Residential Solid Waste Research Articles

Wellington-Winter Revisited: The Case of Municipal Sanitation Collection

This study examines the hypothesis advanced by Wellington and Winter that public sector unions have greater power than private sector unions to raise wages. To test this hypothesis the authors use a unique body of 1974 data on several aspects of residential solid waste collection in 175 cities, 95 with public collection systems and 80 with private systems. In both groups of cities some work forces are unionized and some are not. The authors' analysis shows that unionization raises the wages of sanitation workers in the public sector by considerably more than it raises the wages of such workers in the private sector, thus providing strong support for the Wellington-Winter thesis.

Economic Analysis of User Charges in Residential Solid Waste Treatment in Japan

The study is based on the survey conducted in 1981 by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) with the purpose of clarifying a role of user charges in municipal solid waste management. The survey attempts to cover the total number of 60 cities and intergovernmental agencies in Japan which charge, according to the 1977 national survey conducted by Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare, the user for the municipal (residential) collection and disposal (treatment) service. The NIES survey was carried out by mail as well as telephone calls to local goverment officials.Responses are made by 51 local governments, 14 of which employs a flat fee type, the remaining 37 a variable fee type. The variable fee type consists of various types, in which the change varies with either the quantity of refuse collected or the frequency or spot where service is offered. Particularly, 16 local governments employ a variable fee type of trash bag in which the user purchases trash bags from a government. The price of bag is fixed to cover production cost, billing costs and charge.Two important findings derived from our analysis of the survey are: the hypothesis that when service consumers must pay a higher fee, they will demand less service than other consumers with a lower price, is verified based on a statistical hypothesis testing of two mean values between a flat fee category (14 samples) and a trash bag category (16 samples). Second, cities with higher population densities are more likely to have lower ratios of charge revenues to total municipal solid waste treatment costs.Finally, the demand function and the cost function for municipal solid waste treatment service are estimated by the least squares method. These functions together with the marginal-cost-pricing rule and externality as well as public good concept, are utilized to provide an economic rationale for the second finding.

Pulp and paper mill solid wastes as substrates for single‐cell protein production

AbstractWe have investigated the upgrading of some typical pulp and paper mill solid wastes into protein‐enriched animal feed using the cellulolytic fungus Chaetomium cellulolyticum. The waste residues used were six different primary clarifier sludges and a sample of tertiary centricleaner rejects. These were obtained from mills whose modes of operation spanned the range typically in present‐day usage: groundwood, sulfite, semichemical, Kraft, and thermomechanical pulping, with and without bleaching. Crude protein production from the solid waste residues is compared to that obtainable from fermentation of untreated or caustic‐pretreated sawdusts. Some of these waste residues, especially the Kraft pulp mill rejects, appear to be promising sources of substrate for single‐cell protein production. In these preliminary findings, up to 28% dry weight crude protein content of the product has been obtained at specific growth rates of up to 0.12hr−1 on direct utilization of the wastes.

Measuring the Generation and Collection of Household Solid Waste in Cities

This study investigates several aspects and policy implications of the generation and collection of residential solid waste in a sample of midwestern cities. Most of the data were obtained from carefully developed questionnaires and a large number of personal interviews. In particular, the investigation examines the impacts on the generation and collection of refuse resulting from the imposition of user charges, improvements in the quality of service, and changes in the type of collector. The importance of income, popula tion, and economics of scale are also examined. The results indicate that user charges are likely to have a significant effect on the amount of refuse placed out for collection. Service frequency does not have such an impact, although it does have a substantial effect on collection costs. No economies of scale are observed for the range of community sizes in the sample. Private operations are found, on average, to be more efficient than municipal systems.

Resource recovery from solid wastes by water only cyclone process and heavy medium cyclone process

The water only cyclone processes and heavy medium cyclone processes, developed by Stamicarbon and applied for the separation of coal, ore and minerals for the last 25 years, were tested for resource recovery from automotive scrap, municipal solid waste, car batteries and incinerator residue. The first commercial plant for shredded automotive scrap has been in operation with success since January 1977. The results of this plant and of extensive test work have proven that the application of the cyclone technique can be very profitable for the resource recovery from all types of wastes, because of the high efficiency and the production of clean saleable products.

Suggestions for Evaluating Resource Recovery Proposals

Abstract Since 1973, resource recovery of residential solid waste has rapidly expanded in response to increasing landfill costs, increasing costs for virgin materials, and federal and state support. This article overviews resource recovery and presents suggestions for local governments for judging the suitability of resource recovery proposals. Source separation and materials and resource recovery are discussed. The feasibility of proposed resource recovery facilities is examined with respect to four categories of information: technical, legal and institutional, economic, and site.

Solid-Waste Management: A Test of Alternative Strategies Using Optimization Techniques

The objective of this paper is to determine how residential solid waste has been and could be disposed of or reused in metropolitan regions. By means of optimization techniques, the authors examine the economic efficiency of landfilling, energy and materials recovery, and waste-transportation technologies at centralized and dispersed sites. The results indicate that dry-fuel technology is the most efficient system for the near future. Pyrolysis, incineration, and landfilling are less efficient systems in metropolitan regions which are running out of inexpensive landfill space. Northern New Jersey is used as a case study.

Trace Metal Samples Collected in the Front and Back Halves of the E.P.A. Stack Sampling Train

A Purdue University industrial source sampling team has been involved since 1972 with a number of industrial and municipal collaborators, in order to characterize the flow of trace metals into the atmosphere. The plants involved in this cooperative research effort include the East Chicago municipal incinerator, rated at 450 ton/day of residential and commercial solid waste; a multiple furnace open hearth shop at a Northwest Indiana steel mill producing approximately 8 million ton/yr of steel; a coker arid sinter plant serving a 100,000 ton/yr vertical retort zinc production facility; and the Purdue University coal fired power plant equipped with 250,000 lb/hr steam boilers. At each of these facilities a number of stack samples have been obtained using the standard E.P.A. train. Analysis of the probe, filter, and impinger catch showed that in each case the front half of the E.P.A. Method 51 sampling train was highly efficient for collection of trace metal particulate.

Measures of Efficiency in Solid Waste Collection

Residential solid waste collection as normally practiced is a highly labor-intensive activity. Even with a one-man crew, the ratio of labor cost to equipment cost is high. For this reason, it is extremely important to study the factors that affect labor efficiency in the collection process. This paper reports on a study conducted on the waste collection system of a large midwestern city. Continuous data collected from the operation are analyzed, and regression analysis is used to define the important influencing factors. Data are analyzed for three-man crews giving curb-side service and for 18-, 20-, and 25-cu. yd (14-, 15-, and 19-m³) vehicles. An attempt is made to define the interaction between the crews and vehicle utilization.

Closure to “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Closure to “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Discussion of “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Discussion of “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Discussion of “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Discussion of “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Discussion of “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Discussion of “Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection”

Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection

Governmental decision-making in metropolitan areas is becoming increasingly concerned with finding comprehensive solutions to area-wide problems. Development of an adequate urban solid waste management system for residential solid waste collection is such a problem. Although solid waste services offered by various civil subdivisions in a metropolitan area may be widely divergent, the factors influencing this service are similar. For example, within a given metropolitan area one town may offer twice-a-week, rear-of-the house collection service, while another town may offer once-a-week curb service. To analyze these two different systems on a metropolitan-wide basis, it is necessary to develop appropriate analytical tools. One possibility for analyzing these factors is to apply regression analysis to economic and operational data related to solid waste collection in a given metropolitan area. This technique is applied to such an area, and the relevant factors influencing solid waste collection are determined.

Studies on the detection of salmonellae in municipal solid waste and incinerator residue

Significant factors in recovering Salmonella organisms from solid waste/sludge mixture, municipal solid waste, and incinerator residue and quench water were sample weight, number of samples, enrichment and subculture media, and incubation temperature. The optimal sample weight was 30 g; the optimal incubation temperature of inoculated enrichment medium, 39.5°C. The two enrichment media, Selenite F and Selenite brilliant green/sulfa, were equally efficient. The plating media were also important; best results were obtained with salmonella/shigella agar. Field studies conducted at four municipal incinerators of different operational design indicated that when enteric pathogens are present in the solid waste they can survive the incineration process.

RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS DOMICILIARIOS: CARACTERIZACIÓN Y ESTIMACIÓN ENERGÉTICA PARA LA CIUDAD DE CHIMBOTE

El manejo y la disposición final de los Residuos Sólidos Domiciliarios (RSD) presentan desafíos y, a la vez, oportunidades para los países en vías de desarrollo y con poco progreso científico-tecnológico en este ámbito. En este trabajo se evaluó la caracterización de los RSD para realizar la estimación del potencial energético contenido en los Residuos Sólidos Orgánicos Domiciliarios (RSOD) de la ciudad de Chimbote. La muestra de estudio consistió en 60 viviendas, distribuidas en tres niveles socioeconómicos, tal como establece la metodología estadística del Ministerio del Ambiente del Perú. Así, entonces, se obtuvo una generación per cápita de RSD de 0,425 kg/hab./día, donde los RSOD representan el 69,03 % (0,297 kg/hab./día) de los RSD. Basado en estos resultados, el total de los RSOD alcanza el 69,8 Tn/día. Finalmente, se realizó una evaluación para estimar la recuperación energética contenida en los RSOD a través de la incineración, obteniéndose una generación de 15,33 MW al año 2017, situación que representaría un aumento del 8 % durante la década 2017- 27. Al recuperar la energía contenida en los RSOD se puede contribuir a la reducción del consumo de combustibles fósiles, así como también a la disminución del impacto ambiental, evitando principalmente las emisiones de metano.

The Challenge of Solid Wastes Research

Solid wastes pose a significant environmental problem. Engineers have neglected solid wastes in the past but can no longer do so. The needs for research cover every aspect of solid wastes. There must be better information on solid waste characteristics. Efforts will be directed to on-site disposal. Transportation and remote disposal will receive greater attention. The most significant factor is that some solid waste residue must be returned to the soil. Communities must plan for burial of solid wastes. To solve solid waste problems there must be additional engineers with research orientation. Funds for research must be made available. The challenge in solid wastes is to reduce the volume to a minimum and to retain the value of land use for burial.