CSAWAC 43 (2) 313-462 (2015) · Vol. 43 · No.

3 · March 2015

CLEAN
Soil Air Water
Renewables
Sustainability
Environmental Monitoring

3 | 2015 www.clean-journal.com
 427

Rafael López1,*
Pilar Burgos1
Research Article
Fernando Madrid1
Ignacio Camuña2 Source Separate Collection of Recyclables
1
Reduces Chromium and Nickel Content in
Instituto de Recursos Naturales y
Agrobiología de Sevilla, IRNAS- Municipal Solid Waste Compost
CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
2
EDIFESA, Avda. de la Innovación,
The composting process is a widespread option for municipal solid waste (MSW)
edif. Convención, Sevilla, Spain
treatment however the low rate of separate waste collection leads to poor quality
composts. The evolution of heavy metal content in composts as a separate collection of
dry recyclables became gradually implemented in the metropolitan area of Seville city
(1 million inhabitants, SW Spain) is hereby studied. During the last 12 years, Cr, Ni, and
Pb contents in compost were reduced by 60, 39, and 31%, respectively, whilst contents
of Zn and Cd increased by 20 and 108%. During the same period Cu remained
unchanged. The metal content reductions can be related to the separate collection of
paper-cardboard, glass, and package waste from MSW, though materials separately
collected were limited to 6.7% of raw MSW production. Extending the source collection
of recyclables to separate metallic components and performing slight changes in the
mechanical biological treatment would lead to additional reductions in other heavy
metals whilst implementing the separate recovery of the organic fraction.
Keywords: Collection strategies; Composting process; Dry recyclables; Heavy metals;
Mechanical biological treatment
Received: November 12, 2013; revised: February 11, 2014; accepted: February 24, 2014
DOI: 10.1002/clen.201300821

1 Introduction Composts derived from MSW can generate income streams in the
beginning (MSW disposal costs) and at the end of the process
In developed countries, municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an (compost sales). There are also important results related to the final
important percentage in waste generation. In Spain, 23.6 million Mg
uses of the compost; the compost is increasingly used because of its
of MSWs were collected during 2010; equivalent to 535 kg/person per
nutrient value as a low intensity fertilizer, its ability to rebuild soil
year [1]. In the same year, Europe’s (EU-27) municipal waste
organic matter (OM) and improve soil physical properties as a
generation was 219 million Mg; equivalent to 436 kg/person per
soil conditioner, and also for its capacity to suppress plant diseases
year [2]. The huge amount of MSW generation is not only an
[10–12].
environmental threat, but also a cause of major social handicap
During 2009, composting represented 18% of MSW treatment in
throughout the world. Therefore, proper management of MSW is of
Europe (EU27). During 2010, around 18% of municipal waste was
primary concern [3]. The best way to reduce the impact of MSW is to
treated by composting in Spain, and this percentage has been rising
minimize its production at its source, but despite efforts, success has
during the last few years [1]. The number of composting facilities
been minimal. It is necessary to find alternatives for the correct
and the amount of source-separated and composted MSW has been
management of MSW. Biological treatments (aerobic composting
increasing in many countries of Europe and in the United States [3].
and anaerobic digestion) are the most environmentally acceptable
However, the agronomical properties of compost are dependent
options to treat putrescible residues because both technologies
on several factors wherein pollutant content becomes the most
maximize recycling and recovery of waste components [4–6]. In
restrictive factor for its use. In this respect, the separate collection of
addition, composting and mechanical biological treatment (MBT)-
specific MSW components could affect final compost characteristics
composting contributes very little to greenhouse gas (GHG)
and two extreme categories depending on the collection of MSW can
emissions [7, 8], and emissions could be reduced by the introduction
be established: compost from source separated organic wastes or
of gas recovery and increasing rates of waste minimization and
from mixed MSW. Mixed MSW contains materials such as plastics,
recycling [9]. In this way, composting is an environmentally clean waste wood products preserved with chromated copper arsenate,
process to obtain a usable, secure, and marketable product: compost. and metals, which contributed several contaminants, mainly trace
metals (heavy metals), to MSW. On the contrary, compost prepared
Correspondence: Dr. R. López, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y from source-separated organics, which is the intended way for MSW
Agrobiología de Sevilla, IRNAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 1052, 41080-Sevilla, Spain collection in Europe, had lower contents of heavy metals [13, 14].
E-mail: rafael.lopez@csic.es

Abbreviations: MBT, mechanical biological treatment; MSW, municipal

solid waste; OM, organic matter; PCA, principal component analysis *Additional correspondence: I. Camuña, E-mail: icamuna@edifema.com

© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com Clean – Soil, Air, Water 2015, 43 (3), 427–433
428 R. López et al.

Between these edge positions, a range of intermediate options in

which some specific recyclables are source separated can be found
worldwide. In addition to well-known “point sources” of heavy
metals (e.g., batteries), other materials such as paints, electronics,
ceramics, plastics, and inks/dyes can contribute to the heavy metal
burden of MSW. Overall, however, information on the sources,
quantities, and behavior of heavy metals and other hazardous
substances in MSW is lacking [15]. This lack of knowledge limits
our understanding of policy making on separation, collection, and
sustainable MSW management, and considerable effort has thus been
expended to better understand the heavy metal sources in MSW [16].
In Spain, the separate collection of dry recyclables (paper,
cardboard, glass, and package waste) has been increasingly adopted
during the last years, while the rest of the generated MSW is
collected on mass and treated by mechanical separation at the
beginning of the composting process.
This paper studies the evolution of MSW compost characteristics
(mainly heavy metals) as separate collection of dry recyclables was
implemented to find general evolution trends. The study was carried
out during more than a decade in the metropolitan area of Seville
city (1 million inhabitants, SW Spain). Observed trends could help to
implement adequate MSW collection strategies under different
Figure 1. MSW composition in Andalusian region (Southern Spain) in
urban conditions. 2004 (data from Yearly Reports on the Environment, Andalucía Regional
Government) [17].

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Waste generation data
Data about generation, composition, and treatment, referring to
MSW and its different fractions in Andalusia region (SW Spain) were
obtained from the environmental yearly reports elaborated by the
regional government [17]. When available, data corresponding to
Seville province (
2 million inhabitants) in addition to the entire
region (
8 million inhabitants) were also used. The collection
strategy adopted in southern Spain (Andalusia Autonomous
Community) and in the majority of Spanish municipalities is based
on source separate collection of dry recyclables (paper, glass, and
packaging waste) and the collection of the rest fraction (gray waste
bin). Due to separate collection of the organic components (food and
kitchen waste) has not been implemented to date, the rest fraction
including the organic components contains a significant amount of
impurities; the average composition of MSW in Seville city is quite
similar to that shown in Fig. 1 corresponding to Andalusia region.
The organic fraction in Seville MSW reaches 53%, a significant value
but below the 60–67% indicated for an Asian city [14].
2.2 Compost sampling
All compost samples considered in this study were collected in the
composting plant “Montemarta-Cónica” located in Alcalá de Gua-
daira, Seville, SW Spain. Compost samples were taken from the piles as
ready for use. At least six sampling points per pile were used to form
a 2 kg composite sample. Except in 2005 when no samples were taken,
4–22 compost samples were taken each year during 2000–2012, to a
total of 168 samples. Independent samples were taken in the case that
different particle size composts were available.
2.3 Composting process
Montemarta-Cónica composting plant treats 1500 Mg day1
(450 000 Mg year1) of MSW from
1 million inhabitants living in
40 municipalities in the metropolitan area of Seville city (SW Spain).
MSW is treated by using MBT including the following steps: (i)
preprocessing: bag opening in a rotary drum and selection of
mechanically sorted organic residuals (screen cut off of <11 cm); (ii)
first stage high rate windrow composting (pile size: 40 m length,
10 m width, 4 m high) with intensive turning during two weeks; (iii)
trommel screening to <3.5 cm and magnetic separation of metals;
(iv) maturation phase for at least 6 months in static piles; (v) compost
final screening to <20 or <10 mm and glass separation by using a
gravity table.
2.4 Chemical analysis
Compost samples were analyzed following standard procedures for
soil improvers and growing media of the European Committee for
Standardization. Samples were oven dried at 103°C and the
moisture content was determined. After careful mixing, the samples
were divided by quartering. The selected portion was sieved by 2 mm
and impurities and stones in the coarser fraction were hand
separated and weighed. The two fractions (>2 mm and <2 mm) were
mixed again and the sample was grinded to pass a 0.5 mm sieve.
OM was determined by dry combustion at 450°C [18] and N
(organic-N þ ammonium-N) was determined by distillation after
Kjeldahl digestion. Total contents of mineral nutrients and trace
elements were determined after aqua regia digestion [19] in a
microwave oven by ICP-OES (Thermo Fisher Scientific, model IRIS
Advantage). Contents of nutrients and heavy metals were reported
on an “oven dry” and “free of impurities” matter basis. The pH and
the electric conductivity were determined in 1:5 (weight) compost/
water extracts [20].
Compost samples from the Wageningen Evaluating Programmes
for Analytical Laboratories [21] were also analyzed for quality
control of analytical procedures. The obtained results for these
samples agreed 5% with the certified results.

© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com Clean – Soil, Air, Water 2015, 43 (3), 427–433
 Separate Collection Reduces Heavy Metals in MSW Compost 429

2.5 Statistical analysis
Using the whole dataset, relations amongst variables were studied
by using linear Pearson’s coefficients and factor analysis by using
principal components analysis (PCA) as extraction method and
Quartimax rotation. Factor analysis is a statistical technique that
can be applied to a set of variables in order to reduce their
dimensionality. PCA has been widely used as an exploratory tool to
identify major sources of environmental pollutant emissions. The
great advantage of using PCA is that there is no need for a prior
knowledge of emission inventories [22]. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test
was used as a measure of sampling adequacy. All statistical analyses
were carried out with SPSS 19 [23].
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Compost characteristics
Average compost characteristics are shown in Tab. 1, considering the
samples separated before and after 2006. Before this time, compost
batches were subjected to final refining to separate stones, glass, and
light plastics depending on the predicted type of use. In general
terms, heavy metal contents of Seville composts surpassed the usual
contents found in source separated materials [13, 24]. They also were
higher than reported values in a recent paper corresponding to an
Asian city using mixed organic and inorganic MSW [14] although
they were similar to that obtained in MBT composts from USA and
Europe [13, 24]. It is known that heavy metal content in compost are
influenced by the quality of source separation, the technological and
socio-economic development, and even local conditions (e.g.
different background soil heavy metal contents or agricultural
practices).
In 2005, the Spanish national regulation concerning compost
became stricter [25] and a new and more efficient process for the
refining of compost was used to treat all compost destined to
agriculture. In general terms, the compost showed adequate
characteristics in the parameters related to organic fraction
composition and stabilization (OM, N, P, C/N, pH), giving evidence
of the high OM content in raw MSW (Fig. 1). Evidencing the lack of
separate collection for the organic fraction, the current average
content for some metals surpass (Zn, Cd) or come close (Cu, Pb) to the
non-restricted usage limits stated in the 2005 Spanish regulation
(Tab. 1). For this reason, some batches of compost have had to be
applied in reduced rates (<5 Mg ha1) or even discarded in landfill.
The average contents of OM, N, Cu, Zn, and Pb during 2006–2012
were very similar to the average contents reported by Huerta Pujol
et al. [26] in the 63 analyzed samples taken from 36 facilities in Spain
which treat mechanical-sorted organic fraction of MSW. For the
same period Cr and Ni contents were half of the average Spanish
contents indicated by Huerta Pujol et al. [26], although in the case of
Cd, the average content in Seville compost doubled the average
Spanish value. During 2006–2014 average contents of Cu, Zn, Cd,
and Pb in Seville composts surpassed the proposed European
maximum limits [24] and only Cr and Ni achieved them. Several
researchers [27, 28] indicated that MBT plants show an inadequate
separation of inert waste in biodegradable (before biological
treatment) and stabilized (final compost) fractions which exhibit

Table 1. Characterization of MSW compost from Seville treatment plant

2000–2004 2006–2012 2005 2013

Unita)
Mean  SD b)
Mean  SD c)
Limit d)
Limite)

Glass g kg1 148  9 26  6 <30f) <5g)

pH 6.74  0.44 6.93  0.53
E.C.h) dS m1 7.93  2.21 9.33  1.89
OMi) g kg1 421  73 470  99 >350 >150
OCj) g kg1 244  43 273  58
TKNg) g kg1 12.7  2.3 15.1  2.0
C/N 19.8  4.7 18.1  3.6 <20
P gP2O5 kg1 8.51  1.61 9.74  2.42
K gK2O kg1 6.37  1.35 6.54  1.38
Ca gCaO kg1 100.8  20.0 98.7  23.5
Mg gMgO kg1 8.69  2.89 8.73  2.44
Na g kg1 5.38  1.11 5.58  1.73
Fe g kg1 13.7  4.3 11.1  3.3
Cu mg kg1 288  86 252  75 300 100
Mn mg kg1 167  26 145  24
Zn mg kg1 465  141 555  151 500 400
Cd mg kg1 0.88  0.52 1.83  0.82 2 1.5
Cr mg kg1 111  47 44.9  34.2 250 100
Ni mg kg1 60.0  18.2 36.5  15.9 90 50
Pb mg kg1 216  93 148  40 150 120
a)
Results expressed as total contents on over dry-free of impurities basis.
b)
Standard deviation, n ¼ 92.
c)
Standard deviation, n ¼ 76.
d)
Limits for class B non-restricted use-compost, Spanish Royal decree 824/2005.
e)
Proposed end-of-waste criteria in European Union.
f)
Limit for impurities including glass, plastic and metal particles >2 mm.
g)
TKN, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (ammonium-N þ organic-N).
h)
E.C.: electrical conductivity.
i)
OM: organic matter.
j)
OC ¼ organic carbon.

© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com Clean – Soil, Air, Water 2015, 43 (3), 427–433
430 R. López et al.

high levels of improper materials (like paper, plastics, glass 1.0

fragments, and batteries) and as a consequence, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Cr Ni
Zn contents are quite high [27]. Glass

Supposedly as a result of compost de-stoning, several compost

characteristics were different before and after 2005. In addition to 0.5 Pb

Fe
reduced glass content (Table 1), the average composition during Mn Cu

2006–2012 showed an increase in OM, OC, N, and P contents. This

Component 2
enhancement of the compost organic fraction after 2006 can hardly 0.0
pH
Mg
Ca

be explained as merely the concentration effect due to the released

Zn
glass and dense material during the de-stoning process. Metal Na
K
P
content also changed after 2006. Contents of Cr and Ni were OM
EC
noticeably reduced and Fe and Pb contents were reduced in a lesser -0.5
N

extent. The content of Cu remained relatively unaltered. On the Cd

contrary, Cd was markedly increased and Zn increased about

100 mg kg1.
-1.0

-1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0

Component 1

3.2 Metal contents relationships
Pearson’s coefficients among chemical parameters determined in
compost are shown in Tab. 2. Significant linear correlations among
several chemical constituents of the compost are apparent from
Pearson’s coefficients. Highest coefficients can be observed for Cu
which correlated with Mn, Fe, Zn, and Pb; Zn correlated with P, Cu,
and Cd; Cd conversely correlated with Cr and the glass content; Cr
and Ni were highly correlated among themselves and also they both
correlated with the glass content. Singularly, the significant
correlations amongst the glass content and the contents of the
metals Cd (inverse relationship), Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cu were surprising
because glass particles are highly resistant to chemical action and do
not dissolve under the chemical extraction method (aqua regia) used
for the chemical analysis. To clarify the relationships controlling
compost chemical properties, and particularly their metal contents,
compost dataset was subjected to factor analysis, obtaining the
rotated component plot shown in Fig. 2. The two first principal
components obtained, components 1 and 2, explained 22.4 and
21.4%, respectively, of the data variance. Component 1 is character-
ized by the group of parameters glass-Cr-Ni, which had an inverse
effect to OM-Na-EC (OM and salinity). The clustering OM-Na-EC can be
Figure 2. Component plot in rotated space obtained from factor analysis
applied to MSW compost samples.
related to food and kitchen waste. Their grouping is due to cooking
salt use. On the other hand, component 2 included more than one
group of metals, showing that several effects or materials not
independent among themselves are responsible for the changes in
compost composition. The clusters of metals Fe–Mn–Pb–Cu, Mg–Ca,
and Zn–P can be observed in Fig. 2. These clusters could be related
with dust and soil (soils in the area contain great amounts of iron
oxides and lime) but also with usual metallic components in waste,
for instance from cans. The elements Mn and Zn could likely be
released from spent batteries [29]. Studying the factors responsible
for heavy metal content of air particulates, Karar et al. [22] found a
factor including Pb–Mn, which they assigned to vehicular traffic
with the influence of road dust. The pair Zn–P could derive from Zinc
phosphate (Zn3(PO4)2), an inorganic chemical compound used as a
corrosion resistant coating on metal surfaces and metal food
containers.
In the clustering glass–Cr–Ni, the relation between these metals
and the glass content is not evident, as stated previously. This

Table 2. Pearson correlations between selected total metal contents and other constituents in Seville compost samples (n ¼ 166) analyzed during
2000–2012

Cu Zn Cr Ni Cd Pb

Glass 0.239** 0.120 0.414** 0.444** 0.513** 0.346**

pH 0.035 0.177* 0.016 0.109 0.202* 0.026
OMa) 0.101 0.130 0.197* 0.249** 0.076 0.208*
TKNb) 0.208** 0.338** 0.458* 0.334** 0.364** 0.091
P 0.386** 0.479** 0.334** 0.244** 0.410** 0.232**
Ca 0.431** 0.414** 0.113 0.027 0.143 0.393**
Mn 0.510** 0.281** 0.345** 0.311** 0.187* 0.532**
Fe 0.606** 0.430** 0.204** 0.294** 0.018 0.411**
Cu 1 0.527** 0.105 0.242** 0.060 0.656**
Zn 0.527** 1 0.267** 0.083 0.538** 0.267**
Cr 0.105 0.267** 1 0.897** 0.531** 0.262**
Ni 0.242** 0.083 0.897** 1 0.409** 0.307**
Cd 0.060 0.538** 0.531** 0.409** 1 0.243**
Pb 0.656** 0.267** 0.262 0.307** 0.243** 1
a)
OM, organic matter.
b)
TKN, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (ammonium-N þ organic-N).
*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed); **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com Clean – Soil, Air, Water 2015, 43 (3), 427–433

200
150
Cr (mg kg )
-1
100
Cr
50 Cr regression
Recyclables (x1000)
0 400
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Year
Figure 3. Evolution of Cr content in Seville MSW compost (line), and
evolution in Andalusia (bars) of the amount of source separated
recyclables (glass, paper-cardboard, and packaging waste).
clustering in component 1, as opposite to OM, should be related to
the non-organic materials in the MSW, consisting of package waste
and other recyclable wastes, and not only to the glass presence in
compost. Recyclable materials subject to separate collection include
glass, paper, cardboard, and packaging waste. Starting in 1998, the
separate collection of recyclables has been continuously increasing
in Andalusia to date (Fig. 3). The rising of the separate collection for
the three considered components has been parallel. In 2010,
separate collection in Andalusia amounted to 6.7% of total MSW
production [17]. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the dropping of Cr (and also
Ni) content was inverse to selective collection rise. Chromium is a
critical metal used in dozens of products that we rely on every day.
The most common application is in alloys, consuming 90% of virgin
Cr. The addition of Cr and Ni adds oxidation resistance to metals,
making stainless steel. However, in the present study, these two
metals were not related with Fe, which is included in the component
2 of the factor analysis (Fig. 2). Chromium was also found in colored
newsprint and mixed paper, plastic film, textiles, and footwear [30],
which are some of the materials subjected to separate MSW
collection. Likely, the separate collection of recyclables brought
about the reduction in Cr and Ni contents.
Content decreases, but in a lesser extent, were also observed for
the metals Pb and Cu (Tab. 1) clearly associated to Fe (Fig. 2). The
source separation, or the magnetic separation system used in the
waste treatment plant, for the metallic components of MSW, such as
cans and metal caps, could have contributed to the slight reduction
in the contents of those metals.
Taking into account that paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, and
metals add up to 41% of MSW (Fig. 1) and source separated
recyclables were 6.7% of total MSW production in 2010, there is still
some way to obtain additional reductions in the metal contents by
improving and extending source separate collection of recyclables.
Otherwise, behavior of metals Zn and Cd differed from the
previous ones, as they increased over time (Tab. 1). These metals are
highly ubiquitous; cadmium has been found in the particulate
material of air at residential sites, suggesting that its origin was not
primarily from localized activity, but it has been carried to soil
particles by the action of wind from industrial emissions [22]. In
general terms, the solubility of both metal compounds were higher
than that of the others. They were probably released from a variety of
© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Separate Collection Reduces Heavy Metals in MSW Compost 431
0 non-separated metallic components contained in MSW during the
initial acidophilic phase of composting, and their content would be
reduced by carrying out the separation of metallic components
100 before the start of the composting process. Particularly, these metals
Recyclables (Mg x 1000)
could be leached out from spent household batteries [29] which were
frequently found in MBT feedstock and compost in Spain [28].
200 Studying MSW from a nearby city, Rosal et al. [31] indicated that Zn,
Cu, and Pb of the fractions of particle size >50 mm seemed to be
transferred to the fractions of particle size <50 mm during
300 composting, and they attributed this phenomenon to the formation
of stable complexes between metal and humic substances that
appear during the composting process. A recent study [32] clearly
demonstrated that copper wires, galvanized nails and low quality
alkaline batteries released significant levels of Cu, Zn, As, Pb, and Co
to the compost.
3.3 The current situation
In July 2011, a new regulation [33] made stricter the requirements
for compost production and use, setting as necessary a condition for
the separate collection of the organic fraction of wastes. As a result,
most of the compost produced in Spain lacked legal status. In
addition, intended EU regulation aimed to reduce heavy metal
upper limits [24]. Proposed EU limits (see Tab. 1) will be exceeded
unless suitable selective recovery strategies will be used.
In some circumstances it could be difficult for the municipalities
to implement the necessary changes to separately collect and treat
the organic fraction. Now in Spain the practical result is that the
destiny of a lot of composts is the landfill, which leads to a loss of
resources, and significant increases in landfill costs. In a recent
report about the treatment of MSW in Spain, Almasi and Milios [34]
indicated that more efforts are needed to achieve the targets on
recycling and landfilling established by the European directives. Due
to the many sources of heavy metals within household waste,
potentially passing through mechanical screens designed to remove
non-biodegradable components in MBT plants, a significant
reduction of heavy metal levels in stabilized waste can hardly be
found [27] but extending the separate collection to target MSW
materials could help to reduce heavy metal contents.
According to compost use, the composts considered in this study
have been usually spread on lime soils with good agronomic
results [35, 36]. Though the accumulation of some heavy metals was
observed when the compost was applied to greenhouse sandy soils
for several consecutive seasons [35], in general uses, only slight
metal increases were detected in soils and plants. Phytotoxic or toxic
levels were never registered, even under heavy compost application
rates [37, 38]. Even in different vegetables growing in a dumping site,
Karak et al. [39] found that accumulation of heavy metals did not
exceed the recommended maximum intake though they were a
significant additional source in human diet.
Assuming that source separate collection of the MSW organic
fraction will be the best way to obtain high quality compost, this
requirement should be adopted in a step-by-step process. Under
some socio-economic circumstances the required investment and
public concern would slow down the process of adapting current
waste management and existing treatment facilities to a new
legislation. Those particular circumstances would prevail in many
cities worldwide. Compost from MBT with similar quality of the
compost described in this research should be authorized in arable,
lime soils, which are predominant in Spain. This would avoid
www.clean-journal.com Clean – Soil, Air, Water 2015, 43 (3), 427–433
432 R. López et al.
expensive extra costs in landfilling, and would extend their useful
life.
4 Concluding remarks
The separate collection of dry-recyclables (paper-cardboard, glass,
package waste) from MSW implemented during the last twelve
years, though limited to <7% of the total MSW production,
contributed to the reduction of certain heavy metals. The content
of Cr, Ni, and Pb was reduced, while Zn and Cd contents increased.
Research is needed to find Zn and Cd sources. Extending the source
collection of recyclables to separate metallic components and doing
slight changes in the MBT would lead to obtain additional
reductions in target heavy metals while implementing the organic
fraction separate recovery.
Prevailing socio-economic circumstances and required public
concern would slow down the required process to establish separate
collection of the MSW organic fraction. Those particular circum-
stances would prevail in many cities worldwide, and a step-by step
process which progressively introduced dry-recyclables separate
collection, careful MBT-composting process and adequate compost
use could lead to obtain a target compost quality.
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by the Operative Program FEDER
and the Junta de Andalucía (PAIDI-AGR108). The authors wish to
thank Jerome Lock-Wah-Hoon for the English revision of the paper.
The authors have declared no conflict of interest.
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