sample in 100ml of water. pH was de-
samples were collected in three of the poultry farms and were termined with a pH meter, phosphate and nitrates were de-
taken to laboratory for analysis. Parameters tested were pH, termined with Hach DR 2000 colorimeter. Phosphover 3 and
phosphate, Nitrite, Nitrates, faecal coliform, total coliform Phosphover 5 reagent pillows were used as dilution chemical

148 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
for phosphates and phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) respectively out in triplicate to minimize experimental error. The mean,
while Nitraver 3 and Nitraver 5 reagent pillows were used to standard deviation and test for significance were determined
determine Nitrite and Nitrate respectively. with SPSS 16.0. Questionnaires results were also subjected to
Membrane filtration technique was for bacteriological statistical analysis.
analysis. One gram of the waste sample was dilited in 100ml
distilled water and was filtered through a membrane using
vacuum pump. After one hour recovery period, the membrane
was incubated on Slantez and Bartley media at 370C and RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
450C for 24hours for faecal and total coliform respectively
and on Lauryl Sulphate broth (MLSB-OXOID MM0616) at The findings from questionnaires administered were pre-
450C for 48hours for faecal streptococci. Tests were carried sented in Table 1. It can be seen from the table that 17 of the
farms visited were owned by individual while government,

TABLE 1
Information about the farms visited

Farm age Size of the Total number


Farm Name Farm Ownership Number of bird stocked in the farm house by species
(years) farm (Ha) of birds

Layers Broiler Cockerel

1 Abdulahi Private 12 13 131800 7000 3,600 142,400

2 Abu-Turab Private 10 14 124,500 91000 105,000 320,500

3 Al-Amin Private 8 3 18,000 8,600 6,040 32,640

4 Bache Private 10 4 70,900 18,000 17,200 106,100

5 El-Kareem Private 8 15 180,000 88,000 61,400 329,400

6 Fut. Minna Institution 15 1.5 16,500 3800 8120 28,420

7 IK Private 7 8 76,200 51,940 38500 166,640

8 Jamils Private 5 33 160,000 150,000 161,000 471,000

9 Jamilla Ville Private 17 10 90,000 63,000 41,000 194,000

10 Joe Private 8 6 110500 62,000 12400 184,900

11 Jumik Private 7 7.5 140,000 154,000 41,000 335,000

12 Jumra Private 14 4 146,000 118,000 11,000 275,000

13 Limawa Cooperate 10 6 186,000 65,000 43,000 294,000

14 Mil Private 15 3 40,000 16,000 12,500 68,500

15 Na- Adama Private 12 6 139800 67,000 82,000 288,800

16 Nabil Private 16 8 158,000 31,000 18,700 207700

17 Nanas Private 14 10 49,200 38,100 13,700 101,000

18 Natti Private 18 6 45,000 35,400 26410 106810

19 Ng. State Government 12 2 33,000 18,000 12,000 63,000

20 Sarki-Yakin Private 6 10 216,000 139,000 134,000 489,000

Total number of birds 2,131,400 1,224,840 848,570 4,204,810

POULTRY WASTE GENERATION, MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF MINNA, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA 149
cooperate body and institution own one each out of the farms. into 100.97 metric ton of dead bird per year. Manure produc-
The oldest among the farm was 18 years. There is rapid in- tion was calculated as 33104kg/day for layers, 19024kg/day
crease in establishment of poultry farms especially when the for broiler and 20651kg/day for cockerel totaled as
country returns to democratic setting in 1999. This may be 72779kg/day. This puts annual poultry waste generation in
due to relative stability in agricultural policy and improve- Minna as 26,565 metric ton. This calculation excludes the
ment in citizen standard of living. litter value which Bernhart et al. (2010) put as 125% of the
This is evident from the result of poultry production in total manure produced and also excludes the poultry slaughter
Minna for 15 years from state ministry of Agriculture and house and hatchery wastes. From the information received
rural development as presented in Figure 3. From personal from State ministry of Agriculture, there are 43 large scale
observations and interview during visitation, the farms raised and 74 medium and small scale poultry farms in Minna,
exotic breeds like Brown Legon and Plymount Rock. Layers therefore, it is expected that about average of 75,000 metric
were raised in cages while broilers and cockerels were raised ton of poultry waste would be produced in Minna in one year.
in deep litter system with saw dust used as litter in all the From the responses to the questionnaire, 50% of the farm
farms visited. Meanwhile, some of the farms raised their deep owner remarked that they removed waste from battery cage
litter stock under elevated floor to allow easy package of the house weekly, 35% removed it daily while only 15% re-
droppings without evacuating the birds. moved the waste once in every two weeks from battery cage.
In the deep litter house, 40% remove the litter once every
Poultry Waste Production three months, 35% remove it monthly, 15% remove it daily
and 10% remove it weekly. It was concluded after Maguire et
There has been different submission in literatures with al. (2006) experiment that frequency of manure packing
respect to waste production in poultry houses. For instance, would have heavy effect on the nutrients value of the manure
Turnell et al. (2007) put the value as 3.0 ± 2kg per day per and if left unattended to for more than 72 hours, the rate of
bird, Nicholson et al. (2004) estimated it based on liveweight ammonia volatilization would be higher thereby creating en-
of birds. For example layers and broilers are having vironmental pollution for the birds, worker in the farm and
0.9kg/bird while cockerel is having 1.2kg/bird bodyweight. people living close to the poultry farms. Figure 4 showed
He therefore put manure production as 17.1kg/day/1000kg equipment to remove the manure from battery cage. Larger
bodyweight for broilers and layers and 21.6kg/day/ 1000kg percentage of the respondents flush the waste into open gut-
bodyweight for cockerels. This proposition was supported by ter, about 28% use rake, shovel and trowel, 22% use belt
ASABE, (2005) which put the waste generation as conveyor packing system while a few among the farms pump
16g/bird/day or 17.7kg/1000kg bodyweight for layers and from deep pit into open field.
broilers and 20.82kg/1000kg bodyweight/day for cockerels. In the deep litter house, scraping with shovel was the
Calculation of waste generated in the 20 visited in Minna was most common method and the wastes were packed inside jute
done based on ASABE, (2005) approximate value. Dead bags and stack outside the farm building to allow it to de-
birds in poultry farms has been put by Leytem et al., (2007) grade. A few of the poultry farms visited use automatic
as 4% of stock for entire brooding life whereas Salminen and decaker machine to park while some farms where the floors
Rintala, (2002) put it as 2 – 3% of the total flock. Therefore, of deep litter house were raised used automatic scraper to
3% mortality rate for the total birds in the poultry farm in pack the wastes. There is high relationship between equip-
Minna would result in 105,120 dead birds which translate ment being used to remove the litter and frequency of collec-
tion. The frequency increases as the method is becoming less

Trend in production of poultry products for 15 years in Minna.


250

200
PRODUCTION (TON)

150

100

50
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

FIGURE 3
Trends in 15 Years Poultry Production in Minna FIGURE 4
Methods of Waste Removal from Battery Cage House

150 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
drudgery. Therefore if all farms in Minna automate manure with other domestic refuse. As shown in the Figure 6, 50% of
collection process in their farms, the problem of accumula- the farm owners spread the waste on nearby land, 40% burns
tion and unnecessary ammonia and other poisonous gas emis- the waste after subjecting them to sun drying while only 5%
sion would be reduced. each compost and reefed the waste. The small percentage
who engage in the relatively more environmental manage-
Management and Disposal ment of the waste were the instructional-based farm (FUT
Minna) and the one own by the state government (Niger State
Figure 5 showed major chemical applied to the poultry Pilot farm). None of the farm visited use the waste for biogas
waste to minimize odour generation and to stabilize nitrate generation or other green disposal methods which are more
and phosphate in the wastes. 50% of the respondents do not environmental friendly. Open gutter dumping and pit type
treat the waste thereby allowing ammonia emission and odour collection and pumping are common in many farms visited.
generation at the highest rate especially in the afternoon. 30% Plate 1 showed the open drain method a farm while Plate 2
use aluminum Sulphate 5% use ash while 10% use liquid showed layers waste being pumped to open field from 3m by
alum. Moore et al. (2008) reported that ammonia emission 3m with depth of 5meters pit in another farm visited.
from poultry manure can cause several problems as poor As regards dead bird management, from the calculation,
poultry performance, reduce the birds’ immunity capacity, the twenty farms visited produced 100.97 metric ton of dead
and damage the bird’s respiratory systems. It may also cause birds per year. Figure 5 showed the method of the manage-
acid precipitation, and nitrogen deposition into aquatic sys- ment. 50% bury the dead birds, 20% re - feed them to ani-
tems. He therefore suggested addition of alum to reduce the mals, 15% sell while 15% also burn them. Edwards and Dan-
volatilization of ammonia and reduce the number of pathogen iel, (1992) opined that dead birds constitute an appreciable
in the waste. proportion of waste generated in poultry farms and listed the
Sims and McCafferty (2002) also reported that aluminum available but poor methods of management as pit disposal,
sulfate amendment is a good management system for poultry incineration and burial. Though burial of mortality is ac-
manure because it reduces potential environmental effect, ceptable option, technical specifications to prevent pollution
reduces NH3 and decrease runoff of phosphorus and trace of shallow aquifer recommended by Moreki and Chiripasi
metals from soil amended with the litter. Faridullah et al. (2011) should be followed. The burial site must be located 90
(2009) reported that ashing poultry manure can improve its meters from any well or neighbouring residences. The bottom
nutrient content by increasing its phosphorus, potassium, cal- should be at least 30m from flood plain and 60cm above sea-
cium and magnesium. Addition of these chemicals is there- sonal high water table should be followed. It was argued that
fore a good practice to improve the waste properties and offer burning is not an acceptable disposal method as a result of air
some environmental remedy; poultry farmers in Minna pollutants that will be released. The case of poultry farms in
should be encouraged to treat the manure before spreading it Minna is not conforming to the burial standards outlined
on soil or releasing it to watercourses as they are currently above as location of some burial sites for dead bird was
doing. measured to be less than 8m from their water wells and the
Methods of waste disposal in the visited poultry farms bottom of the pit are not too far from high water table of a
were very unhygienic. The wastes were stored for about 4 – 6 typical farm in Minna.
weeks on farms before they were either return to land, heap It was suggested that shredding and composting are good
them up and burn, flush them in to drain or dispose them of management systems for dead birds to kill the microorganism

FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6
Ammonia Reduction Chemical from Poultry waste Management of Dead Birds in Farms Visited

POULTRY WASTE GENERATION, MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF MINNA, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA 151
through high composting temperature thereby reducing the litter and handling and storage operations. This was support-
odour. None of the farms visited adopts this method probably ed by Bolan et al. (2010) who listed the factors affecting pro-
due to lack of awareness or lack of technical knowhow on duction and composition of poultry waste at a particular time
how dead bird composting can be handled effectively. Gener- and location as management, environmental and physiologi-
ally, poultry farm owners in Minna do not care much about cal factors. Turnell et al. (2007) also listed these factors as
effective waste management and disposal methods. Though age, breed of birds, confinement density, rate of feed conver-
poultry production contributes meaningfully to Nigerian sion and climatic conditions. To study the effect of the age,
economy, the improper waste disposal method is a potential location, management and bird breeds on these parameters,
pollution hazard through emission of unpleasant and provoca- fresh poultry waste sample was collected form broiler, layers
tive odour. The waste can also emits dangerous gas like NH3, and cockerel sections of three selected farms at two growth
CO2 O3, N2O and other gases which contribute about 3 – 8% stages (6 weeks and 12 weeks) of the birds. The parameters
to global warming. examined are phosphates, nitrates and bacteriological. The
results were presented in Tables 2 and 3.
Properties of the poultry Wastes From Tables 2, 3 and Figures 7, 8 and 9, variations exist
significantly among the properties of the poultry waste tested.
Authors of this paper are working on the damaging effect It varies from species to species, farm to farm and for the two
of indiscriminate dumping of poultry waste will have on the age limits tested. In Table 2 and figure 9 for instance, signifi-
phosphorus, nitrates and bacteriological properties of shallow cance difference exist between phosphates quantity of the
groundwater around the farms, it is therefore essential to ex- three farms and for the three species respectively. Also from
amine the presence of the parameters in the waste generated the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) nitrates and faecal
in the poultry farms. Edwards and Daniel, (1992) reported coliform contents of the waste also varied with species, bird
that, as with other organic wastes, elemental composition of age and farms. There are also similar trends for other parame-
poultry waste and other physical parameters it contains is a ters like P2O5, Ammonium nitrogen and nitrite contents of the
function of bird type, diet and dietary supplements, types of waste. Researchers (Bolan, et al., 2010, Turnell et al. 2007;

TABLE 2
Waste properties for birds at 6 weeks (< 1kg body weight) in the three farms visited

Layers (Battery Cage management system) Cockerels (Deep Litter Management System)
Broilers (Deep Litter Management System)

Al-Amin El-Kareem Na- Adama Al- Amin El-Kareem Na- Adama Al-Amin El-Kareem Na- Adama
Parameters

pH 6.63a ± 1.38 8.61a ± 0.32 6.25a ± 0.07 8.83a ± 0.04 7.48a± 0.58 6.02a ± 0.85 5.77b ± 0.38 7.14a ± 1.22
7.37a ± 0.38

PO4−3 (mg/g) 19.30b ± 2.13 5.86c ± 0.66 25.03a ± 0.74 8.33c ± 1.08 7.31c ± 0.87 26.40a ± 0.44 16.63b ± 1.25 7.49c ± 0.84
26.93a ± 0.25

P2 O5 (mg/g) 11.37a ± 0.87 5.24b ± 0.43 16.00a ± 0.72 10.56a ± 5.98 3.27b ± 0.04 14.30a ± 2.54 8.45b ± 0.14 8.98b ± 0.89
17.43a ± 1.15

NO2− (mg/g) 0.63a ± 0.06 0.87a ±0.25 0.67a ± 0.00 0.60a ± 0.31 0.60a± 0.20 0.48a ± 0.00 0.87a ± 0.25 0.24b ± 0.25 0.77a ± 0.00

NO3− (mg/g) 155.36a ± 2.48 159.04a ± 4.11 87.98b ± 4.18 193.59c ± 3.33 206.75c ± 4.29 75.33b ± 4.18 173.97a ± 3.48 168.47a ± 6.15 81.22c ± 5.76

NO3 − N (mg/g) 35.90a ± 2.88 19.86b ± 1.27 43.70a ± 1.77 46.67a ± 1.66 17.01b ± 2.38 39.27a ± 0.85 38.03a ± 0.81 18.33b ± 1.24
35.07a ± 1.15

NH 4 − N (mg/g) 35.53b ± 2.18 4.65c ± 0.28 19.97a ± 1.70 36.97b ± 0.21 10.11c ± 1.93 19.33a± 0.25 26.80a ± 2.95 14.33c ± 1.98
21.60a ± 0.20

Faecal Coli-
14541.32a±0.05 25767.21b±0.16 9759c ± 17.80 10686.65c±0.03 17333.93a±0.04 8054c ± 11.84 12062.64a ±0.06 14730.62a±0.05 10174c ± 19.73
form(cfu/100mg)

Total Coliform
37677.33a ±0.19 48214.65a±0.27 28763b ± 16.4 24953.54b±0.01 40411.59a±0.08 22543b ± 11.28 27071.41b±0.20 38967.20a±0.02 30611a ± 13.90
Cfu/100mg)

Faecal streptococci
10198.34a±0.08 12300.29a±0.08 4219b ± 23.76 10277.47a±0.03 9203.00a±0.05 7331b ± 9.04 864.47c±0.03 15222.67a±.0.09 5430b ± 31.64
(cfu/100mg)

Values are means of Triplicate reading ± standard deviation


Values on the same row for each parameter with different superscript are significantly different (P≤ 0.05) while those with the same superscript are not significantly
different (P ≥ 0.05) as assessed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test.

152 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 3
Waste properties for birds at 14 weeks (> 1kg body weight) in the three farms visited

Layers (Battery Cage management system) Cockerels (Deep Litter Management System)
Broilers (Deep Litter Management System)

Parameters Al-Amin El-Kareem Na- Adama Al-Amin El-Kareem Na- Adama Al-Amin El-Kareem Na- Adama

8.27a ± 0.15
pH 7.83b ± 0.32 7.99b ± 0.21 6.50b± 0.26 5.65c ±0.14 6.31b ± 0.34 6.25b ± 0.07 6.00b ± 0.17 6.04b ± 1.23

27.37a ± 1.63
PO4−3 (mg/g) 23.73a ± 2.32 32.21a± 1.23 25.87a ± 1.33 9.37b ± 0.27 34.21a ± 0.56 28.13a± 2.00 13.57c ± 0.06 31.64a ± 2.43

17.33a ± 2.54
P2 O5 (mg/g) 33.07b ± 3.75 39.66b ± 1.20 17.37a± 0.21 7.90c± 2.31 14.61a ± 0.49 11.33a ± 0.31 10.24a ± 0.12 11.39a ± 0.56

0.67a ± 0.06
NO2− (mg/g) 1.13b ± 0.12 0.24c ± 0.00 18.30d± 0.56 1.23b ± 0.15 0.87a± 0.00 0.62a ± 0.30 0.68a ± 0.06 0.71a ± 0.09

NO3− (mg/g) 130.82a ± 4.66 162.27b ± 3.91 68.21c ± 3.18 204.67d ± 6.32 185.17b ± 2.78 58.31c ± 3.09 140.30a± 5.11 162.45b ± 3.99 102.11a ± 3.24

29.53a ± 0.12
NO3 − N (mg/g) 36.63a ± 0.58 15.40b ± 1.03 46.20c± 0.10 41.80c ± 1.59 13.16b ± 0.47 31.67a ± 1.70 36.67a ± 0.25 23.05a ± 1.10

22.27a ± 1.30
NH 4 − N (mg/g) 37.67b ± 1.78 11.34c ± 1.19 19.67a± 0.59 35.60b ± 3.21 22.65a ± 2.76 21.80a ± 0.95 28.73a ± 0.29 21.48a ± 1.34

Faecal Coli- 14996.3a ± 0.06


24674.5b ± 1.21 16887a ± 16.8 10406.11a±0.04 24503.44c±0.31 6421d ± 6.77 12429.78a±0.05 15351.69a ±0.01 8443d ± 22.31
form(cfu/100mg)

Total Coliform 35673.7a ± 0.06 43171.4b ± 0.26 23457c ± 12.1 25667.34c±0.40 41503.83b±0.31 25625c ± 24.3 25007.35c±0.25 37404.84a ±1.73 29331a ± 21.46
Cfu/100mg)

Faecal streptococci
11009.4a ± 0.04 17647.9b ± 0.07 4986c ± 6.99 10740.29a±0.01 10273.61a±0.01 5328c ± 11.90 9994.57a ±0.08 14522.49a ±0.03 4879c ± 10.10
(cfu/100mg)

Values are means of Triplicate reading ± standard deviation


Values on the same row for each parameter with different superscript are significantly different (P≤ 0.05) while those with the same superscript are not signifi-
cantly different (P ≥ 0.05) as assessed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test.

Salminen and Rintala; 2002, Vizzier et al. 2003; Powers and pare with two other bird species, 24953cfu/100mg and
Angel, 2008 and Keheller et al. 2002) have listed factors that 27071cfu/100mg for broilers and cockerels respectively. This
may be responsible for this wide variation as management may be due to as suggested by (Sangodoyin and Adeyemo,
systems, geographical location or climate of the place where 2003) the presence of broken eggs which is high in protein
the samples are collected. Other factors listed were feed com- value, which would have mixed with the droppings before
position for the birds which varied from farm to farm depend- collection. Faecal streptococci values in layers and broilers
ing on health challenges and the purpose for which the birds are very close but were significantly low in cockerel probably
are raised. Metabolic activities of different species were also as a result of management system in the cockerel house or the
different at different growth stage and this will have effect on metabolic activities of the bird. Considering the variation in
properties of the birds dropping. Stock density and ventilation manure properties within farms in Figure 8, waste samples
condition also is said to have remarkable influence on the collected from El-Kareem farm seems to contain more faecal
waste properties. coliform value of 43171cfu/100mg than other farms while
Therefore when determining the nutrient value, pollution Na- Adama Farms recorded the lowest faecal coliform value
potential of poultry waste, or to recommend appropriate man- of 23457cfu/100mg. This may not be unconnected with the
agement system for a particular poultry farms, it should not reasons mentioned earlier as feed composition and other
be handled as other conventional municipals waste where a management systems in the farms. All these variations are
system is recommended for different household. Rather, it pointing to the fact that even, the same species of bird can
was suggested that a representative sample for the waste to be produce waste of different properties if they are reared under
treated or managed should be analyzed to ascertain its nutri- different conditions. From Figure 9, nitrate–nitrogen, ammo-
ent characteristics or pollution potential. From figure 7, total nium nitrate, pH and Nitrate values are more for broilers than
coliform was more for layers, 48214cfu/100mg when com- other species even in the same farm. This according to Salker,

POULTRY WASTE GENERATION, MANAGEMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF MINNA, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA 153
FIGURE 7 FIGURE 9
Open drain Poultry waste disposal method Variations in Microbiological Parameters within species for
Al-Amin Farm 6 week’s birds

bedrock. Poultry waste generated in Minna from initial char-


acterization carried out contain parameters that are capable of
polluting the surface water, groundwater and air environment
at high level and continuous dumping can lead to serious
health challenge. Moore et al., (2009) indicated that 32% of
water wells in Sussex County in Delaware have high nitrate
level due to dumping of poultry waste in open fields. In Bot-
swana, Moreki and Chiripasi (2011) discovered faecal coli-
form in excess of national standards in 90% of surface water
sampled and in about 67% of shallow wells around the poul-
try farms. It was also discovered from their finding that prior
to the increase in poultry production in Botswana, coliforms
were not present in either the river or shallow wells. The un-
controlled dumping can lead to air pollution as Ojolo, et al.
(2007) reported that 57% of total nitrogen present in poultry
waste is lost via volatilization within 14 day of dumping. This
FIGURE 8 value may increase to over 65% of the total nitrogen before
Deep pit poultry waste collection method the waste is stabled. Ammonia volatilization is detrimental
because it can cause suffocation, acid rain and greenhouse
gas emission.
et al. (2009) may be due to type of feed given to the broilers Powels and Angel, (2008) listed various challenges asso-
which in most farms contain more protein than forother birds. ciated with indiscriminate poultry dumping as nitrates in
This protein compound would eventually be converted into groundwater which is hazardous to health if consumed. It
nitrogenous compounds and will be excreted with the bird’s could also lead to eutrophication of rivers and algae bloom
faeces. Phosphorus compounds, Phosphate and P2O5 are from phosphorus introduced into them from runoff. Phospho-
highest in layers probably as a result of egg formation com- rus can pollute groundwater if the water table is shallow and
pounds which would be added to their feeds and other addi- the soil is very high in hydraulic conductivity. Poultry waste
tives that are responsible for hardening of egg shell, (Salker, dumping can also lead to influx of bacteria into shallow aqui-
et al. 2002). fer, cleaning up of which may not be possible in decades.
Heavy metals like arsenic, copper and lead which are used as
Impact of Poultry Waste on Environment additives to poultry feed are very carcinogenic can be excret-
ed with faeces and if dumped on land can pollute water bod-
Vizzier et al. (2008) reported that continuous dumping of ies. All these environmental challenges are imminent in
poultry waste on land as the case in Minna could lead to mi- Minna if current poor method of poultry waste management
crobial build up in the soil which could also lead to soil nutri- is not checked.
ent imbalance, eutrophication of surface water by phosphate
and buildup of nitrate in the soil to 3m depth or even up to the

154 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
CONCLUSION tion.
6. It was discovered recently by Gou, et al. (2010) that
The study showed from all assessment and analysis made poultry litter can be used to produce activated carbon
so far that the way poultry waste is managed in Minna farms which possesses higher adsorption ability and capacity
is very poor and not conforming to environmental standards. for heavy metals than commercial activated carbon. It
Majority of the farms still employ dumping as only viable does not pose any secondary contamination risk for the
option and none of them has adopted modern methods of water. The method can also be adopted in Minna to treat
poultry waste management which are beneficial for both the heavy metals contaminated water.
economy and the environment. According to this survey,
large quantities of poultry waste are produced annually in
Minna which if properly harnessed can contribute to econom- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ic development of the town and improve the living standard
of the inhabitants of the city. The following managements The authors are grateful to Nigerian Education Trust
systems are therefore recommended. Fund for providing fund for this research. Many thanks to
1. Poultry manure can still be used in agricultural land at a management and staff of African Regional Water Quality
specified dosage. While adopting this method, Good Ag- Laboratory located at Upper Niger River Basin Development
ricultural Practice (GAP) and Best Management Practic- Authority, Minna and the executive of Poultry Farmers Asso-
es (BMP) concepts should be adopted. These involve, ciation of Nigeria, Minna Branch for their various help during
good site selection, it should be applied when crops need this research.
it most and should be incorporated into soil after applica-
tion. The manure should not be applied immediately be-
fore or after heavy rain and should not be used on a
farmland close to ponds, drainage systems and drainage
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156 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
ENHANCING BIOGAS YIELD FROM COW DUNG BY CO-DIGESTING
WITH CHICKEN AND SWINE MANURES
AT DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS

G. A. Ogunwande*, O. A. Adeagbo, S. O. Ojo


Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Tel.: +234 803 4007128
Email: gbolawande@oauife.edu.ng; gbolawande@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Cow dung (CD) was co-digested with chicken manure (CM) and with swine manure (SM) at dif-
ferent proportions to enhance biogas yield in a batch type anaerobic digester. Cow dung alone
(used as control), and CD:CM and CD:SM at mix proportions of 70:30, 50:50, 30:70 and 0:100
(CM or SM alone) (w/w dry basis) were digested for 105 days. The results showed that co-
digestion had significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on the biogas yield. The individual manures showed
that the average biogas yield (L kg-1 VS fed day-1) and cumulative biogas yield (L kg-1 VS fed)
were higher for CD (1.26 and 131.36, respectively) than CM (0.99 and 103.0, respectively) and
SM (0.38 and 12.36, respectively). The average and cumulative biogas yields of CD:CM mix-
tures were higher while that of CD:SM mixtures were lower than that of CD alone. Of the mix-
tures experimented, CD:CM (50:50) and CD:SM (30:70) had highest average yield (2.66 and
1.21, respectively) and cumulative yield (271.8 and 125.3, respectively). It was therefore con-
cluded that co-digesting CD with CM enhanced biogas production, with the optimum mix pro-
portion of CD:CM (50:50).

Keywords: Co-digestion; Biogas; Cow dung; Chicken manure; Swine manure

INTRODUCTION biodegradation. Studies have shown that biogas production


from CD was low compared to poultry and swine manures
Anaerobic digestion of animal manure produces renewa- (Adewumi, 1995; Callaghan et al., 1999; Itodo and Awulu,
ble energy in form of biogas, and valuable digested residues, 1999; Ojolo et al., 2007). This was attributed amongst other
liquid fertilizer and soil conditioner. However, animal ma- factors to low and high concentrations of total fiber and crude
nure such as cow dung (CD) is known to contain high con- protein, respectively in swine and poultry manures (Table 1).
centrations of cellulose and hemicellulose compared to swine One of the techniques for improving the efficiency of anaero-
and poultry manures (Table 1) and is not easily susceptible to bic digestion process and increasing biogas production is by
co-digestion of biodegradable wastes. Co-digestion is the

___________________________________________
*Corresponding author

ENHANCING BIOGAS YIELD FROM COW DUNG BY CO-DIGESTING WITH CHICKEN AND SWINE MANURES 157
TABLE 1
Comparison of fiber and protein contents in cattle, swine and poultry manures

Manure Properties (% of dry matter)

Crude protein Total fiber Hemicellulose Cellulose Lignin

Cattle 12.1-18.1 41.7-52.6 12.2-21.4 14.2-27.4 6.1-13.0

Swine 22.0-25.1 39.1-40.8 20.4-21.9 13.2-13.9 4.1-6.4

Poultry 28.0-48.4 31.2-36.4 16.4-21.5 7.7-12.0 2.3-7.2


Source: Chen et al. (2003)

simultaneous digestion of a mixture of two or more sub-


strates. The process allows for improved digestion of poorly TC (%) = [100 − Ash (%)] / 1.8
or high fibrous biodegradable wastes, which cannot be easily
digested alone, when mixing with other more biodegradable
wastes (Alatriste-Mondragon et al., 2006). The main issue for Anaerobic digestion
co-digestion process lies in balancing several parameters in
the co-substrate mixture: macro- and micronutrients, C:N The anaerobic digestion was done in batch-type digesters
ratio, pH, inhibitors/toxic compounds, biodegradable organic in a laboratory at the Department of Agricultural and Envi-
matter and dry matter (Hartmann et al., 2003). Given the in- ronmental Engineering of the Obafemi Awolowo University,
tense level of cattle rearing in the Nigeria and the attendant Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The digesters and water tanks used for the
large quantities of CD produced, co-digesting the dung with study were fabricated using refrigerant cylinders of 14 L ca-
easily degradable and available animal manures to improve pacity. Gauging valve was fitted at the base of each digester
the biogas yield is worth exploiting. Although CD has been for loading the digester with substrates and collection of
co-digested with different substrates (Macias-Corral et al., samples for pH analysis. Each digester had a thermometer
2008; Comino et al., 2009; Fantozzi and Buratti, 2009; El- inserted in it for temperature measurement. Calibrated 10 L
Mashad and Zhang, 2010; Yusuf and Ify, 2011) to increase its plastic containers were used as the water collectors. Rubber
biogas yield, its co-digestion with animal manures such as hose was used to connect each digester to the water tank and
chicken and swine manures which are easily degradable and the water tank to the water collector. Cow dung was mixed
abundantly available in Nigeria is yet to be fully exploited. with CM (CD:CM) and SM (CD:SM) at proportions 70:30,
Aside the improvement in biogas energy yield, the comple- 50:50, 30:70 and 0:100 (w/w dry basis) and diluted with po-
mentary product (digested organic slurry) will be nitrogen- table water to 8% TS, as recommended by Zennaki et al.
rich, valuable for plant growth and soil conditioning. In view (1996). Cow dung alone, diluted to 8% TS was used as the
of the foregoing, this study aimed at co-digesting CD with (i) control. The initial carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio of each mix
chicken manure (CM) and (ii) swine manure (SM) at differ- proportion (MP) was estimated from the carbon and nitrogen
ent ratios with a view to improving the biogas yield. Opti- concentrations (Table 2). Each mixture was then agitated
mum combination of manures and optimum mix proportion vigorously and poured through a 6 mm plastic mesh to re-
for the combination were determined. move gross solids. The digesters were loaded once during the
experiment to 70% of their capacities with the substrates. The
biogas produced exit the digesters via the hoses to the water
MATERIALS AND METHOD tanks and subsequently displaced equivalent volume of water
to the water collector. Archimedes’ principle was adopted in
measuring the volume of biogas produced. Each treatment
Manure source and analysis was replicated thrice. The digesters were manually agitated
once daily for even distribution of heat and to ensure intimate
Fresh chicken and swine manures, and cow dung were contact between micro-organisms and the substrates. Digester
collected from the Teaching and Research Farm of Obafemi and ambient temperatures and biogas yield were measured
Awolowo University and an abattoir at Ile-Ife, respectively. daily while pH was measured the first week and fortnightly
Samples were analysed for total solids (TS) content (oven afterwards.
drying at 105 oC for 24 h); volatile solids (ashing of TS at
550 oC for 5 h); total nitrogen (TN) (regular-Kjeldahl meth- Statistical analysis
od; Bremner, 1996); pH (1:10 w/v sample:water extract, us-
ing a pH meter). The total carbon (TC) content was estimated
Data collected were subjected to one-way analysis of vari-
from the ash content according to the formula (Mercer and
ance (ANOVA) to compare variations in substrate tempera-
Rose, 1968):
ture, pH and biogas yield. Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was

158 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 2
Initial properties of the manure mixtures

Properties (% of dry matter)


Treatment

pH VS (%) TC (%) TN (%) C:N ratio

(a) Individual manure

7.13 76.1 42.3 0.78 54.2:1


CD

6.98 72.8 40.4 2.04 19.8:1


CD:CM (0:100)

6.25 59.0 32.8 1.83 17.9:1


CD:SM (0:100)

(b) Mixed substrates

7.04 75.1 41.7 1.31 31.8:1


CD:CM (30:70)

6.83 74.4 41.3 1.23 33.6:1


CD:CM (50:50)

6.64 73.8 41.0 1.16 35.3:1


CD:CM (70:30)

6.64 64.2 35.7 1.51 23.6:1


CD:SM (30:70)

7.66 67.5 37.5 1.31 28.6:1


CD:SM (50:50)

6.83 70.9 39.4 1.10 35.8:1


CD:SM (70:30)

used to separate means that were significant at p ≤ 0.05. Pair- (Figure 1a,b). The treatments started with a temperature of
wise correlation of parameters was carried out to determine ≈29 oC and dropped to final values ranging from 27.5-28.4 oC
significant relationships. All analyses were performed using and 27.1-32.3 oC in CD:CM and CD:SM treatments, respec-
the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 2002) software. tively. Peak values were observed between day 35 and 63.
The temperature profile of CD:SM (0:100 and 50:50) was
terminated at weeks 5 and 7, respectively because their bio-
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION gas production had ceased. Significant (p ≤ 0.05) correlation
established between ambient and substrate temperatures in
The substrates were digested for 105 days. The initial C:N most of the treatments (Table 5) was attributed to heat ex-
ratios estimated from the carbon and nitrogen concentrations changed between the ambient air and substrates, through the
showed that CD had a high value, well above the range (20:1- digester wall which was a metal. The substrate temperature
30:1) recommended for effective biodegradation. had no significant (p > 0.05) correlation with the pH in any of
the treatments (Table 5).

Temperature
pH
The ambient and substrate temperatures during digestion
ranged from 26.2 to 33.0 oC and 25.8 to 31.0 oC, respectively. The initial pH of the substrates (6.25-7.66) was within the
This indicated that the anaerobes causing the decomposition range of 6-8 considered suitable for bacteria involved in an-
operated within the mesophilic temperature range (25-35 oC) aerobic digestion. The results of the ANOVA showed that co-
considered optimal for the support of biological-reaction rates digestion had significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on pH in CD:SM
(Tchobanoglous et al., 2003). Co-digestion had significant (p mixtures (Table 3). CD:CM and CD:SM mixtures had means
≤ 0.05) effect on substrate temperature in CD:SM mixtures and standard deviations of 7.08 and 7.00, and 0.340 and
(Table 3). The highest average substrate temperature was 0.438, respectively. This showed higher pH fluctuations in
recorded in CD:SM (50:50) mixture. The daily substrate tem- the latter treatments. The lowest and highest pH values in the
peratures were averaged fortnightly, and the profile exhibited CD:SM mixtures translated to lower biogas production (Ta-
a sinusoidal pattern in all the treatments during digestion ble 4). Within a week of the digestion process, the pH of the

ENHANCING BIOGAS YIELD FROM COW DUNG BY CO-DIGESTING WITH CHICKEN AND SWINE MANURES 159
TABLE 3
ANOVA results showing the effect of co-digestion on the parameters

MP Parameter Source Df SS MS F-value Pr>F

CD:CM Temperature Treatment 3 0.182 0.061 2.644 0.121

Error 8 0.184 0.023

pH Treatment 3 0.027 0.009 3.587 0.066

Error 8 0.020 0.003

Biogas Treatment 3 4.509 1.503 5.174 0.028

Error 8 2.324 0.290

CD:SM Temperature Treatment 3 3.043 1.014 291.150 <.0001

Error 8 0.028 0.003

pH Treatment 3 0.233 0.078 20.510 <.0001

Error 8 0.030 0.004

Biogas Treatment 3 1.200 0.400 12.142 0.002

Error 8 0.264 0.033

FIGURE 1
Variation of substrate temperature in mixtures of (a) cow dung and chicken manure, and (b) cow dung and swine manure

substrates (except CD:SM (0:100) mixture) decreased (Figure indicated efficient methane production (Jain and Maattiasson,
2a,b), implying the production of volatile fatty acids (Cuzin 1998) and efficient operation of the digesters. 6.92-7.53. The
et al., 1992). The substrates (except CD:SM (0:100 and final pH values (6.92-7.53) were within the range of 6.0-8.5
50:50) mixtures) pH increased by week 3, decreased again by for organic matter compatibility with most plants (Lasaridi et
week 5 and increased afterwards. The increase in pH could be al., 2006).
attributed to subsequent transfer and consumption of volatile
fatty acids by methanogenesis. It was observed that from day Biogas
49 to the end of the digestion process, the pH of the sub-
strates remained at values above 7.0 (except for CD and
CD:SM (70:30) mixture which dropped slightly below 7.0 by The results of the ANOVA showed that co-digestion af-
the end of the process). The fact that pH values were >5.0 fected (p ≤ 0.05) average biogas production (L kg-1 VS fed
day-1) in both CD:CM and CD:SM mixtures (Table 3). The

160 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 4
Significant means separation using the Duncan’s Multiple Range Tests

Treatment Temperature (oC) pH Biogas (L kg-1 VS fed day-1)

CD:CM (0:100) 28.3a 7.10a 0.99a

CD:CM (30:70) 28.3a 7.17a 1.45a

CD:CM (50:50) 28.2a 7.05a 2.66b

CD:CM (70:30) 28.5a 7.07a 1.60a

CD:SM (0:100) 29.2c 6.87a 0.38b

CD:SM (30:70) 28.2b 7.05b 1.21a

CD:SM (50:50) 29.4a 7.24c 0.73b

CD:SM (70:30) 28.3d 6.95b,a 0.50b

CD 28.4 7.04 1.26


Superscripts with the same letter are not statistically different at p ≤ 0.05.

evolution of biogas yield recorded in this study was contrary ure 5a,b) showed CD:SM (0:100 and 50:50) mixtures had
to what has been obtained in previous studies. Surprisingly, peak yields during the 1st and 3rd weeks, respectively. The
CD which has been reported to produce the least biogas yield other CD:SM mixtures had yields climbing gradually to peak
compared to poultry and swine manures (Adewumi, 1995; during the 7th week and decrease gradually afterwards. The
Itodo and Awulu, 1999; Ojolo et al., 2007; Muyiiya and CD:CM mixtures had fluctuating pattern of productions with
Kasisira, 2009) produced the highest (Table 4 & Figure 3a,b). peaks observed between the 7th and 10th week. The difference
This may be due to variation in the livestock’s feed constitu- in peak periods could be attributed to the differences in the
ents (Coombs, 1990) or that larger percentage of the CD’s TC organic matter content and the degree of biodigestibility of
was readily biodegradable or that the CD may have contained the substrates (Odeyemi, 1982). Analysis of the digestion half
low fiber content. Generally, factors such as C:N ratio, pH, time showed that for CD:CM mixtures, proportions 30:70 and
presence of inhibitors, digestibility of lignocelulosic materials 70:30 had produced more than 50% of the final biogas yield
and formation of volatile acid can account for disparity in (57 and 65%, respectively). Similarly, for CD:SM mixtures,
biogas production in wastes. The daily biogas yields are pre- proportions 30:70, 50:50 and 70:30 had produced more than
sented in Figure 4a,b. Fluctuations in the substrate tempera- 50% of the final biogas yield (59, 100, 73%, respectively).
ture (± 2.6 oC) may not have had significant effect on the For the individual manures, the rate of production was SM:
biogas yield. Biogas production from CD and CD:CM 100%, CD: 55% and CM: 28%. This indicated that CM was a
(0:100) mixture started on the 6th and 3rd day, respectively. slow producer of biogas. Biogas yield was significantly (p ≤
The lag period could be attributed to the hydrolysis and acid 0.05) affected by substrate temperature in some mixtures, but
formation period of the substrates. Biogas production from was not affected by pH in any of the mixtures (Table 5). For
the mixed substrates started at various times from the 2nd to CD:CM mixtures, the cumulative yield (Figure 3a) and aver-
the 11th day. The lag period could also be attributed to the age yield (Table 4) were higher than that of CD alone, imply-
time needed by the various microbial floras in the manures to ing that the co-digestion resulted in higher biogas yield.
acclimatize to the altered environmental conditions. The daily However, for CD:SM mixtures, the cumulative yield (Figure
biogas yield from the substrates (Figure 4a,b) showed repeat- 3a) and average yield (Table 4) were lower than that of CD
edly fluctuations and peaked at different days during diges- alone, implying that the co-digestion resulted in lower biogas
tion. Some pockets of non production observed during diges- yield. The lower yield observed was contrary to findings by
tion may be due to methanogens undergoing a methamorphic Muyiiya and Kasisira (2009) and may have been as a result of
growth process by consuming methane precursors produced inhibitors (high level of volatile fatty acids produced by ni-
from the initial activity (Lalitha et al., 1994). The biogas pro- trogen limitation) or toxic compounds in the SM, which could
duction for CD:SM (0:100 and 50:50) mixtures stopped lead to a process breakdown or decrease in methane produc-
around 33rd and 38th day, respectively, suggesting early com- tion (Benabdallah, et al., 2009) or higher fluctuations in the
pletion of the digestion process or process breakdown possi- pH of CD:SM mixtures. CD:CM (50:50) and CD:SM (30:70)
bly as a result of methane inhibitors in the manure(s). The mixtures had the highest yields (Figure 3) and (Table 4).
average of fortnightly biogas yield from the substrates (Fig-

ENHANCING BIOGAS YIELD FROM COW DUNG BY CO-DIGESTING WITH CHICKEN AND SWINE MANURES 161
FIGURE 2
Variation of pH in mixtures of (a) cow dung and chicken manure, and (b) cow dung and swine manure.

FIGURE 3
Cumulative biogas yield in mixtures of (a) cow dung and chicken manure, and (b) cow dung and swine manure.

FIGURE 4
Daily biogas yield in mixtures of (a) cow dung and chicken manure, and (b) cow dung and swine manure

162 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 5
Variation of average of fortnightly biogas yield in mixtures of (a) cow dung and chicken manure, and (b) cow dung and swine
manure.

TABLE 5
R-squared values from pair-wise correlation of parameters

Substrates Correlated parameters

AT/ST ST/BY pH/BY pH/ST

CD:CM (0:100) 0.090a 0.243a 0.060 0.207

CD:CM (30:70) 0.011 0.092a 0 0.012


a a
CD:CM (50:50) 0.129 0.083 0.475 0.006

CD:CM (70:30) 0.002 0 0.138 0.069

CD:SM (0:100) 0.014 0.082 0.615 0.665

CD:SM (30:70) 0.868a 0.319a 0.574 0.089

CD:SM (50:50) 0.127a 0.077 0.568 0.102

CD:SM (70:30) 0.716a 0.461a 0.161 0.394

CD 0.260a 0.029 0.021 0.064


a Values significant at p ≤ 0.05.
AT: ambient temperature; ST: substrate temperature; BY: biogas yield.

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trations of poultry, cattle, and piggery waste slurries on dung and water hyacinth. Biomass and Bioenergy 35,
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164 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS OF ABATTOIR SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN MINNA, NIGERIA

I.E. Ahaneku1 and C.F. Njemanze2

Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering,


Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
P.M.B 65, Minna, Niger State

Email: 1drahaneku@yahoo.com; 2 ask4cn@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Material flow analysis (MFA) is an excellent tool that describes the static situation of different materials
flows between different subsystems in a defined system. This study estimated the annual amount of the to-
tal waste generation in Minna main abattoir; it calculated abattoir waste flow and employed MFA using the
waste cube model to illustrate the flows of abattoir waste from waste generators to waste disposers. Re-
sults indicated that a total of 66,630 cows and 13,884 goats were slaughtered in Minna main abattoir. This
generated 849.54 tons of blood, 550.39 tons of intestinal content, 814.83 tons of bone and 437.55 tons of
waste tissues between 2010 and 2012. The abattoir waste flow indicated that the dominant waste treat-
ment methods of Minna main abattoir was re-use and recycling, accounting for 72.60% of waste disposal
on the average from 2010 to 2012, whereas blood accounted for 32.03% of the total abattoir waste for the
same period. The study has shown how solid wastes from Minna abattoir can be managed and converted
into value-added products for effective utilization. The solid wastes generated can be re-used for land ap-
plication as manure or recycled for other income generating activities like animal feed and aquaculture.

Keywords: Material flow analysis, abattoir, waste generation, re-use and recycling, Minna.

INTRODUCTION toirs or slaughterhouses, in this clime, are foremost sources of


water and air pollution. What often constitutes waste in abat-
To achieve sustainable development of urban regions it is toirs includes condemned organs, carcasses, bones, blood,
essential to manage the resource consumption and to leave faeces, hides, horns, hoofs, animal hair among others. Envi-
unpolluted ecosystems for future generations. ronmentalists would say waste is not waste until one wastes
Agricultural waste is waste produced in agricultural prem- it. Each of these wastes or by-products is a potential wealth
ises as a result of agricultural activities. Globally, 140 billion waiting to be taped.
metric tons of biomass is generated every year from agricul- Almost every day in all the urban and rural markets in
ture (UNEP, 2007). These wastes, if not properly handled Nigeria, animals are slaughtered and the meat sold to the
will lead to environmental hazard, hence the need for effec- public for consumption. Meat wastes originate from killing,
tive waste management. hide removal or dehairing, paunch handling, rendering, trim-
One type of waste that is of great concern in both urban ming, processing and clean-up operations. Abattoir wastes
and rural areas in Nigeria is abattoir waste. No doubt, abat- often contain blood, fat, organic and inorganic solids, and

____________________________________
12
Corresponding authors

MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS OF ABATTOIR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN MINNA, NIGERIA 165
salts and chemicals added during processing operations the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) of any effluent
(ESRC, 2011). Abattoir effluent (waste water) has a complex from abattoir operations. If the blood from a single cow car-
composition and can be very harmful to the environment cass is allowed to discharge directly into a sewer line, the
(Polprasert and Tran, 1992). effluent load would be equivalent to the total sewage pro-
Despite advancements in technology, waste management duced by 50 people on average day (Aniebo et al., 2009).
in Nigeria is characterized by inadequate disposal technology, From the viewpoint of environmental management, unre-
high cost of management and adverse effect of waste on the liable records has made it difficult for proper assessment of
environment. waste load generated at each slaughter house; and thus, diffi-
The most important issue in all meat-processing plants is culty in planning for waste containment. Data would also not
maintenance of proper hygiene and adequate sanitary condi- elicit government interest in addressing the problems at
tions. The continuous drive to increase meat production for slaughter houses if the proper records of huge amount of
the protein needs of the ever increasing world population has abattoir wastes generated and its yearly increase are not kept.
some pollution problems attached to it. Pollution arises from For adequate management, it is important to know the quanti-
activities in meat production as a result of failure in adhering ty being generated daily, weekly and yearly, their characteris-
to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygiene tics and existing management facilities. It is also important to
Practices (GHP) (Akinroet al., 2009). note that for one to understand the methods of handling and
An abattoir has been defined as a premise approved and disposing waste there is need for a vivid knowledge of the
registered by the controlling authority for hygienic slaughter- basic characteristics of the waste in question and its quantity
ing and inspection of animals, processing and effective (Chukwu et al., 2011).
preservation and storage of meat products for human con- Determining the amount and type of waste generated
sumption (Alonge, 1991). within an area is very vital for waste management planning
Abattoir waste just like any other waste can be detrimental and implementation. In Minna city, no comprehensive study
to humans and the environment if definite precautions are not has been done with respect to abattoir waste management.
taken. Material flow analysis (MFA) is an effective analysis tool in
Abattoir waste consists of both solid waste and this regard.
wastewater. The solid wastes from abattoir are varied de- Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is a systematic approach
pending on the kind and scale of operations. Usually the aimed at presenting an overview of the materials used in a
quantity of wastes per animal is large in small scale opera- company/industry; identifying the point of origin; the vol-
tions where the recovery of offal is ineffective. In simple umes as well as the causes of waste and emissions; creating a
operations, animals are slaughtered and have a very limited basis for an evaluation and forecast of future developments;
amount of by-product processing. Its main products are fresh and defining strategies to improve the overall situation.
meat in the form of whole, half or quarter carcasses or in A MFA describes the static situation of different materials
smaller meat cuts. Modern complex abattoir does extensive flows between different subsystems in a defined system. It is
processing of by-products. In such plants at least three addi- a quantitative procedure for determining the flow of material
tional operations; rendering, paunch and viscera handling, and energy through the economy. It is generally based on
blood processing, and hide and hair processing take place. By methodically organized account in physical unit and uses the
these operations, maximum recovery of edible and inedible principle of mass balancing to analyze the relationships be-
materials from the offal is done and that results in less pro- tween material flows, human activities and environmental
duction of wastes. Effluent from abattoir waste has also been changes (OECD, 2008).
known to contaminate both surface and groundwater because The advantage of the MFA is the possibility for reducing
during abattoir processing, blood, fat, manure, urine and meat complex systems to the key goods and processes relevant for
tissue are lost to the wastewater streams (Bello and Oyedemi, the study objectives. This way, the base is created for deriv-
2009). In Nigeria, many abattoirs dispose their effluents di- ing necessary measures or for calculating scenarios aiming at
rectly into streams and rivers without any form of treatment system optimization.
and the slaughtered meat is washed by the same water. MFA models have been developed in carrying out materi-
Leaching into groundwater is a major source of concern, al flow analysis of various materials, ranging from waste
especially due to the recalcitrant nature of some contaminants materials to other materials of good use.
(Muhirwa et al., 2010). According to Adeyemo et al. (2009) In this study, the waste cube model developed by
facilities for waste recovery, treatment, and reuse are either Plubcharoensuk et al. (2008) was used. It is a matrix-type
inadequate or nonexistent in most Nigerian abattoirs. Thus, model, which is a basic and systematic tool. The model con-
wastes are indiscriminately and improperly discharged and sists of three parameters: type of industry, type of waste gen-
constitute environmental hazards. Leachates from their serial erated and type of waste treatment facility. These three pa-
decomposition processes have the potential to pollute nearby rameters represent the industrial waste system of an area as a
surface water, with enteric pathogens and excess nutrients cube, thus the model was referred to as a “waste cube mod-
which may percolate into the underlying aquifers and con- el.”
taminate shallow wells. The objectives of this study are: to assess the various
Blood constitutes the highest pollution load of all the types of wastes generated from Minna abattoir in north cen-
components of abattoir effluents, followed by fat. Blood, one tral Nigeria; and the application of material flow analysis
of the major dissolved pollutants in abattoir wastewater, has (MFA) to determine inputs-outputs of the waste treatment

166 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
processes and disposal of abattoir waste using the waste-cube bones, horns, hoofs, urinary bladder, gall bladder, uterus,
model. rectum, udder, fetes, snout, ear, penis, meat trimmings, hide
and skin trimmings, condemned meat, condemned carcass,
esophagus, hair and poultry offal (feathers, head). Only few
of these by-products can be used directly.
METHODOLOGY Relevant data was collected for monthly records of
slaughtered animals from the Zonal Livestock Office Veteri-
The method implemented in dealing with the various nary Public Health (VPH), Minna for Minna main abattoir for
abattoir wastes is a combination of material flow analysis the period covering 2010 to 2012 as shown in Table 1. The
(MFA). The MFA is a scientific method considering count- average number of cows and goats that were slaughtered
ing, describing and interpreting the metabolism processes. By monthly were assessed from the data collected. The waste
means of the MFA, goods and substances turnover and their generated was calculated based on the data reported by
stocks or changes in an exactly defined system can be de- Aniebo et al. (2009) as shown in Table 2.
scribed both quantitatively and qualitatively within a given
time period. The results allow for identifying the most im-
portant goods sources, sinks and transfers as well as for their Waste Disposal Methods in
hierarchical weighing according to their importance. The Slaughterhouse
relevance of the MFA is given by its capacity for creating an
overview over an entire system. Its greatest advantage is the Currently there is no organized system for the disposal of
possibility it offers for reducing and depicting of highly com- solid wastes in most abattoirs in Nigeria. The entire solid
plex systems down to their most significant processes, goods waste is collected and dumped along with Municipal Solid
and substance fluxes, this way, such systems are distorted Waste or disposed off in unplanned land fill. In few abattoirs,
into ones of manageable size. dung and rumen digested are collected separately for com-
The main wastes of small scale slaughterhouses in Minna, posting.
Niger state includes hides, skins, blood, rumen contents, Almost all by-product of slaughter house can be utilized.

TABLE 1
Monthly records of slaughtered cows and goats in Minna main abattoir for year 2010 – 2012

2010 2011 2012

Month No. of Cow No. of Goat No. of Cow No. of Goat No. of Cow No. of Goat

January 1327 1239 1520 1125 1908 101

February 1591 1207 1420 15 2250 89

March 1439 1608 1308 6 2435 43

April 1460 1229 1502 1229 2503 1925

May 1614 813 1641 9 2500 72

June 1548 31 1496 45 2247 122

July 1800 25 1577 41 2434 96

August 1662 9 1910 108 2175 91

September 1700 7 1855 84 1946 98

October 1811 14 2461 65 2520 44

November 1410 1229 2365 75 1464 48

December 2451 5 1177 872 2315 61

Total 19741 7416 20232 3678 26657 2790


Source: Zonal Livestock Office of Minna Veterinary Public Health (V.P.H), 2012.

MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS OF ABATTOIR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN MINNA, NIGERIA 167
TABLE 2
Waste generated per cow and goat in abattoirs

Cow Goat

Blood/head (kg) 12.6 0.72

Intestinal content/head (kg) 8.0 1.25

Waste tissue/head (kg) 6.4 0.8

Bone/head (kg) 11.8 2.06


Source: Aniebo et al. (2009).

However, various circumstances do not always permit by- can be segregated and treated separately.
product recovery. The reasons may be inadequate quantity of The Solid Wastes are classified based on their constituents.
materials, lack of markets, cost of processing etc. In such The classifications are detailed in Table 3.
instances, they simply form part of waste lot for which differ-
ent methods of processing and disposal have to be consid- Analysis of Abattoir Waste Flow
ered.
The waste-cube model Plubcharoensuk et al. (2008) was
Classification of solid wastes used to determine the amounts and types of waste generated
by the main abattoir in Minna. The cube model consists of
The solid waste from abattoirs can be broadly classified three parameters: type of industry/waste source (farm ani-
into two categories i.e. vegetable matter such as rumen, stom- mals), type of waste generated (blood, intestinal content,
ach and intestine contents, dung, agriculture residues, etc., waste tissues and bone); and type of waste treatment facili-
and animal matter like inedible offal, tissues, meat trimmings, ty/method (composting, biomethenation and rendering). The-
waste and condemned meat, bones etc. These waste streams se three parameters can represent the abattoir waste system of

TABLE 3
Classification of solid wastes based on constituents

Category Constituents of waste

Type-I waste Vegetable matter such as rumen, stomach and intestine contents, dung, agriculture residues etc.

Type II waste Animal matter such as inedible offals, tissues, meat trimmings, waste and condemned meat, bones etc.

TABLE 4
Nodes in the waste flow system

Node No. Node name

1 Waste generator

2 Intermediate treatment

3 Reuse and recycling

4 Final disposal

5 Export
Source: Plubcharoensuk et al. (2008)

168 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
Minna main abattoir. The details of the Waste-cube model are Let = Amount of waste flow from node m to node n,
as follows: Where m, n = 1, 2,…, 5
Let: = amount of abattoir waste in kg of waste type j
generated by abattoir ί, The situation at each node is as follows:
= amount of abattoir waste in kg of waste type j gener-
Node 1: Amount of waste generated by the waste generator
ated by abattoir ί and disposed using abattoir waste treatment
k =
Then,
Node 2: Amount of waste disposed by the intermediate
(1) treatment =

Node 3: Amount of waste disposed by reuse and recycling


Waste-cube flow model treatment =
The abattoir management system of Minna was analyzed Node 4: Amount of waste disposed by final disposal treat-
using the waste cube model as follows.
ment =
Let there be five nodes in the waste flow system as shown in
Table 4. Node 5: Amount of waste disposed by export treatment =

The waste flow system is shown in Figure 1 as a network Using the waste-cube model, can be calculated as fol-
model. lows:

TABLE 5
Total abattoir wastes generated from Minna main abattoir (2010 – 2012)

Year Cow/yr (No.) Goat/yr (No.) Total waste generated x 1,000kg

Blood/yr Intestinal content/yr Bone/yr Waste tissue/yr

2010 19,741 7,416 254.08 167.20 248.22 132.28

2011 20,232 3,678 257.57 166.45 246.31 132.43

2012 26,657 2,790 337.89 216.74 320.30 172.84

Total 66,630 13,884 849.54 550.39 814.83 437.55

FIGURE 1
Network model of the waste flow system

MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS OF ABATTOIR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN MINNA, NIGERIA 169
= The waste treatment/disposal methods emanating from the
waste flow analysis in this study were used for the estimation
where i ϵ waste generators and k ϵ waste generators and k ϵ of the abattoir waste generated. These amounts of waste gen-
intermediate treatments; erated were summed according to the waste type and the
= disposal treatment method. The results for the waste flows are
where i ϵ waste generators and k ϵ recycle and use treatments; shown in Table 6. The abattoir waste flow network for Minna
main abattoir (2010 – 2012) is shown in Fig.2.
=
where i ϵ waste generators and k ϵ final disposal treatments; Amount of waste generation by waste type. Waste generation
= by waste type from 2010 to 2012 is shown in Figure 3.
where i є waste generators and k є export treatments;
Discussion
=
where i є intermediate treatment and k є recycle and reuse Table 5 indicates that a total of 66,630 cows and 13,884
treatments; goats were slaughtered between 2010 to 2013 in Minna main
= abattoir. Juxtaposing Table 5 and Table 2, we can infer that
where i є intermediate treatment and k є final disposal treat- about 849.54 metric tons of blood, 550.39 metric tons of
ments; intestinal contents, 814.83 metric tons of bone and 437.55
metric tons of waste tissues were generated. The waste flow
= network (Figure 2) shows that waste reuse and recycling was
where i є recycle and reuse and k є final disposal treatments. the dominant waste disposal method, accounting for 72.60%
or 2916.92 metric tons of abattoir waste. Figure 3 indicates
that there was an abrupt increase in the amount of waste gen-
erated in Minna main abattoir (from 801.78 metric tons in
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 2010 to 1047.77 metric tons in 2012).
Table 6 shows that composting was the intermediate
Results treatment method adopted in Minna abattoir, giving a total of
1356 metric tons of waste. Bone and intestinal content are
Total abattoir waste generated from Minna were comput- majorly used for composting.
ed based on data in Tables 1 and 2 and are presented in Table Reuse and Recycling amounted to 2101.92 metric tons of
5. waste which includes the three methods of waste treatment
namely, Composting, Biomethenation and Rendering of
Estimation of the abattoir waste generation and waste flow. bone, blood and waste tissues, respectively.

FIGURE 2
Abattoir waste flow network for Minna main abattoir, 2010 – 2012

170 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 3
Amount of abattoir waste generated by waste type

TABLE 6
Calculated abattoir waste flows in Minna, (2010-2012) x 1,000 kg

Source Intermediate Reuse and recycle Final disposal Export Total output

Waste generator 1365.22 2101.92 550.39 0 4017.53

Intermediate 0 814.83 550.39 0 1365.22

Reuse and recycle 0 0 0 0 0

Final disposal 0 0 0 0 0

Total input 1365.22 2916.75 1100.78 0 5382.75

Net flow output 0 2916.75 1100.78 - -

The intermediate waste that can be reused and recycled the most dominant waste treatment method in Minna
from the total waste generated comes from the bone (814.83 abattoirs.
metric tons), while that finally disposed for land application This paper shows that with sufficient available abattoir
as manure comes for the intestinal content (550.39 metric waste data, the abattoir as well as other industrial waste flow
tons). can be determined and an analysis can be made efficiently
using the waste-cube model. Difficulty is not in relating the
observed and collected data into the method to be used, but
the waste data and economic data management, which would
CONCLUSION manage all the data effectively because a waste database is an
essential tool that needs to be developed to store all required
The main findings from the study are as follows: data. Furthermore, a computer application can be developed
• The waste-cube model used estimated the total abat- to calculate and construct the abattoir waste flow and system-
toir waste generation as well as the total abattoir atically analyze the abattoir waste flow.
waste flow. The model can be used as an effective
tool in managing the waste system in Minna and the
country at large.
• The waste flow shows the abattoir waste treatment REFERENCES
situation which can be used for Minna abattoir. It also
illustrates the distribution of the usage of abattoir 1. Adeyemo, O., I. Adeyemi, E. Awosanya (2009). “Cattle
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Tropics Farmcoe Press, Ibadan, Nigeria.58pp. Management in Thailand.” Memoirs of the Faculty of
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ronmental implications in the Niger Delta.” International 11. Polprasert, C.P.K. and F.T. Tran, (1992). “Anaerobic
Journal of Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry, Baffle Reactor (ABR) Process for Treating a Slaughter-
Volume 91:4, pp. 619-625. house Waste.” Environmental Technology, Volume 13,
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abattoir activities and management in residential neigh- 12. Roberts, H. (2011). Waste handling practices at red meat
borhoods: A case study of Ogbomoso, Nigeria.” Journal abattoirs in South Africa. http://www.sagepub.
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A case study of Minna, North Central Nigeria.” Interna- (2007). Using Agricultural Biomass Waste for Energy
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(2011). Meat Processing: Environmental Impacts, http/www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp? News ID=15483
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172 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
DIRECTIVE: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRODUCER
RESPONSIBILITY ACROSS THE EU-27

Susanna Paleari

Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth (IRCrES)


National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Milan
Tel. +39 – 02 23699515
Email: susanna.paleari@ircres.cnr.it

ABSTRACT

This article explores how the producer responsibility (PR) principle of the EU Directive on
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) 2002/96/EC has been transposed and im-
plemented by the EU-27 Member States, focusing in particular on business to consumer
WEEE. It adopts a systematic approach in identifying the conceptual, legal, and practical ele-
ments that need to be evaluated with this regard and offers an empirical overview of how they
have been shaped at the national level. The article analyses the characteristics (both similari-
ties and discrepancies) of the systems actually in place in the EU Member States to collect and
manage WEEE. Some of them can be explained based on the discretion that the WEEE Di-
rective allows to the Member States on many aspects which are relevant for the implementation
of PR. Others, instead, are the result of an incorrect transposition/implementation of the WEEE
Directive, fostered by the uncertainties surrounding the PR concept and the practical obstacles
to its implementation.

Keywords: WEEE, producer responsibility, collective compliance schemes, eco-design

INTRODUCTION technologies, market and societal factors, etc.) and to drive


innovation (Lifeset and Lindhqvist, 2008).
The rationale behind producer responsibility (PR) is to The emergence of the concept of PR in the EU reflects
make producers internalize the end-of-life costs of their prod- three main trends in environmental policy-making: the priori-
ucts. Producers are deemed responsible for their products ex- tization of preventive measures over end-of-life approaches;
actly because they have the capacity to make changes at the enhancement of life cycle thinking and the shift from the
source, so that the environmental impacts of the products are command and control approach to a market-based, non-
reduced throughout their life cycles (Lifeset, 1993; prescriptive and goal-oriented approach (INSEAD IPR
Lindhqvist, 1992). Other aspirations that are usually associat- Network, 2010; Kalimo et al., 2012; Tojo, 2004; Van Rossem
ed with the advocacy of the principle include: increased col- et al., 2006). In particular, the principle is considered as an
lection and reuse/recycling rates of the targeted products and instrument in support of the implementation of the waste hi-
materials; consumers education, as product prices could re- erarchy (see Art. 8 of Directive 2008/98/EC), as it encourages
flect the producers’ relative success in meeting their end-of- waste management options in the upper part of the hierarchy
life products obligations; and the shaping of competitive and (prevention, reuse, and recycling). The role of PR in promot-
dynamic schemes, which are able to adapt to changing condi- ing resource efficiency and as a vehicle in moving towards a
tions (relative to product mix, production and processing more circular economy, by minimizing the impact of prod-

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 173


ucts on the environment and using resources in a sustainable the collective schemes, and how to implement individual PR
way, has been recently often emphasized by the European in practice.
Commission (EC, 2011 and 2013). Moreover, as a result of a The implementation of PR is expected to generate a wide
market-based, non prescriptive and goal oriented approach, range of effects related to WEEE management (e.g. effec-
PR should provide the Member States room for creative and tiveness and efficiency in the achievement of the WEEE Di-
flexible solutions which, taking into account the diversity of rective targets) and broader consequences (e.g. in terms of
their situations, allow them to achieve certain objectives in a product-making and eco-design). After more than ten years
cost-effective manner. the WEEE Directive has been introduced, however, its out-
PR comprises, at least, a physical and financial dimension comes are still contested (Lambert, 2012). On the one hand, it
(Linhqvist, 1992; Tojo, 2004; Van Rossem et al., 2006) 1, is often recognized that experience with the implementation
which can be implemented through several administrative of the WEEE Directive has indicated “technical, legal and
and economic instruments, as well as variants of those in- administrative problems that result in unintentionally costly
struments. With this regard, we can mention e.g. volun- efforts from market actors and administrations, continuing
tary/mandatory product take back and recycling rates; ad- environmental harm, low levels of innovation in waste collec-
vanced recycling fees (i.e. taxes assessed on product sales to tion and treatment, a lack of level playing field or even distor-
cover the costs of recycling); tradable recycling credits; “pay tion of competition and unnecessary administrative burden”
as you throw” pricing of waste collection/disposal; and land- (European Commission, 2008), so that alternative approaches
fill bans (Tojo, 2004; Van Rossem at al., 2006; Walls, 2006). to PR have sometimes been suggested (Sachs, 2006). On the
Building on previous experience gained in the packaging contrary, other scholars point out that, although poorly under-
waste (Directive 94/62/EC, as amended by Directive stood and implemented by the EU Member States, the PR
2004/12/EC) and end-of-life vehicles (Directive 2000/52/EC) principle still remains valid and could be expanded further
sectors, the PR principle has been later extended by the EU (Kalimo et al. 2012; Lifeset and Lindhqvist, 2008; Van
legislator to waste electrical and electronic equipment Rossem et al., 2006).
(WEEE), a complex and relevant waste stream in terms of The preliminary condition, in order to study the impacts
association of different materials and components, their po- of PR, is represented by the evaluation of whether and how it
tentially hazardous nature, and growth pattern. To this end, in has been transposed and implemented at the national level.
2002, the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Have the mandatory provisions of the WEEE Directive on PR
Equipment (WEEE Directive, 2002/96/EC 2) was adopted, been transposed and implemented by the Member States?
which had to be transposed by the Member States by 13 Au- How have the provisions of the WEEE Directive on PR,
gust 2004. which allow the Member States discretion on relevant as-
PR is seen by the EU legislator as a mean for encouraging pects, been transposed and implemented by the Member
the design and production of electrical and electronic equip- States? Which are the main similarities and differences
ment (EEE) which takes into full account and facilitate the among the PR systems actually in place across Europe?
repair, reuse, disassembly and recycling (Recital 12 of the Which are the most innovative organizational settings result-
WEEE Directive). The WEEE Directive aims at harmonizing ing from the application of the WEEE Directive?
national applications of the principle, in order to avoid inter- This article aims at contributing to the evaluation of the
nal market problems and enhance environmental protection status of implementation of PR for B2C WEEE management
(Recital 8 of the WEEE Directive). At the same time, howev- across the EU-27 (while, apart from a few notes concerning
er, harmonization is informed by flexibility, so that consider- the effectiveness of PR systems in reaching the WEEE Di-
able scope is left in national implementation response. In- rective targets, it is out of its scope to analyse the effects gen-
deed, directives are flexible legislative instruments that, fol- erated by PR implementation). To this end, the following
lowing the subsidiarity principle, oblige the Member States to steps have been taken:
achieve certain results, leaving them free to choose how to do • In first place, we identify the main elements that need
so. For this reason, they are not self-executing, but they need to be investigated to evaluate the status of implemen-
to be transposed, as national measures are to be adopted to tation of the WEEE Directive in the Member States.
enable the achievement of the stipulated results. The WEEE In particular, we argue that a comprehensive evalua-
Directive allows Member States discretion on many aspects tion of PR implementation cannot focus on isolated
which are relevant for the implementation of PR. In particu- issues, but has to be structured based on a systematic
lar, it is up to the Member States to decide on the organiza- approach which distinguishes among the conceptual,
tion and financing of the collection of WEEE from private legislative, and practical levels (Atasu and Van
households (business to consumers or B2C), the shaping of Wassenhove, 2012; Gui et al., 2013; Kalimo et al.
2012). Given the complexity of the PR concept, as
provided by the WEEE Directive and of the waste
1
stream it is applied to, the identification of the rele-
Lindhqvist (1992), Tojo (2004), and Van Rossem et al. (2006) also speak of vant elements to be examined is a challenging task.
an informational responsibility, which requires producers to provide infor-
mation on the environmental properties of their products to consumers and to Under the former respect, PR includes a physical and
recyclers, so that the latter can optimise treatment processes accordingly. a financial responsibility for WEEE management,
2
Directive 2002/96/EC will be replaced by the new WEEE Directive which can be individually or collectively allocated
2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 4 July 2012 on and combined in different ways. Under the latter re-
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by 15 February 2014.

174 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
spect, WEEE is a disomogeneous waste stream gen- groups: WEEE from private households (business to consum-
erated by different sources (consumers and business) ers or B2C) and WEEE not from private households (busi-
and divided by the WEEE Directive into ten broad ness to business or B2B). WEEE from private households is
categories. B2C e-waste is further distinguished into defined by the WEEE Directive (Art. 3k) as “WEEE which
new and historical WEEE. comes from private households and from commercial, indus-
• In second place, we provide for an empirical over- trial, institutional, and other sources which, because of its na-
view of how all the relevant elements have been ture and quantity is similar to that from private households”.
shaped by national legislations and applied in practice There are a number of obligations concerning B2C WEEE
across the EU-27, so that we are able to highlight the that the actors identified as producers must fulfill, according
most important similarities and differences among the to the Directive. “Producers” include any person who, irre-
existing PR systems. With this regard, it has to be un- spective of the selling technique used, also by means of dis-
derlined that the empirical research on PR implemen- tance communication: (i) manufactures and sells EEE under
tation by the Member States, although recently stimu- his own brand, (ii) resells under his own brand equipment
lated by the revision of the WEEE Directive (see in produced by other suppliers, or (iii) imports or exports EEE
particular Ökopol et al., 2007), is still limited. This on a professional basis into a Member State (Art. 3i).
part of the article is drawn from a broad background With regard to collection, Member States shall achieve,
research on the implementation of the WEEE Direc- by 31 December 2006 at the latest, a rate of separate collec-
tive, covering all the EU-27 Member States, which tion of at least 4 kg on average per inhabitant per year of B2C
has been prepared for the European research project WEEE (derogation periods have been granted to Slovenia un-
EMInInn (Environmental Macro Indicator of Innova- til 31 December 2007 and to all other new Member States, as
tion), under the 7th Framework Programme for re- well as to Ireland, until 31 December 2008). To this end
search. Member States shall ensure that (Art. 5 par. 2):
• Distributors of new products ensure that waste of the
The article is organized as follows: Section 2 examines same type of equipment can be returned to them free
the provisions of the WEEE Directive on PR, distinguishing of charge on a one-to-one basis (1:1), as long as the
between mandatory and non-mandatory ones. Since the equipment is of equivalent type and has fulfilled the
WEEE Directive does not define either PR or individu- same functions as the supplied equipment (Member
al/collective financial responsibilities and does not indicate States may depart from this provision provided that
how to implement them, Section 3 tries to clarify, at the theo- returning the WEEE is not thereby made more diffi-
retical level, the abovementioned concepts and illustrates the cult for the final holder and remain free of charge for
most challenging aspects related to their application. Section him).
4 analyses the status of legislative transposition and practical • Systems are set up allowing final holders and dis-
implementation of the PR principle of the WEEE Directive tributors to return such waste free of charge (Member
across the EU, taking into account that it depends not only on States shall ensure the availability and accessibility of
legislation, but also on how B2C WEEE collection and man- the necessary collection facilities taking into account
agement work in practice. This, in turn, involves numerous the population density).
interactions among multiple stakeholders, such as producers, • Producers are allowed to set up and operate individ-
distributors, municipalities, individual and collective compli- ual or collective take-back systems.
ance schemes, etc. (Gui et al., 2013). Section 5 concludes. The WEEE Directive, hence, does not explicitly identify
who shall be physically responsible for setting up the collec-
Producer responsibility within the WEEE tion points for B2C WEEE and, also with regard to financial
Directive and results achieved responsibility for collection, Art. 8 par. 1 (see below) only
makes producers responsible at least for financing of the col-
The WEEE Directive applies to 10 categories of EEE and lection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound dis-
to the related waste 3. WEEE is divided into two broad posal of WEEE from private households deposited at collec-
tion facilities (i.e. producers shall be financially responsible
for B2C WEEE management from collection points on-
wards). The WEEE Directive leaves, therefore, broad scope
3
1. Large household appliances;
for EU Member States to transpose its provisions on B2C
2. Small household appliances; WEEE collection.
3. IT and telecommunications equipment; Once B2C WEEE has been returned to a collection point,
4. Consumer equipment; producers are required to set up systems either on an individ-
5. Lighting equipment;
6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary
ual or on a collective basis, for the recovery of (both B2C and
industrial tools); B2B) WEEE collected separately, to meet the following tar-
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment; gets by 31 December 2006 (Art. 7 par. 1 and 2):
8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected prod- 1. the rate of recovery by an average weight per appliance
ucts);
9. Monitoring and control instruments;
shall be at least:
10. Automatic dispensers. • 80% in the case of large domestic appliances and
automatic dispensers (cat. 1 and 10),

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 175


• 75% in the case of IT and telecommunications way (so called “visible fee”). The abovementioned
equipment and consumer equipment (cat. 3 and 4), costs shall not exceed the actual costs incurred.
and
• 70% in the case of small domestic appliances, light- What results have been achieved so far in terms of WEEE
ing equipment, electrical and electronic tools, toys, collection, reuse, recycling and recovery?
leisure and sports equipment and monitoring and With regard to the B2C WEEE collection target set by the
control instruments (cat. 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9). WEEE Directive (4 kg per capita per year), in 2010, accord-
2. the rate of component, material and substance reuse and ing to Eurostat, B2C WEEE collected per country in the EU-
recycling by an average weight per appliance shall be at 27 ranged from 1,1 kg per capita of Romania to 15,9 kg per
least: capita of Sweden, with an average of 6 kg per capita. Ten
• 80% in the case of gas discharge lamps; countries did not reach the 4kg per capita target, namely Cy-
• 75% in the case of large domestic appliances and prus, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland,
automatic dispensers (cat. 1 and 10); Romania, Slovakia, and Spain.
• 65% in the case of IT and telecommunications This data suggests that, while the improvement of reuse
equipment and consumer equipment (cat. 3 and 4); and recycling of the WEEE collected is of great importance
• 50% in the case of small domestic appliances, light- and should be built upon, even stronger attention should be
ing equipment, electrical and electronic tools, toys, given to collection, as it does not seem to be adequately de-
leisure and sports equipment and monitoring and veloped in all the Member States (ETC/SCP,2011).
control instruments (cat. 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9). Overall collection percentages were observed to be rough-
Derogation periods have been granted to Slovenia until ly 25% for medium-sized appliance to 40% for larger appli-
31 December 2007 and all other new Member States, as well ances, while, in most countries, small appliances pose the
as to Ireland, until 31 December 2008. biggest challenge with collection rates of almost 0%, indicat-
Moreover, the WEEE Directive makes producers respon- ing much room for improvement (Khetriwal et al., 2011).
sible for financing B2C WEEE collection, treatment, recov- In 2010, according to Eurostat, the best performing
ery and environmentally sound disposal (Art. 8. par. 1). In Member States in terms of total (B2C+B2B) WEEE collec-
particular: tion relative to EEE put on the market were the Netherlands
(208%), Bulgaria (88%), Sweden (69%), and Denmark
• For products placed on the market later than
(56%). When comparing Member States total (B2C+B2B)
13 August 2005 (“new waste”), each producer is re-
collection rates in 2008 and 2010 to the amounts of EEE put
sponsible for financing the above-mentioned opera-
on the market in those years, the following trends can be ob-
tions in respect of his own products (individual fi-
served:
nancial responsibility). The producer may choose to
fulfill this obligation either individually or by join- • Italy (32%-23%), Luxembourg (36%-28%), Spain
ing a collective scheme (Art. 8 par. 2). (38%-21%), and the UK (33%-31%) show a de-
creasing collection trend.
• Since it cannot be assumed that all producers that are
on the market today will remain active on the market • Poland (10%-23%), Estonia (17%-43%), and Slo-
when their products are collected as WEEE, Mem- vakia (31%-44%) show an increasing trend of be-
ber States shall ensure that each producer provides a tween 10%-30%;
guarantee when placing a product on the market • Bulgaria (39%-88%) and the Netherlands (131%-
showing that the management of all WEEE will be 208%) show an increasing trend of over 30%.
financed. The guarantee may take the form of par- • All the other countries remained stable or were char-
ticipation by the producer in appropriate schemes for acterized by increasing trends equal or below 10%.
the financing of the management of WEEE, a recy- The last available Eurostat data (2009 or 2010 depending
cling insurance or a blocked bank account (Art. 8 on the country) confirm that WEEE reuse, recycling, and re-
par. 2). covery rates based on total WEEE collected have generally
• For products placed on the market before 13 August been in line with the targets set by the WEEE Directive. Fif-
2005 (“historical waste”) the financial responsibility teen Member States met both the reuse-recycling and the re-
shall be provided by one or more systems to which covery targets for all the WEEE categories (Austria, Belgium,
all producers, existing on the market when the re- Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ire-
spective costs occur, contribute proportionately, e.g. land, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Swe-
in proportion to their respective share of the market den). With reference to the nine recovery targets, six coun-
by type of equipment (collective financial responsi- tries did not achieve one of them (cat. 10 by the Czech Re-
bility, Art. 8 par. 3). public, Estonia, and Luxembourg; cat. 7 by Greece, cat. 9 by
• For a transitional period of eight years (10 years for Spain and cat. 1 by the UK), while Lithuania did not reach
category 1 of Annex IA, i.e. large household appli- five of them (cat. 1, 3, 4, 7, and 10). With reference to the 10
ances) after entry into force of the WEEE Directive, reuse-recycling targets, four countries did not meet one of
producers are allowed to show purchasers, at the them (cat. 10 by Estonia, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands;
time of sale of new products, the costs of collection, cat. 5 by Spain), while Lithuania did not reach two of them
treatment and disposal in an environmentally sound (cat. 1 and 10). Apart from some problems with category 10

176 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
(automatic dispenser) and a few specific cases, results this case, we can distinguish between an individual and a col-
achieved across the EU-27 are, therefore, good. lective responsibility.
The WEEE Directive assigns producers an individual re-
Producer responsibility: a conceptual sponsibility for the financing of new B2C WEEE manage-
analysis ment. The financing of historical B2C WEEE management,
instead, shall be provided by one or more systems to which
As we have seen, the WEEE Directive allows the Member all producers, existing on the market when the respective
States discretion on many aspects which are relevant for the costs occur, contribute proportionately, e.g. in proportion to
implementation of PR. Such discretionality has been ampli- their respective share of the market by type of equipment (i.e.
fied by the uncertainties surrounding both the definition of for historical waste, a CPR applies). The Directive does not
the concept and its application, as the Directive does not ei- further specify how to implement the abovementioned provi-
ther define it or establish how to implement it. In particular, sions.
there is ambiguity: 1) in the difference between producer
physical and financial responsibilities, 2) in what constitutes Collective financial responsibility entails that producers joint-
individual responsibility; 3) in the difference between pro- ly meet their responsibilities as groups of producers. As a
ducer (physical and financial) responsibilities on the one hand typical way of CPR implementation, the costs related to the
and (individual and collective) compliance schemes on the management of mixed brand WEEE are shared between pro-
other. ducers currently existing on the market, based on their market
PR for e-waste management comprises, at least, a physical share. Market shares are usually calculated based on weight
and financial dimension (Linhqvist, 1992, Tojo, 2004; Van or number of products sold. Producers currently active on the
Rossem et al., 2006). In theory, both physical and financial market pay for mixed brand WEEE arising using a standard
responsibilities can be set at the individual (IPR) or collective cost per tonne (or per unit) for all products within the same
(CPR) level, so that they can be combined in different ways, product category. Eco-design incentives are limited (e.g.
bringing to pure (IPR or CPR) systems, as well as to mixed or market shares based on weight of products could result in
hybrid systems. Pure systems are those which give producers more lightweight EEE).
an individual responsibility (or, as an alternative, a collective On the contrary, IPR as a financial mechanism entails
responsibility) for both the physical management of e-waste that the costs covered by the producer should be equal to the
and its financing. When physical responsibility is set at the costs of dealing with that producer’s own products at end of
individual level and financial responsibility at the collective life (Tojo, 2004; Van Rossem, 2006).
one (or viceversa physical responsibility at the collective lev- Indeed, the idea behind IPR is to foster eco-design: if a
el and financial responsibility at the individual one), we have product has been designed to reduce its end-of-life impacts
a mixed or hybrid system. and this results in lower end-of-life costs, this cost reduction
According to the WEEE Directive, producers are physi- should be passed back to the individual producer who invest-
cally responsible for the management of B2C WEEE that has ed in eco-design.
been returned to a collection point and, to this end, they are Based on individual financial responsibility, costs associ-
required to set up systems to provide for its recovery, either ated to WEEE management shall be individually covered also
on an individual or on a collective basis. in the situation where a producer withdraws from the market,
At a legal level, producers can choose to individually or- leaving orphan WEEE for which the other producers are not
ganize the collection and recovery of their own end-of-life legally responsible. For this reason, the WEEE Directive re-
products. As an alternative, the tasks associated with their quires producers to provide for a guarantee, when placing a
physical responsibility, can also be contractually delegated to new product on the market, which may take the form of par-
a third party (Atasu and Van Wassenhove, 2012; INSEAD ticipation by the producer in appropriate schemes for the fi-
IPR Network, 2010). Practical obstacles to the implementa- nancing of the management of WEEE, a recycling insurance
tion of individual solutions, as well as legal, administrative, or a blocked bank account.
and financial requirements applying, at the national level, to The extent to which individual financial responsibility, as
individual compliers have usually make collective physical defined above, is practically achievable depends, of course,
responsibility less expensive and time-consuming than the on several factors. A relevant aspect, which brings us back to
individual one. The delegation of physical responsibility by the possible combinations between the different types of
producers has enabled the flourishing, across Europe, of a physical and financial responsibilities, is how WEEE is phys-
multitude of collective compliance schemes, which, although ically collected and managed: separate collection of different
diverse under several respects (legal requirements, structure, brands or brand identification after WEEE is collectively col-
performed functions, etc.), through shared infrastructures, lected (through, e.g., sampling or full brand counting) are
take advantage of the economies of scale in collection and good starting points. It is often argued that costs associated
treatment. Individual solutions, instead, although difficult for with sorting/sampling of WEEE by brand are very high.
the Governments to monitor and enforce, may provide more However, these costs could be overstated, as many collective
direct incentives to eco-design (Walls, 2006). systems have already sampling or full sorting processes in
The key issue of PR is how e-waste management costs are place for a number of reasons, such as the request of mem-
allocated among producers (financial responsibility). Also in bers in collective systems to ensure that no cross subsidisa-
tion takes place within collection categories and to meet the

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 177


reporting requirements of national authorities for WEEE col- of recycling is fully passed on to consumer through increased
lected and managed by producers (Ökopol et al., 2007). prices or fees, producers may not find incentives to eco-
Moreover, new technologies have been developed, which design. The same can be said when, as it happens in most
may make sorting and segregation of WEEE according to Member States using it, the visible fee is fixed for all EEE
brand more cost efficient. These include systems based upon belonging to the same category, so that it does not reflect ei-
bar codes and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. ther the actual costs of a product at end-of-life and its envi-
Most products on the market today, however, do not carry ronmental impact.
RFID yet, not is clear how long the tags would remain ser- Finally, it is important to distinguish between producer
viceable for (Kalimo et al., 2012). (physical and financial) responsibility on the one hand and
Another obstacle to the practical implementation of IPR (individual and collective) compliance schemes on the other.
as a financial mechanism is that, at present, recycling tech- The latter practically implement the former, combining them
nologies, process WEEE en masse, so that there is little op- in various ways, which do not always exactly reflect the four
portunity to differentiate recycling costs for different types of models described above (pure and hybrid systems).
products. At the same time, the elements of eco-design which European collective compliance schemes usually embody
have a significant impact on end-of-life management costs pure CPR systems, but also a collective system, managed by
are evolving. With regard to dismantling, e.g., as technolo- several producers, can operate under/approximate to IPR as a
gies have been improved, certain processes are capable of financial mechanism and can require or enable its members to
treating complete WEEE fractions (without relevant compo- take individual physical responsibility for treatment. For ex-
nents being removed) or even complete products, whilst ample, the members of ICT Milieu (Netherlands), between
achieving high recovery rates for valuable materials and en- 1999 and 2003, paid for the costs of WEEE treatment and re-
suring that hazardous substances are controlled, at a lower cycling based on the weight of each brand of product collect-
cost compared to disassembly. For example, treating cellular ed, identified via full brand counting, manually performed
phones (without batteries) in a modern copper smelter is en- (return share approach, see below). Moreover, producers
vironmentally preferred option, as loss of valuable precious could also opt-out with regard to physical responsibility,
metals through separation is avoided (Magalini, 2011 and specifying that their own products should be separated out
UNU, 2007). and delivered to their appointed recycling facilities.
An interesting issue concerning producer financial re- Viceversa, individual compliance schemes are expected to
sponsibility is how the financial burden for WEEE manage- embody pure IPR systems, but, in practice, this is not always
ment is finally allocated between producers and consumers. the case. In Germany, through individual non-selective take-
The issue is related, even if not strictly, to the use of the visi- back schemes, which are the prevailing system, producers do
ble fees, which enables producers to pass to the consumer, at not take individually back their own brand products, but the
the time of sale of new products, the costs of managing share of e-waste falling under their responsibility within each
WEEE, as a separate element visible on the top of the product collection group stored at municipal collection points. Then,
price. they directly contract with end of life service providers to ar-
According to the WEEE Directive, producers shall be al- range WEEE management after collection (UNU, 2011).
lowed by the Member States to show purchasers, at the time Most deviations of the existing individual and collective
of sale of new products, the costs of managing historical compliance schemes from the four PR models can be ex-
WEEE, for a period of 8-10 years, depending on the EEE plained by the difficulties in the practical implementation of
(transitional measure), provided that the costs shown do not IPR, especially with regard to its financial component. Ac-
exceed the actual costs incurred (Art. 8 par. 3). The use of the cording to most sources, complete and fully effective IPR
visible fee has been extended by the recast WEEE Directive systems in Europe have not been established yet (JRC, 2006;
(Art. 14 par. 1). INSEAD IPR Network, 2010; Kalimo et al., 2012) and there
In theory, visible fees can be seen as a delegation of the are not, to date, any blueprints for the “ideal IPR system”
financial burden for WEEE management from producers to which meets the requirements of the WEEE Directive, pro-
consumers, so that they can be considered as running contrary vides significant incentives/rewards for eco-design, is easy
to IPR as a financial mechanism (Magalini and Huisman, and practical to implement, and can be transferred to other
2007). But visible fees could also increase consumer aware- markets, transcending cultural differences in consumer be-
ness, facilitate comparisons between the eco-efficiencies of havior (BIS IPR Working Group, 2012).
the producers, and are in line with the “polluter pays” princi- Some solutions for the approximation of collective
ple. schemes to individual financial responsibility have been de-
Also when visible fees are not used, producers can choose veloped so far, including the return share approach and the
to absorb end-of-life management costs into their profit mar- differentiation of the fees applied to producers (or consumers)
gins and/or raising the related prices. Costs for WEEE man- based on EEE eco-design characteristics.
agement are, hence, generally reflected on both the producers
and the consumers, independently from the use of the visible Return share approach: the path towards a pure IPR WEEE
fee. The key question is, instead, whether or not economic system has traditionally been considered as a progression
incentives for eco-design are created (Atasu and Van starting with market share allocation, moving through return
Wassenhove, 2012; Kalimo et al., 2012). For example, where share approaches, and resulting in systems whereby produc-
the product demand is inelastic to product prices and the cost ers organize their own recycling of own brand products. Alt-

178 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
hough such a view has been recently criticized, this kind of As the fee structure is often decided by collective compli-
financial mechanism is generally deemed to be fairer than ance schemes and it is not usually regulated at the national
market share. level, this clarifies that not only the EU WEEE Directive and
Under the return share approach, producers pay for a pro- national laws play a role in the implementation of PR, but al-
portion of WEEE arising based on the number or weight of so local actors (collective compliance schemes and producers
own brand products within that WEEE arising. It is currently in primis).
adopted in Japan (Specific Japanese Home Appliances Recy-
cling Law and PC), Washington, and Maine. It was also used The implementation of the WEEE Directive
in the Netherlands by ICT Milieu between 1999 and 2003. in the EU-27
The number or weight of own brand products can be identi-
fied either via: a) brand sampling, undertaken in accordance Prior to the introduction of the WEEE Directive, a few
with agreed protocols (as in Washington DC); b) full brand Member States, namely Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands,
counting (where brands are identified in all WEEE arising on and Sweden (as well as, to a lesser extent, Germany), had al-
a continuous basis, as in the Netherlands in the 1999-2003 ready established a national WEEE legislation and/or a na-
period and in Maine). tional system for WEEE collection and management. These
When return share systems are based on WEEE weight, countries were naturally influential in shaping the WEEE Di-
they give producers an incentive to reduce individual product rective (JRC, 2006) and, apart from Denmark and Germany,
weight and increase product longevity. Apart from this, did not have to substantially change their systems after its
ecodesign incentives are limited, since producers generally adoption.
pay a fee per tonne of a specific product category. The WEEE Directive had to be transposed by Member
Further common arguments brought forth against this fi- States by 13 August 2004. For Bulgaria and Romania this re-
nancing model are the following: added costs associated with quirement was obviously postponed to the date of their acces-
sorting/sampling of WEEE by brand could not yield enough sion (1st January 2007). All the Member States have trans-
environmental gain to justify them; problem (arising in posed the WEEE Directive, even if, in most cases, after the
Member States defining importers based on intra-community deadline. Transposition approaches taken by Member States
trade) of parallel imports: parallel importers, identified as include the breaking of the WEEE Directive into several
producers, should in theory re-label their products to distin- parts, implemented in stages through different pieces of legis-
guish themselves as the producers responsible for their re- lation and the use of secondary regulations to enact parts of
turned WEEE, but this practice never happens; variations in the primary legislation (JRC, 2006). Some Member States
the market shares of producers over time may bring re- (e.g. Italy) have not adopted some of the secondary regula-
sistance to the return share model, since recovery costs can- tions yet. The original implementing legislation of many
not easily be predicted by producers (Ökopol et al., 2007). Member States has been later amended, revised, or replaced
by new one.
Differentiation of the fees applied to producers/consumers: as There is huge discrepancy across the EU-27 in how the
we have seen, a main obstacle to the practical implementation provisions of the WEEE Directive related to PR have been
of IPR as a financial mechanism is represented by the differ- transposed and implemented. In first place, the EU Member
entiation of products’ recycling costs (which is not facilitated States have made different choices in transposing the defini-
by treatment in large scale shredder). Such differentiation can tions of “WEEE from private households” and “producer”,
be extremely challenging in practice, with varying costs asso- which both play a relevant role with regard to PR.
ciated with the level of differentiation (individual products, The most common criteria used by the Member States to
categories of product types like mobile phones, broad product distinguish between B2C and B2B WEEE can be summarized
categories like small appliances). According to Atasu and as follows:
Van Wassenhove (2012), a reasonable compromise solution
• use of various selection criteria such as sales channels
could be achieved if e-waste would be categorized based on
(France), typical use of the products (Poland), EEE
the recycling technology required, with all products that can
which can be expected to form part of private house-
be recycled with the same technology belonging to the same
hold waste (Sweden), weight and sizes parameters
category.
(Luxembourg), etc.;
In practice, it has to be noted that, although the fees
• predetermined lists of B2C/B2B products established
charged to producers by collective compliance schemes (di-
by national legislation (Austria, Hungary, Spain, Slo-
rectly or via visible fees) do not reflect one-to-one take back
venia, Slovakia, etc.);
costs, they are usually differentiated based on the 10 WEEE
Directive categories or on alternative collection groups. Such • distinction made by collective schemes through pre-
categories/groups are often further divided in sub- determined lists (Belgium) or based on own criteria
categories/groups, depending, e.g., on the product (the Netherlands);
weight/dimension, sale prices, and product type. In France, • self-declaration of B2C/B2B split by producers (Bul-
where the visible fee is mandatory from the legal point of garia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, etc.).
view since 2010, it is differentiated for six products groups, As far as the definition of “producer” is concerned, one
based on specific design for dismantling, recovery and reuse interesting issue is whether import and export are defined on
criteria. the national level (intra-community trade), or they only refer

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 179


to the trade with countries outside the EU (European ap- countries in order to ensure the availability and accessibility
proach). Although the European Commission has adopted the of the necessary collection facilities. In Estonia, e.g., produc-
latter solution, an European approach has been applied only ers are required to provide at least one B2C WEEE collection
by a few Member States (Finland, France, Spain, UK) and point on the territory of a local government of over 3.500 in-
often suffers from limitations (e.g. in Finland, foreign pro- habitants.
ducers are not able to register directly to the national register, Moreover, in the majority of the Member States, distribu-
effectively putting onus on Finnish importers to register as tors are also physically involved in the take back of B2C
obligated producers, in the absence of a local manufacturer or WEEE on a one-to-one basis (1:1), as long as the equipment
brand owner; JRC, 2006 and Őkopol et al., 2007). is of equivalent type and has fulfilled the same functions as
The national approach facilitates Member States in identi- the supplied equipment. In some countries, their involvement
fying, within their national territory, the actor who shall be is subject to conditions/exceptions (Austria, Finland, Luxem-
responsible for WEEE financing/management. However, bourg, Slovenia) or is voluntary (Denmark and Germany).
where imports are defined on the national level, the first im- For example, in Austria, only distributors with a selling area
porter is considered the producer if there is no manufacturer over 150m² are required to take back B2C WEEE on a 1:1
of that brand on the national market and this poses two prob- basis, while in Luxembourg distributors can refuse to take
lems (Őkopol et al., 2007): back B2C WEEE because of insufficient storage capacity
• When products are subsequently shipped to another and, in this case, shall inform their clients of the possibilities
Member State for distribution through intra- available for return of the WEEE. In Cyprus and Sweden, dis-
Community trading, there exists a potential that the tributors are exempted from the 1:1 take back obligation,
same products will have one producer in one Member while in the UK, they can decide to fulfill such an obligation
State and one producer in the other Member State by joining a distributor take back scheme, so that they do not
(with problems on potential product re-marking, have to offer in-store take back of WEEE, but can direct con-
change of visible fee, product traceability, etc. and re- sumers to the nearest Designated Collection Facility.
lated extra-administrative/financial burdens). Some Member States, going beyond the WEEE Directive
• When there is no manufacturer or brand-owner in a requirements, make producer the main financially responsible
Member State, also the “wholesaler” or “distributor” actor for B2C WEEE collection (e.g., Cyprus and the Nether-
who brings EEE on the national market for the first lands), eventually along with distributors’ involvement on a
time could be qualified as “producer”. It is open to 1:1 basis. (e.g., Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Malta,
question whether these actors can meet all the obliga- Portugal, Slovakia, Spain).
tions of a designed producer established by the In these cases, compensation mechanisms can be estab-
WEEE Directive. lished by law or operate in practice, in favour of municipali-
Hereafter we analyze the transposition and implementa- ties and/or distributors. For example, in Finland, Perchards
tion by the Member States of the obligations, established by (2011) estimates that the framework agreement between col-
the WEEE Directive, related to B2C WEEE collection and lective compliance systems and waste management compa-
management nies envisages a payment of around 100€ per tonne of col-
lected WEEE. The relationship between municipalities (col-
B2C WEEE collection. The WEEE Directive offers the lecting WEEE) and producers (financing it) appears some-
Member States great flexibility in identifying who shall be times unbalanced: producers often complain about munici-
physically and financially responsible for B2C WEEE collec- palities seeing e-waste collection as a revenue generator,
tion. PR, as shaped by the WEEE Directive, only covers charging them excessive fees for access to their waste (Atasu
WEEE management, once it has been deposited at collection and Van Wassenhove, 2012), but the strong market power
facilities. However, the way in which B2C WEEE collection gained by some collective compliance schemes can also be
has been organized by the Member States play a relevant exploited against municipalities (Massarutto, 2007).
role, at least, under the following respects: In other countries, municipalities are identified as the
• WEEE collection shall be organized by the Member main financially responsible actor for B2C WEEE collection.
States, so that they can reach the B2C WEEE collec- For example, in Denmark municipalities bear both the physi-
tion target (4 kg on average per inhabitant per year, cal and financial responsibility for B2C WEEE collection,
by 31 December 2006 at the latest). The reuse, recy- while producers are not involved, and 1:1 take back by dis-
cling, and recovery targets, in their turn, are also to be tributors is voluntary. In Luxembourg and Romania the fi-
applied to (both B2C and B2B) WEEE separately col- nancial responsibility for B2C WEEE collection is borne by
lected. both municipalities and distributors on a 1:1 basis. In Ger-
• WEEE management is conditional on WEEE collec- many, municipalities play an important role, as producers
tion and the extent to which PR (and in particular in- only finance the provision of containers and 1:1 take back by
dividual financial responsibility) is practically distributors is voluntary. A similar situation can be found in
achievable also depends on how WEEE is collected. Ireland (where producers only finance the provision of con-
According to most national legislations, producers and/or tainers and compensate distributors for 1:1 take back, as the
municipalities are generally identified as the main responsible latter can retain 20% of the visible fee) and Sweden (where
actors for setting up the collection network (physical respon-
sibility). Specific requirements have been introduced by some

180 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
distributors are not involved and producers only pay for con- according to their market share). In Germany producers are
tainers). given the choice to decide of whether or not they are individ-
In the UK, the financial responsibility for B2C WEEE ually or collectively financially responsible for new WEEE.
collection is mainly allocated to distributors. Distributors In Ireland, members of an “approved body” are exempted
joining the only existing take-back scheme (Valpak Retail from the provisions on financing (new and historical) WEEE
WEEE Services), who account for over 75% of EEE sales by from private households.
value, are required to contribute to a fund that pays local au-
thorities to upgrade civic amenity sites put forward as Desig- Unclear transposition: in Belgium (Wallonian Region), Hun-
nated Collection Facilities. gary, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden producer individ-
Finally, it has to be underlined that roles and responsibili- ual financial responsibility for new waste is not clearly for-
ties are not always clearly defined by national legislations. mulated by legislation (e.g. as responsibility is assigned to
Poland, for example, is struggling to resolve the issue of fi- “producers” in the plural form and/or no reference is made to
nancial responsibility for local collection facilities. Producers, own products);
on the one hand, regard these activities as a municipal re-
sponsibility and are refusing to provide additional resource Market share: in Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Lithu-
and infrastructures. On the other hand, however, there is no ania, Slovenia, and UK there is no legal or practical distinc-
funding mechanism, nor obligation for municipalities to pro- tion between new and historical waste and financing is al-
vide collection points and services (JRC, 2006). Also in Ire- ways based on market share.
land, there is an ongoing dispute between local authorities
and compliance schemes over the provision of financing to No financial method specified: in Greece and Latvia, as for
cover the operational costs associated with handling WEEE at historical WEEE, national legislation does not specify any
civic amenity facilities (Ökopol et al., 2007). financial method to be applied to implement producer finan-
cial responsibility for new waste.
WEEE management after collection: transposition and legal In most Member States, producers shall provide for a fi-
requirements. We will now illustrate how PR, as shaped by nancial guarantee when placing a B2C product on the market,
the WEEE Directive, has been transposed by national legisla- except for producers joining a collective scheme. Countries
tions. which do not consider collective scheme membership as a
Differences among Member States can be explained partly financial guarantee include Belgium (Brussels Region),
as the result of an incorrect/incomplete transposition of the Denmark, Germany, Italy, and UK, as well as, in practice,
Directive, partly as the result of the flexibility offered by the Sweden. In the Brussels Region, e.g., a financial guarantee is
Directive to the Member States, amplified by the uncertain- required for both individual and collective schemes, but is
ties surrounding the PR concept. only needed for 6 months contingency. In Denmark, an ag-
At the legal level, only a few Member States have fully gregate obligation is calculated for all producers in a collec-
transposed the provisions of the WEEE Directive on producer tive scheme and DPA-System 5, which determines the magni-
financial responsibility for the management of new (IPR) and tude of the financial guarantee, can grant exemption to collec-
historical (CPR) WEEE. While, apart from Greece and Lat- tive schemes, based on their dimension (members’ market
via 4, market share has been identified by all the Member share or number of members). In Sweden, the financial guar-
States as the financial mechanism for covering the costs asso- antee is indirectly shaped to encourage producers to manufac-
ciated with historical B2C WEEE management, with regard ture easily recoverable products. Indeed, producers who can
to individual financial responsibility for new B2C WEEE, the show that the costs of dealing with their products are lower
following can be highlighted: than for others, should be required to provide the relevant
guarantee only at that lower level. In some other countries
Full transposition: in Belgium (Brussels and Flemish Re- (Bulgaria, Latvia, as well as Slovakia), producers failing to
gions), Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Luxembourg, meet their obligations shall pay a product tax which acts as a
Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, and Slovakia producers are de facto guarantee.
individually responsible for new waste; In most Member States, the use of a visible fee for fi-
nancing the management of historical WEEE by producers is
Delays/exceptions to IPR: other countries introduced an indi- optional, at a legal level. On the contrary, it is legally binding
vidual financial responsibility for new e-waste, but its im- in France and Spain. Unless rigorous monitoring is provided
plementation has been postponed (Italy) or suffers from ex- by the authorities, the mandatory use of visible fees can foster
ceptions (Austria, Germany, and Ireland). In particular, in free-riding, as any producer who does not comply with his
Austria, with regard to new WEEE, producers bear an indi- obligations would be profiting any fee collected at the point
vidual financial responsibility only when they are not mem- of sale.
bers of a collective scheme (otherwise their responsibility is Member States give EEE producers the choice to fulfill
their obligations related to new B2C recovery either individu-

4
In Greece and Latvia national legislation does not specify any financial
method to be applied to implement producer financial responsibility both for
5
new and historical waste. Danish Producer Responsibility System

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 181


ally or by joining a collective scheme, as required by the shares of collective schemes are limited 6. However, German
WEEE Directive. individual non-selective take-back schemes do not reflect a
However, several legal, administrative, and financial re- pure IPR model. Indeed, producers do not take back their
quirements applying to individual compliers are often defined own brand products, but the share of e-waste falling under
at the national level. For example, apart from the mandatory their responsibility within each collection group stored at
provision of a financial guarantee for B2C EEE, in Austria municipal collection points. Then, they directly contract with
producers opting for individual compliance should sort out end of life service providers to arrange WEEE management
their own products at collective sites where they may be re- after collection (UNU, 2011).
turned (concluding contracts with all the related operators) At present, European EEE producers mainly comply
and in Finland, B2C EEE producers shall ensure that the net- with their obligations related to B2C WEEE management
work of collection facilities is of such extent that the last through collective compliance schemes. In the EU-27, there
holders have a reasonable opportunity to deliver discarded are more than 160 collective schemes addressing B2C and/or
products in all parts of country. Also financial guarantees, B2B WEEE. Based on the number of their collective
when only applied to individual compliers, can be used by schemes, EU Member States can be classified as follows:
Governments to encourage collective compliance. • 1 collective scheme: Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania,
Member States have generally established, at the legal Luxembourg, Malta;
level, the status, conditions of approval and approval proce- • 2-5 collective schemes: Greece, Ireland, the Nether-
dure, duration of accreditation, and operation requirements of lands, Portugal, and Sweden (2); Germany (2 at
collective compliance schemes. Beside WEEE management, least); Estonia, Finland 7, and Slovenia (3); Denmark
national legislations often allow collective compliance (4); Austria and France (5);
schemes to assume some of the practical tasks associated • 6-10 collective schemes: Hungary (6 at least); Latvia
with PR for their members (such as registration, reporting, and Romania (7); the Czech Republic (8); Poland
provision of financial guarantee, etc.). The fees charged by and Spain (about 9); Bulgaria (about 10);
collective compliance schemes to their members are not ex- • 11-20 collective schemes: Slovakia (about 15); Italy
tensively regulated by national legislation, even if some pro- (16);
visions are sometimes established (e.g. in Austria fees are to • >20 collective schemes: UK (37).
be set by collection group and cross-subsiding is prohibited). Independently from how the provisions of the WEEE Di-
Where two or more competing collective compliance rective on individual financial responsibility have been trans-
systems exist in the country, Member States usually provide, posed at the national level, all existing collective compliance
through the Government or a specific clearing house, for a schemes apply a market share approach for financing the
certain degree of coordination, in order to define and allocate, management of both new and historical B2C WEEE (we have
as a minimum, the collection obligation of each collective not found any information about “return share models”). The
compliance scheme. When the same collection points are fact that new waste has been locked in the same system as
used by different schemes, the latter can be prevented by na- historical waste discloses the difficulties of the Member
tional legislations from “cherry picking”, based on the loca- States in establishing a system of collective responsibility on-
tion of the former. ly for historical waste, while simultaneously maintaining a
parallel system for new waste on the basis of individual re-
WEEE management after collection: practical implementa- sponsibility. One of the main problems with this regard is
tion of national legislations. Although Member States give represented by the efficient separation of the two waste frac-
producers the choice to fulfill their obligations related to the tions (Kalimo et al., 2012).
recovery of new B2C WEEE either individually or by joining The “locked-in effect” is reflected in the fact that, when
a collective scheme, national requirements applying to indi- charging producers, collective compliance schemes do not
vidual compliers make this option rarely used for B2C WEEE operate any fee split into cots for historical and new WEEE.
management (e.g., based on available information, no indi- A similar situation can be observed in relation to the use of
vidual management system exists in Austria, Greece, Hunga- the visible fee (Perchard, 2011). At the legal level, visible
ry, and UK). fees are optional in all the Member States, except for France
As the most relevant exception to the above considera- and Spain where, in breach of current WEEE Directive, they
tions, individual non-selective take-back schemes are the pre- are binding. In practice, they are also mandatory in other
vailing system in Germany, where collective compliance is, countries where all existing collective schemes use them (e.g.
on the contrary, quite limited. The implementation of the Belgium and Luxembourg). Apart from these cases, the use
WEEE Directive in Germany was influenced by the experi- of the visible fee greatly varies across the EU-27 (not used,
ence gained with another PR scheme, the “Duales System
Deutschland”, responsible for the management of packaging
waste which, from the time of its introduction in 1990 until
recently, was a monopoly. In shaping the WEEE management 6
The German “Bundeskartellamt” (Federal Cartel Authority) advised, e.g.,
system, the promotion of competition was, hence, recognized the producers of large white goods (category 1) not to set up a collective
as a priority (avoidance of monopolies and maximum free- scheme covering more than 25% of market share of EEE in collection group
dom for producers to decide how to comply with their re- 1 (large household appliances, automatic dispensers).
7
sponsibilities). To maintain complete competition, the market In Finland one of the three collective schemes is an umbrella organization
comprising 3 collective schemes.

182 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
used by some collective schemes, used for some WEEE cate- members (Electrolux, HP, Sony and Procter and Gamble)
gories 8, etc.). Despite the WEEE Directive introduces the use strongly support multiple collective systems. Most Member
of the visible fee for financing the costs of historical B2C States, especially big countries, also opt for this model which
WEEE management, the visible fee was often used/is current- has been developed under different approaches. For example,
ly used to cover the costs of both historical and new B2C in Germany (where there are different collective compliance
WEEE, as no differentiation of flows is generally in place in schemes, as well as individual non-selective take back
collective schemes (Ökopol et al., 2007; UNU, 2007). For schemes, representing the prevailing option), a fully central-
example, in Belgium, Recupel “all-in contribution” (i.e. visi- ized and coordinated system has been created (BIS IPR
ble fee) seems to apply both to new and historical B2C Working Group, 2012).
WEEE. As an exception, the collective compliance schemes Collection points communicate container and pick up re-
SEWA and Envidom (Slovakia) declare that their visible fees quests to EAR (“Elektro-Altgeräteregister”), which calculates
serve to compensate for the costs related to handling histori- the mass of WEEE for which a single producer has to finance
cal B2C WEEE (see related websites). Moreover, Envidom and organize treatment. Based on individual obligations,
specifies that, for the management of new WEEE, members EAR allocates pick up requests to individual producers, so
pay an additional fee (although since April of 2011, this is not that, over time, each producer has to pick up containers from
applied to small household appliances any more). municipal collection points all over Germany (from the coun-
There are two main models of collective compliance tryside as well as from big cities). On the contrary, in Estonia,
schemes (JRC, 2006; Ökopol et al., 2007): monopolistic sys- there is no clearing house system. Producers have to divide
tems (MS) and competitive systems (CS). the costs themselves and communicate with each other. If a
MS are characterized by one scheme in operation in the producer has collected more WEEE than (s)he places to the
country or by more schemes covering different product cate- market, (s)he presents a bill for payment to a producer who
gories, so that there is no competition between them in the collected less. If they do not get an agreement, then the Court
same category. This approach prevails in some of the coun- solves the problem. An intermediate approach has been de-
tries that established their WEEE systems prior to the imple- veloped by other countries. In Austria, e.g., the clearing
mentation of the WEEE Directive, such as Belgium house ensures that every collective system is collecting ac-
(Recupel) and the Netherlands (NVMP and ICT-Milieu) and cording to its market share. If it has not collected enough, it
in small countries (Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg), where gives order to the collective scheme to collect at those munic-
collected volumes cannot create a viable market for multiple ipalities, where collection is expensive. Collective schemes
systems. have contracts with the Austrian Federal Associations for
In Sweden, Greece, and Ireland there are two collective Waste Management or with collection points. If there is no
schemes, but competition is limited. Sweden has traditionally such contract, collection points have the legal possibility to
operated under the MS model (with El-Kretsen) but, since send an on-line pick-up order to the Austrian Coordination
2007, a new collective scheme (EÅF) was licensed. However, and Clearing House. A web-based tool has been implement-
the new system plays a minor role compared to the old one in ed. The pick-up order gets announced on the web-site of the
terms of participation (either number of members and market Austrian Coordination and Clearing House for 24 hours. Dur-
shares). Moreover, EÅF uses part of El-Kretsen’s collection ing this period, collective schemes can apply to the an-
network. Competition is also limited in Greece, where one nounced pick-up order. If not, it is forwarded to the collective
the two existing collective schemes only covers one WEEE system with the highest obligation for taking back (Twinning,
category. In Ireland, the two existing collective schemes cov- 2011).
er different geographical areas of the country. Producers supporting MS argue that market based systems
CS, on the other hand, are characterized by two or more are designed to meet the minimum levels of collection and
collective systems in competition, as they cover WEEE in the recycling in the most cost-efficient manner, without any pres-
same category. In this case, the Government or a coordinating sure to exceed them. Moreover, they identify the additional
body shall provide for allocation mechanisms, to ensure that costs of managing a national clearing house, separate collec-
the WEEE Directive re-use, recycling and recovery targets tion containers, extra logistics, etc. and they point out that
are reached, and for monitoring. In particular, the collection MS are useful for historical waste, where there is little com-
obligation of each producer has to be defined and assigned to petitive advantage in running a CS. CS, on the contrary, seem
the related compliance scheme and when the same collection to have continuous “cost-down pressure” and perform well
points are used by different schemes, the latter should be pre- especially where the market is large and the potential cost
vented from “cherry picking”, based on the location of the savings are substantial (JRC, 2006; Perchard, 2011). A draw-
former. back of the consolidation of prices for WEEE treatment could
The European Recycling Platform, created in 2002 as the be, however, the tendency to its low quality (Twinning,
first ever pan-European take back scheme and its founding 2011).
Apart from the monopolistic and competitive approaches,
collective schemes across the EU-27 show both similar char-
8
With regard to the use of the “visible fee” for specific EEE categories (or acteristics and significant differences under other respects.
by the collective schemes addressing them), it has to be noted that EEE cate- Collection networks established by collective schemes
gories are characterized by a different historical waste burden. White and may include, to different degrees, various “collecting opera-
brown goods companies, e.g., bear a significant historical waste responsibil- tors”, such as distributors, municipal collection points, collec-
ity compared to ICT ones.

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 183


tion points owned by private waste management companies, products groups, based on specific design for dismantling,
producers, charity shops, etc. In some cases (Austria, Den- recovery and reuse criteria..
mark, etc.), collective schemes are also required to provide Fee levels could reflect different degrees of competition
for regional reception centers. within a national market between recyclers and logistic part-
WEEE is often collected in separate groups, which are ners, but they can also be caused by other factors, such as
different from the ten WEEE categories defined by the economies of scale, raising funds as future guarantees, ser-
WEEE Directive. Such groups can be established by national vice and treatment level, R&D costs, information and educa-
legislation (as it happens, e.g., in Portugal) or at collective tional costs, etc. (Magalini and Huisman, 2007).
scheme level (as it happens, e.g., in Ireland). There are significant disparities in fees levels depending
The collection by collective schemes of WEEE deposited on the scheme/country9. For example, the ecological tax ap-
at collection points is organized in different ways across the plied in Portugal to refrigerators is 70€/t, while the fee ap-
EU-27. To this end, collective schemes often contract with plied to refrigerators by the Elker Group in Finland amounts
“collecting operators” using framework agreements which are to 400€/t. The fee applied by Retela to TVs (in the Czech Re-
concluded between the associations of the latter, on the one public) is 98€/t; the one of Eesti Eelktroonikaromu (Estonia)
hand and collective schemes, on the other. Collective is 192€/t, while the Elker Group, in Finland, applies a fee of
schemes can take directly part in such agreements (as in Fin- 660€/t. Some collective schemes exempt specific products
land) or can be represented by their coordinating bodies (as in from the payment of the fee (e.g. NVMP in the Netherlands
Italy and France). and Ecotic in Romania). A particular case, however, is the
Sometimes, agreements on collection are also concluded one of Ecodom (Italy). Ecodom chose to suspend, starting
between collective schemes: in Ireland the two existing col- from April 1th 2012, the application of any WEEE recycling
lective schemes (WEEE Ireland and ERP Ireland) agreed on a fee, retaining the right to revise this decision in case of modi-
geographical split of municipal and retail collection points, fication of the current market conditions of secondary raw
which is representative of the relative total market shares of materials and the current financial situation of the Consorti-
the members in each system; in Sweden, one of the two oper- um which coordinates all the Italian collective schemes.
ating collective schemes, EÅF, uses its members’ shops as Although it is not within the scope of this article to ana-
collection points, but since those shops are not located in all lyze the effects generated by different national PR systems,
municipalities, it has reached an agreement with the other with regard to their effectiveness in reaching the WEEE Di-
collective scheme (El-Kretsen), according to which EÅF pays rective targets, we can observe that not all the WEEE systems
the same fee as other members of El-Kretsen for the part of have performed at the same level as far as B2C WEEE col-
their electric waste that is collected by El-Kretsen. lection is concerned, while almost all the Member States have
WEEE management is outsourced to logistic and treat- reached the reuse, recycling, and recovery targets.
ment partners which are generally selected by collective In light of the collection and management results illustrat-
schemes through competitive tenders. ed by section 2, we have selected, among the EU-27 Member
Fees charged by collective compliance schemes to their States, five best performing countries: Denmark, Finland,
members (directly or via visible fees) differ, across Europe, Germany, Ireland, and Sweden. These countries, based on
in structure and level. They are usually differentiated based Eurostat data, met all of the following criteria: B2C WEEE
on the 10 WEEE Directive categories or on alternative collec- recycling rate equal or higher than 8 kg/per capita in 2010;
tion groups, which are sometimes further divided in sub- total (B2C+B2B) WEEE collected in 2008 and in 2010, rela-
categories/groups, depending, e.g., on the product tive to EEE put on the market, higher than 30% and showing
weight/dimension, sale prices, and product type. They can be an increasing trend; all reuse, recycling, and recovery targets
unit based, weight based or lump sum (i.e. flat fee on a yearly set by the WEEE Directive reached, according to the last
basis, regardless of sales volume or market-share) and they available data (2009 or 2010).
can reflect either the actual or the projected costs of recycling When considering the characteristics of the selected coun-
(e.g. EES-Ringlus in Estonia and Retela in the Czech Repub- tries in terms of organizational settings and IPR implementa-
lic deduct the recycling fee from real-costs). Multiple financ- tion, they do not seem to shape any blueprints for an “ideal
ing systems can co-exist under the same scheme (as for El- WEEE management system”. Only some of these countries
Kretsen in Sweden). The more complicated the fee structure, (Denmark, Sweden and, to a minor extent, Germany) had al-
the more demanding it is in collection and administration. ready established a national WEEE legislation and/or a na-
There is a challenge to balance administrative efficiency
against the wish to relate real costs of recycling a given prod-
uct to the fee charged (JRC, 2006). The fee structure can ap-
9
proximate to individual financial responsibility and foster We have compared the fees currently applied by six collective schemes
eco-design to a different extent. For example, in some coun- operating in six different countries (Electrocyclosis in Cyprus, Retela in the
Czech Republic, Eesti Eelktroonikaromu in Estonia, the Elker Group in Fin-
tries, cross-subsidizing is prohibited by law (e.g. in Austria) land, Appliance recycling SA in Greece, and ERP Portugal in Portugal) for
or it is excluded at a collective scheme level (e.g. by El EEE belonging to cat. 1 (Large Household Appliances), 2 (Small Household
Kretsen in Sweden) and in France, where the visible fee is Appliances), 3 (Information and Communication Technology), and 4 (Con-
and in France, where the visible fee is mandatory from the sumer Equipment), excluding VAT. For the Czech Republic and Estonia,
fees have been converted in Euro, based on the following exchange rates:
legal point of view, since 2010, it is differentiated for six 1€=25,60CZK and 1€=15.6466EEK.

184 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
tional system for WEEE collection and management prior to cluding those addressing B2B WEEE). The legal, administra-
the adoption of the WEEE Directive and none of them has tive, and financial requirements applied to individual compli-
fully transposed and implemented the provisions related to ers at the national level make collective solutions less expen-
individual financial responsibility. The physical and financial sive and time-consuming than individual ones. Another ad-
responsibility for WEEE collection has been assigned to dif- vantage offered by collective compliance schemes is that, be-
ferent actors: municipalities (Denmark, Germany, Ireland, side WEEE management, they often assume some of the
and Sweden), producers (Finland, Germany, Ireland, and practical tasks associated with PR for their members (such as
Sweden), and distributors on a 1:1 basis (Ireland and Finland, registration, reporting, provision of financial guarantee, etc.).
as well as, on a voluntary basis, Denmark and Germany). In- Although diverse under several respects, based on the
dividual compliance is not used or rarely used in all the se- available information, all the collective compliance schemes
lected countries, apart from Germany, where it is the prevail- across the EU-27 currently apply both producer physical and
ing system. All the selected countries have developed collec- financial responsibilities for WEEE management at the col-
tive compliance systems, although limited in number (not lective level (pure CPR systems). In particular, the provisions
more than 4 per country, according to available information). of the WEEE Directive on individual financial responsibility
Denmark, Finland, and Germany have CS, with a different have been fully transposed only by a few Member States,
degree of centralization and coordination (maximum in Den- which, however, have not implemented them so far. There-
mark and Germany; intermediate in Finland). In Sweden and fore, at a practical level, a “locked-in” effect can be observed,
Ireland, instead, there are two collective schemes, but compe- as all the Member States make producers financially respon-
tition is limited. Visible fees are used only in Ireland where sible for both new and historical waste based on market
they are applied to some WEEE categories (1, 2, 4, 5, 6). shares (collective responsibility). Harmonization has been
Some collective schemes have adopted fee structures in line attained, but in breach of the WEEE Directive and Member
with IPR: cross-subsidising, e.g., has been prohibited by States have not been able to develop innovative solutions.
agreement by the members of El Kretsen (Sweden) and Rene With this regard, the uncertainties surrounding the concept of
AG (Denmark) calculates its fees, based on the real take-back individual financial responsibility do not help, but the main
volumes. obstacles faced by the Member States concern its practical
implementation. The most relevant difficulties, with this re-
gard, include the following:
CONCLUSIONS • Separation of historical and new waste (for collective
compliance schemes covering both of them);
The WEEE Directive applies PR to the management of e- • For new WEEE: a) separate collection of different
waste. It makes producers: a) physically responsible for the brands or brand identification after WEEE is collec-
recovery of separately collected WEEE, through individual or tively collected and b) further distinction of each pro-
collective systems and b) financially responsible for B2C ducer’s own e-waste in categories/types and defini-
WEEE management on an individual basis for new waste and tion of the related recycling costs (not facilitated by
on a collective basis for historical waste. The Directive leaves technologies that process WEEE en masse).
it up to the Member States to decide on the organization and The “locked-in effect” is reflected in the fact that, when
financing of B2C WEEE collection, the shaping of the collec- charging producers, collective compliance schemes do not
tive schemes, and how to implement PR. The flexibility of- operate any fee split into costs for historical and new WEEE.
fered by the WEEE Directive to the Member States in articu- A similar situation can be observed in relation to the use of
lating their implementation responses has been amplified by the visible fee.
the uncertainties surrounding the PR concept (which is not The application of a collective financial responsibility for
defined by the Directive) and its practical application. More- new waste means that there is no clear feedback to individual
over, Member States had little over 18 months to transpose producers on the end-of-life costs of their own products and
the WEEE Directive into their national legislation and only a this weakens the drivers of eco-design. Significantly, the ex-
few of them had already established a national WEEE legisla- isting literature on the impacts of the WEEE Directive on in-
tion and/or a national system for WEEE collection and man- novation in EEE products has generated a mixed analysis of
agement. the direction of the impacts and whether indeed such impacts
There is huge discrepancy across Europe in current sys- exist (ARCADIS ECOLAS & RPA, 2008; Gottberg et al.,
tems in place to collect B2C WEEE and the interaction be- 2006).
tween the subjects who are responsible for WEEE collection However, the establishment of the abovementioned feed-
and the ones responsible for its management. PR does not back loop from the downstream to the upstream can be stimu-
cover collection, but WEEE management and the practical lated by the way the recycling or visible fees are structured
implementation of PR also depend on how collection is orga- and regulated, favoring a departure from a pure collective fi-
nized. Most Member States have designed, to a different ex- nancial responsibility model.
tent, municipalities, producers and distributors (on a 1:1 ba- For example, the prohibition of cross-subsidizing (as it
sis) as responsible actors for B2C WEEE collection, both at happens in Austria and in Sweden for El Kretsen) and the dif-
physical and financial level. ferentiation of the fees for products groups, based on specific
The WEEE Directive has stimulated the flourishing of a environmental criteria (as it happens for the visible fees in
multitude of collective compliance schemes (about 160, in- France) can be useful instruments with this regard. The de-

THE EU WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE 185


velopment of fee-setting mechanisms which reward eco- pursuant to national legislations, producers shall provide for a
designed products could be further improved, as the experi- financial guarantee, when placing a product on the market.
ence gained by the Member States and the collective schemes Only a few countries, however, do not consider collective
in this respect is still limited. Major challenges to be faced scheme membership as a financial guarantee (Belgium -
include the technical definition of specific criteria which need Brussels Region-, Denmark, Germany, Italy, UK, as well as,
to be accepted by producers and do not pose excessive burden in practice, Sweden), while in some others (Bulgaria, Latvia,
at the administrative level. Slovakia), producers failing to meet their obligations shall
Under other respects, collective compliance schemes and pay a product tax which acts as a de facto guarantee. In most
PR implementation across the EU-27 are very diverse. Such Member States, the use of a visible fee for financing the man-
differences can be explained partly as the result of an incor- agement of historical WEEE by producers is optional, at a
rect/incomplete transposition of the Directive, partly as the legal level. On the contrary, it is legally binding in France
result of the flexibility offered by the Directive to the Mem- and Spain and it is mandatory, in practice, in countries, such
ber States. In first place, collective compliance schemes can as Belgium and Luxembourg, where all existing collective
operate under a MS or a CS model. MS models prevail in compliance schemes use it. Contrary to what provided by the
some of the countries that established their WEEE systems WEEE Directive, the visible fees were used/are currently
prior to the implementation of the WEEE Directive (Belgium used to cover the costs of both historical and new B2C
and the Netherlands) and in small countries (Cyprus, Malta, WEEE, as no differentiation of flows is generally in place in
and Luxembourg), where collected volumes cannot create a collective schemes (exceptions being SEWA and Envidom in
viable market for multiple systems. Most Member States, es- Slovakia). Finally, also the structure and level of the (recy-
pecially big countries, instead opt for CS models, even if they cling and visible) fees applied by collective compliance
apply such models according to different degrees of centrali- schemes vary greatly across the EU.
zation/coordination. Some of the differences among the European WEEE sys-
Secondly, the ways collective compliance schemes work tems in place, especially when in breach of the WEEE Di-
in practice and interact with WEEE collectors are not homo- rective, could lead to a lack of harmonization and undermine
geneous. For example, collection networks established by the positive effects PR is expected to generate. However, di-
collective schemes may include, to a different extent, various versity, when associated with flexibility and innovative or-
“collecting operators”, such as distributors, municipal collec- ganizational settings, can also support the implementation of
tion points, collection points owned by private waste man- the Directive, as Member States can learn a lot from each
agement companies, producers, charity shops, etc. WEEE is other. Since there is no single best WEEE system suitable for
sometimes collected in separate groups, different from the ten all, different experiences can help Member States in shaping
WEEE categories defined by the WEEE Directive. Collective their systems, according to their specific conditions.
schemes often contract with “collecting operators” using
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188 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND
POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES

Hua-Shan Tai1*, Jui-LanYeh2


1
Hua-Shan Tai, Department of Safety, Health, and Environmental Engineering,
National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Jhuoyue Rd., Nanzih, Kaohsiung City, 811, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Email: huashan@nkfust.edu.tw, Fax: 886-7-6011608; Telephone: 886-7-6011540
2
Jui-LanYeh, Graduate Institute of Engineering Science and Technology,
National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Jhuoyue Rd., Nanzih, Kaohsiung City, 811, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Email: u0015913@nkfust.edu.tw

ABSTRACT

Separating plastics made of polyactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be
difficult; consequently, their recycling values are affected. The purpose of this study is to inves-
tigate the feasibility of recycling mixed PLA and PET wastes by co-pyrolysis. Specimens pre-
pared from different ratios of preprocessed PLA and PET wastes were subjected to relevant
property studies followed by thermogravimetric (TG) and reaction kinetic analyses. Subse-
quently, pyrolytic studies were conducted based on the obtained TG reaction conditions to in-
vestigate energy yields of pyrolytic reactions. Results indicated that the HHV of PLA and PET
were approximately 18.26 and 22.85 MJ/kg, respectively and those of the mixtures were be-
tween these two values. Each specimen has a combustible portion of greater than 96% and a
maximum decomposition temperature between 618K and 736K. Greater PET ratios were found
to result in higher activation energies and pre-exponential factors. Additionally, PLA ratios were
positively correlated to the mass yield of gaseous products, whereas PET ratios were positively
correlated to the yields of solid and condensation products. Unless energy yield is a major con-
cern, co-pyrolysing PLA and PET wastes may avoid the need to separate PLA and PET and
may effectively reduce the volume of plastic wastes.

Keywords: Polylactic acid, polyethylene terephthalate, pyrolysis, resource recycling, renewable


energy

INTRODUCTION polymer wastes are worldwide concerns.1 Development of


biodegradable polymers and technologies for recycling and
The invention and evolution of synthetic polymers has reuse of plastics become major issues in sustainable devel-
greatly improved living standards. However, limited petrole- opment. Numerous biodegradable plastics are invented in
um resources and environmental pollution resulting from recent years to overcome plastic’s resilience against degrada-
tion. According to the American Society for Testing and Ma-

_____________________________________________________
*Corresponding author

CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES 189
terials (ASTM), biodegradable plastics are plastics that are riorate after adding PLA to PET. 17-18 Furthermore, researches
capable of being decomposed by naturally occurring micro- added small amount of recycled PLA into recycled PET ma-
organisms (bacteria, fungi, and algae) in the natural environ- terials, and investigated the degree of influence in rheologi-
ment.2 According to Taiwan’s Environmental Protection cal, mechanical and thermogravimetric properties of the plas-
Administration, biodegradable plastics are plastics that gen- tic fiber to evaluate its reusable value. Results showed that
erate carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and bio- rheological and mechanical properties of the recycled PET
mass through biodegradation in a composting process, at materials are notably affected by mixing with small amounts
rates comparable to other known compostable materials and of PLA, which led to the decrease in reusable value, but the
without leaving observable, distinguishable, or toxic residu- influence on thermal stability is limited; 19 there’re also stud-
als.3 ies which conducted the chemical modification on PLA/PET,
Polyactic acid (PLA), a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester, to explore the increase in copolymer degradability, revealing
is regarded as a plastic material that has high developmental the degradation activation energies in PLA/PET mixture to be
potentials among various biodegradable polymers.4-6 Raw lower than pure PET materials, and the increase in PLA con-
materials required for the synthesis of PLA, such as agricul- tent promotes degradation rate within the mixture.20 Although
tural products,7 forestry and agricultural residues, and only limited numbers of literatures devoted to the discussion
lignocellulosic materials,8 are isolated and enzymatically hy- of PLA/PET mixing and thermal co-processing, they all
drolyzed to glucose. Glucose thus obtained is fermented into shared a point in common: the mixing of PET and PLA af-
lactate acid which is then polymerized to make bioplastic.9 fects its mechanical properties and creates material deteriora-
Bioplastics made from PLA have comparatively low melting tion, which leads to reduction in reusable value. On the other
temperatures and good processability; they are widely used hand, there were little affects on thermal stability, and PLA is
for manufacturing daily plastic products. Furthermore, PLA capable of decreasing the degradation activation energies
products are made of plant resources and can be degraded by during the PET degradation process. Therefore, thermal
microorganisms. Carbon dioxide and water generated from treatment technologies should be feasible to apply to the mix-
degradation processes return to the atmosphere which allows ing of PET and PLA. 21
the maintenance of carbon balance. Therefore, degradation The use of thermal treatment technologies on investigat-
problems associated with petrochemical plastics do not occur ing pyrolysis behavior and reaction kinetics of the polymer
in PLA products. In summary, PLA plastics have smaller during thermochemical processing, to which reactions gener-
impact on the environment as compare to traditional plastics ated by the processing of mixed materials are capable of
have.5,10-11 providing analytic data as reference.15 Pyrolysis is one of the
Recycling plastic wastes is a relatively easy, economical, thermal treatment technologies that decompose organic mate-
and environmentally friendly approach to effectively realiz- rials by heat in the absence of oxygen. Pyrolysis is a potential
ing green living and carbon reduction.12,13 According to Re- approach to avoid the need to separate PLA and PET once
cycling Fund Management Board of Environmental Protec- they enter the recovery routes.22,23 Additionally, pyrolytic
tion Administration, Taiwanese use approximately 167 tons reactions may generate valuable energy or chemicals;24-26
of biomass plastics every month with the majority of which thereby, endowing this approach an added value. Moreover,
being PLA plastics. However, the amount of plastics recycled current literature related to co-pyrolysis of the plastic material
is low. Only approximately 913 kg of plastics are recycled mixtures rarely studies the co-pyrolysis on PLA/PET using
each month, which less is far below 10%.14 The appearances laboratory-scale pyrolysis reactor, analyzes its pyrolysis reac-
and applications of PLA are similar to that of traditional plas- tion kinetics, and discuss the analytic results in an energy-
tics, particularly to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is recovery perspective. Consequently, the purpose of this study
the most commonly used traditional plastic in Taiwan and its is to explore the feasibility of recycling mixed PLA and PET
recycling rate is also the highest (50.8% of the total amount wastes by pyrolysis, and to analyze pyrolysis kinetic parame-
of plastics recycled). In 2012 alone, 96,133 tons of PET was ters and the energy efficiency of and criteria for co-pyrolysis,
recycled in Taiwan.14 Existing technologies have difficulties then compares with heating values yield from incineration, in
separating shredded PLA and PET, resulting in low recycling hope to improve the waste-to-resource efficiency of mixed
values.12,15-16 Consequently, recyclable waste-collectors are recycling of PLA and PET.
less willing to recycle PLA and the recycling rate of PLA is
less than ideal. At the moment, recycling PET could possibly
be contaminated by PLA, resulting in quality drops among MATERIALS AND METHODS
recycled materials, making it difficult for product manufac-
turing applications. Most contaminated recycle materials are
being incinerated at the incinerators. Materials
Some literature focused on exploring the thermal and me-
chanical properties of PLA/PET mixture, evaluating the prac- The source of waste PLA in this study were disposed
ticality of future application on research and development for drinking cups from a café, the waste PET were disposed pol-
environmental products. Studies reported better thermal sta- yethylene terephthalate bottles for commercial mineral water
bility in the PET when mixed with PLA than with naturally (the resin identification code for PLA is [7], and [1] for PET,
renewable components (such as cellulose), as well as better both shown in Figure 1 & 2). PLA and PET wastes were
crystallinity, but the mechanical properties appeared to dete- washed, dried, and cut into 0.3 cm in both the length and

190 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 1
The disposed PLA cup used in this study.

FIGURE 2
The disposed PET bottle used in this study.

width for experimental use. Experiments and Analyses


Seven specimens S1 to S7 were prepared by mixing pre-
processed PLA and PET at different ratios. The composition Property analyses. The specimens were subjected to property
ratio of PLA and PET in each specimen is as shown in Table analyses including proximate analysis, HHV determination,
1. and ultimate analysis.

TABLE 1
Specimen ID. and composition ratio

Composition ratio (w.t%)


Specimen ID.
PLA PET
S1 100 0
S2 90 10
S3 70 30
S4 50 50
S5 30 70
S6 10 90
S7 0 100

CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES 191
Proximate analysis was conducted according to the stand- Wt represents specimen mass at time t (sec) or T (K)
ard detection methods NIEA R212.01C and NIEA R205.01C Wf represents the calculated specimen mass after pyrolysis
announced by Environmental Analysis Laboratory in Taiwan.
The amount of moisture, volatile, fixed carbon, and ash in Friedman method states that residual reactants have fixed
each specimen was determined using a drying oven chemical compositions at a constant conversion rate; it also
(DengYng, Drying OvenDOS30) and a rapid heating cham- proposes the kinetic parameters may be analyzed using TGA
ber (CarbLite, RWF1100). curves derived from different heating rates. The following
HHV of the specimens were determined according to the equation was derived by taking natural logarithm on both
standard detection methods NIEA R214.01C announced by sides of Equation (1).
Environmental Analysis Laboratory in Taiwan using a calo-
rimeter (Parr/USA, Parr 1266). dx Ea
Ultimate analysis was conducted according to the standard ln =− + ln A(1 − x) n (3)
detection method NIEA M403.00C announced by Environ- dt RT
mental Analysis Laboratory in Taiwan. The amount of car-
bon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen in each specimen was According to Friedman method, kinetic parameters are
analyzed using an elemental analyzer (ThermoQuest, EA calculated in two stages. First, 1/T was graphed against
1110). ln(dx/dt) at a fixed conversion rate and different heating rates,
and a series of line slopes (-Ea/R) was derived by liner re-
Thermogravimetric analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis gression analysis to obtain the activation energy and mean
(TGA) was conducted using a thermogravimetric analyzer activation energy at the conversion rate. The following equa-
(METTLER, TGA/SDTA851e). Both the reactive and protec- tion was obtained by reorganizing Equation (3):
tive gases used in the experiment were nitrogen. The flow
dx Ea
rates of the reactive and protective gases were 50 ml/min and ln + = ln A(1 − x) n (4)
20 ml/min, respectively. The heating rates were 10℃/min, dt RT
15℃/min, and 20℃/min, and the temperatures were set at
between 25 and 800℃. The weight loss condition of each
 dx  − Ea 
specimen was analyzed by TGA, and the weight, tempera- ln  / exp  = ln A + n ln(1 − x) (5)
ture, and reaction time of each specimen was recorded by  dt  RT 
computer software till the end of reaction.
Second, it is learned from Equation (5) that reaction order
Pyrolysis kinetics. Pyrolysis kinetics is a kinetic model estab- n and pre-exponential factor A could be obtained by plotting
lished based on changes of reaction rate with time, with rate ln(1-x) at a fixed heating rate, wherein the slope was reac-
of weight loss, and with temperature. Experimental tempera- tion order n, and the intercept was ln(A). Subsequently, the
ture could be controlled by either constant or non-constant reaction rate of each specimen dx/dt at different heating rates
methods. By referring to literature;27 we adopted a non- were obtained by substituting n, A, and Ea into Equation (1)
constant temperature control method in combination with
Friedman method28 to obtain pyrolysis kinetic parameters Laboratory scale pyrolysis. Figure 3 shows a schematic dia-
such as activation energy and pre-exponential factor. Rele- gram of a laboratory-scale pyrolysis apparatus. The pyrolytic
vant parameters were derived from TGA data. reaction conditions were set based on data obtained from
The pyrolytic reaction equation obtained based on Fried- TGA. Approximately 20 g of one specimen was weighed and
man method was as follows: placed in a quartz tube, and the tube was positioned on the
built-in electronic scale. Subsequently, a steel pipe was
 − Ea 
(1 − x )
dx slipped over the quartz tube and the setting was placed inside
= A exp
n
(1) the apparatus. Thermometers were secured both on the inside
dt  RT  and outside of the steel tube to measure internal and external
temperatures. Nitrogen gas was ventilated under the electron-
A represents pre-exponential factor (sec-1) ic scale at 1L/min. Changes in temperature and weight of the
Ea represents the activation energy of the reaction (kJ/mol) specimen were recorded by a computer throughout the exper-
R represents the universal gas constant (J/mol K) iment. A condensing system (with the condensing tempera-
T represents an absolute temperature (K) ture set at -10℃) was also installed at the gas outlet to con-
t represents time (sec)
dense and collect reaction products for analysis.
x represents weight loss fraction or pyrolytic conversion rate,
and is presented by
Estimation of the mass yields of pyrolytic products. Based on
results of pyrolytic reactions conducted at different heating
Wi − Wt
x= (2)
rates, regression analyses were performed on specimens ver-
Wi − W f sus their yields of pyrolytic products to estimate the mass
yields of pyrolytic products from PLE/PET mixtures with
different component ratios and to establish the relationship
Wi represents the initial specimen mass between mixing ratios and the mass yield of pyrolytic prod-

192 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 3
A schematic diagram of a laboratory-scale pyrolysis apparatus

ucts. to obtain the dynamic model of the study. The mass yields of
pyrolytic products were estimated by conducting regression
The relationship among mixing ratios, heating rates, and analyses on data acquired from pyrolytic studies using statis-
mass yields. Based on results of pyrolytic reactions conducted tical software SPSS Statistics 17.0 and by establishing multi-
at different heating rates, multiple regression analyses were ple regression with one predictor variable. The relationship
performed to investigate the effect of PLA/PET mixtures with among mixing ratios, heating rates, and mass yields of
different component ratios and heating rates on the mass pyrolytic products was determined by conducting multiple
yields of pyrolytic products and to establish the relationships regression analyses using statistical software SPSS Statistics
among mixing ratios, heating rates, and product yields. 17.0; the multivariate multiple regression equation was also
established.
Analyses of mass yields and energy yields of pyrolytic prod-
ucts. Using the weight and the heating value of raw materials
prior to pyrolysis to represent the amount of energy being RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
produced by incineration, combined with results from the
pyrolysis study to analyze mass yields, energy densification
ratios, and energy yields of pyrolytic products. To discuss the
Property Analyses of Each Specimen
energy yields for incineration and pyrolysis processing, these
factors served as indicators of energy efficiency. The equa- Proximate analysis. Results of proximate analysis (Table 2)
tion for calculating the indicators is as follows:29 indicate that the contents of fixed carbon and ash increase
with increasing PET ratios in specimens, and that volatile
contents increase with increasing PLA ratios. All of the spec-
(6) imens have combustible contents greater than 96%, ash con-
in which tents less than 3%, and a negligible amount of moisture con-
Mintial represents the weight of specimen before pyrolysis tents. Therefore, processing PLA and PET wastes by pyroly-
Mpyrolyzed represents the weight of pyrolytic product sis is feasible, and pyrolysis does not only greatly reduce the
volume of plastic wastes but also lower the cost for disposal
processing.

(7) Analysis of higher heating values. Results of HHV analyses


(Table 3) show that the HHV for PLA and PET are approxi-
HHVintial represents the HHV of specimen before pyrolysis. mately 18.26 MJ/kg and 22.85 MJ/kg; respectively, and the
HHVpyrolyzed represents the HHV of pyrolytic product. HHV are observed to increase with increasing PET ratios in
specimens. The HHV of PLA and PET mixtures are between
those of brown coal and subbituminous coal. PLA and PET
(8) mixture can be used to produce refuse plastic fuel (RPF)
which is one of the applicable renewable energy today.30,31 If
Data and statistical analysis. Equations were established on recycled, RPF may reduce the dependence of modern socie-
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 to allow TGA analysis in order ties on fossil fuels. Developing heat-recycling route in addi-
tion to material recycling also increases the diversity of recy-

CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES 193
TABLE 2
Results of proximate analysis

Specimen ID. (PLA:PET) Fixed carbon Volatile Moisture Ash

S1 (100:0) 0.82 98.75 0.42 0.01

S2 (90:10) 1.16 98.22 0.35 0.27

S3 (70:30) 1.96 96.76 0.33 0.95

S4 (50:50) 2.74 95.57 0.38 1.31

S5 (30:70) 3.77 94.13 0.41 1.69

S6 (10:90) 4.64 92.43 0.39 2.54

S7 (0:100) 4.93 91.82 0.41 2.84

Unit: w.t%

TABLE 3
Higher heating value of each specimen

Specimen ID. HHV

S1 (100:0) 18.26

S2 (90:10) 19.36

S3 (70:30) 20.25

S4 (50:50) 20.98

S5 (30:70) 21.51

S6 (10:90) 22.50

S7 (0:100) 22.85

Unit: MJ/kg

cle routes and adds value to plastic recycling by pyrolysis. greater amounts of hydrogen and oxygen, whereas nitrogen is
not detected in all of the specimens. Generally, substances
Ultimate analysis. Results of ultimate analysis (Table 4) indi- with high carbon and hydrogen contents have comparatively
cate that specimens with greater PET ratios contain greater greater HHV. According to results of ultimate analysis and
amounts of carbon, those with greater PLA ratios contain HHV tests, PET contains a greater amount of carbon but a

TABLE 4
Results of ultimate analysis

Specimen ID.
Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen Nitrogen
(PLA:PET)

S1 (100:0) 53.96 5.81 40.23 N.D.

S2 (90:10) 54.02 5.47 40.51 N.D.

S3 (70:30) 55.64 4.98 39.38 N.D.

S4 (50:50) 57.78 4.73 37.49 N.D.

S5 (30:70) 59.80 4.56 35.64 N.D.

S6 (10:90) 65.87 4.55 29.58 N.D.

S7 (0:100) 67.09 4.47 28.44 N.D.

Unit: w.t%

194 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
slightly lower amount of hydrogen as compared to PLA. DTG curve) is approximately between 625 and 635K, and
However, the overall carbon-hydrogen contents in PET are that of trough 2(the second trough) is approximately between
greater than that in PLA. Therefore, consistent with the result 698 and 715K. At a heating rate of 15℃/min, the maximum
of HHV analysis, the HHV of PET is greater than that of decomposition temperature of S1 is 626K and that of S7 is
PLA. 730K. The temperature of each specimen at trough 1 is ap-
proximately between 637 and 647K, and that of trough 2 is
Thermogravimetric Analysis approximately between 702 and 728K. Finally, at a heating
rate of 20℃/min, the maximum decomposition temperature
TGA was conducted at 3 heating rates (10, 15, and of S1 is 658K and that of S7 is 736K. The temperature of
20℃/min) to determine the maximum decomposition temper- each specimen at trough 1 is approximately between 646 and
ature of each specimen (Table 5). A TG curve and a deriva- 657K, and that of trough 2 is approximately between 718 and
tive thermogravimetric (DTG) curve of weight loss against 735K.Consistent with literature,4,23,32 all of the specimens
time derivative was plotted based on TGA results. Figures 4 complete pyrolysis at temperatures no greater than 773K
to 6 show the results of TGA for S1, S4, and S7. (500℃). The increase of maximum decomposition tempera-
Results of TGA indicate that at a heating rate of 10℃/min, tures in specimens with increasing heating rates is caused by
the maximum decomposition temperature of S1 is 618K and uneven heating at high heating rates. This observation agrees
that of S7 is 716K. The temperature of each specimen at with the theory of thermo analytical kinetics.4,33
trough 1 (the first trough, which marks the lowest point on

TABLE 5
The maximum decomposition temperature of each specimen at different heating rates

10℃/min 15℃/min 20℃/min


Specimen ID. (PLA:PET)
Trough 1 Trough 2 Trough 1 Trough 2 Trough 1 Trough 2

S1 (100:0) 618 -- 626 -- 658 --

S2 (90:10) 635 698 647 702 657 718

S3 (70:30) 633 703 645 718 651 728

S4 (50:50) 630 712 646 725 653 734

S5 (30:70) 625 715 641 728 646 735

S6 (10:90) 626 711 637 726 650 735

S7 (0:100) -- 716 -- 730 -- 736

Unit: K

FIGURE 4
Results of TGA on S1 (heating rate = 10℃/min)

CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES 195
FIGURE 5
Results of TGA on S4 (heating rate = 10℃/min)

FIGURE 6
Results of TGA on S7 (heating rate = 10℃/min)

Analysis of Pyrolysis Kinetics against ln(dx/dt) at a conversion rate of 0.5 followed by de-
riving a series of line slopes at different conversion rates by
Data obtained from TGA (with the temperature set at applying least squares regression. Figure 7 illustrates the rela-
500℃ for both PLA and PET completed pyrolysis at tempera- tionship between the conversion rate (x) and temperature.
Figure 8 shows the relationship between ln(dx/dt) and 1/T at a
tures no greater than 500℃) were subjected to pyrolysis ki-
netics analysis by applying Friedman model to calculate the conversion rate of 0.5 and different heating rates for PET.
The activation energy and mean activation energy of PLA
three main factors in pyrolysis kinetics: activation energy
(Ea), pre-exponential factor (A), and reaction order (n). and PET mixtures at different ratios at a fixed conversion rate
and different heating rates can also be calculated by plotting
Friedman method calculates pyrolysis kinetic parameters in
two stages. First, a series of line slopes (-Ea/R) is derived by 1/T against ln(dx/dt) followed by deriving a series of line
slopes (-Ea/R) by linear regression analysis. Similarly, n and
plotting 1/T against ln(dx/dt) at a fixed conversion rate and
A are obtained according to Equation (5) by determining the
different heating rates followed by linear regression analysis
slope (n) and intercept (lnA) of the line after applying linear
to obtain the activation energy and mean activation energy at
regression analysis, and the kinetic parameters of the speci-
the conversion rate. Second, n and A are acquired by plotting
mens are obtained by applying Friedman model. As shown in
ln(1-x) at a fixed heating rate, wherein the slope is n and the
Table 6, greater PET ratios result in greater the activation
intercept is ln(A). For example, the activation energy and energy and pre-exponential factor. This phenomenon may be
mean activation energy of PET are obtained by plotting 1/T
attributed to that the majority of bonds within PLA are single

196 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 7
The relationship between the conversion rate and temperature at different heating rates for PET

FIGURE 8
The relationship between ln(dx/dt) and 1/T at a conversion rate of 0.5 and different heating rates for PET.

TABLE 6
The kinetic parameters of each specimen at different heating rates derived from Friedman method

10℃/min 15℃/min 20℃/min


Specimen ID. Ea
(PLA:PET) (kJ/mol)
n A n A n A

S1 (100:0) 3.61 2.55E+08 3.63 2.58E+08 3.60 3.28E+08 115.56

S2 (90:10) 2.21 3.00E+07 2.14 2.70E+07 2.24 3.10E+07 126.65

S3 (70:30) 1.52 1.62E+09 1.40 1.63E+09 1.54 1.62E+09 152.13

S4 (50:50) 3.29 1.41E+09 3.02 9.01E+08 3.00 9.00E+08 168.11

S5 (30:70) 3.10 2.71E+11 3.28 2.85E+11 2.73 1.61E+11 179.03

S6 (10:90) 4.05 4.67E+10 4.06 3.85E+10 4.06 3.31E+10 208.74

S7 (0:100) 1.79 2.14E+11 1.70 2.09E+11 1.79 2.54E+11 226.56

bonds, thus the energy required for bond breaking is relative- energy of PLA and PET mixtures is lower than that of pure
ly low. In comparison, PET contains a greater number of PET during pyrolysis, and PLA and PET mixtures require
benzene and double bonds and a greater amount of energy is less energy to achieve pyrolysis, which are consistent with
required to break these bonds. Consequently, the activation literature.20

CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES 197
The Mass Yields and Energy Yields of condition is beneficial for pyrolytic reactions. However, heat
Pyrolytic Products transfer effect can influence internal pyrolytic reactions when
a great difference exists between the internal and surface
The mass yields of pyrolytic products. Table 7 and Figures 9 temperatures of reactants. As heating rate increases the
to 11 show the mass yields of solid, gaseous, and condensa- amount and rate of reactant weight loss, the pyrolytic rate,
tion products of pyrolytic reactions in each specimen at dif- and the decomposition temperature (the initial, maximum,
ferent heating rates. Results of pyrolysis study indicate that and terminal decomposition temperatures) shift towards the
greater PET ratios in specimens result in greater mass yields high temperature zone. The mass yield of gaseous products is
of solid and condensation products, and greater PLA ratios also higher because prolonged retention time of volatiles in-
result in greater mass yields of gaseous products. Greater tensifies the secondary pyrolysis. The reported observations
heating rates are also found to result in greater mass yields of of this study are consistent with results of this study.
condensation and gaseous products and smaller mass yields
of solid products, and the converse is true for lower heating Estimations of product yields. The specimens in the study are
rates. Heating rates have been demonstrated to affect mixtures of PLA and PET with defined ratios. However,
pyrolytic reactions in two aspects.34 At low heating rates, PLA/PET ratios in recovered plastic wastes in practice may
reactants are unable to promptly reach the target decomposi- not be identical to the defined ratios. Therefore, regression
tion temperature; the prolonged low internal temperature analyses were used to estimate the mass yields of pyrolytic
phase is beneficial for the generation of solid products. Con- products of PLA/PET mixtures with different component
versely, the time required for reactants to reach decomposi- ratios and to establish the relationship between the mixing
tion temperature is shortened at high heating rates, and this ratios and product yields.

TABLE 7
The mass yields of pyrolytic products

Specimen ID. 10°C/min 15°C/min 20°C/min


(PLA:PET)
Solid Condensate Gaseous Solid Condensate Gaseous Solid Condensate Gaseous

S1 (100:0) 29.38 2.13 68.49 28.45 2.18 69.37 24.58 2.59 72.83

S2 (90:10) 30.70 2.17 67.13 32.43 2.69 64.88 17.90 4.54 77.57

S3 (70:30) 43.12 3.26 53.62 44.77 3.87 51.36 32.10 4.79 63.11

S4 (50:50) 55.28 3.68 41.04 51.84 4.94 43.22 46.28 5.39 48.33

S5 (30:70) 67.49 3.75 28.76 64.55 4.82 30.63 63.54 5.79 30.67

S6 (10:90) 78.78 3.84 17.38 75.47 5.27 19.26 72.86 6.32 20.82

S7 (0:100) 85.64 4.02 10.34 81.36 5.33 13.31 77.83 6.46 15.71

Unit: w.t%

FIGURE 9
The mass yields of solid products of each specimen at different heating rates

198 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 10
The mass yields of condensation products of each specimen at different heating rates

FIGURE 11
The mass yield of gaseous products of each specimen at different heating rates

The relationship between the proportion of PLA in a mix- Y2=6.6-5.7X+12.05X2-10.02X3 (R2=0.94)


ture and the mass yields of solid, condensation, and gaseous Y3=16.82+5.47X+178.21X2-125.89X3 (R2=0.99)
products at a pyrolytic temperature of 500°C and a heating
rate of 10°C/min are as follows: Wherein, X represents the proportion of PLA in a
PLA/PET mixture, Y1 represents yields of solid products, Y2
Y1=85.03-50.36X-34.54X2+28.3X3 (R2=0.99) represents the yields of condensation, and Y3 represents the
Y2=3.95-0.28X-0.13X2-1.57X3 (R2=0.96) yield of gaseous products.
Y3=11.02+50.64X+34.67X2-26.72X3 (R2=0.99) The above regression relations can be used to estimate the
mass yields of pyrolytic products generated from PLA/PET
Their relationship at a pyrolytic temperature of 500°C and mixtures with different component ratios. The mixing ratios
a heating rate of 15°C/min are as follows: may also be back-estimated from the mass yields of pyrolytic
products using the equations.
Y1=81.52-63.6X+18.88X2-8.64X3 (R2=0.99)
Y2=5.31-0.59X-0.29X2-2.35X3 (R2=0.98) The relationship among effect mixing ratios, heating rates,
Y3=13.17+64.19X-18.59X2+10.98X3 (R2=0.99) and product yields. Multiple regression analyses were con-
ducted based on experimental results of pyrolytic studies to
investigate the relationship among PLA/PET ratios, heating
Finally, their relationship at a pyrolytic temperature of
rates, and the mass yields of pyrolytic products, and to estab-
500°C and a heating rate of 20°C/min are as follows:
lish their relationships.
The relationship at a pyrolytic temperature of 500°C are
Y1=76.58+0.21X-190.19X2+135.87X3 (R2=0.99)

CO-PYROLYSIS STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE PLASTIC WASTES 199
as follows: cation ratios and energy yields of solid and condensation
products generated from pyrolytic reactions were calculated
Y1=-57.32X1-0.79X2+93.1 (R2=0.98, X1 and X2 are both by applying Equations (7) and (8). Analyses on the energy
statistically significant) densification ratio and energy yield of gaseous products were
omitted in this study due to its challenge level and higher
Y2=-2.72X1+0.19X2+2.75 (R2=0.89, X1 and X2 are both costs. Results of pyrolytic experiments indicate that heating
statistically significant) rates have limited effects on the HHV of pyrolytic products.
Thus energy densification ratios and energy yields of solid
Y3=60.04X1+0.6X2+4.15 (R2=0.98, X1 and X2 are both and condensation products were calculated based on the HHV
statistically significant) of products at a heating rate of 15°C/min (Tables 8 and 9).
The HHV of the solid and condensation products of the spec-
Wherein, X1 represents the proportion of PLA in a imens are similar before and after pyrolytic reactions; conse-
PLA/PET mixture, X2 represents the heating rate, Y1 repre- quently, variation in energy densification ratios before and
sents the yields of solid products, Y2 represents the yields of after pyrolytic reactions is insignificant (between 1.00 and
condensation products, and Y3 represents the yield of gaseous 1.08). Evidently, energy densification ratios have little effects
products. on energy yields. Variations in energy yields are mainly af-
Three conclusions are derived based on the above equa- fected by the mass yields of products; that is, greater PET
tions: ratios in specimens and lower heating rates lead to greater
1. Both the PLA ratios and heating rates are negatively cor- energy yields from solid products, and greater PET ratios and
related to the mass yields of solid products. In other the higher heating rates lead to greater energy yields from
words, the mass yields of solid pyrolytic products may condensates. Because variations in energy yield are more
be increased by reducing both PLA ratios and heating significant in solid products than in condensates, the trend of
rates. total energy yield is mainly affected by and is consistent with
2. PLA ratios are negatively correlated to the mass yields of the energy yield from solid products. That is, greater PET
condensation products, whereas heating rates are posi- ratios in specimens and lower heating rates lead to greater
tively correlated to the yields of condensation products. energy yield from solid and condensation products, with a
In other words, the yields of condensation products may maximum yield of 92.31%. Therefore, pyrolytic reactions
be increased by reducing PLA ratios and increasing heat- may be performed at greater PET ratios and lower heating
ing rates. rates in the future if the energy yields of solid and condensa-
3. Both the PLA ratios and heating rates are positively cor- tion products are the first priority.
related to the mass yields of gaseous products. In other By summarizing the results of energy yields, the energy
words, the mass yields of gaseous pyrolytic products densification ratio (HHV of products/HHV of reactants) is
may be increased by increasing both PLA contents and slightly greater than 1. Therefore, without accounting for
heating rates. energy yield from gaseous products, the total energy yield of
pyrolytic solid and condensation products is lower than the
The energy yields of pyrolytic products. The energy densifi- energy yield of reactants before pyrolysis.

TABLE 8
The energy densification ratio of pyrolytic reaction products

Solid products after pyrolysis Condensates after pyrolysis


Specimen ID.
HHV before pyrolysis Energy densification Energy densification
(PLA:PET) HHV HHV
ratio ratio

S1 (100:0) 18.26 18.69 1.02 18.73 1.03

S2 (90:10) 19.36 19.33 1.00 19.85 1.03

S3 (70:30) 20.25 20.16 1.00 20.44 1.01

S4 (50:50) 20.98 21.46 1.02 21.85 1.04

S5 (30:70) 21.51 22.20 1.03 22.84 1.06

S6 (10:90) 22.50 23.20 1.03 24.22 1.08

S7 (0:100) 22.85 23.47 1.03 24.73 1.08

Unit of HHV: MJ/kg


Heating rate: 15℃/min

200 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 9
The energy yield of pyrolytic reaction products

Solid products Condensates Total yields


Specimen ID.
(PLA:PET) 10 15 20 10 15 20 10 15 20
°C/min °C/min °C/min °C/min °C/min °C/min °C/min °C/min °C/min

S1 (100:0) 30.06 29.11 25.15 2.18 2.24 2.66 32.24 31.35 27.81

S2 (90:10) 30.65 32.38 17.87 2.22 2.76 4.65 32.87 35.14 22.52

S3 (70:30) 42.93 44.58 31.96 3.29 3.91 4.83 46.22 48.49 36.79

S4 (50:50) 56.55 53.03 47.34 3.83 5.15 5.61 60.38 58.18 52.95

S5 (30:70) 69.65 66.62 65.58 3.98 5.12 6.15 73.63 71.74 71.73

S6 (10:90) 81.22 77.80 75.11 4.13 5.67 6.80 85.35 83.47 81.91

S7 (0:100) 87.96 83.56 79.94 4.35 5.77 6.99 92.31 89.33 86.93

Unit: %

CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Results of this study demonstrate that using co-pyrolysis Special thanks to Chun-Yu Chen and Yung-Tai Wang for
technology to process PLA and PET is a feasible approach to their dedication in assisting with data analysis and integration
avoid the need of separating one from another. Furthermore, for this research.
pyrolysis may effectively reduce the volume of PLA and PET
wastes. Future considerations for practical applications may
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202 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN
BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING

Krishna R. Reddy1*, Professor


Email: kreddy@uic.edu

Rajiv K. Giri*, Graduate Research Assistant


Email: giri2@uic.edu

Hanumanth S. Kulkarni*, Graduate Research Assistant


Email: hskuic@gmail.com

*University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Civil & Materials Engineering


842 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607

ABSTRACT

Vertical wells (VW), commonly used for leachate recirculation in bioreactor landfills, have an
advantage over other recirculation systems as they can be installed either during the construc-
tion of a landfill or after its closure. Currently, the design of VWs is based on very limited field
and laboratory investigations and modeling studies that has resulted in a large variation in their
performance in the field. The main objective of this paper is to perform a detailed parametric
study using two-phase flow model and develop design charts for the rational design and opera-
tion of VWs. Effects of the leachate recirculation rate, hydraulic properties of the MSW, and
depth of VW on MSW wetted diameter, wetted area, developed pore pressures (water and
landfill gas), and the length of time to reach the steady-state condition are studied. Modeling
was performed for both homogeneous and isotropic, and heterogeneous and anisotropic MSW
(most representatives of field conditions). An example of the application of VWs is presented
through the design charts for this field system that are developed as part of the study. Overall,
the design charts provide useful guidance to the design and operation of VWs during leachate
recirculation.

Keywords: Vertical well, two-phase flow, moisture distribution, pore water pressure, pore gas
pressure, design chart

INTRODUCTION that it can be installed in a closed or active conventional land-


fill to increase the moisture distribution, thus converting an
Vertical injection wells drilled into a landfill at the desired existing landfill into a bioreactor landfill. Moreover, the in-
locations and depths allow the recirculation of leachate into stallation is simple, essentially drilling a well to required
the compacted municipal solid waste (MSW). The construc- depth at a desired location. Depending upon the volume of
tion of a VW is similar to that of a gas extraction well (Rein- the MSW and other parameters, such as the initial moisture
hart and Townsend, 1997). The main advantage of a VW is content, density of compacted fill, and hydraulic properties of

___________________________________
1
Corresponding author: University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Civil & Materials Engineering; Email: kreddy@uic.edu

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 203
the MSW, VWs should be designed to achieve increased Numerical two-phase flow model
uniform distribution of moisture throughout the landfill mass
(Reinhart and Townsend, 1997; Jain et al., 2010; Reddy et al., The two-phase flow model considers the flow of the two
2013). immiscible fluids (leachate as wetting fluid and landfill gas as
The studies that document this moisture distribution in a non-wetting fluid) that fill the pore spaces of the MSW. The
bioreactor landfill using VWs as the leachate distribution flow of each fluid is described by Darcy's law with the un-
system are limited in number. Khire and Mukherjee (2007) saturated hydraulic conductivity represented by van
presented a study on moisture distribution in a bioreactor Genuchten function (Peaceman 1977; Lu and Likos, 2004;
landfill by implementing a mathematical model of VWs as a ICGI, 2011; Reddy et al., 2013). The pore fluid pressure
leachate recirculation system (LRS). That study used a model difference between gaseous phase and liquid phase is also
of a landfill assumed to be 100 m wide and 20 m high and known as capillary pressure, and it is a function of degree of
also assumed the MSW to be homogeneous and isotropic. leachate saturation. In the numerical two-phase flow model,
The authors assumed hydraulic properties for that homogene- the governing equations of unsaturated MSW are given by
ous and isotropic MSW similar to those of silt loam. They the linear momentum balance and the fluid balance laws
presented the maximum influence diameter around the VW, (based on mass balance) and are given as:
injection pressure and pressure head on the liner with respect
to leachate injection rate, and saturated hydraulic conductivi- ρ = ρ d + n( S L ρ L + S G ρ G ) (1)
ty of the MSW. However, the characteristics of silt loam are
not a realistic representation of the MSW samples taken in
the field at operational landfills. Reinhart et al. (1998) pre-  S ∂PL ∂S L   ∂qiL 
n L +  = − 
(2)
sented a study of an LRS that used a single phase flow analy-  K L ∂t ∂t   ∂xi 
sis to simulate the flow pattern in the bioreactor landfill cell
and presented results on the lateral and upward movement of
 S ∂PG ∂S G   ∂q iG 
leachate injected in VWs. Jain et al. (2010) studied the mois- n G +  = −   (3)
ture distribution in a landfill cell using VWs, but the unsatu-  K G ∂t ∂t   ∂x i 
rated hydraulic properties of sand were assumed to simulate
the MSW, which is again not a realistic representation of the Where: n = porosity, SL = leachate (liquid) saturation, SG =gas
filed observations. saturation, PL = pore liquid pressure, PG = pore gas pressure,
To date, VWs are being designed for use in the field and ρL, ρG = fluid densities of liquid and gaseous phases, ρd =
operated based on empirical assumptions and rules of thumb matrix dry density, KL and KG= liquid and gas bulk modulus,
that originate with the very limited collection of laboratory respectively, q iL and q iG = flow rate of wetting liquid and
and field observations. This has led to variations in their
performance. The main reason for this is that those modeling non-wetting gas given by Darcy’s law.
scenarios are constructed based on improper assumptions. The above governing Eqn. (1) through Eqn. (3) for the
The studies presented either assume the saturated MSW con- two-phase unsaturated flow are solved numerically with the
dition is isotropic or homogeneous MSW and/or a single Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) program using
phase flow process or improperly assume the unsaturated the finite difference method (ICGI, 2011). The use of the
hydraulic properties of the MSW by considering the soils that FLAC model is validated by reported laboratory and field
do not represent real MSW. Thus, it is of utmost importance studies as well as previous modeling studies by Kulkarni
to develop a rational method for understanding the functions (2012). The FLAC model can predict the laboratory, field and
of and designing VWs based on observations and sampling previous modeling results reasonably well (Kulkarni, 2012).
that reflects the real-life environment of a landfill.
The main objective of this study is to perform a paramet- Model implementation
ric analysis developed to investigate the effects of the saturat-
ed hydraulic conductivity of the MSW, leachate injection Conceptual model. In this study, the properties of the MSW
rate, dimension and location of VWs with respect to leachate are considered as (a) homogeneous-isotropic (HIW) and (b)
collection and removal system (LCRS) on moisture distribu- heterogeneous-anisotropic waste (HTAW) and those condi-
tion indicating the maximum wetted diameter, maximum tions are the basis for the many simulations and results that
wetted area, and pore water and gas pressures developed. A are compared. A bioreactor landfill cell with 100 m wide and
validated two-phase flow mathematical model was imple- 30 m high was selected for the two-phase flow numerical
mented to simulate the different scenarios and to understand model (Figure 1). A single vertical well (VW) of 0.3 m in
the moisture distribution in a landfill cell. This paper presents diameter was located at the center of the model. The VW was
the two-phase flow model development and procedure for assumed to be backfilled with clay having saturated hydraulic
this parametric analysis. The design charts developed are conductivity of 10-8 cm/s and the injection screen of 3.0 m
based on these results and their use is explained with an ex- was considered to have gravel as backfill material with satu-
ample of a field application. rated hydraulic conductivity of 10-2 cm/s. The depth between
the leachate injection screen and the leachate collection and
MODELING METHODOLOGY removal system (LCRS) was varied as 3, 5, 7 and 9, repre-
senting a non-dimensional parameter called the ratio of depth

204 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
of LCRS to the height of leachate injection screen. the effect of heterogeneous waste was ignored.
Modeling of moisture distribution greatly depends on the The effect of heterogeneous and anisotropic waste on
size of the grid that is assumed in the analysis. Therefore, moisture distribution was considered by varying the hydraulic
different square grid sizes ranging from 1.0 m to 0.1 m that properties with depth in each compacted layer of the MSW
represent the model to grid size ratios of 40, 30, 20 and 10, based on heterogeneous factor “B.” Based on the laboratory
were evaluated to understand the effect of the grid size ratio investigation conducted, Reddy et al. (2009) found the value
on moisture distribution. Based on those results and the for “B” in Eq. 4 is equal to 5.3. However, “B” can vary de-
length of time required to conduct the computations, a square pending on the composition of the MSW. This leads to the
grid size of 0.3 m was deemed optimal. All the boundaries “B” value being varied from 0 to 6 during the simulations to
are assumed to be impermeable and no external infiltration represent the potential heterogeneity of the MSW. The initial
was considered since only the subsurface hydraulics was saturated hydraulic conductivity with respect to zero normal
significant in this study. The LCRS was represented in the pressure (kv0) was varied from 10-2 to 10-6 cm/s. In addition,
two-phase flow model by fixing the pore pressures in the the saturated hydraulic conductivity in horizontal direction
bottom most grids. This results in zero pore pressures, allow- was varied in each layer during the simulations. The horizon-
ing the amount of leachate entering the LCRS to be comput- tal saturated hydraulic conductivity is related to vertical hy-
ed. Further, it is assumed that there is no leachate accumula- draulic conductivity by:
tion above the LCRS at any time. Losses in the pipe networks
and pumping system are purposefully not considered in the k h = Ak v (5)
model.

Material properties. Initially, the flow problem was simpli- Where: A = anisotropy factor
fied by considering the MSW as homogeneous-isotropic It is well known fact that the anisotropy of soils is approx-
waste with MSW unit weight equals to 11 kN/m3 (Reddy et imately 10 (Tchobanoglous, 1993). Anisotropy factor “A”
al. 2009; Reddy et al. 2011). Reddy et al. (2009) conducted a was thus defined and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of
laboratory study to determine the saturated hydraulic conduc- the MSW in each layer incorporating the anisotropy factor
tivity of the MSW under applied normal pressure to represent “A” to vary as 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, and the heterogeneity
the waste compaction in layers in a field operation, and this factor “B” was defined as 0, 2, 4 and 6 in Eq. 5 and Eq. 4,
data can be expressed by the following relationship: respectively, to represent heterogeneous and anisotropic con-
dition of the waste.
Flow in unsaturated MSW depends on the unsaturated
hydraulic parameters of the MSW. The van Genuchten func-
(4) tion represents the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the
MSW that involves different constant parameters: residual
saturation, saturated moisture content, matric suction, fitting
Where: σ' is the effective normal stress, Pa is the atmospheric parameters "a,” "b,” "c,” and "P0.” These parameters were
pressure, and kv0 is the initial saturated hydraulic conductivity kept constant in all of the model simulations and their values
at zero normal stress. were selected from the published literature according to the
Based on the laboratory investigation, Reddy et al. (2009) values for a sample of fresh MSW extracted from a French
presented a large variation of saturated hydraulic conductivity bioreactor landfill as given by Stoltz et al. (2012) having the
ranging from 10-2 to 10-6 cm/s for low and high applied nor- MSW dry unit weight of 6.08 kN/m3. Based on the typical
mal pressure, respectively. Considering this fact, the value for leachate injection rate adopted in field, the leachate injection
"kv0" in Eqn.4 was assumed to vary from 10-2 to 10-6 cm/s. rate (Qi) was varied between 5 and 55 m3/d (Table 1). The
The unit weight of the MSW, for all waste conditions, was maximum saturated width of the MSW and area were meas-
assumed to be equal to 11 kN/m3 (Reddy et al. 2009; Reddy ured with respect to saturation greater than 60% (initial de-
et al. 2011). To represent homogeneous and isotropic waste, gree of saturation of the MSW was 40%). Pore water and gas
the value for “B” in Eqn. 4 was assumed as zero; as a result, pressures during the transient condition and the maximum

TABLE 1
Modeling scenarios for parametric study with vertical wells as leachate recirculation system

Variables
MSW Condition
Qi (m3/d) DVW/HS kv0 (cm/s) Anisotropy Factor “A” Heterogeneous Factor “B”

Homogeneous and Isotropic 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5,


5, 15, 25, 35, 45, and 55 3, 5, 7, and 9 1 0
MSW and 10-6

Heterogeneous and Aniso- 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5,


5, 15, 25, 35, 45, and 55 3, 5, 7, and 9 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 0, 2, 4, and 6
tropic MSW and 10-6

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 205
pore water pressure at steady-state condition were also com- and 55 m3/d in VW
puted and compared. • Saturated hydraulic conductivity for homogeneous
Initial saturation, residual saturation and the initial porosi- and isotropic waste is computed based on Eq. 4,
ty of the MSW are assumed as 25%, 40% and 45%, respec- with the value for "kv0" as 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5, and
tively, in all of the simulations in this study. The other hy- 10-6 cm/s. To represent homogeneous and isotropic
draulic and mechanical properties assumed and their respec- waste, the value of "B" in Eqn. 4 is assumed as zero.
tive sources from the published literature are documented in • Varying the depth of VW (DVW) to the LCRS, meas-
Table 2. ured from the center of leachate injection screen
(Figure 1) to the LCRS, corresponds to the different
Modeling scenarios. The wetted diameter, wetted and pore VW dimensions and locations and is represented by
water and gas pressures developed due to leachate recircula- the non-dimensional parameter called depth to
tion were compared when the VW was assumed as a LRS. screen height ratio (DVW/HS), which is varied as 27,
The following variables were considered for each of the 21, 15, and 9.
MSW conditions, namely homogeneous and isotropic, and
heterogeneous and anisotropic waste. These simulations were
performed until the steady-state conditions were achieved:
• Different leachate injection rates of 5, 15, 25, 35, 45,

TABLE 2
Constant hydraulic and material properties used for parametric study

Parameter Value Remarks Source

Hydraulic Properties

Residual moisture content (θr) (%):


MSW 20
Gravel 2

van Genuchten parameter (α) (/kPa):


MSW 2.9 – 5.7 (4.55) 1. Laboratory experiments conducted
1. MSW based on Stoltz et
Gravel 5.7 on fresh MSW collected from French
al. (2012) - γd = 6.08 kN/m3
Bioreactor Landfill
2. Gravel based on Haydar
2. Laboratory experiments conducted
van Genuchten parameter (a): and Khire (2005)
on gravel
MSW 0.318 – 0.88 (0.65)
Gravel 0.88

van Genuchten parameter (b) 0.50

van Genuchten parameter (c) 0.50

Porosity (n) (%):


MSW 63 40% to 80%
Variable for (MSW)
gravel 47 Typical

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (k ) (cm/s):


sat -2 -5
-3
1.0x10 to 1.0x10 Variable
MSW 1.0x10
-2 Laboratory tests conducted on gravel Haydar and Khire (2005)
Gravel
1.0x10

Mechanical Properties
Bulk modulus of the MSW (Pa) 1.5x105 Varied between 1.0x105 to 4.5 x105 ---
5 5 5
Shear modulus of the MSW (Pa) 1.0x10 Varied between 1.0 x10 to 2.0 x10 ---
3
Unit weight of the MSW (kN/m ) 11.5 Laboratory experiments conducted on Reddy et al. (2011)
fresh MSW collected from Bioreactor
Landfill in USA

206 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 1
Bioreactor landfill cell model with vertical well for parametric study

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Saturation contours


In the study, the leachate injection rate, saturated hydrau- A typical saturation contour showing the moisture distri-
lic conductivity and dimensions and location of the VW in bution in a landfill cell using a VW as LRS is shown in Fig-
the landfill model were varied. The wetted MSW width, area, ure 2, and indicates the maximum saturated width and area
maximum pore water pressure were compared for the differ- measurements with respect to the initial saturation of the
ent leachate injection rates and saturated hydraulic conductiv- MSW. The maximum pore water and gas pressures devel-
ities of the MSW, assuming different dimensions and location oped in the landfill cell and wetted diameter and area corre-
of the injection screen in the VW in the landfill cell and con- sponding to the saturation greater than 60% (initial saturation
sidering the three different MSW conditions. Finally, the of the MSW was 40%) were compared for these scenarios.
design charts were developed based on the initial parameters The leachate recirculation was performed until the steady-
used in the model simulations. state condition was reached. This is a significant considera-

FIGURE 2
Typical saturation contour for injection rate of 25 m3/d vertical well with saturated hydraulic conductivity of 10-4 cm/s and
DVW/HS = 5

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 207
tion given that the effects of the MSW condition significantly respect to high saturated hydraulic conductivity of 10-2 cm/s;
impact the moisture distribution and, that the design of LRS the value was 70 when the DVW/HS = 9. The higher saturated
therefore depends on the MSW condition and properties. hydraulic conductivity caused the leachate injected in the
Moisture saturation with respect to the initial degree of satu- MSW to migrate towards the LCRS located at the bottom of
ration (40%) was compared for the different leachate injec- the landfill.
tion rates and the results of the study of the saturated hydrau- Figure 3(b) illustrates the effects on the maximum influ-
lic conductivity of the MSW indicates that when the hydrau- enced diameter around VW for the different DVW/HS ratios
lic conductivity is found to be lower, then the area covered when the heterogeneous factor B = 6 and the anisotropy fac-
within the MSW is greater. tor A = 6 (i.e., HTAW condition). The normalized maximum
influenced diameter around the VW, when the results for the
Wetted diameter and area homogeneous-isotropic are compared (Figure 3a), shows that
the WWmax/dVW values increase when the waste is heterogene-
Leachate injection rate, saturated hydraulic conductivity ous-anisotropic. For example, the maximum WWmax/dVW
and the location of the VW were varied for different VW value for A = 1, B = 0 (homogeneous-isotropic waste) and
depths and the resulting wetted diameter and wetted area DVW/HS ratio of 5 was 80 with saturated hydraulic conductivi-
were compared for saturation greater than 60% (initial MSW ty of 10-5 cm/s and the same has increased to a value of 100
saturation was 40%). The wetted diameter (DWmax) (normal- when A = 6 and B = 6 with saturated hydraulic conductivity
ized to the diameter of VW (dVW)) is plotted in Figure 3 for of 10-5 cm/s (Figure 3(b)). This indicates the effect of assum-
all considered MSW conditions. As shown in Figure 3(a), the ing the MSW as heterogeneous; it increases the maximum
maximum diameter of the wetted area of influence occurs in influenced diameter around VW. Further, low saturated hy-
the homogeneous-isotropic waste, as measured around the draulic conductivity below the VW with the anisotropic con-
VW for varying leachate injection rates and saturated hydrau- dition resists the vertical migration of injected leachate and
lic conductivity of the MSW. It is observed to be more than this results in the lateral spread increasing the WWmax/dVW
200 for lower saturated hydraulic conductivity of 10-6 cm/s values.
with high leachate injection rate of 55 m3/d and DVW/HS = 3. The maximum wetted area (WAmax) (normalized with
The results are quite different for the same situation with respect to the initial total area of the landfill cell (CellArea)) for

FIGURE 3(a)
Maximum influence diameter of MSW around VW for different DVW/HS ratios with varying leachate injection rate and saturated
hydraulic conductivity of MSW in homogeneous and isotropic waste

208 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 3(b)
Maximum influence diameter of MSW around VW for different DVW/HS ratios with varying leachate injection rate and saturated
hydraulic conductivity of MSW in heterogeneous and anisotropic waste with A = 6, B = 6

the different normalized DVW/HS ratios using homogeneous- Pore water and gas pressures
isotropic MSW are presented in Figure 4(a), with varying
leachate recirculation rate and saturated hydraulic conductivi- The increase in the MSW moisture enhances the biodeg-
ty. The total MSW area considered in the model was 3000 radation of the MSW (Barlaz and Ham, 1993; Bayard et al.
m2. It is clear that the WAmax/CellArea value for the lower 2005; and Bogner et al. 2001). However, excess leachate
DVW/HS values has created a wetted area that is about 30% injection can induce high pore pressures in the MSW and
higher than the initial area in the landfill (Figure 4a). Further, endanger the physical stability of the landfill. Therefore, it is
the increase in the DVW/HS ratio has also increased the VW important to prevent the excess pore pressure built up while
depth into the landfill; therefore, it has decreased the MSW increasing the moisture content in MSW. The two-phase flow
wetted area caused by migration of leachate into the LCRS. implemented in this study estimated the pore water and gas
The wetted influenced area, when compared for heteroge- pressures with time due to leachate recirculation.
neous-anisotropic MSW in Figure 4(b) for different DVW/HS Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show, for HIW and HTAW condi-
ratios with respect to the saturation greater than 40%, showed tions, respectively, the distribution of the pore water and gas
that the WAmax/CellArea value with greater DVW/HS ratios in- pressures with the height of the landfill for a leachate injec-
creased to about 55% of the initial MSW area in the landfill tion rate of 25 m3/day during one week flow, four weeks flow
(was 30% in homogeneous-isotropic waste) when that landfill and at the steady-state condition for a DVW/HS ratio of 3 and
is saturated with the highest leachate injection rate of 55 m3/d saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW as 10-4 cm/s.
and low saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW of 10-6 The evolution of pore water and gas pressures with time (one
cm/s. In addition to the heterogeneous waste condition, the week flow, four weeks flow and at steady-state condition) is
anisotropic property of the MSW causes the lateral spread of illustrated in these figures. During the initial stage of leachate
the injected leachate, resulting in a higher wetted area in this injection or first week flow, the pore gas pressure is higher
waste condition than was seen in the homogeneous-isotropic than the pore water pressure because of the unsaturated MSW
waste conditions at the steady-state condition. properties found in the homogeneous-isotropic waste. Maxi-
mum pressures of about 55 and 73 kPa for pore water and gas

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 209
FIGURE 4(a)
Maximum influenced area around VW for different DVW/HS ratios with varying leachate injection rate and saturated hydraulic
conductivity of MSW in homogeneous and isotropic waste

pressures, respectively, were observed but only near the in- sure will eventually become dominant due to the saturation of
jection point during that initial week flow. Over time, the the voids between the solids. It is important to note that the
successive leachate injection results in lower gas pressure as pore pressure values observed for both fluids (water and gas)
the pore water pressure builds during the injection and the were higher for HTAW condition than in HIW due to the
leachate displaces the gas once located in the pores between lower hydraulic conductivity values found in the deeper lay-
the MSW solids. Leachate injection continued for four weeks ers of the landfill.
further increased the degree of saturation and, therefore, the Since the leachate was recirculated until the steady-state
pore water pressure was higher than the gas pressure (about condition was attained in the landfill cell, the normalized
88 and 75 kPa for pore water and gas pressures, respectively). maximum pore water pressure (respect to atmospheric pres-
Finally, when the steady-state condition was attained, the sure of 101.32 kPa) developed in accordance with the differ-
pore pressure was due exclusively to the injected leachate ent leachate injection rates and varying saturated hydraulic
since all the voids between the solids are filled with the conductivity of the MSW when the VW injection screen was
leachate. The maximum pore water pressure at steady-state located in homogeneous-isotropic waste at different depths as
condition was 117 kPa near the leachate injection screen. measured from the ground surface. Figure 6(a) shows the
When the MSW is considered heterogeneous-anisotropic normalized maximum pore water pressure (Pwmax) for the
with decreasing saturated hydraulic conductivity with depth different leachate injection rates and saturated hydraulic con-
and relatively higher saturated hydraulic conductivity in lat- ductivity of that MSW. Note that the maximum pore pressure
eral direction due to anisotropy, the pore water and gas pres- values plotted here were observed only near the vicinity of
sures are higher during the initial stages (one week flow) of leachate injection screen in the VW. For the high saturated
leachate recirculation (Figure 5b). Continued recirculation of hydraulic conductivity of 10-2 cm/s, the developed pore water
leachate with time increases the pore water pressure com- pressure is observed to be very low; nearly equal to zero for
pared to the gas pressure first, and then the pore water pres- low leachate injection rate. The injected leachate migrates to

210 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 4(b)
Maximum influenced area around VW for different DVW/HS ratios with varying leachate injection rate and saturated hydraulic
conductivity of MSW in heterogeneous and anisotropic waste with A = 6, B = 6

the LCRS at faster rate and, therefore, the leachate pressure pore water pressure will be greater than recorded in the ho-
developed is very low for every injection rate. For example, mogeneous-isotropic waste. Recent studies conducted by
the values for Pwmax/pa are 0.12 and 0.25, respectively, for Qi Reddy and Kulkarni (2010); Kulkarni and Reddy (2010); and
= 5 and 55 m3/d in VW with saturated hydraulic conductivity Giri and Reddy (2013) show that intermittent leachate recir-
of the MSW as 10-4 cm/s. Furthermore, the decrease in the culation, when used from the outset, reduces these developed
saturated hydraulic conductivity increased the pore water pore pressures effectively.
pressure developed in the landfill mass. For instance, the
Pwmax/pa value for Qi = 25 m3/d/m and the DVW/HS ratio of 5,
are 0.002, 0.005, 0.04, 0.15 and 0.35 for the saturated hydrau- DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN CHARTS
lic conductivity of 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5 and 10-6 cm/s, respec-
tively. Design charts are developed for the use of a VW as a
Figure 6(b) shows the normalized maximum pore water leachate recirculation system (LRS) based on the simulations
pressure for different leachate injection rates, saturated hy- of the moisture distribution in the MSW that were performed
draulic conductivity and location of the leachate injection by varying the hydraulic properties of the MSW, leachate
screen in the VW placed in heterogeneous-anisotropic waste. injection rate, and location of VW screen. These charts rely
The Pwmax/pa values are low for lower leachate injection rate on steady-state condition results and are specifically based on
and higher saturated hydraulic conductivity, with values of simulations of the wetted diameter, wetted area, and pore
0.03 and 0.14, respectively, for Qi = 5 and 15 m3/d. It is inter- water pressure developed. The design charts are defined in
esting to note that when the leachate injection rates increased terms of non-dimensional variables.
in the heterogeneous-anisotropic MSW, the pore pressures Leachate recirculation rate is normalized as a function of
were higher than those rates found in the homogeneous- depth of VW measured from ground surface of the landfill
isotropic waste under a similar circumstance. In contrast, the and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW is given
study shows that due to a decrease in the saturated hydraulic by:
conductivity of the MSW in the deeper compacted layers, the

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 211
FIGURE 5(b)
FIGURE 5(a) Pore water and gas pressure distributions in the landfill cell
Pore water and gas pressure distributions in the landfill cell for for DVW/HS ratio of 3, leachate injection rate of 25 m3/d and
DVW/HS ratio of 3, leachate injection rate of 25 m3/d and satu- saturated hydraulic conductivity of MSW as 10-4 cm/s in
rated hydraulic conductivity of MSW as 10-4 cm/s in homoge- heterogeneous-anisotropic waste
neous and isotropic waste

Qi the values presented in the literature and the values generally


Qs = (6) observed in the field (Haydar and Khire, 2007; Reddy et al.,
DVW k v 0 2009a and b).
Similar to the maximum wetted diameter of the MSW, the
The maximum wetted diameter around the VW in the maximum wetted MSW area is computed with respect to the
MSW mass is normalized based on the VW diameter (dVW) degree of saturation greater than the initial degree of satura-
implemented in the landfill (Eqn. 7) as: tion of the MSW. Maximum MSW wetted area (WAmax) is
normalized as a function of total initial landfill area (AreaTotal)
WW max (Eqn. 8):
DW = (7)
dVW W A max
AW = (8)
In this study, maximum wetted influential diameter (WWmax) AreaTotal
is computed with respect to the saturation greater than 40%,
which is the initial saturation of the MSW defined in the Pore water and gas pressures developed in the landfill are
model. That initial degree of saturation is assumed based on computed by the two-phase flow program, but the maximum

212 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 6(a)
Maximum pore water pressure developed in the landfill cell for different DVW/HS ratios with varying leachate injection rate and
saturated hydraulic conductivity of MSW in homogeneous and isotropic waste

pore water pressure developed under the steady-state condi- plot. The respective maximum wetted influential diameters of
tion is used. The maximum pore water pressure is normalized the MSW (DW) due to leachate recirculation can be predicted
with respect to the atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa): at steady-state condition for a given set of leachate injection
rates, saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW and VW
Pwmax depth. In the case of the low DVW/HS ratio of 3, the maximum
NPW = (9) wetted influential diameter of the MSW observed was 60 m,
pa and the same was 10 m for DVW/HS ratio of 9 for a leachate
injection rate of 55 m3/d. The maximum wetted influential
Design Chart for Wetted Diameter in MSW diameter of the MSW can be used as the basis for the selec-
tion of the appropriate spacing of the VWs when they are
The steady-state maximum wetted influential diameter of installed in the landfill.
the MSW (DW) is measured with respected to the initial satu- When the waste is considered as heterogeneous and aniso-
ration of the MSW in the landfill and is analyzed as a func- tropic and WW is plotted with log of QS , it follows a sigmoid
tion of leachate injection rate, saturated hydraulic conductivi- function with an initial increase in the wetted diameter unlike
ty of the MSW and geometry of the LRS. As defined earlier, the situation for the homogeneous isotropic MSW (Figure
the initial degree of saturation was 40% and the wetted diam- 7(b)). This means that if a bioreactor landfill section is con-
eter is measured as the zone of impact having saturation sidered to have an impervious boundary, the injected leachate
greater than 60%. Figure 7(a) shows the design chart for reaches the boundary when there is high leachate injection
maximum wetted diameter DW as a function of QS and satu- rate and low saturated hydraulic conductivity, and then it
rated hydraulic conductivity values considering the MSW as migrates to the leachate collection system to the bottom of the
homogeneous-isotropic waste. In Figure 7(a), a logarithmic landfill. This behavior was observed for all DVW/HS ratios.
correlation is obtained when plotted on a semi-logarithmic However, when the MSW is homogeneous and isotropic,
because of the identical material properties throughout the

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 213
FIGURE 6(b)
Maximum pore water pressure developed in the landfill cell for different DVW/HS ratios with varying leachate injection rate and
saturated hydraulic conductivity of MSW in heterogeneous and anisotropic waste with A = 6, B = 6

entire waste mass, the injected leachate reaches the leachate ed for any given saturated hydraulic conductivity of the
collection system at the bottom of the cell first, before reach- MSW and leachate injection rate. On the other hand, for a
ing the boundaries (if it ever does). In this situation, the loga- desired maximum influence area and the saturated hydraulic
rithmic nature of the relation was observed for all of the conductivity (which represents different biodegradation stag-
DVW/HS ratios. es of the MSW), the required leachate injection rate and
mode of leachate recirculation in the field can also be deter-
Design Chart for Wetted Area of the MSW mined by using these charts.
Leachate recirculation in heterogeneous and anisotropic
The wetted MSW area due to the leachate recirculation in waste increased the wetted MSW area more than in the ho-
a VW was computed by varying the leachate injection rates, mogeneous and isotropic waste. Since the saturated hydraulic
saturated hydraulic conductivity and dimension of the LRS in conductivity decreases with depth, the lateral spread increases
the landfill cell. Values for the wetted area are referred to in and the time needed for the leachate to migrate to leachate
the context of the degree of saturation of the MSW that is collection system and the wetted area of the MSW both in-
greater than 60% (initial degree of saturation of the MSW crease. The normalized values of wetted area (AW) with re-
was 40%). Figure 8(a) refers to homogeneous isotropic waste. spect to the total MSW area in landfill are plotted with QS by
As illustrated in this figure, the maximum wetted area when varying the leachate injection rate, initial saturated hydraulic
normalized with respect to the initial total area of the landfill, conductivity (kv0 in Eqn. 4), heterogeneity factor B in Eqn. 4,
and the values, when are plotted against normalized leachate and the dimension of VW (representing the location of the
injection rate (QS), follow a power function shown on semi- injection screen in the landfill mass), with respect to ground
logarithmic scale of QS. These results show that the maxi- surface in Figure 8(b) and follows a sigmoid relation with
mum wetted area will decrease with an increase in the respect to the QS.
DVW/HS ratio. The maximum area of influence can be predict-

214 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8
Normalized lateral extent of injected leachate as a function of Normalized lateral extent of injected leachate as a function of
dimensionless leachate injection rate (QS) for different DVW/HS dimensionless leachate injection rate (QS) for different
ratios in (a) homogeneous isotropic waste; and (b) heterogene- DVW/HS ratios in (a) homogeneous isotropic waste; and (b)
ous anisotropic waste heterogeneous anisotropic waste

Design Chart for Maximum Pore Water


Pressure depth. To simulate the actual variation of the saturated hy-
draulic conductivity to vary with the depth and account for
The design charts for maximum pore water pressure for anisotropy, the detailed parametric study was conducted by
the different DVW/HS ratios when the MSW is homogeneous- varying the anisotropic constant "A" in Eqn. 5 and heteroge-
isotropic are shown in Figure 9(a). The maximum pore water neous factor "B" in Eqn. 4.
pressure determined is normalized with atmospheric pressure Similar to the homogeneous and isotropic MSW, the pore
to obtain normalized pore water (NPW) parameter as a func- water pressure that developed due to leachate injection into
tion of leachate injection rate and saturated hydraulic conduc- the VW was monitored at the steady-state condition in heter-
tivity, as plotted in Figure 9(a). The maximum NPW in the ogeneous-anisotropic waste, as seen in this section of Figure
landfill cell follows a power function with respect to the 9(b). Interestingly, the pore pressures variation when the
increase in the leachate injection rate and decrease in the waste is heterogeneous-anisotropic follows a power function
saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW. A fair correla- with respect to the QS (when QS is on logarithmic scale) that
tion was obtained with the R2 value ranging from 0.855 to is similar to that of homogeneous-isotropic waste, but pro-
0.913. The NPW can be estimated for a given leachate injec- duces higher magnitudes. This increase in pore pressures is
tion rate and MSW saturated hydraulic conductivity. Based due to the decrease in saturated hydraulic conductivity of the
on that estimated rate, the leachate recirculation can be con- MSW with depth, which is to say that the pore size between
trolled to avoid building up excess pore water pressures in a the MSW solids reduces due to the low saturated hydraulic
bioreactor landfill cell. Furthermore, in a given landfill, satu- conductivity and therefore, the pressure will build up under
rated hydraulic conductivity varies with depth as a function these circumstances.
of overburden pressure (Reddy et al. 2009a); therefore, the
leachate recirculation rates in the leachate recirculation sys-
tem located in the deeper layers of the landfill can be regulat- APPLICATION OF DESIGN CHARTS
ed based on the hydraulic properties of the MSW at a given

DESIGN OF VERTICAL WELLS FOR LEACHATE RECIRCULATION IN BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS USING TWO-PHASE MODELING 215
FIGURE 9
Normalized pore water pressure developed as a function of normalized leachate injection rate (QS) for different DVW/HS ratios (a)
homogeneous isotropic waste; (b) heterogeneous anisotropic waste

FIGURE 10
Landfill model used for the field implementation

Figure 10 shows a bioreactor landfill cell of 150 m wide with the anisotropy factor "A" of 10 in Eq. 5.
and 40 m height considered as a field application problem to In the case of homogeneous-isotropic waste, the normal-
use the design charts. A single VW of 0.3 m in diameter, ized leachate injection rate is determined using Eq. 6 as:
extending 20 m in the landfill from ground surface with a
leachate injection screen of 3.0 m located at the end of VW in Qi 12
the landfill. Wetted diameter and maximum pore water pres- Qs = = = 4.0 x106
dVW kv 0 0.3 x(1x10 −5 )
sure developed in the MSW assumed as homogeneous-
isotropic, and heterogeneous-anisotropic waste conditions are
determined with the leachate injection rate of 12 m3/d in the The ratio of depth of VW from ground surface to the in-
VW. For homogeneous-isotropic waste condition, uniform jection screen height is determined as:
saturated hydraulic conductivity of 10-3 cm/s was used in the
entire landfill. In the case of heterogeneous-anisotropic DVW 20
= =5
waste, the vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity in the HS 4
layers of compacted MSW was determined with the hetero-
geneous factor “B” as 6 in Eq. 4, while the corresponding
From the design chart for wetted diameter (Figure 7a), the
horizontal saturated hydraulic conductivity was calculated
normalized wetted diameter in case of homogeneous-

216 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015
TABLE 3
Results comparison for the application of the developed design charts with the published study

MSW Condition Wetted Diameter (m) Pore Water Pressur (kPa)

Homogeneous Isotropic MSW 9.6 (This study) 8.6


5.2 (Jain et al. 2010) -—

Heterogeneous Anisotropic MSW 15.0 18.2

isotropic waste under steady-state condition is determined as: vertical and horizontal directions. The variation of maxi-
mum MSW wetted diameter, wetted area follows power
WW max function, and pore water pressure developed, follow a
dW = = 50 sigmoidal variation when plotted against the leachate in-
DVW
jection rate, saturated hydraulic conductivity and location
⇒ WW max = 50 x0.3 = 15.0m of VW with respect to ground surface for different
DVW/HS ratios.
Similarly, from the design chart for maximum pore water The design charts developed are useful for the design
pressure (Figure 9), the normalized pore water pressure can of optimal vertical well (VW) system in a bioreactor land-
be determined as: fill.

PPmax
NPW = = 0.18 REFERENCES
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218 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 2 MAY 2015

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