QUANTIFICATION ASSESSMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AS AN EVALUATION APROPOS OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN KUCHING

Abstract

The quantification and characterisation of municipal solid waste are indispensables for waste management forethought. This study quantified the municipal solid wastes from three principal council areas in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, Malaysia which are the Kuching South City Council, Kuching North City Hall and Padawan Municipal Council to evaluate and analyse the contemporary waste trend and differentiate between the waste streams. The municipal solid waste samples are amassed directly from the source location and categorised according to the socio-economic level of the sampling location sites. This study discovered that there is no significant difference in the waste composition trend generated by the residents in different residential areas. The composition of the solid wastes was found to vary in different socio-economic categories. Organic waste is found to be the highest waste component in all socio-economic groups. The top three municipal waste compositions from the residential areas are organic wastes (61.58% w/w), plastics (12.06% w/w) and nappies/sanitary napkins (11.67% w/w), which ranged from 44.57% to 72.08%. This study provides a recent waste trend database with a detailed analysis of the differences between the waste streams for sustainable waste management in Kuching.