The urban household solid waste generating factors and composition study—A case study: Irbid City – Jordan

Abstract

The household solid waste (HSW) constitutes a main segment of municipal solid waste (MSW). Therefore, effective management of HSW has become an imperative issue to solve the problems caused by massive generation of HSW, the protection and sustainability of the environment, as well as the protection of public health in Jordan. The present study was conducted to assess the amount and components of urban HSW generated and to determine the influencing factors in the urban areas of Irbid city, Jordan. The study was conducted on 383 households. The driving forces behind Irbid household waste generation were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model. The outcomes of this study indicated that the average waste produced by households was 0.90 kg/cap/day. Also, the data analysis displayed that organic waste represents more than half of the total composition of waste 58.56% followed by plastic 14.59%, paper and paper products 9.61%, glass 7.49%, metal 4.19%, rubber and leather, others, and textile had the lowest concentrations, being less than 2% wt. The multiple linear regression outcomes displayed that the value of R2 was found to be 0.614 for the household waste generation per capita. Also, according to Pearson's coefficient and Point-Biserial correlation values, a positive correlation was found between HSW generation and gender of household head r = 0.256, household size r = 0.629, and monthly household income r = 0.529, while a negative correlation was found between household waste generation and age of the household head r = -0.329, and education level of the household head r = -0.303.The study findings serve to provide crucial inputs to the policymakers and planners concerned with environmental issues in making their decisions toward a more effective and sustainable solid waste management (SWM) system, which helps to protect the environment and the maintain natural resources.