Metric Tons Of Municipal Solid Waste Research Articles

Waste as Resource for Pakistan: An Innovative Business Model of Regenerative Circular Economy to Integrate Municipal Solid Waste Management Sector

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a global concern, especially in low–middle-income countries such as Pakistan, which require the redressal of MSW treatment issues to attain sustainability in the waste sector. The prosperity of municipal solid waste (MSW) collectors, i.e., the sanitary workers, is critical in the waste management hierarchy. Hence, the health, safety, social welfare, economic conditions and overall wellbeing of this tier need to be focused on more. Safeguarding the interests of the sanitary workers will support the MSW management sector in sustainability, which will help to generate revenue and minimize climatic impacts. An innovative MSW business model with waste ownership and technological intervention has excellent potential to support the sector towards a circular economy in Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, generating about 100,000 metric tons of MSW per day. The proposed recycling business model will ensure a daily material recovery of 26,070 tons with 4721 tons of compost manufacturing in the country, which ultimately helps towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and meeting the targets of nationally determined contributors (NDCs) by 2030. In addition, the sector’s economic potential can contribute 5.5% to the total annual budget and possibly pay 1.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) per annum to service national foreign debt, thus helping maintain the debt threshold value with an opportunity to accelerate the economic growth of Pakistan.

CFD Modeling of Plasma Gasification Reactor for Municipal Solid Waste

Plasma gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the thermochemical technologies that convert waste into energy. The waste is exposed to high temperatures to transform the organic compounds into synthetic gas that could be used as power source, fuel substitute or reactive in the biofuel production. The inorganic compounds are melted completely and an inert environmentally friendly vitrified is obtained, that could be used as building material. Plasma gasifiers have some advantages against traditional gasifiers, for example, high temperature and heating rates lead to compact reactors, improving their performance and conversion rates. Moreover, all the inorganic residues are processed in a melting chamber, leaving a fully vitrified, strong, and resistant to chemical leaching material. On the other hand, this kind of technology has some disadvantages like high initial investment and high electric consumption of plasma torches. All these aspects, as well as others, are being studied at the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, through the development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, defining a prototype reactor with a capacity of 1–2 metric tons of MSW per day and using DC nontransferred arc thermal plasma torch. Variations on composition within the MSW and process conditions will be studied in order to achieve high efficiency and economic feasibility. The CFD models include mechanical, thermal and chemical aspects of the turbulent reactive flows inside the gasification reactor, with 0-D, 2-D, as well 3-D considerations. The experimental phase of the project will be developed soon, taking into account the CFD models results, to implement the technology and eventually improve it.

Economic analysis of externalities caused by an open dump site: A case study of Meethotamulla dump site Sri Lanka

Open dumps not only cause environmental degradation but also cause losses to the country’s economy. Due to ignorance by many, it has become the most common method of disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the country. Meethotamulla dump site is one such open dump site located in Kolonnawa Municipality in Western Province of Sri Lanka. Until its collapse in April 2017, 850 metric tons of MSW was dumped daily and around 1000 households were directly affected around the dumpsite. The externalities of open dumping are not directly observed in the market, thus often underestimated. Hence, the main objective of the study was to estimate the total cost of major externalities caused by an open dumpsite. A household survey was conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire among the surrounding community of the dump site. Stratified random sampling was adopted and households were selected from distances of 100m, 200m, 300m, 500m and 700m along three directions. A total of 117 households were surveyed from May to August 2016. Various externalities were assessed by using different valuation techniques and cumulative value of all estimates was taken as the lower bound value of total annual damage cost of Meethotamulla dumpsite. The total cost of health damages perceived by surrounding community was estimated as Rs.91.50 million by using Cost of illness method, Human capital approach and Contingent valuation method whereas the value for loss of life was estimated as Rs.102.9 million based on value of statistical life. Annual preventive expenditure used to mitigate externalities such as odor, dust, disturbance due to insects, mosquitoes and flies, floods were estimated as Rs.2.77 million. The estimated cost for foregone benefit of clean groundwater based on the opportunity cost method was estimated as Rs.0.22 million per annum while loss of productive time on additional cleaning was estimated as Rs.7.37 million. Use of hedonic price method revealed that the annual loss of esthetic value due to the dumpsite was Rs.37.56 million. The study further revealed that dumpsite emits 24,632 tons of methane per year causing not only global warming but also an opportunity cost of carbon credits worth of Rs.928.18 million. The annual cost of all the externalities was estimated as Rs. 1,115.74 million with a per ton cost of Rs.3,596. Most of the time policy decisions on waste management are based on monetary values of costs and benefits which are directly observable in the market. However most of the costs are hidden thus they are underestimated, causing huge private and social costs to the country’s economy. In order to make correct policy decisions related to municipal solid waste management, a proper identification, understanding and estimation of such externalities related to disposal of solid waste is a must. Keywords: Open dump site, Externalities, Damage estimation

Alternatives for solid waste management in Isfahan, Iran: a case study

This articles presents the status of municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices in the city of Isfahan, Iran. It provides an overview of the generation, collection, separation, recycling and disposal of MSW. Field studies were carried out from 2009 to 2010. According to this study, the city generates about 399,000 metric tons of MSW per year, of which 72.5% is organic matter. In Isfahan more than 90% of the MSW is collected by official municipal forces and the other 10% is collected by informal collectors. About 70% of the MSW in Isfahan is composted to produce a humus material, 5% is rejected and 25% is stockpiled for future use as fuel in a waste-to-energy incineration plant. Non-compostable waste and other residues are landfilled. This investigation also includes an analysis of economic benefits that could be realized by implementing incineration and a discussion of the challenges confronted in Isfahan for implementing changes to the city's existing MSW management system. This article concludes with recommendations for improving the city's MSW management system.