SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

“ Waste is a resource that

has not yet found its right
place or proper use.”
Common practice:
• Non – sorting at the source, mixed solid wastes,
burning of wastes, open dumping, sanitary
landfill
* Open Dumping – has brought about a variety
of health, ecological and aesthetic problems.
* Burning – gases are produced that can pollute
air, gases that contribute to global warming and
gases that can destroy the ozone layer.
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT and DISPOSAL

What is a Solid Waste?

• A solid waste is a non – liquid waste material
arising from domestic, trade, commercial,
industrial and mining activities. It also includes
waste arising from the conduct of public services
such as street sweepings, landscape maintenance
and the clearing of typhoon – wrought debris.
• Note that the term “non – liquid” is relative
because it includes sludge coming from industrial
sources and sewage treatment plants.
What is Solid Waste Management?
• Solid Waste Management refers to all
activities pertaining to control, transfer
and transport, processing and disposal of
solid wastes in accordance with the best
principles of public health, economics,
engineering, conservation, aesthetics and
other environmental considerations. It
includes attendant administrative, financial,
legal, planning and engineering functions.
Why manage municipal solid waste?
• Improper management of solid wastes has
direct adverse effects on health
• The uncontrolled fermentation of garbage
creates a food source and habitat for
bacterial growth.
• Inadequate storage of solid wastes provides
breeding ground for vermin such as flies,
mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents and birds
which may act as passive vectors in disease
transmission
 PUBLIC HEALTH ASPECTS OF SWM
Solid wastes may contain:
1) Human Pathogens – diapers, handkerchiefs,
contaminated food and surgical dressings
2) Animal Pathogens – wastes from pets
3) Soil Pathogens – garden wastes

Pathogens and Diseases:

Bacteria: diarrhea / Campylobacterfetus; cholera /
Vibrio comma; Typhoid fever/Salmonella typhi
Virus: Hepa – A, Hepa – B, polio virus
Protozoa: amoebic dysentery / Entamoeba histolytica;
giardiasis / Giargia lamblia etc
Helminths: flat worms, round worms, tape worms
Routes for Pathogenic transfer:
1) Inhalation – (air – aerosol – inhalation)
2) Percutaneous – (skin – percutaneous)
3) Ingestion – (hands – mouth – food – ingestion;
passive vector – food – ingestion). This can be
negated by good hygiene and dietary habits
* Those involved on a regular basis with solid waste
are usually vaccinated for a range of pathogenic
diseases. Rodent control is also essential as they
are carriers of serious illnesses. Storage and
handling techniques to reduce risk of SW
contamination to employees must be observed.
Automation must prevail.
 THREE GENERAL CATEGORIES OF SOLID WASTE
1) Municipal Wastes – will include residential,
commercial solid wastes.
2) Industrial Wastes – will include waste arising
from industrial activities and typically include
rubbish, ashes, demolition and construction
wastes, and special wastes.
3) Hazardous Wastes – wastes that pose a
substantial danger immediately or over a period
of time to human, plant, or animal life.
Hazardous wastes exhibit any of the following:
a) ignitability b) corrosivity c) reactivity d)
toxicity
• Hazardous wastes are also grouped into the
following categories:
(1) radioactive substances
(2)chemicals – includes wastes that are
corrosive, reactive or toxic
(3) biological wastes – principal sources are
hospitals and biological research facilities
(4) flammable wastes
(5) explosives
 1) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES
Classification of materials comprising Municipal Solid
Wastes (MSW)
1) Garbage (food wastes) – meat, fruit or vegetable
residues resulting from handling, preparation,
cooking and eating of food. These are putrescible
and will decompose rapidly especially in warm
weather.
2) Rubbish – combustible and non – combustible
solid wastes, excluding food wastes or other
putrescible materials. Typically combustible consists
of materials such as paper, cardboard, plastics,
rubber, leather, wood, furniture, and garden
trimmings. Non combustible rubbish consists of
items such as glass, tin cans, aluminum cans,
ferrous & non – ferrous metals, dirt and
construction waste.
3) Ashes and Residues – materials remaining from
burning of wood, coal, coke and other combustible
wastes. Ashes and residues are normally composed
of fine, powdery materials, cinders, clinkers and
small amounts of burned and partially burned
materials
4) Demolition and Construction Wastes – wastes from
construction, remodeling, and repairing of
residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. This
includes dirt, stones, concrete, bricks, plaster,
lumber, shingles and plumbing, heating and
electrical parts.
5) Special Wastes – wastes such as street
sweepings, roadside litter, catch – basin
debris, dead animals, abandoned vehicles
6) Treatment Plant Wastes – solid and semi –
solid wastes from water, wastewater, and
industrial waste treatment facilities.
7) Trash – larger items such as refrigerators,
tree limbs, mattresses, and other bulky items
not collected in the household refuse.
Sources of Municipal Solid Wastes
1) Residential – wastes generated at the household
level, i.e. food wastes, rubbish, ashes, and special
wastes from family dwellings, apartments
2) Commercial – food wastes, rubbish, ashes,
demolition and construction wastes, special wastes,
occasionally hazardous wastes from stores,
restaurants, markets, office buildings, hotels, motels,
print shops, auto repair shops, medical facilities and
institutions
3) Open Areas – special wastes, rubbish from streets,
alleys, parks, vacant lots, playgrounds, beaches,
highways, recreational centers etc.
4) Treatment plant sites
 Composition of Municipal Solid Waste
A. Physical Composition
Important Properties of Municipal Solid Waste
1) Moisture content
2) Density
3) Field Capacity
B. Chemical Composition
1) Proximate analysis: moisture (loss at 105°C
for 1 hour), volatile matter (additional loss on
ignition at 950°C), ash (residue after burning)
and fixed carbon (remainder)
2) Fusing point of ash
3) Ultimate analysis - % C, % H, % O, % N, & S
and % ash
4) Heating Value
• Heating value can be estimated using the following
methods:
a) By Dulong Formula:
HHV, Btu/lb – 145 C + 610 (H - 0.125 O) + 40 S + 10 N
Where: C = % carbon ; H = % hydrogen ; O = % O ; N = % N
S=%S
b) Hu, MJ/kg = (Hawf X B) – (2.445 X W)
B & W – fraction of flammables & waster respectively
Hu – lower heat value (from waste as collected), LHV
Hwf – normal heat value ( from water-free waste), NHV
Hawf – higher heat value ( from ash – free & water – free waste),
HHV, calculated from Dulong Formula
C) Khan’s equation
E = 0.051 [F +3.6CP] + 0.352PLR
E - energy content, MJ/kg CP - % cardboard and paper by weight
F - % food by weight PLR - % plastic & rubber by weight
Building Principles of Solid Waste Management
1) Waste is a resource
2) Waste prevention is better than waste
regulation control
3) There is no single management and
technological approach to solid waste. An
integrated solid waste management system
will best achieve solid waste management
goals
4) All elements of society are fundamentally
responsible for solid waste management
Building Principles of Solid Waste Management
5) Those who generate waste must bear the cost
of its management and disposal
6) Solid waste management should be
approached within the context of resource
conservation, public health, environmental
protection and sustainable development.
7) Solid waste management programs should
take into consideration the physical and socio
– economic conditions of the concerned
communities and be designed according to
their specific needs.
Hierarchy of Solid Waste Management

Waste Prevention
Reduction (minimization)
Recycling and Reuse
Transformation
Disposal
 FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SWM
Interrelationship of functional elements comprising SWM
I. Waste Generation
• Waste generation is very difficult to control.
The amount of waste generated depends on
the level of economic activity, the greater the
activity, the higher the generation rate. All
activities that lead to the identification and
understanding of the sources, amounts,
nature, type and characteristics of solid
wastes generated belong to this functional
element.
 Factors Affecting Waste Generation
1) State of the national (and individual) economy
– as standards rise, there is a corresponding
increase in the quantity and quality of wastes.
2) Lifestyle of the people – reflected in product
marketing technique trends. The clearly
perceptible shift in consumer preferences for
pre – packaged foodstuff, the increase in use of
paper lined with plastics for packaging and the
use of disposable diapers are a few examples.
3) Size and Type of Dwellings - has direct effect on
waste generation. Those who dwell in larger and
more expensive type of homes produce more
wastes.
4) Demographic profile of the Population – in
general, the greater the number of persons per
household, the less volume of waste generated.
As an example, in the US, it was found that in a
household of two persons, the average per
capita waste generation is 1.28 kg/day. On the
other hand, families consisting of six members
had per capita generation of 0.52 kg/day. In
India, an average family of six has a per capita
generation of 0.42 kg/day.
5) Age – has also a perceptible effect on the type
and rate of waste generation. The composition
of products in fact can be categorized by age
groupings. Young consumers patronize set of
products different from those consumed by
their elders.
6) Religion – also has a pronounced effect on waste
generation. The consumer preferences in Islamic
countries differ greatly from those predominantly
Christian nations.
7) The extent to which the three R’s of waste
management are carried out – where the population is
more concerned with the environment in general and
waste management in particular, there is a concerned
effort to cut down waste at the originating level.
8) Seasonal variations – consumer preferences are
affected by seasonal variations
9) Presence of pets and domestic animals
10) Presence of laws and ordinances governing waste
management
 Three R’s of Solid Waste Management at the Source
1) Reduce – avoid wasteful consumption of goods. Begin by
asking, “Do I really need it?” In so doing, we minimize our
waste and conserve our natural resources.
2) Reuse – any activity that considers waste as a resource or as
another input material without changing the physical
features of the item or undergoing transformation.
3) Recycle – any activity that considers waste as a resource to
recover valuable materials or inputs or can be used in
another process. This involves change in physical feature or
transformation of material into another form or product.
Waste can be a valuable resource. Sort waste and use for
something of benefit to yourself or to others.
II. On – Site Handling, Storage and Processing
• It is not practical to design a solid waste
management system that collects and
disposes waste at the instant it is generated.
For this reason, waste must be stored prior to
collection. A good on – site storage must
meet the following requirements: (a) it must
be aesthetically acceptable (b) it must isolate
wastes from the environment to avoid
creating health hazards (c) it must facilitate
collection
• On – Site Handling – refers to activities
associated with the handling of solid wastes until
they are placed in the containers used for their
storage before collection.
• On – Site Storage – factors that must be
considered in the on – site storage include (1)
type of container to be used (2) the container
location (3) public health and aesthetics (4) the
collection methods to be used
• On – Site Processing – used to recover usable
materials from solid wastes, reduce the volume,
or to alter the physical form. The most common
on – site processing operations include manual
sorting, compaction, and incineration.
III. Collection
• This involves gathering of solid wastes and
hauling them to transfer stations, processing and
recovery stations, or to final disposal sites. In
most solid waste management systems, the cost
of collection accounts for a significant portion of
the total cost (from 40 to 80%)
• The type of collection, types of waste and
distance to the disposal site all determine the
type of collection vehicle to be used. Collection
deserves careful considerations as it can become
the most expensive of the functions of solid
waste management.
Types of Collection:
1) Curb service – containers with wastes on curb
side
2) Alley service – containers of wastes on alleys
3) Backyard carry – collection crew enters the
homeowner’s property and removes wastes
from containers
4) Set – out service
5) Set – out – set back service
Types of Containers:
1) Hauled container system (HCS)
2) Stationary container system (SCS)
Collection Routes:
• The selection of a proper route for collection vehicles
known as route optimization can result in significant
savings in a city. The problem of route optimization was
first addressed in 1736 by the famous mathematician
Leonard Euler (1707 – 1783). He was asked to design a
parade route for Konigsberg such that the parade would
not cross any bridge over River Pregel more than once and
would return to its starting place. Euler showed that such
route was impossible for the king’s parade but he
generalized the problem by specifying the conditions
necessary to establish such route, now known as Euler’s
tour.
• The objective of truck routing is to create a Euler’s tour,
where a street is traversed only once and deadheading,
traveling twice down the same street, is eliminated. In
waste collection, the Euler’s tour is called “unicoursal
route”.