The current situation of solid waste management in China

With economic development, the quantity of solid waste is increasing rapidly in China; the total quantities of municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial solid waste (ISW), and hazardous waste (HW) in 2002 were 136.5 million tons, 945 million tons, and 10 million tons, respectively. In 2002, the quantity of MSW disposed of was 74.04 million tons, 89.30% of which was landfilled, 3.72% was incinerated, and 6.98% was composted. There are currently 651 disposal facilities for MSW in China. Mining gangue is the largest component of ISW, making up 27.5% of the total. In the Chinese industrial sector, the coal mining and processing industry contributed most to the total quantity of ISW, with 16.0% of the total quantity of ISW generated by this sector. In total, 44% of HW was recycled, 27% was stored, 13.5% was disposed of, and 15.4% was discharged. Of the total HW generated, 40% was produced by the chemical materials and chemical products industry. Five categories of HW, i.e., waste alkali, waste acid, inorganic fluoride waste, copper waste, and inorganic cyanide waste, made up 57.8% of the total HW generated. Solid waste pollution has become a huge challenge faced by those involved in Chinese environmental management, but this can be seen as an opportunity to improve environmental quality. This article introduces the strategies taken to improve solid waste management in China.     

Occurrence of phenols in leachates from municipal solid waste landfill sites in Japan

The concentrations of 41 phenols in leachates from 38 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill sites in Japan were measured. The main phenols detected in leachates were phenol, three cresols, 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-tertoctylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and some chlorophenols. The concentration levels of phenols were affected by the pH values of the leachates and the different types of landfill waste. The origins of phenol and p-cresol were considered to be incineration residues, and the major origin of 4-tert-butylphenol, bisphenol A, and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol was considered to be solidified fly ash. In contrast, the major origins of 4-tert-octylphenol and 4-nonylphenol were considered to be incombustibles. The discharge of leachates to the environment around MSW landfill sites without water treatment facilities can cause environmental pollution by phenols. In particular, the disposal of incineration residues including solidified fly ash and the codisposal of solidified fly ash and incombustibles might raise the possibility of environmental pollution. Moreover, the discharge of leachates at pH values of 9.8 or more could pollute the water environment with phenol. However, phenol, 4-nonylphenol, and bisphenol A can be removed to below the con centration levels that impact the environment around landfill sites by a series of conventional water treatment processes.     

Combustion characteristics of Malaysian municipal solid waste and predictions of air flow in a rotary kiln incinerator

Malaysia is in dire need of alternatives to landfilling for solid waste management. Recently, landfills have faced the problems of overfilling, overflowing of leachates leading to pollution of water resources, and uncontrolled dust emissions adversely affecting the local environment. With the rising cost of urbanization coupled with the high rate of waste generation, one possible method of waste treatment that is receiving particular attention by the government is incineration. Incineration of solid waste is rather new in Malaysia, with limited usage in handling small sources of waste generation such as the municipal solid waste (MSW) of resort islands; however, its potential in ameliorating the problems associated with solid waste treatment may make it an attractive alternative to landfill. This article presents the results of test runs conducted to investigate the performance of a locally designed and manufactured rotary kiln incinerator (RKI). The test runs were conducted using MSW collected from the Shah Alam municipality. The combustion efficiency was analyzed by looking at the temperature profiles and chemical species concentrations. To complement the combustion characteristics measurements, predictions of the air flow in the incinerator during the process were also investigated. The overall performance of the RKI suggests that it is suitable for treating MSW.     

我国环境保护技术述评

介绍了我国对水污染、大气污染、固体废物污染及物理污染的控制技术及环境监测技术的发展水平,分析了我国环境保护技术存在的关键问题;并根据环境技术管理和环保产业发展的需求,提出了我国环境保护技术发展的近期目标和“十一五”期间的重点发展领域。     

Management of hazardous waste in Thailand: present situation and future prospects

 This paper deals with the present scenario of hazardous waste management practices in Thailand, and gives some insights into future prospects. Industrialization in Thailand has systematically increased the generation of hazardous waste. The total hazardous waste generated in 2001 was 1.65 million tons. It is estimated that over 300 million kg/year of hazardous waste is generated from nonindustrial, community sources (e.g., batteries, fluorescent lamps, cleansing chemicals, pesticides). No special facilities are available for handling these wastes. There are neither well-established systems for separation, storage, collection, and transportation, nor the effective enforcement of regulations related to hazardous wastes management generated from industrial or nonindustrial sectors. Therefore, because of a lack of treatment and disposal facilities, these wastes find their way into municipal wastewaters, public landfills, nearby dump sites, or waterways, raising serious environmental concern. Furthermore, Thailand does not have an integrated regulatory framework regarding the monitoring and management of hazardous materials and wastes. In addition to the absence of a national definition of hazardous wastes, limited funding has caused significant impediments to the effective management of hazardous waste. Thus, current waste management practices in Thailand present significant potential hazards to humans and the environment. The challenging issues of hazardous waste management in Thailand are not only related to a scarcity of financial resources (required for treatment and disposal facilities), but also to the fact that there has been no development of appropriate technology following the principles of waste minimization and sustainable development. A holistic approach to achieving effective hazardous waste management that integrates the efforts of all sectors, government, private, and community, is needed for the betterment of human health and the environment. Received: February 26, 2001 / Accepted: October 11, 2002     

2020年危险废物市场分析

危险废物处理与政策、法规、标准、技术、市场等影响因素关系密切。对2019年以来我国出台的危险废物管理政策法规、管理措施和标准规范情况进行梳理,对危险废物产生和利用处置情况进行对比分析,对危险废物利用处置技术进展、价格变动和市场投资趋势等进行概述,对环境违法案件舆情及突发事件等因素对危险废物市场影响进行分析,综合运用类比、归纳和演绎等方法,对2020年危险废物市场进行预测分析。     

Comparison of old and new municipal solid waste management systems in Denizli, Turkey

Rapid economic growth, increasing population and change in living standards contribute to increasing the generation rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Denizli city, like other Turkish cities. The improper and poor MSW management system (old system) in Denizli caused environmental problems originating from the uncontrolled release of methane and leachate. In addition, the disposal of recyclable materials in unsanitary landfills is responsible for the consumption and destruction of natural sources. This paper presents a general overview of old and new MSW management practices in Denizli. Detailed data on MSW management practices including collection, transportation, disposal and recycling have been presented. The amount of solid waste generated in Denizli over the last decade has increased steadily over the years, from 108,500 tons in 1995 to 179,495 tons in 2006. The average MSW generation rate was found to be 1.23kg/day per capita. The major constituent of MSW in Denizli is food waste, but the percentage of recyclable waste has increased significantly recently. Except for metal wastes, the percentages of recyclable waste materials in Denizli are higher than in all neighborhood cities. The objective of this study is to compare the old and new MSW management systems in Denizli city. The MSW management system has been changed entirely last five years. A dumpsite was closed and a sanitary landfill with a composting facility was constructed. In addition, source separated collection has been carried out since 2002. The quantity of recyclable waste collected increased from 195 to 1549 tons. The amount of recyclable waste will continue to be increased by expanding the source separation collection system to all the districts of the city and preventing scavenging. Thus, revenue from recyclable waste ($7227 in 2006) is expected to increase. In addition, the capacity of the composting facility will be increased. Most importantly, information to increase public participation and awareness in municipal recovery programs has to be provided.     

Mechanical behavior of typical hazardous waste and its influence on landfill stability during operation

The stability of hazardous waste (HW) landfill is a major security risk to the landfill environmental safety. The mechanical behavior of waste controls many aspects of landfill design and operation, including stability and settlement issues and the integrity of geosynthetic and liner components. This study presents the results of a laboratory experiment to learn the mechanical properties of HW collected from the Hangzhou HW landfill. Measured mechanical behavior was compared with results for municipal solid waste (MSW) to assess their discrepancies. The particle size of HW was analyzed by the sieving and hydrometer methods. Because HW comes primarily from industrial plants in the form of sludge or slag, their particle sizes are generally smaller than those of MSW. This study indicates that the shear strength parameters of HW are more sensitive to the methods of testing and calculation than those of MSW. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the safety factor of a landfill is affected by the mechanical properties of HW, especially cohesion and friction angle. Because of the lower particle size and wider compression ratio, compared to MSW, an HW landfill should be taken more care in its operational procedures so as to increase its stability.     

Management of municipal solid waste in the Three Gorges region

As the fourth phase of the Three Gorges reservoir project commenced in 2008, the rate of water flow in the Yangtze River has obviously decelerated further downstream and water clarity within the storage facility has decreased. Meanwhile, the rate of urbanization in the region is adding to the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) being generated by every day life. The composition of the waste is becoming more diversified and complicated, thereby presenting an increasing threat to the ecological environment and water resources of the Three Gorges region. This paper is a probe into MSW in terms of its characteristics as well as methods of storage, collection, transportation, recycling, treatment and disposal, the protection of environmental ecosystems. Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is one of the major environmental problems in the Three Gorges region, and indeed the whole of China. Based on the analysis of the present situation of MSWM and its treatment/disposal, some methods of sorting, recycling, decomposing, incineration and reuse are described, sanitary landfill as the main disposal method in Chongqing city, incineration being the second. Sanitary landfill or dump was also used for MSW treatment in the Three Gorges region, and this paper also provides some suggestions for improving MSWM in the Three Gorges region.     

A web-based Decision Support System for the optimal management of construction and demolition waste

Wastes from construction activities constitute nowadays the largest by quantity fraction of solid wastes in urban areas. In addition, it is widely accepted that the particular waste stream contains hazardous materials, such as insulating materials, plastic frames of doors, windows, etc. Their uncontrolled disposal result to long-term pollution costs, resource overuse and wasted energy. Within the framework of the DEWAM project, a web-based Decision Support System (DSS) application - namely DeconRCM - has been developed, aiming towards the identification of the optimal construction and demolition waste (CDW) management strategy that minimises end-of-life costs and maximises the recovery of salvaged building materials. This paper addresses both technical and functional structure of the developed web-based application. The web-based DSS provides an accurate estimation of the generated CDW quantities of twenty-one different waste streams (e.g. concrete, bricks, glass, etc.) for four different types of buildings (residential, office, commercial and industrial). With the use of mathematical programming, the DeconRCM provides also the user with the optimal end-of-life management alternative, taking into consideration both economic and environmental criteria. The DSS's capabilities are illustrated through a real world case study of a typical five floor apartment building in Thessaloniki, Greece.     

The use of LCA in selecting the best MSW management system

This paper focuses on the study of eleven environmental impact categories produced by several municipal solid waste management systems (scenarios) operating on a provincial scale in Southern Italy. In particular, the analysis takes into account 12 management scenarios with 16 management phases for each one. The only difference among ten of the scenarios (separated kerbside collection of all recyclables, glass excepted, composting of putrescibles, RDF pressed bales production and incineration, final landfilling) is the percentage of separated collection varying in the range of 35–80%, while the other two scenarios, for 80% of separate collection, consider different alternatives in the disposal of treatment residues (dry residue sorting and final landfilling or direct disposal in landfill). The potential impacts induced on the environmental components were analysed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) procedure called “WISARD” (Waste Integrated System Assessment for Recovery and Disposal). Paper recycling was the phase with the greatest influence on avoided impacts, while the collection logistics of dry residue was the phase with the greatest influence on produced impacts. For six impact categories (renewable and total energy use, water, suspended solids and oxydable matters index, eutrophication and hazardous waste production), for high percentages of separate collection a management system based on recovery and recycling but without incineration would be preferable.     

石油开采行业土壤污染防治对策与建议

在文献和实地调研的基础上,分析了石油开采行业生产工艺及产排污情况,识别了油井、注水井、输油管道、联合站等主要工艺节点的土壤污染风险,总结了目前行业处理废水和危险废物的主要方法,指出了行业在废弃钻井液处理、地下输油管道泄漏后期处置及突发环境事件应急预案中土壤污染防治等方面存在的问题,并提出了相应的对策和建议。     

Process and technological aspects of municipal solid waste gasification. A review

The paper proposes a critical assessment of municipal solid waste gasification today, starting from basic aspects of the process (process types and steps, operating and performance parameters) and arriving to a comparative analysis of the reactors (fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained bed, vertical shaft, moving grate furnace, rotary kiln, plasma reactor) as well as of the possible plant configurations (heat gasifier and power gasifier) and the environmental performances of the main commercially available gasifiers for municipal solid wastes. The analysis indicates that gasification is a technically viable option for the solid waste conversion, including residual waste from separate collection of municipal solid waste. It is able to meet existing emission limits and can have a remarkable effect on reduction of landfill disposal option.     

Optimization of regional hazardous waste management systems: an improved formulation

The planning and design of regional hazardous waste management system (RHWMS) involves selection of treatment and disposal facilities, allocation of hazardous wastes and waste residues from generator to the treatment and disposal sites and selection of the transportation routes. An improved formulation based upon multi-objective integer programming approach is presented to arrive at the optimal configuration of RHWMS components. This formulation addresses important practical issues like unique characteristics of the hazardous wastes reflecting on waste–waste and waste–technology compatibility. A utility function approach is presented to integrate both cost and risk related objectives. An illustrative case example is presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the improved formulation as a tool which can be used by environmental planning agencies in regional planning for hazardous waste management.     

Formulation of a landfill pollution potential index to compare pollution potential of uncontrolled landfills

Generally speaking, landfilling is one of the prominent methods of waste disposal around the globe, but some under-developed and developing countries still continue to practice uncontrolled open dumping of waste. These uncontrolled landfills pose a relatively high threat to the various elements of the environment in comparison with the conventional engineered landfills that are used in many developed countries. However, some closed, un-engineered landfills do exist in developing countries. This paper presents a novel approach to compare the pollution potential of uncontrolled landfills using an index. The landfill pollution potential index (LPPI) has been developed using the Delphi technique and is an aggregation of six pollution indices that have already been developed for the quantification of different environmental elements. The LPPI is an increasing scale index, in which a higher index value indicates a higher pollution threat. The LPPI of a landfill in Delhi was calculated and the high LPPI value indicates that the respective landfill poses a significant threat to the environment. The LPPI can be used as an aid to diagnose a landfill's pollution potential relative to other landfills and therefore also to rank remediation investments.     

Estimating the costs of corrective action at land disposal facilities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed regulations that would require corrective action (e.g., soil excavation and groundwater removal and treatment) at municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) and hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs). This paper presents an overview of the proposed corrective action regulations, and discusses their relationship to proposed or existing closure and post-closure care regulations. The paper then presents estimated corrective action cost curves for various MSWLF scenarios defined by landfill area, average waste thickness, and the presence or absence of a clay liner. The paper finally illustrates the economic benefits of sound closure and postclosure care by comparing estimated costs of corrective action to estimated costs of closure and postclosure care at MSWLFs.     

Application of system dynamics modeling for evaluation of different recycling scenarios in Singapore

The influence of socioeconomic factors, such as population and rapid economic growth, and the change of consumption and living patterns make waste management in Singapore, a complex issue. Due to limited land and resources, the solid waste management scheme requires a comprehensive approach. Therefore, system dynamics (SD) modeling was applied to assess alternative strategies for solid waste management by interconnecting landfill capacity and recycling efficiency with reference to the projection on waste generation. Nine different scenarios were investigated to identify the best approach to maintain environmental sustainability without inhibiting the economic growth. Four subsystems (i.e., population, economy, waste recycling, and waste disposal) have been incorporated into the SD model to broaden the effectiveness of the waste management system. Research findings revealed that a high economic pattern and a high recycling rate are recommended to satisfy the requirements for economic growth and environmental sustainability while extending landfill capacity for waste disposal. Even though the balance of expenditure could be increased by the high recycling rate, it meets the need for long-term incineration and landfill planning.     

An Overview of Solid Waste Management and Plastic Recycling in Qatar

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) constitutes one of the most crucial health and environmental problems facing authorities in the Arabian Gulf. Recent literature on current solid waste management (SWM) in Qatar has been reviewed in this paper, and a focused study has been carried out to provide a review on the total amount of municipal solid waste generated, stored, collected, disposed as well as the constituents of the waste. The analysis showed that Qatar produced around 2,000,000 tons of solid municipal waste annually, corresponding to a daily generation rate per capita of about 2.5 kg. About 60% of MSW is organic material and about 300 kg is composed daily. Landfill and composting is considered the most appropriate waste disposal techniques in Qatar. Um-Al-Afai landfill has nearly 80% of MSW. Because of the increased migration in Qatar, there is a sharp rise in the volume and also in the variety of solid waste. It is important to alleviate societal concerns over the increased rate of resource consumption and waste production; thus, policy makers have encouraged recycling and reuse strategies to reduce the demand for raw materials and to decrease the quantity of waste going to landfill. An example of the benefit of mechanical recycling of plastics compared to land filling and composting was conducted by GaBi 4 life cycle analysis tool which showed the benefits to the global warming and human toxicity. Recycling is the favored solution for plastic waste management, because it has a lower environmental impact on the defined impact categories, from Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Human Toxicity Potentials (HTP) indicators.     

Municipal solid waste management in China: a comparative analysis

This paper illustrates an overview of the past and present MSWM strategies in China. A comparison is made with MSWM in China, and other developed and developing countries to identify and analyze the problems of existing MSWM, and evaluate some effective suggestion to overcome the limitations. Rapid urbanization and economic growth are the main factors of increasing MSW generation in China. The generating MSW has 55.86 % food waste with high moisture contain due to unavailable source separation. Chinese MSWM is dominated by 60.16 % landfilling, whereas incineration, untreated discharge, and other treatments are 29.84, 8.21, and 1.79 %, respectively. In 2014, a total of 604 sanitary landfills, 188 incineration plants, and 26 other units were used for MSWM. With the magnitude of timing, the increasing rate of incineration unit and disposal capacity is higher than the landfill. In 2004–2014, the disposal capacity of landfill and incineration is increased from 68.89 to 107.44 and 4.49 to 53.3 million tons, respectively. However, the heating value in the majority of Chinese incineration plants is 3000–6700 kJ/kg and the inappropriate leachate treatment can be found in 47 % landfill sites. A proper taxation system for MSW disposal is not fully implemented in China, which has a negative impact on overall MSW recycling. From the comparative study of MSWM, it is revealed that the source separation MSW collection, high energy recovery from incineration plants, appropriate leachate treatment, effective landfill location and management, increase waste recycling and proper taxation system for MSW disposal are essential to improve MSWM in China.