Effective Solid Waste Research Articles

Analysis of citizen’s perception towards segregation and composting

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is one of the most critical issues prevailing in the world today. It has clear implications on public health and the environment. Since MSWM has multiple stakeholders, and citizens/households play a key role, it is important to understand their perceptions and correspondingly design policies and interventions. Accordingly, this paper develops a framework to analyse the citizen perception towards MSWM and applies it to the case of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. The framework uses information both from already existing resources, and questionnaire and interviews. The data are analysed using the SPSS software version 22.0. The results from the analysis and literature survey indicate that composting and segregation are key measures for effective solid waste management. Thus, four models are developed that analyse the response to segregation, composting and the incentives that can be provided to people for effective waste management. The major limitations at the household and community level are found to be their exclusive focus on the lack of facilities from the authorities, thus indicating that their understanding of MSWM is quite limited. It is, therefore, suggested that efforts be made towards training and awareness creation for increasing the participation of citizens in solid waste management (SWM). Further, it is concluded that more focus is needed on measures such as strengthening of already existing decentralized systems and putting out the efforts of municipal bodies.

Waste Separation Behaviour of College Students under a Mandatory Policy in China: A Case Study of Zhengzhou City.

The need for effective solid waste management (SWM) is an important environmental and public health issue. As a key way of minimizing municipal solid waste (MSW), source separation has in recent years become the centre of discussion in China. Following the example of Shanghai, the city of Zhengzhou introduced its mandatory waste separation measures on 1 December 2019. But does the mandatory regulation work? This study aims to investigate the waste separation behaviour of college students in Zhengzhou under the mandatory regulation and the motivations behind students’ behaviour. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out on 62 university campuses in Zhengzhou City, and a total of 1747 valid questionnaires were completed across these campuses and analysed. It was found that under Zhengzhou’s mandatory measures, college students do have a basic knowledge of waste separation and most are familiar with where kitchen waste should be placed, but they have problems categorizing some recyclables such as glass, hazardous waste such as lightbulbs and other waste such as cigarette butts and napkins. It was also found that college students’ waste separation behaviour, their attitude towards waste separation and the convenience of waste sorting facilities in Zhengzhou in the mandatory era have been improved compared to the era prior to mandatory waste separation. The results also indicate that most of college students (86.7%) always or sometimes undertake waste separation, and students majoring in science and senior year undergraduates are more likely to participate in the practice of waste separation. Other influencing factors of college students’ waste separation behaviour include convenience of waste sorting facilities, their willingness to separate waste, knowledge of a related field, attitude towards waste separation, peer pressure as well as the existence of a reward and penalty system. Management strategies for improving college students’ waste separation behaviour under mandatory regulation are also discusses and a number of recommendations for improvement are made.

Effectiveness and Efficiency of Solid Waste Services in Lagos State, Nigeria

Lagos is the largest producer of municipal solid waste in Nigeria, yet it is the smallest of Nigeria’s 36 states with the highest projected population, highest level of urbanization and it houses Nigeria’s largest chief port, and principal economic and cultural centres. Out of the total waste generated, only about 73 percent actually got to the final disposal site. There is a possibility of inefficient and ineffective municipal solid waste management system in place which can damage the ecosystem services, contaminate ground and surface water, creates greenhouse gas emissions, increase disease transmission, damages ecosystem services and discourages tourism and other businesses. To this end, this study analysed the efficiency and effectiveness of solid waste services and; the efficiency and effectiveness of solid waste services in Lagos State using primary data and conducting statistical tests. The study found a general agreement on what constitutes efficient and effective solid waste services. However, the study concluded that the waste management system in Lagos State is inefficient, ineffective and therefore; unsustainable. The study therefore recommends among others the urgent need to re-organize the waste management institutions for effective and efficient performance. This requiressubstantial planning ability, appropriate equipment and continuous managerial optimization of vehicles and workers productivity,efficient vehicle routing, better designed vehicles, managerial incentives, faster vehicle repairs, vehicle standardization.

Effective municipal solid waste collection using geospatial information systems for transportation: A case study of two metropolitan cities in Pakistan

Transportation plays a leading role in waste collection and disposal for solid waste management as collection activities account for the majority of the cost of solid waste management. This study proposes a methodology for routing collection vehicles in the twin cities (i.e. Islamabad and Rawalpindi) of Pakistan. In particular, the study's application-based vehicle routing problem (VRP) accommodates a variety of practical rules such as zone constraints, vehicle capacities, time windows, road infrastructure, and commodity type. As a pilot study, eleven routes were selected in different areas of the twin cities to minimize the length of the routes and consequently the time taken to complete the collection. Results indicate that travel distance was reduced by up to 18% in Islamabad and 9% in Rawalpindi. The collection time was also reduced from 7.5 h to 5.8 h and 8.3 h–7.2 h for Islamabad and Rawalpindi, respectively. Our research provides a decision support tool for municipal administrators for efficient management of the daily operations of solid waste management. Other spatial data can be added in the future to enhance the utility of our model, such as generation of capacity for various residential areas, types of dumping vehicles, and enhanced road network operations.

Strategies for the effective solid, liquid and gaseous waste valorization by microalgae: A circular bioeconomy perspective

The increasing trend in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, industrialization, and the current consumer-centric lifestyle has led to the generation of different waste sources. There are three foci in this research. First, the performance of Chlorella sp. was assessed for the remediation of domestic wastewater (DWW) in a batch process (t = 8 days) using ambient air (0.04 % CO2 ppmv). Second, various external solid wastes such as poultry and piggery litter were explored to complement the lower nitrogen content in DWW. Addition of poultry litter in DWW improved the biomass productivity (133 mg L−1d−1) by 70.51 %. Subsequently, the inclusion of flue gas resulted in a maximum CO2 fixation rate of 261 mg L−1, and 20-folds increment in biomass concentration under mixotrophic mode. Finally, the overall biomass productivity was increased by 82.69 % under semi-continuous mode when all three forms of waste were utilized than the batch process. This research promoted a circular-economy concept for biomass production for biorefinery applications through the implementation of a system integration approach to mitigate solid, liquid, and gaseous waste.

Discussion on ‘Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic, by Sharma et al. (2020)’

Discussion on ‘Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic, by Sharma et al. (2020)’

Development of Solid Waste Management Plan to Solve the Transport Routes Problem in Baghdad City

The transportation cost problem of solid waste presents the biggest part of the budget allocated by municipalities for SWM. So, there is no comprehensive plan to address transport routes optimization problems in SWM that including the transfer of solid waste from transfer stations to final landfill sites. Therefore, the aim of the study finding a scientific method to solve the transportation problem of solid waste transport suitable Baghdad city that tries to find feasible solutions that ensure reducing total transport costs and leads to an effective solid waste management system. In this research, a new methodology has been developed to select the optimal transport routs of SWM in Baghdad city which involves determining the best-supposed scenario. the proposed methodology includes integration of Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies with Network Analysis model (NA). Therefore, this work provides an advanced framework of decision-makers for analysis and simulation of the optimal transport routs problem related to SWM. Applying these modeling tools to select the scenario that can provide economic benefits by minimizing travel time, travel distance and reduction of total transportation costs. The Results of work implementation show that all solutions that include current state S1 and suggested scenarios have been evaluated. The scenarios generated include (S2, S3) by applying the proposed technique for analyzed and identified the optimal routes. The solutions of scenario S2, specified with two landfill sites while scenarios S3 specified with four landfill sites. Finally, this work shows the Scenario S3 is the best scenario of the solution, that include applied GPS and Network Analysis for four landfill sites.

Role of Psychosocial Factors in Effective Design of Solid Waste Management Programmes: Evidence from India

The critical need for behavioural change for effective solid waste management is well known. However, policies and programmes continue to underemphasize this crucial component in their design, especially in developing countries such as India. Further, empirical research on the psychosocial factors in solid waste management in developing countries is limited, including within India, where a large national programme for solid waste management is currently being implemented. Using a household survey based on the theory of planned behavioural change, we examine the psychosocial factors towards household waste segregation. We find that more than knowledge and attitude, consequences to behaviour play a critical role in intention as well as actual behaviour towards household waste segregation. Based on our findings, we draw implications for redesigning the national programme and contribute to empirical evidence on the role of psychosocial factors in solid waste management in the context of developing countries.

Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic

The crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic has altered global waste generation dynamics and therefore has necessitated special attention. The unexpected fluctuations in waste composition and quantity also require a dynamic response from policymakers. This study highlights the challenges faced by the solid waste management sector during the pandemic and the underlying opportunities to fill existing loopholes in the system. The study presents specific cases for biomedical waste, plastic waste, and food waste management - all of which have been a major cause of concern during this crisis. Further, without active citizen participation and cooperation, commingled virus-laden biomedical waste with the regular solid waste stream pose significant negative health and safety issues to sanitation workers. Single-use plastic usage is set to bounce back due to growing concerns of hygiene, particularly from products used for personal protection and healthcare purposes. It is expected that household food waste generation may reduce due to increased conscious buying of more non-perishable items during lockdown and due to concerns of food shortage. However, there is a chance of increase in food waste from the broken supply chains such as food items getting stuck on road due to restriction in vehicle movements, lack of workers in the warehouse for handling the food products, etc. The study also stresses the need for building localized resilient supply chains to counter such situations during future pandemics. While offering innovative solutions to existing waste management challenges, the study also suggests some key recommendations to the policymakers to help handle probable future pandemics if any holistically.

A novel bulk density-based recognition method for kitchen and dry waste: A case study in Beijing, China

Identification technology of household kitchen and dry solid waste has played a major part in improving the accuracy of residents’ separation by intelligent outdoor trashcan, which is an effective integral solid waste management tool for growing household solid waste (HSW). Our study aims to present a novel and simple recognition method for kitchen and dry waste based on bulk density. In three communities in Beijing, 270 bagged waste samples were collected, and their moisture content, separation accuracy, and bulk density, characterized. Then a bulk density index was developed to straightforwardly express residents’ waste source separation accuracy by linear regression analysis above physical properties. In the 3 Beijing communities, we demonstrated a clear distinction in the bulk density index, for dry, mixed, and kitchen waste of <115, 115–211, >211 kg/m3, respectively. Our results provide a theoretical basis for the establishment of an intelligent waste supervision system, which is of great significance for waste management in developing countries like China.

Solid waste quantification and characterization in university of Nigeria, Nsukka campus, and recommendations for sustainable management

Quantification and characterization of municipal solid waste are the bases for a proper solid waste management planning but the needed collection, transportation, characterization and disposal are grossly under-investigated and scarcely implemented in Nigerian Universities. This study, therefore, quantified and characterized the waste generated in the university of Nigeria, Nsukka campus using ASTM D5231-92 method, and recommended possible integrated solid waste management strategies for a sustainable management of the waste. The average daily solid waste generation in the university was estimated to be 2,218.66kg during the 6-month study period from 24th February to 18th August in 2017/2018 academic session with organic and polythene representing the largest portion at 32.36% and 34.29%, respectively. Glass/bottle, textiles/leather, rubber, wood, e-waste, sanitary, medical, polystyrene food pack and metal wastes represented 0.97%, 2.69%, 0.28%, 0.82%, 0.98%, 2.16%, 0.16%, 1.04% and 1.67%, respectively. The campus has a per capita solid waste generation rate of about 0.06kg/day. About 96.58% of the total waste is recyclable, and has about 51.85% biomass potential. Analysis of variance showed that differently dominated areas of the campus have different quantities and compositions of wastes mainly due to significant variation of organic and polythene components across the differently dominated areas. The barriers against effective solid waste management and recommendations for integrated solid waste management strategies were made to include solid waste generation reduction, re-usage, recycling, composting, and proper training and provision of incentive and other fiscal policies.

Disposal Sites Determination for the Purpose of Solid Waste Management Optimize by using Geographic Information System (Gis)

Solid waste is a waste generated every day. The amount of solid waste generation depends on the total area of housing and services, the area of the places, and activities. The increase in population, housing and services in the area has resulted in the generation of solid waste. The solid waste should be disposed of to prevent the spread of disease and to keep the environment clean. Normally, solid waste will be disposed of in landfill sites. In four districts in Negeri Sembilan that is Jelebu, Jempol, Kuala Pilah and Tampin, the existing landfill in these areas have reached semi-critical status and the capacity is about to reach the maximum level. Therefore, this study was undertaken to proposed the most ideal and effective new solid waste landfill based on the distribution of housing in an area using the Geographic Information System (GIS). GIS serves as a hardware device that stores information and databases of the area and analyzes data to produce the output required by the user. In addition, this study was conducted to investigate and determine the criteria and weighting factors taken into account in determining the location of landfill sites. In addition, this study also conducted to identify the optimization of disposal of solid waste and the type of new landfill proposed. Some analyzes such as Analysis Geoprocessing, Model Builder, OD Cost Matrix, Network Analyst and Service Area has been carried out to obtain an ideal location to serve as a solid waste disposal site. Based on the analysis, the new landfill can cover 242 of housing areas within 25 kilometers from the landfill compared to the existing landfill that only covered 165 of housing areas only. Finally, the siting of the landfill using GIS application is the best system in helping the user to determine the new landfill in such a fastest way.

Effective municipal solid waste management capability under uncertainty in Vietnam: Utilizing economic efficiency and technology to foster social mobilization and environmental integrity

Resources and expertise for controlling processes are inadequate due to municipal solid waste management (MSWM) capability limitations in Vietnam. The resource-based view (RBV) needs to be considered in the assessment of municipal solid waste management. Nevertheless, in practice, various attributes of municipal solid waste management are not considered in the sustainable performance of cities. Hence, this study applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to confirm the validity and reliability of these attributes and construct a hierarchical structure. Fuzzy set theory was used to convert the linguistic preferences into crisp values and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to assess the causal interrelationships among the attributes. The analytic network process (ANP) was adopted to construct the hierarchical framework, and fuzzy importance - performance analysis (IPA) was used to enhance our understanding of the gap between importance and performance. The results show that the efficiency and effectiveness of cities’ waste management systems depend on the capability based on utilizing economic efficiency and technology advantages to foster social mobilization and environmental integrity. Practitioners should consider new data acquisition and communication technologies, the circular economy, technical capabilities, and organizational/leadership capabilities in their decision making to promote sustainable performance. To develop sustainable MSWM, suitable strategic solutions based on the resources and strengths of each city should be developed that consider formal, informal and small-scale sectors.

Solid Waste Management Policies in Kenya: The Silence on the Plight of Women and Children

Building on available evidence that there are differences of exposure to solid waste among men, women and children, it follows that effective solid waste management (SWM) policies need to recognise such variations, as a prelude to rolling out programmes to address associated socio-economic and health risks. However, this logical scenario does not seem to be the case in many middle- and low-income countries. In this paper, we use analytical review methodology to examine integrated environmental management and sector specific policies in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya's two biggest cities, to highlight the extent to which existing policies cover the differential challenges of exposure to solid waste and associated health challenges for women and children. We found that apart from one municipal policy and the Kenya Vision 2030 documents respectively, which underscore the importance of including women and young people in waste management, 16 other policy documents reviewed are generally silent on women and children issues. Beyond the limited focus on women- and children-specific challenges, the general lag in policy implementation and enforcement of regulations will still hinder the emergence of an effective SWM system out of the best policy frameworks . The preceding discussion underscores both policy and implementation gaps, which need to be filled, if policies will potentially engender SWM practices that will be relevant and effective in protecting the health of the most vulnerable in urban Africa.

Introduction of the circular economy to expanded polystyrene household waste: A case study from an Ecuadorian plastic manufacturer

Abstract Transition towards a more sustainable society is a complex task. The depletion of natural resources and waste generation cannot be sustained indefinitely, i.e. as waste increases, local landfills keep growing and land availability reduces. The introduction of circular economy in effective household solid waste management practices should be considered especially for third world countries, such as Ecuador. In this context, plastic recycling is an important step, particularly the case of expanded polystyrene containers that currently are single-use only and later end up in local landfills. This paper presents a methodology for recycling Expanded Polystyrene by means of a case study from an Ecuadorian Plastic Manufacturer. First, the manufacture of resin from post-consume EPS containers was demonstrated possible by the manufacturer. Second, results show that using 30% of post-consume resin in the mix produce satisfactory laboratory results and operational recycled containers.

An approach for enhancing optimal resource recovery from different classes of waste in South Africa: Selection of appropriate waste to energy technology

The need for effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management in an environmentally friendly, technologically viable, economically feasible and socially acceptable way presents a major global challenge. Planning of MSW management for municipalities require periodical evaluation of technology performance should consider the full waste hierarchy towards an enabling action for reduction, reusing and recycling in provision of energy and secondary raw materials for sustainable development. Decision support model is an integrated approach to enhance optimal resource recovery from different classes of waste for optimal economic importance, technical possibilities, environmental impact and sociocultural implication. The paper proposed a decision support model for selecting appropriate technology using approximation method for pairwise and normalized comparison matrix for Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with subjective judgement of the sustainable indicators for different classes of waste in Western Cape municipality and six other urban areas. Among the four technologies, Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is ideal for the conversion of WtE with overall scoring of 57%, based on positive impact on the environment compared to Incineration (24%), Gasification (13%) and Pyrolysis (6%). The sustainable indicators criteria results revealed priority vector score for Environment as 0.4537, followed by Sociocultural at 0.2495, Economical at 0.2168 and Technical at 0.0800. The sensitivity coefficient for CR at 1 0,277 for technology and 0,238 for cost with preference to AD for the Western Cape Municipality in South Africa. This is important for policymakers in technology selection decisions support for MSWtE in similar contexts of the developing world.

Effective Solid Waste Management Practices in Developing Countries: Problems and Prospects

Solid waste generation increases with population expansion and economic development. Uncontrolled dumping and improper waste handling cause a variety of problems, including contaminating water, attracting insects and rodents, and increasing flooding due to blocked drainage canals or gullies. In addition, it may result in safety hazards from fires or explosions and increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which contribute to climate change. The target of this study is to review some of the fundamental issues associated with solid waste generation, storage, collection, transshipment, treatment and disposal and proposed likely suggestions that can help alleviate them Keywords: Sanitary landfill, climate change, waste generation, storage, collection, transshipment and treatment. DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/10-2-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

The level of individual participation of community in implementing effective solid waste management policies

It is crucial to achieve effective solid waste management involving not only formal/government agencies, but also individual/informal/voluntary actions in order to create a healthy environment. This study conducted to unveil the factors that increase individuals’ community participation in solid waste management policy. The data were matched with a literature review on existing waste policies to identify gaps in knowledge, which could provide beneficial policy recommendations for the Jakarta Provincial Government. The ordinary least squares regression and Indonesian family life survey data were used. The respondents’ waste handling and participation scores with potentially affected variables were calculated and regressed. Out of 1.791 respondents, the regression revealed that the participation of individuals from Jakarta is influenced by 1) the frequency of their involvement in social community activities, 2) their education level, and 3) per capita expenditure. The solid waste management score increased by 0.233 if the respondents were more socially active, with a participation score of 1. Empowerment had a 0.06 coefficient correlation relative to the waste handling score. According to the broader sample of 28.967 respondents from large cities in Indonesia. It was concluded that individuals’ participation could be enhanced by hosting various social activities at the grassroots level. The study’s gaps show that the Jakarta Provincial Government has a high propensity towards increasing individuals’ participation in solid waste management by maximizing control of the factors mentioned above (especially empowerment), as well as by raising the frequency of citizens’ involvement in social community activities at the grassroots level.

Robust information for effective municipal solid waste policies: Identifying behaviour of waste generation across spatial levels of organization

Existing studies have studied influencing factors of MSW generation behaviour at different spatial levels of organization, but always one at a time and not simultaneously. Income is a strong influencing factor, affecting MSW generation from the individual to the country level, capable of hiding the effects of the others. This study shows that when MSW generation behaviour is holistically analysed across multiple levels of organization (individuals, households, and communities) hierarchically organized as functional units of MSW generation within a specific study area, it is possible to identify influencing factors in addition to income (education, demographic, health, ethnic, economic activity and financial types) as explanatory variables. Increasing the number of influencing factors of MSW generation makes it possible to create a robust knowledge base for MSW management policies in fast-growing urban areas of developing countries, improving the information used to select proper policies and plans within their MSW management systems and avoiding overlapping policies causing legal gaps. Betania, an urban area of the Panama City district, has been chosen as a case study area. The results show that the household income explains 86% of its memberś MSW generation and the community indigenous population explains 21% of householdś MSW generation. It is concluded that MSW generation is not linear across levels, it has as many degrees of freedom as influencing factors shaping the levels of organization where functional units generating waste exist. Influencing factors appearing at each spatial level affects MSW generation in an interdependent manner in variable degrees of magnitude.

Mapping incinerability of municipal solid waste in Indian sub-continent

Effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management is essential for sustainable development of a region. Waste management strategies are, consequently, aimed at waste minimisation with material and energy recovery. Rising MSW generation rates, acute shortage of land resources and improving thermal characteristics have collectively contributed to the growth of waste-to-energy sector in developing countries like India. Negligible source segregation and the resultant heterogeneity of the MSW necessitate ascertaining its incinerability to assess the feasibility of the technology. Incinerability index or i-Index is, hence, used to estimate the incinerability of MSW generated in cities across the Indian sub-continent. An incinerability-based map is developed to illustrate the variations in incinerability across the country. The lifestyle habits, topography, income level of the residents, culture and food habits are found to affect the composition and in turn the incinerability. The variations in incinerability of MSW generated in the northern, southern, eastern and western regions are graphically identified using incinerability plot or i-Plot. The reported power generation potential from MSW in Indian states is also found to be consistent with the incinerability of the MSW feed and the daily waste generation rates.