Analysis and Characterization of Municipal Solid Wastes Generated in a Community in the Northern Philippines

Abstract

The residential community of Potia in the Northern Philippines experiences various problems arising from mismanaged municipal solid waste. Hence, a waste analysis and characterization study on the generated municipal solid wastes was conducted to determine the municipal solid waste generation data which can be used for planning and formulation of potential solutions. For three consecutive days, the generated municipal solid wastes were gathered from the sample which included residential sources, commercial sources (food establishments, service centers, general stores, and markets), industrial sources, and institutional sources (institutions and health units). The total generated municipal solid waste in Potia is about 508.30 kg.day-1 of which most were contributed by the residential sources (70.59%), followed by commercial (25.09%), industrial (2.64%), and institutional (1.70%). The overall composition of the generated MSW is also dominated by biodegradable waste (76.90%), followed by residual waste (14.66%), recyclable waste (7.35%), and special waste (1.08%). The total volume of daily generated MSW is about 3.37 m3.day-1.