Comparative Study of Solid Waste management at Dump Site, and

its potential application in developing countries

By
Tewodros Adane Simret
M.Tech. Environmental Engineering

June 2021
 1. Introduction

Solid waste is material, which is not in liquid form, and has no value to the person who is responsible for
it. Solid waste is highly linked to urbanization and economic development. As countries urbanize, urbanize,
their economic wealth increases. Poor solid waste management (SWM) threatens local residents and their
environment, especially in low and middle income settings where limited financial resources and
inefficiencies are often the cause of limited service delivery. Waste generation in sub-Saharan Africa is
approximately 62 million tons per year. Per capita waste generation is generally low in this region, but
spans a wide range, from 0.09 to 3.0 kg per person per day, with an average of 0.65 kg/capita/day.

Integrated solid waste management refers to the strategic approach to sustainable management of solid
wastes covering all sources and all aspects, covering generation, segregation, transfer, sorting, treatment,
recovery and disposal in an integrated manner, with an emphasis on maximizing resource use efficiency.

In spite of the efforts of engineers and various international and bilateral organizations to promote sanitary
landfilling, it is still regrettably true that there are very few good sanitary landfills in low- and middle-
income countries. There are two types of waste disposal in developing countries crude or open dumping
and sanitary landfilling.

Developing a strategy is the first and easiest part of the challenge in most respects. A strategy will remain
an empty document if not implemented. A country without a strategy may not be able to tackle its waste
problems effectively, but a country with a strategy that is not implemented has expended considerable effort
for no purpose.

1.1. Problem statement

Waste management a process includes activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to
its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with
monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies,
economic mechanisms.

Waste management in most developing countries faces numerous challenges. A growing population and
economy, which means increased volumes of waste generated. This puts pressure on waste management
facilities, which are already in short supply. Increased complexity of the waste stream because of
urbanization and industrialization. The complexity of the waste stream directly affects the complexity of its
management, which is compounded when hazardous waste mixes with general waste.
 1.2. Objective
The present research study aimed to undertake the following objectives:
 To assess the present SW management practices in developing countries
 To analyze the potential application of dumped SW based on its age and characteristics.
 To compare and identify a suitable treatment option for SW like Composting, Anaerobic Digestion
(AD), incineration, Refused Derived Fuel (RDF), etc
2. Methodology
2.1. Study area

This study will focus more on selected developing countries where all of them from Africa. The selection
criteria will be based on the way of life, population and growth domestic products of countries.

2.2. Methodology for Characterization of SW samples

2.2.1. Physical composition
Physical composition of SW plays a vital role to identify its use for various purposes. The composition and
quantity of SW vary depending on the source of generation like residential, commercial, and institutional.
Physical composition includes categories of waste like organic, inorganic, plastic, paper, wood, cardboard,
glass, etc. depending on the availability in the representative samples collected.
2.2.2. Chemical Composition
Chemical composition of SW is another important parameter that is desirable to analyze to identify the
chemical stability, reactivity, and characteristics of the waste. Thus, for this purpose proximate analysis,
ultimate analysis, total organic carbon, and energy content of the samples were calculated of the solid
samples. The rest analysis was done from the synthetic leachate samples prepared in the lab.
2.2.3. Proximate Analysis
The proximate analysis involves parameters like Moisture Content (MC), Total Solids (TS), Total Volatile
Solids (TVS) and Ash Content. The gravimetric method will be adopt for the determination of these
parameters (IS 10158:1982).
2.2.4. Ultimate Analysis
CHNS analyzer is the instrument used to determine elements like Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen (N)
and Sulphur (S) for SW samples
2.2.5. Total Organic Carbon
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is the procedure that is resulted from the difference obtained after analysis of
Total Carbon and Inorganic Carbon. It is used to determine the presence of carbon in various forms.
 2.2.6. Leachate Analysis
Leachate analysis was done to find the probable contaminants that can be leached out from SW and
contaminate the soil as well as groundwater. Leachate was prepared by taking 25 gm of SW sample in 100
mL of water (1:4) in a 500 mL conical flask and kept in a shaker for 48 hours at 250 rpm. Later, the content
was filtered through filter paper and the filtrate obtained was stored in the refrigerator for further analysis.
2.2.7. Heavy Metals Analysis
Heavy metals play a vital role in the characterization of SW. Pollution due to heavy metals has upraised
severe environmental issues worldwide due to bio-accumulation of these elements, exceeding the tolerance
thresholds for living organisms. Major sources of heavy metals in SW are industrial and municipal wastes
containing varieties like Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni, Cd, Zn, Fe, and Se. For the present study, Atomic Absorption
Spectroscopy (AAS) will used to analyze the presence and concentration of heavy metals.
2.2.8. Energy Content (Calorific Values)
Energy content is of the SW is one of the most important parameters while selecting a treatment option or
disposal method. Solid waste having calorific values greater than 4000 cal/gm has a high energy content
and thus if dumped in an open environment can result to fire. For present study determination of calorific
value was done by Calorimetric (IS 1350 [Part II] 1970) with the help of Bomb Calorimeter.