Methodology to design a municipal solid waste generation and composition map: A case study

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) 2014-11, Vol.34 (11), p.1920-1931
• Main Authors: Gallardo, A., Carlos, M., Peris, M., Colomer, F.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Composition; Design engineering; ENVIRONMENT; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Exact sciences and technology; General treatment and storage processes; Generation; GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS; Geographic Mapping; GIS; Humans; LOCAL GOVERNMENT; Management; MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; Methodology; MSW; Municipal waste management; MUNICIPAL WASTES; Other wastes and particular components of wastes; PLANNING; Pollution; PUBLIC HEALTH; Refuse Disposal - methods; RESOURCES; Seasons; SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS; Solid Waste - analysis; Solid waste management; SOLID WASTES; SPAIN; Towns; Urban and domestic wastes; URBAN AREAS; WASTE MANAGEMENT; Waste Management - methods; Wastes
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.05.014

•To draw a waste generation and composition map of a town a lot of factors must be taken into account.•The methodology proposed offers two different depending on the available data combined with geographical information systems.•The methodology has been applied to a Spanish city with success.•The methodology will be a useful tool to organize the municipal solid waste management. The municipal solid waste (MSW) management is an important task that local governments as well as private companies must take into account to protect human health, the environment and to preserve natural resources. To design an adequate MSW management plan the first step consist in defining the waste generation and composition patterns of the town. As these patterns depend on several socio-economic factors it is advisable to organize them previously. Moreover, the waste generation and composition patterns may vary around the town and over the time. Generally, the data are not homogeneous around the city as the number of inhabitants is not constant nor it is the economic activity. Therefore, if all the information is showed in thematic maps, the final waste management decisions can be made more efficiently. The main aim of this paper is to present a structured methodology that allows local authorities or private companies who deal with MSW to design its own MSW management plan depending on the available data. According to these data, this paper proposes two ways of action: a direct way when detailed data are available and an indirect way when there is a lack of data and it is necessary to take into account bibliographic data. In any case, the amount of information needed is considerable. This paper combines the planning methodology with the Geographic Information Systems to present the final results in thematic maps that make easier to interpret them. The proposed methodology is a previous useful tool to organize the MSW collection routes including the selective collection. To verify the methodology it has been successfully applied to a Spanish town.