Urban and Rural MSW Stream Characterization for Separate Collection Improvement

Simona Ciuta,Valentin Rusu,Tiberiu Apostol

doi:10.3390/su7010916

Abstract

In the new legislation framework enacted by new member countries of the European Union (EU), the characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an important instrument for local governments and sanitation operators in setting and achieving targets for waste recycling and recovery. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in accordance with the Romanian methodology for domestic wastes characterization ROMECOM, aiming to provide a proper basis for developing clear and realistic forecasts in current municipal waste management, based on MSW composition and generation rate. The analyzed MSW came both from areas where the waste is collected in mixed and separate ways, in urban and rural areas. The MSW composition by fraction is detailed for dense urban areas, urban areas, rural and touristic areas from Romania. Based on these results, the MSW composition was determined for the eight development regions in Romania, and a generation rate of 0.9·kgMSW inhabitant−1·day−1 for the urban region and 0.4·kgMSW inh−1·day−1 for the rural region was established. The calorific values of urban and rural areas were determined as 6801 kJ·kg−1 and 5613 kJ·kg−1, respectively. In the perspective of sustainable development in this technical area, based on the obtained results and on the prognosis made for the following years, two proposals for urban and rural areas were developed for MSW treating options improvement. The two systems are characterized by selective collection (different efficiencies for urban and rural areas) with subsequent recovery of the separated materials and energy recovery of the residual waste in a large-scale waste to energy (WTE) plant.

Highlights

While a major concern in modern society is the generation of large amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW), the challenges faced by local authorities in its management can seem overwhelming.Urbanization, population increase and higher consumer demand are some of the many factors [1] causing this rapid growth in Europe
Romanian wastes could be transformed into SRF, because the heavy metal content is much lower than the one allowed by the European Union (EU) standard
Analyses for establishing the composition and waste generation index were achieved for all eight regions of Romania

Summary

Introduction

While a major concern in modern society is the generation of large amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW), the challenges faced by local authorities in its management can seem overwhelming. Urbanization, population increase and higher consumer demand are some of the many factors [1] causing this rapid growth in Europe. In this context, the EU issued laws and regulations for better waste management. The old and new Member States, including Romania since 2007, have to comply with all of the new directives. The European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/98/EC [2] from 19 November 2008, regarding wastes was enacted by Romania through Law No 211/2011 [3].

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