Municipal Waste Disposal Facilities Research Articles

Urban aspects of selecting lands for municipal solid waste disposal facilities

The article discusses the main approaches to the selection of a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities, taking into account urban planning features. According to the analysis and theoretical studies, the selection of a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities implies an interdisciplinary study and design of the territory, planned for development. The main objectives of the study include environmental protection requirements, building codes and regulations, sanitary and hygienic, engineering-environmental and urban planning rules. The paper analyses the main aspects of organising a land plot for municipal waste disposal facilities. The greatest attention is paid to the study of the regulatory framework in the field of urban planning in terms of determining the legal status of territories for the location of municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The paper develops an interdisciplinary model for studying the criteria of selecting a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The necessary industrial regulations, defining the composition of requirements for the selection of a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities, which should be improved taking into account urban development, are highlighted.

Integrating a UAV System Based on Pixhawk with a Laser Methane Mini Detector to Study Methane Emissions

This article describes the process of integrating one of the most commonly used laser methane detectors, the Laser Methane mini (LMm), and a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based on the Pixhawk flight controller to create an unmanned aerial system designed to detect methane leakages from the air. The integration is performed via the LaserHub+, a newly developed device which receives data from the laser methane detector, decodes it and transmits it to the flight controller with the protocol used by the ArduPilot platform for laser rangefinders. The user receives a single data array from the UAV flight controller that contains both the values of the methane concentrations measured by the detector, and the co-ordinates of the corresponding measurement points in three-dimensional space. The transmission of data from the UAV is carried out in real time. It is shown in this project that the proposed technical solution (the LaserHub+) has clear advantages over not only similar serial commercial solutions (e.g., the SkyHub complex by SPH Engineering) but also experimental developments described in the scientific literature. The main reason is that LaserHub+ does not require a deep customization of the methane detector or the placement of additional complex devices on board the UAV. Tests using it were carried out in aerial gas surveys of a number of municipal solid waste disposal sites in Russia. The device has a low cost and is easy for the end user to assemble, connect to the UAV and set up. The authors believe that LaserHub+ can be recommended as a mass solution for aerial surveys of methane sources. Information is provided on the approval of LaserHub+ for aerial gas surveys of a number of Russian municipal waste disposal facilities.

An assessment of higher-value recyclable wastes in Mexico City households using a novel waste collector citizen science approach

The ability to accurately characterize and collect data on household waste generation and composition is essential for promoting recycling and developing city management plans. However, traditional data collection approaches in developing countries are hampered by jurisdictional and budgetary constraints. Here, we explore whether citizen science projects that collaborate with waste collectors can solve this problem and be a viable tool for addressing household waste generation across temporal and geographic boundaries. In this regard, this first study evaluated recyclable household waste generation by engaging waste collectors both door-to-door individuals and trucks as citizen scientists daily in an urbanized colony (5797 inhabitants and 1747 houses) in Mexico City between September and October 2022. To understand their distribution and consumption patterns on a regional basis, we stratified the colony's households into 2 distinct non-overlapping sub zones and one Wednesday market based on waste collectors' routine using a Geographical Information System. Results show that for seven weeks, household waste constitutes up to 12.19 t of recyclables, ranging from 99.5 to 480.8 kg/day, with 35 % cardboard, 23 % PET plastics, 21 % hard plastics, 17 % glass, and 4 % aluminum. The average amount of recyclable waste produced was 54 g/person/day, resulting in an annual recycling generation of 114 t. Statistical analysis revealed that recyclable waste generation varied by day and subzone. Furthermore, informal centers rather than municipal waste disposal facilities are in charge of the final disposition of the collected recyclables, suggesting that a substantial waste proportion may go unaccounted for in the local government's annual MSW report and calling for the implementation of formal recycling sectors. Overall, this study show how effective waste collector engagement in science can be and imply that the proposed citizen science approach is vital for future waste projects and the generation of transparent datasets in developing cities.

使用済み小型電気・電子機器の回収試験と回収量評価

The experimental trial of collecting SDA (small domestic appliance) in Akita prefecture was carried out based on the concept of RtoS (Reserve to Stock, ore deposit design) from December, 2006. The artificial ore deposit design is a trial which improves circulation of metal resources, aiming at recovery of metal resources. We installed boxes at more than one hundred points such as city offices, community centers and supermarkets to collect SDA from citizens. We also collected small and middle sized WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) from municipal waste disposal facilities in Odate city. As the result of conducting the experiment for twenty five months, at least four hundred and fifty kinds of EEE (total weight was 44,410 kg) such as video cassette recorder, cellular phone, electronic substrate and adapter were collected. To pursue effective collecting method, we changed the place where boxes were installed and analyzed the relationship between the collection weight and the magnitude of population within the area around each box by using GIS (geographic information system) . The results showed that the amount collected from the public facilities increased with population, however, the amount collected from the supermarkets was almost constant with the population.

Initial stages of pollutants dispersion around municipal waste disposal facilities: a case study in Northern Portugal

The combined use of several geological, geochemical and geophysical observations during six years enabled the detection of a very faint halo of chemical contamination induced by the operation of a young waste disposal facility in Northern Portugal. The halo does not classify as pollution by any standards, but is observed to be intensifying and thus signals a potential hazardous situation in future years. The approach used shows that a comprehensive and diverse monitoring programme, although relatively inexpensive and easy to carry out, may detect concealed leaks long before any environmental concern is justified, and thus may help avert future complex remediation needs caused by the uncontrolled growth of undetected underground pollution plumes.

Environmental, geotechnical, and hydraulic behaviour of a cellulose-rich by-product used as alternative cover material

Deinking by-product (DBP), a cellulose-rich by-product produced in the early stages of the paper recycling process, has been used as alternative material for the construction of cover systems for municipal waste disposal facilities and acid-producing mine residues. Because of the high organic content of this material, covers constructed with it are susceptible to biodegradation and, thus, to changes in their properties with time. With the goal of identifying the biodegradation parameters that could influence the long-term behaviour of DBP covers, an experimental laboratory program was developed and a series of 15 samples of DBP were monitored in biodegradation tests for 400 d. Periods of intermittent water percolation allowed for collection of leachate. The evolution of gas and leachate production was monitored in terms of quality and quantity. According to the results obtained, the hydraulic and geomechanical properties of importance for a cover do not seem to be adversely affected by the level of biodegradation of the DBP or by mass loss. Key words: cover systems, deinking by-products, biodegradation, mass loss by gas production, mass loss by leaching.

Public participation in impact assessment: A social learning perspective

This paper is a contribution to the development of normative criteria for evaluating models of the participation process. The concept of social learning is described and an effort to show how communities of people with both diverse and common interests can reach agreement on collective action to solve a shared problem. The authors have developed the idea of “cooperative discourse” as a method to achieve consensus. The authors utilize the case study of the siting of a municipal waste disposal facility in the eastern region of the Canton of Aargau in Switzerland, to demonstrate the applicability of “cooperative discourse”. They argue that successful public participation must yield not only fair and competent decisions, but also uncover common needs and understandings that transcend egoistic aims, and contribute to the development of democracy.

Waste disposal facilities and community response: tracing pathways from facility impacts to community attitude

Host communities often very strongly oppose municipal waste disposal facilities despite the absence of very serious physical impacts. In order to effectively manage facility impacts and siting process to reduce host community opposition, waste management engineers and planners must understand the linkage between physical impacts and beliefs and the resulting attitudes in the host community. Physical impacts, community beliefs, and attitudes were assessed at two typical waste facilities, a landfill and an incinerator for municipal solid waste. Typical landfill impacts consist of water and air quality effects, odors, noise, and visual impacts; incinerators generate air quality impacts, visual and slight noise effects. While residents' general beliefs about facility impacts focus on obvious physical impacts (noise, odor, air emissions), residents' opinions of specific waste facilities comprise a broader set of physical and nonphysical impacts, including property value losses, community image impact, and loss of community control. These underlying, nonphysical impact beliefs are associated with exposure to obvious nuisance impacts and correlate strongly with residents' attitudes about the facility. Therefore, impact management efforts will be most effective if they, first, correctly identify underlying concerns and, then, manage the physical impacts that trigger them. Key words: waste disposal facilities, physical impacts, community beliefs, attitude, impact management, community acceptance.