Logistical management and private sector involvement in reducing the cost of municipal solid waste collection service in the Tubas area of the West Bank

This paper addresses the problems of the municipal solid waste (MSW) collection system in the Tubas district of Palestine. More specifically, it addresses the often-voiced concerns pertaining to low efficiency as well as environmental problems. This was carried out through a systematic methodological approach. The paper illustrates how a private company applied a logistical management strategy, by rescheduling the MSW collection system, reallocating street solid waste containers and minimizing vehicle routing. The way in which the MSW collection timetable was rescheduled decreased the operating expenses and thus reduced MSW collection costs. All data needed to reschedule the collection timetable and optimize vehicle routing were based on actual field measurements. The new MSW collection timetable introduced by a private company was monitored for a period of a month. The new system resulted in an improvement in the MSW collection system by reducing the collection cost to a level that is socially acceptable (US dollars 3.75/family/month), as well as economically and environmentally sound.     

Research on solid waste management system: to improve existing situation in Corlu Town of Turkey

Over the past decades, uncontrolled population growth and rapid urbanization and industrialization have resulted in environmental problems in Corlu Town, Turkey. One of the most important problems is solid waste due to inadequate management practices. Nowadays, increasing public awareness of the environment compels local authorities to define and to adopt new solutions for waste management. This paper presents a general overview of current solid waste management practices in Corlu Town and principles of the recommended municipal solid waste (MSW) management system. In Corlu, 170 tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated each day, or 1.150 kg per capita per day. Approximately one-half of the municipal solid waste generated is organic material and 30% of the MSW consists of recyclable materials. The recommended system deals with maximizing recycling and minimizing landfilling of municipal solid waste, and consists of separation at source, collection, sorting, recycling, composting and sanitary landfilling. This study also analyzed the recommended system with respect to feasibility and economics. To evaluate whether the suggested system is cost effective or not, the operating cost of the recommended system and market prices of recyclable materials were compared, and the results show that the recommended system will reduce required landfill volume up to 27% of compared to the present situation. The profit of the recommended system is estimated to be about 80 million US dollars.     

A GIS based transportation model for solid waste disposal--a case study on Asansol municipality

Uncontrolled growth of the urban population in developing countries in recent years has made solid waste management an important issue. Very often, a substantial amount of total expenditures is spent on the collection of solid waste by city authorities. Optimization of the routing system for collection and transport of solid waste thus constitutes an important component of an effective solid waste management system. This paper describes an attempt to design and develop an appropriate storage, collection and disposal plan for the Asansol Municipality Corporation (AMC) of West Bengal State (India). A GIS optimal routing model is proposed to determine the minimum cost/distance efficient collection paths for transporting the solid wastes to the landfill. The model uses information on population density, waste generation capacity, road network and the types of road, storage bins and collection vehicles, etc. The proposed model can be used as a decision support tool by municipal authorities for efficient management of the daily operations for transporting solid wastes, load balancing within vehicles, managing fuel consumption and generating work schedules for the workers and vehicles. The total cost of the proposed collection systems is estimated to be around 80 million rupees for the fixed cost of storage bins, collection vehicles and a sanitary landfill and around 8.4 million rupees for the annual operating cost of crews, vehicles and landfill maintenance. A substantial amount (25 million rupees/yr) is currently being spent by AMC on waste collection alone without any proper storage/collection system and sanitary landfill. Over a projected period of 15 yr, the overall savings is thus very significant.     

Modeling of urban solid waste management system: the case of Dhaka city

This paper presents a system dynamics computer model to predict solid waste generation, collection capacity and electricity generation from solid waste and to assess the needs for waste management of the urban city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Simulated results show that solid waste generation, collection capacity and electricity generation potential from solid waste increase with time. Population, uncleared waste, untreated waste, composite index and public concern are projected to increase with time for Dhaka city. Simulated results also show that increasing the budget for collection capacity alone does not improve environmental quality; rather an increased budget is required for both collection and treatment of solid wastes of Dhaka city. Finally, this model can be used as a computer laboratory for urban solid waste management (USWM) policy analysis.     

Municipal solid waste management in Africa: strategies and livelihoods in Yaoundé, Cameroon

This paper provides an overview of the state of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in the capital of Cameroon, Yaoundé, and suggests some possible solutions for its improvement. The institutional, financial, and physical aspects of MSW management, as well as the livelihoods of the population, were analyzed. Our study revealed that distances and lack of infrastructure have a major impact on waste collection. Garbage bins are systematically mentioned as the primary infrastructure needed by the population in all quarters, whether it be a high or low standard community. The construction of transfer stations and the installation of garbage bins are suggested as a solution to reduce distances between households and garbage bins, thus improving waste collection vehicle accessibility. Transfer stations and garbage bins would enable the official waste collection company to expand its range of services and significantly improve waste collection rates. Several transfer stations have already been set up by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), but they require technical, institutional and funding support. Research is needed on the quality and safety of community-made compost, as well as on soil fertility in urban and peri-urban areas. Most of the stakeholders, municipalities, the official waste collection company and households acknowledge the need for better monitoring and regulation of MSW management. The urban community of Yaoundé also needs to maintain its support of MSW management and promote the sustainability of NGOs and CBOs operating in underserved areas not yet covered by adequate infrastructures. A major opportunity for implementation of such waste policy is the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) program dedicated to urban planning and good governance.     

Alternative approaches for better municipal solid waste management in Mumbai, India

Waste is an unavoidable by product of human activities. Economic development, urbanization and improving living standards in cities, have led to an increase in the quantity and complexity of generated waste. Rapid growth of population and industrialization degrades the urban environment and places serious stress on natural resources, which undermines equitable and sustainable development. Inefficient management and disposal of solid waste is an obvious cause of degradation of the environment in most cities of the developing world. Municipal corporations of the developing countries are not able to handle increasing quantities of waste, which results in uncollected waste on roads and in other public places. There is a need to work towards a sustainable waste management system, which requires environmental, institutional, financial, economic and social sustainability. This study explores alternative approaches to municipal solid waste (MSW) management and estimates the cost of waste management in Mumbai, India. Two alternatives considered in the paper are community participation and public private partnership in waste management. Data for the present study are from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and from the private sector involved in waste management in Mumbai. Mathematical models are used to estimate the cost per ton of waste management for both of the alternatives, which are compared with the cost of waste management by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). It is found that the cost per ton of waste management is Rs. 1518 (35 US dollars) with community participation; Rs. 1797 (41 US dollars) with public private partnership (PPP); and Rs. 1908 (44 US dollars) when only MCGM handles the waste. Hence, community participation in waste management is the least cost option and there is a strong case for comprehensively involving community participation in waste management.     

Implementation of the semi-aerobic landfill system (Fukuoka method) in developing countries: a Malaysia cost analysis

Most of the existing solid waste landfill sites in developing countries are practicing either open dumping or controlled dumping. Proper sanitary landfill concepts are not fully implemented due to technological and financial constraints. Implementation of a fully engineered sanitary landfill is necessary and a more economically feasible landfill design is crucial, particularly for developing countries. This study was carried out by focusing on the economics from the development of a new landfill site within a natural clay area with no cost of synthetic liner up to 10 years after its closure by using the Fukuoka method semi-aerobic landfill system. The findings of the study show that for the development of a 15-ha landfill site in Malaysia with an estimated volume of 2,000,000 m(3), the capital investment required was about US 1,312,895 dollars, or about US 0.84 dollars/tonne of waste. Assuming that the lifespan of the landfill is 20 years, the total cost of operation was about US 11,132,536 dollars or US 7.15 dollars/tonne of waste. The closure cost of the landfill was estimated to be US 1,385,526 dollars or US 0.89 dollars/tonne of waste. Therefore, the total cost required to dispose of a tonne of waste at the semi-aerobic landfill was estimated to be US 8.89 dollars. By considering an average tipping fee of about US 7.89 dollars/tonne of waste in Malaysia in the first year, and an annual increase of 3% to about US 13.84 dollars in year-20, the overall system recorded a positive revenue of US 1,734,749 dollars. This is important information for the effort of privatisation of landfill sites in Malaysia, as well as in other developing countries, in order to secure efficient and effective landfill development and management.     

LCA of integrated MSW management systems: case study of the Bologna District

LCA as a decision-supporting tool in planning integrated municipal solid waste management is not, as yet, widely used in Italy. This paper presents a study concerning the application of the LCA methodology to support the development of the new waste management plan for the Bologna District. The main goal of the study was to show decision-makers at the political level the benefits obtainable with the use of LCA, in terms of the identification and quantification of the potential environmental impacts of different waste management strategies. The integrated waste management system of the Bologna District includes waste collection and transport, sorting, recycling, composting, incineration and landfilling. Three scenarios, referring to 2006 and assuming the presence of 950,000 inhabitants and the production of approximately 566,000 t of waste in the district, have been compared. A detailed model has been developed in order to capture effects related to the waste fraction from separated collection and to the different waste treatments. The discussion of the results has focussed in particular on the greenhouse effect and the acidification potential. On the basis of the results obtained, the analysis of an additional scenario characterised by a further increase in separated collection has been put forward.     

Neighbourhood-based waste management: a solution for solid waste problems in Jakarta, Indonesia

Municipal solid waste management in the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta, is examined from a point of view of researchers and waste management practitioners. Major impediments to waste management in Jakarta include non-involvement of stakeholders in planning and decision-making, unskilled staff undertaking the duty, the absence of long-term waste management strategies, and weak coordination between authorities and neighbourhood association workers who undertake primary collection. It was revealed that lack of resources is seen as the least important of all impediments. The success of managing solid waste in Jakarta cannot be separated from the presence and the role of a neighbourhood association, which performs waste collection on a daily basis as well as keeping their respective areas clean by employing their own waste service workers. A neighbourhood-based waste management strategy is a promising solution for Jakarta, because it is more applicable and suitable for Jakarta's context compared to community-based waste management. The performance of this approach is examined and the improvement for wider adoption is discussed for a long-term solution.     

Municipal solid waste management in Lahore City District,Pakistan

This study deals with generation, composition, collection, transportation, and disposal, as well as the present cost of the waste management on the basis of 60% collection of the total waste and the cost of proposed improved system of management on the basis of 100% waste collection using the IWM-2 LCI model. A GIS map of Data Ganj Bakhsh Town (DGBT) of Lahore City District showing communal storage facilities is also provided. DGBT has a population of 1,624,169 living in 232,024 dwellings. The total waste generated per year is 500,000 tons, or 0.84/kg/cap/day. Presently 60% of the MSW is collected and disposed in open dumps, while 40% is not collected and lies along roadsides, streets railway lines, depressions, vacant plots, drains, storm drains and open sewers. In DGBT, 129 containers of 5-m³ capacity, 120 containers of 10-m³ capacity and 380 skips of 2.5-m³ capacity are placed for waste collection. The overall collection and disposal cost of the MSW of DGBT is $3,177,900/yr, which is $10.29/ton. Modeling was conducted using the IWM-2 model for improved collection and disposal on the basis of 100% service, compared to the current 60% service. The modelled cost is $8.3/per ton, which is 20% less than the present cost, but the overall cost of 100% collection and disposal increases to $4,155,737/yr.     

Economic potential of recycling business in Lahore, Pakistan

The state of household waste recycling in Lahore city, Pakistan with a population of 7.2 million was analyzed. Data on solid waste recycling were gathered from residents of low-, middle- and high-income groups, as well as from scavengers and junkshops. The recycling activities in Lahore exert a significant impact on resource conservation, creation of jobs, provision of economic opportunity and reduction in the magnitude of waste disposal problems. A cost analysis is presented to show the income that can be generated through a well-planned recycling program. It is shown that 21.2% of all recyclable waste in Lahore is recycled, and it generates an amount of Rs. 271 million (US dollars 4.5 million) per year through the informal sector. However, if the recycling practice is owned by the formal sector, it can save an amount of Rs. 65 million by reducing the collection cost. If recycling is adopted as an industry, it can generate revenues of Rs. 530 million (US dollars 8.8 million) per year and can also save enormous amount of energy, as well as the natural resources.     

Environmental impact assessment of solid waste management in Beijing City, China

The environmental impacts of municipal solid waste management in Beijing City were evaluated using a life-cycle-based model, EASEWASTE, to take into account waste generation, collection, transportation, treatment/disposal technologies, and savings obtained by energy and material recovery. The current system, mainly involving the use of landfills, has manifested significant adverse environmental impacts caused by methane emissions from landfills and many other emissions from transfer stations. A short-term future scenario, where some of the landfills (which soon will reach their capacity because of rising amount of waste in Beijing City) are substituted by incinerators with energy recovery, would not result in significant environmental improvement. This is primarily because of the low calorific value of mixed waste, and it is likely that the incinerators would require significant amounts of auxiliary fuels to support combustion of wet waste. As for the long-term future scenario, efficient source separation of food waste could result in significant environmental improvements, primarily because of increase in calorific value of remaining waste incinerated with energy recovery. Sensitivity analysis emphasized the importance of efficient source separation of food waste, as well as the electricity recovery in incinerators, in order to obtain an environmentally friendly waste management system in Beijing City.     

Municipal solid waste management in Beijing City

This paper presents an overview of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Beijing City. Beijing, the capital of China, has a land area of approximately 1368.32 km² with an urban population of about 13.33 million in 2006. Over the past three decades, MSW generation in Beijing City has increased tremendously from 1.04 million tons in 1978 to 4.134 million tons in 2006. The average generation rate of MSW in 2006 was 0.85 kg/capita/day. Food waste comprised 63.39%, followed by paper (11.07%), plastics (12.7%) and dust (5.78%). While all other wastes including tiles, textiles, glass, metals and wood accounted for less than 3%. Currently, 90% of MSW generated in Beijing is landfilled, 8% is incinerated and 2% is composted. Source separation collection, as a waste reduction method, has been carried out in a total of 2255 demonstration residential and commercial areas (covering about 4.7 million people) up to the end of 2007. Demonstration districts should be promoted over a wider range instead of demonstration communities. The capacity of transfer stations and treatment plants is an urgent problem as these sites are seriously overloaded. These problems should first be solved by constructing more sites and converting to new treatment technologies. Improvements in legislation, public education and the management of waste pickers are problematic issues which need to be addressed.     

Management of household waste in sanitary landfill of Mostaganem district (Western Algeria)

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The management of solid waste in Mostaganem district was limited to collection and transportation to open dumpsites. By the end of 2010, the...     

Web-GIS oriented systems viability for municipal solid waste selective collection optimization in developed and transient economies

Municipal solid waste management is a multidisciplinary activity that includes generation, source separation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and recovery, and, last but not least, disposal. The optimization of waste collection, through source separation, is compulsory where a landfill based management must be overcome. In this paper, a few aspects related to the implementation of a Web-GIS based system are analyzed. This approach is critically analyzed referring to the experience of two Italian case studies and two additional extra-European case studies. The first case is one of the best examples of selective collection optimization in Italy. The obtained efficiency is very high: 80% of waste is source separated for recycling purposes. In the second reference case, the local administration is going to be faced with the optimization of waste collection through Web-GIS oriented technologies for the first time. The starting scenario is far from an optimized management of municipal solid waste. The last two case studies concern pilot experiences in China and Malaysia. Each step of the Web-GIS oriented strategy is comparatively discussed referring to typical scenarios of developed and transient economies. The main result is that transient economies are ready to move toward Web oriented tools for MSW management, but this opportunity is not yet well exploited in the sector.     

Generation, storage, collection and transportation of municipal solid waste--a case study in the city of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal

Solid waste management (SWM) services have consistently failed to keep up with the vast amount of solid waste produced in urban areas. There is not currently an efficient system in place for the management, storage, collection, and transportation of solid waste. Kathmandu City, an important urban center of South Asia, is no exception. In Kathmandu Metropolitan City, solid waste generation is predicted to be 1091 m(3)/d (245 tons/day) and 1155 m(3)/d (260 tons/day) for the years 2005 and 2006, respectively. The majority (89%) of households in Kathmandu Metropolitan City are willing to segregate the organic and non-organic portions of their waste. Overall collection efficiency was 94% in 2003. An increase in waste collection occurred due to private sector involvement, the shutdown of the second transfer station near the airport due to local protest, a lack of funding to maintain trucks/equipment, a huge increase in plastic waste, and the willingness of people to separate their waste into separate bins. Despite a substantial increase in total expenditure, no additional investments were made to the existing development plan to introduce a modern disposal system due to insufficient funding. Due to the lack of a proper lining, raw solid waste from the existing dumping site comes in contact with river water directly, causing severe river contamination and deteriorating the quality of the water.     

GIS-based modelling for the estimation of municipal solid waste generation and collection

In the present paper, an innovative model for the estimation of municipal solid waste generation and collection is proposed. This model is part of an extended solid waste management system and uses a spatial Geodatabase, integrated in a GIS environment. It takes into consideration several parameters of waste generation, such as population density, commercial activities, road characteristics and their influence on the location and allocation of waste bins. Ground-based analysis was applied for the estimation of the inter-relations between the aforementioned factors and the variations in waste generation between residential and commercial areas. Therefore, the proposed model follows a unified categorization approach for residential and commercial activities and focuses on the dominant factors that determine waste generation in the area under study. The most important result of the research work presented in the current paper is an accurate estimation of the optimal number of waste bins and their allocation. A new methodology and an appropriate algorithm have been developed for this purpose in order to facilitate routing and waste collection. By using these results, municipalities aware of social, economical and environmental factors, related to waste management, can achieve optimal usage of their resources and offer the best possible services to their citizens.     

Curbside Recycling In The U.S.A.: Convenience And Mandatory Participation

This research examines the relationship between the success of a residential curbside recycling program (RCRP), measured as material recovery rate (MRR), and two program factors: (1) whether or not participation is mandated; and (2) convenience, measured by container provision, collection frequency and collection day relative to municipal solid waste collection day. Residential curbside recycling programs, with correct strategies and program design, can be an important part of solid waste management plans world-wide. While residential curbside recycling programs are growing in popularity, many basic design questions lie unanswered and successful program strategies are not always obvious. Data from 357 residential curbside recycling programs in the United States are used to test the hypotheses. Mandatory participation residential curbside recycling programs are seen to collect more material than voluntary participation residential curbside recycling programs. Container provision appears effective for voluntary, but not mandatory, residential curbside recycling programs. Increasing collection frequency appears to have a small positive effect on residential curbside recycling program success, while collection day has little effect on material recovery rate.     

Local and interregional economic analysis of large US Department of Energy waste management projects

An economic simulation model was used to understand the local and interregional economic impacts of four alternative waste management technologies proposed for the US Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear weapons site. The simulations of the four technologies, each of which will cost at least a billion dollars, were done for the period 2000-2015. The analyses show that differences in project costs are not directly reflected in local economic impacts because of differences among the technologies during the design, testing and construction phases; differences in locations where the design and pilot-testing would occur; and choices about how any of the technologies would be funded.     

Setting priorities for waste management strategies in developing countries.

This study aimed to determine whether the waste management systems, that are presently applied in affluent countries are appropriate solutions for waste management in less developed regions. For this purpose, three cities (Vienna, Damascus and Dhaka) which differ greatly in their gross domestic product and waste management were compared. The criteria for evaluation were economic parameters, and indicators as to whether the goals of waste management (protection of human health and the environment, the conservation of resources) were reached. Based on case studies, it was found that for regions spending 1-10 Euro capita(-1) year(-1) for waste management, the 'waste hierarchy' of prevention, recycling and disposal is not an appropriate strategy. In such regions, the improvement of disposal systems (complete collection, upgrading to sanitary landfilling) is the most cost-effective method to reach the objectives of solid waste management. Concepts that are widely applied in developed countries such as incineration and mechanical waste treatment are not suitable methods to reach waste management goals in countries where people cannot spend more than 10 Euro per person for the collection, treatment and disposal of their waste. It is recommended that each region first determines its economic capacity for waste management and then designs its waste management system according to this capacity and the goals of waste management.