Solid and Wastes Management

MRS. HAMBWALULA LOMBE

31/01/2021 1
Introduction
• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) otherwise known as
trash or garbage consists of everyday items such as
product packaging, grass clippings, furniture,
clothing etc.

• Not included are materials that also may be disposed

of in landfills but are not generally considered MSW,
such as construction and demolition materials,
municipal wastewater treatment sludges, and non-
hazardous industrial wastes (United States
Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).
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• Management of municipal solid waste involves
development of an insight into the impact of
waste generation, collection, transportation and
disposal methods adopted by a society on the
environment and adoption of new methods to
reduce this impact.

• When solid waste is disposed off on land in open

dumps or in improperly designed landfills (e.g. in
low lying areas), it may cause the following
impacts on the environment:

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 Groundwater contamination by the leachate
generated by the waste dump

 Surface water contamination by the run-off from

the waste dump

 Offensive odours, pests, rodents and wind-blown

litter in and around the waste dump

 Generation of inflammable gas (e.g. methane)

within the waste dump
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 Bird menace above the waste dump which affects
flight of aircraft
 Fires within the waste dump

 Erosion and stability problems relating to slopes

of the waste dump

 Epidemics through stray animals

 Acidity to surrounding soil and
 Release of green house gas

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a) Objective of Solid Waste Management
• The objective of solid waste management is to
reduce the quantity of solid waste disposed off on
land by recovery of materials and energy from
solid waste.

• This in turn results in lesser requirement of raw

material and energy as inputs for technological
processes.

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b) Principles of Municipal Solid Waste
Management
• Municipal Solid Waste Management involves the
application of principle of Integrated Solid Waste
Management (ISWM) to municipal waste.

• ISWM is the application of suitable techniques,

technologies and management programs covering
all types of solid wastes from all sources to achieve
the twin objectives of:
 Waste reduction and
 Effective management of waste still produced after
waste reduction.
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c) Sources and Types of Solid Wastes
• Knowledge of the sources and types of solid wastes,
along with data on composition and rates of
generation, is basic to the design and operation of
the functional elements associated with the
management of solid wastes.

• The materials that are collected under the term

solid waste include many different substances from
a multitude of sources.
• The sources of solid wastes are dependent on the
socioeconomic and technological levels of a society.
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• A small rural community may have known types of
solid wastes from known sources (i.e. the wastes
are more homogenous).

• Wastes from industrial and mining areas are also

more homogenous.

• Urban communities (Metropolitan cities),

however, have many sources (The wastes are
more heterogeneous).

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d) Definition of Terms
• There are many terms, which relate to the types
and sources of wastes and these too must be
defined.

• Based on the source, origin and type of waste, a

classification is described as follows:
• Domestic/Residential Waste: This category of
waste comprises the solid wastes that originate
from single and multi-family household units.

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• Municipal Waste: Municipal waste includes
wastes resulting from municipal activities and
services such as street waste, dead animals,
market waste and abandoned vehicles.

• The term is, however, commonly applied in a

wider sense to incorporate domestic wastes,
institutional wastes and commercial wastes.

• Institutional Waste: Institutional wastes are

those arising from institutions such as schools,
universities, hospitals and research institutes.
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• Industrial Wastes: In the category are the
discarded solid material of manufacturing
processes and industrial operations.

• Hazardous Wastes: Hazardous wastes may be

defined as wastes of industrial, institutional or
consumer origin which, because of their physical,
chemical or biological characteristics are
potentially dangerous to human and the
environment.

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Waste Characteristics

a) Composition of Solid Wastes and their

Determination
• Composition is the term used to describe the
individual components that make up the solid
waste stream and their relative distribution,
usually by percent by weight.

• Information on the composition of solid waste is

important in evaluating equipment needs,
systems and management programs and plans.
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Components in Residential Municipal Solid Waste (%)
Components Low-income Middle-income Upper income
Organic
Food waste 40-85 20-65 6-30
Paper 1-10 8-30 20-45
Cardboard __ ___ 5-15
Plastics 1-5 2-6 2-8
Textiles 1-5 2-10 2-6
Rubber __ __ 0-2
Leather __ __ 0-2
Yard Wastes 1-5 1-10 10-20
wood __ __ 1-4
Inorganic
 Glass 5 5 8
 Aluminum 2 2 0
 Dirt, ash etc. 20 15 5
Source: Takele (2004)
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b) Physical Composition of Solid Wastes

• Knowing the characteristics of the physical

component of a community solid waste is
important for the following purposes:

 For the selection and operation of equipment and

facilities
 To assess the possibility for resource of energy
recovery
 To design and analyze disposal facilities
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• The types of solid waste may be different from
country to country by season, economic
condition, developmental level, etc.

• The individual component study is involved to

achieve the present composition of solid waste by
volume and by weight.

• Volume measurements although difficult to

measure are essential to disposal methods e.g. for
the calculation of incinerator sizes and landfill
areas.
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• Generally, the major physical characteristics
measured in waste are:
 density, size distribution of components and
moisture content.

• Other characteristics which may be used in making

decision about solid waste management are:
 colour, voids, shape of components, optical
property, magnetic properties and electric
properties.
• Optical property can be used to segregate opaque
materials from transparent substances which would
predominately contain glass and plastic.
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• Magnetic separators are designed based on the
magnetic characteristics of the waste.

• Moisture content is essential for leachate

calculation and composting.

• Density is used to assess volume of transportation

vehicle and size of the disposal facility.

• Shape can be used for segregation as flaky

substance will behave differently compared to
non-flaky substance.
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i) Moisture Content

• The moisture content of solid waste is usually

expressed in one of two ways:

 Wet – weight method of measurement: the

moisture in a sample is expressed as a percentage
of the wet weight of material

 Dry-weight method, it is expressed as a

percentage of the dry weight of the material.

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• For most industrial solid wastes, the moisture
content will vary from 10 – 35 percent.

• The moisture contents of municipal solid waste

vary depending on the following factors:

 Composition of the waste

 The season of the year
 Humidity
 Weather condition

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ii) Density

• Under physical composition of solid wastes density

is one of the important parameters.

• Density is defined as the weight of the material

per unit volume.

• The interest in knowing density of solid waste is to

assess the total mass and volume of waste that
must be managed.

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• The densities of solid waste vary markedly with:
 Geographical location
 Season of the year
 Length of time in storage

• Great care should be taken in selecting typical

weight or density values.

• The densities of solid wastes as delivered in

compaction vehicles have been found to vary.

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c) Chemical Composition

• Information on the chemical composition of solid

wastes is important in evaluating alternative
processing and recovery options.

• For example, the feasibility of combustion depends

on the chemical composition of solid waste.
• Important chemical properties measured for solid
waste are:
 Moisture (Water content can change chemical and
physical properties); volatile matter, etc
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Functional Elements of SWM Program

• The activities involved in the management of solid

wastes from the point of generation to final disposal
have been grouped into six (6) functional elements:

(1) Waste generation

(2) On-site handling, storage and processing
(3) Waste Collection
(4) Transfer and transport
(5) Processing and recovery
(6) Disposal
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• By considering each functional element separately,
it is possible to identify the fundamental aspects
and relationships involved in each element;

(1) Waste generation: Those activities in which

materials are identified as no longer being of value
and are either thrown away or gathered together for
disposal
(2) On- site handling, Storage and processing:
Those activities associated with the handling, storage
and processing of solid wastes at or near the point of
generation
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(3) Collection: Those activities associated with the
gathering of solid wastes and the hauling of wastes
after collection to the location where the collection
vehicle is emptied.

(4) Transfer and Transport: Those activates

associated with:

• The transfer of wastes from the smaller collection

vehicle to the larger transport equipment and
• The subsequent transport of the wastes, usually
over long distance to the disposal site.
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(5) Processing and Recovery: Those techniques,
equipment and facilities used both to improve the
efficiency of the other functional elements and to recover
usable materials, conversion of products, or recover
energy from solid wastes.

(6) Disposal: Those activities associated with ultimate

disposal of solid wastes including:

• Wastes collected and transported directly to a landfill

site, semisolid wastes (sludge) from wastewater
treatment plants, incinerator residue, compost, or
other substances from the solid waste processing plants
that are of no further use.
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 Thank you

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