Abstract
Municipal Solid Waste is a growing problem in urban areas of Sri Lanka and this problem is aggravated due to absence of proper solid waste management systems at Local Authorities. The management of solid waste requires in depth studies on waste generation and characterization. Thus, an evaluation study was conducted to assess the generation and composition of solid wastes in Thirukkovil Pradeshiya Sabha, Ampara district. Solid waste collected from households and shops by Local Authority were quantified. Then, collected samples were separated into different material categories of wastes. The questionnaire surveying covered 60 households in study area. Finally, data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS.The results manifested that the average waste generation per household is 2.24 kilogram. Approximately, 16.345 tons of solid waste were found to be generated per day by household sector and has contributed more than 45.64% of the total waste generation. Correlation study revealed that the household waste generation showed a moderate positive correlation (P<0.01) with monthly income and family size. The average composition of the household waste in weight basis is organic waste (92.94%), plastic (3.96%), metal (0.86%), glass (1.67%), and hazardous waste (0.57%). Average solid waste generation per shop is 1.56 kilogram. Approximately 74.88 kilogram of solid waste were generated per day and the average composition of the shop waste is organic waste (89.26%), plastic (9.10%), glass (0.94%), metal (0.62%), and hazardous waste (0.046%). The total solid waste collected by the Local Authority is 250.65 tons per week. The average composition of the solid waste collected by Local Authority was organic waste (93.69%), plastic (2.73%), glass (1.03%), metal (0.56%) and hazardous waste (1.96%). The biodegradable material can be utilized for compost making to reduce the materials at home level
Highlights
Waste products arise from our ways of life and they are generated at every stage of process of production and development all over the world where the generation of solid waste is an inevitable consequence of production and consumption activities in any economy (Eugenia et al, 2002)
The present investigation was undertaken with a view for assessing the solid waste generation and composition in the Thirukkovil Pradeshiya Sabha
Income level is considered in this study to find out the relationship between income level and household waste generation
Summary
Waste products arise from our ways of life and they are generated at every stage of process of production and development all over the world where the generation of solid waste is an inevitable consequence of production and consumption activities in any economy (Eugenia et al, 2002). There are eight major categories of solid waste categorized as residential, industrial, commercial, institutional, construction and demolition, municipal services, process, and agricultural (WHO, 1984). It comprises countless different materials such as dust, food waste, packaging in the form of paper, metal, plastic or glass, discarded clothing, garden wastes, pathological waste, hazardous waste and radioactive waste etc. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is the waste products generated from households, Diversity of Actinomycetes in Nitrogen Fixing Root Nodules commercial establishments, institutions and business in municipal areas. It generally consists of many different constituents, and these constituents are often porous and not fully saturated. This means that classification of waste will be determined by the socio economic sector generating the waste. (ISR and MEDCITIES, 2003)
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