WASTE GENERATION, HANDLING AND

STORAGE
S Taulo
School of Applied Science
Malawi University of Business and Applied
Science
 WASTE GENERATION

 Generation of solid waste is a result of natural, human and animal

activities.
 Knowledge of generation of solid waste is important in the planning,
designing and operation of solid waste management system.
 Generation has two aspects:
 The quality of solid waste :The sources, types and typical composition of solid
waste along with its properties
 The quantity of solid waste.: The generation rates and total quantities and volumes
of waste generated

The handling, storage and separation of solid waste at the source before they are collected
is a critical step in the management of residential solid waste .
 SOURCES OF WASTE

 Residential
 Commercial
 Institutional
 Municipal
 Industrial
 Agricultural
 Municipal solid waste (MSW)
 Industrial waste
 Domestic
 Agricultural waste 
 Construction and demolition waste
 The term municipal solid waste (MSW) is generally used to describe most of the non-hazardous solid waste from a city, town
or village that requires routine collection and transport to a processing or disposal site
 TYPES OF WASTE/CLASSIFICATION

 Waste generated by industry and society needs to be classified in order to apply the correct
form of management.

 There are different classifications depending on their origin, composition, danger, etc.

 In general, there are three types of classifications:

1. Classification according to their properties

2. Classification according to their effects on humans and the environment

 CLASSIFICATION OF WASTES ACCORDING
TO THEIR PROPERTIES
Bio-degradable
 Can be degraded (paper, wood, fruits and others)

Non-biodegradable

 Cannot be degraded (plastics, bottles, old machines,cans,)

 CLASSIFICATION OF WASTES ACCORDING
TO THEIR ORIGIN (GENERATION) AND TYPE

 Municipal Solid wastes:

 Solid wastes that include household garbage, rubbish, construction & demolition debris, sanitation residues, packaging materials,
trade refuges etc. are managed by any municipality.
 Bio-medical wastes:
 Solid or liquid wastes including containers, intermediate or end products generated during diagnosis, treatment & research
activities of medical sciences.
 Industrial wastes:
 Liquid and solid wastes that are generated by manufacturing & processing units of various industries like chemical, petroleum,
coal, metal gas, sanitary & paper etc.
 Agricultural wastes:
 Wastes generated from farming activities. These substances are mostly biodegradable.
 Radioactive wastes:
 Waste containing radioactive materials. Usually these are byproducts of nuclear processes. Sometimes industries that are not
directly involved in nuclear activities, may also produce some radioactive wastes, e.g. radio-isotopes, chemical sludge etc.
 E-wastes:
 Electronic wastes generated from any modern establishments. They may be described as discarded electrical or electronic devices.
Some electronic scrap components, such as CRTs, may contain contaminants such as Pb, Cd, Be or brominated flame retardants.
 CLASSIFICATION OF WASTES ACCORDING TO
THEIR EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH AND
THE ENVIRONMENT

 Hazardous wastes
 Substances unsafe to use commercially, industrially, agriculturally, or
economically and have any of the following properties- ignitability, corrosivity,
reactivity & toxicity.

 Non-hazardous
 Substances safe to use commercially, industrially, agriculturally, or economically
and do not have any of those properties mentioned above.
 These substances usually create disposal problems.
 CATEGORIES OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE
 Chemical waste
 Is typically generated by factories, processing centers, warehouses, and plants
 These waste may include harmful or dangerous chemicals and chemical residue, and waste disposal must adhere to careful guidelines
 is typically generated by factories, processing centers, warehouses, and plants

 Solid waste
 Includes a variety of different materials, including paper, cardboard, plastics, packaging materials, wood, and scrap metal.
Some of these materials can be reused and recycled by a recycling center. .

 Toxic and hazardous waste:

 Toxic and hazardous waste is comprised of materials that can cause serious health and safety problems if waste disposal is not handled
correctly.
 This type of waste typically includes dangerous byproducts materials generated by factories, farms, construction sites, laboratories,
garages, hospitals, and certain production and manufacturing plants. .
 Waste Characteristics
 In order to identify the exact characteristics of municipal wastes, it is necessary that we analyse
them using physical and chemical parameters
 Waste Composition by Source

 The information on the nature of wastes, its composition, physical and chemical characteristics
– and the quantities generated are basic needs for the planning of a Solid Waste Management
system.

 Composition is the term used to describe the individual components that make up a solid waste
stream and their relative distribution. In this text, ‘composition’ refers to the limited list of
components or constituents, such as paper, glass, metal, plastic and garbage, into which an
aggregate of municipal waste may conveniently be separated.
 The composition of waste depends on
 Sources of generation.
 Also depends on the moisture content, density and relative distribution of municipal wastes

.
Waste composition – Cont’d
Table 2: Typical Composition, Moisture and Density
 Waste composition – Cont’d

NB:

• Density of waste changes as it moves from the source of generation to the point of
ultimate disposal, and such factors as storage methods, salvaging activities, exposure to
weather, handling methods and decomposition influence the density.

• In short, predicting changes of waste composition is as difficult as forecasting waste

quantities.
 Waste Characteristics

 Inorder to identify the exact characteristics of

municipal wastes/industrial, it is necessary that
we analyse them using physical and chemical
and biological parameters
 Waste Characteristics

Physical characteristics

 Information and data on the physical characteristics of solid wastes are important for the
selection and operation of equipment and for the analysis and design of disposal facilities.

 The major physical characteristics measured in waste are: (1) density, (2) moisture content,
and (3) size distribution of components.
 Physical Characteristics

1 Density:
 Density of waste, i.e., its mass per unit volume (kg/m), is a critical factor in the design of a SWM system, e.g.
the design of sanitary landfills, storage, types of collection and transport vehicles, etc.

 To explain, an efficient operation of a landfill demands compaction of wastes to optimum density.

 Any normal compaction equipment can achieve reduction in volume of wastes by 75%, which increases an
initial density of 100 kg/m3 to 400 kg/m3.

 A waste collection vehicle can haul four times the weight of waste in its compacted state than when it is
uncompacted.
 Physical Characteristics

 Significant changes in density occur spontaneously as the waste moves from source
to disposal, due to scavenging, handling, wetting and drying by the weather,
vibration in the collection vehicle and decomposition.
 Physical Characteristics

2 Moisture content:

 Moisture content is defined as the ratio of the weight of water (wet weight - dry
weight) to the total weight of the wet waste.

 Moisture increases the weight of solid wastes, and thereby, the cost of collection
and transport.

 In addition, moisture content is a critical determinant in the economic feasibility of

waste treatment by incineration, because wet waste consumes energy for
evaporation of water and in raising the temperature of water vapour.
 Physical Characteristics

Moisture content caculation

 We can calculate the moisture percentage, using the formula given below

 A typical range of moisture content is 20 - 40%, representing the extremes of wastes in

an arid climate and in the wet season of a region of high precipitation. However, values
greater than 40% are not uncommon.
 Physical Characteristics

3 Size:
 Measurement of size distribution of particles in waste stream is important because of
its significance in the design of mechanical separators and shredders.
 Chemical Characteristics

 Knowledge of the classification of chemical compounds and their characteristics is

essential for the proper understanding of the behaviour of waste, as it moves
through the waste management system.

 The products of decomposition and heating values are two examples of chemical
characteristics.

 If solid wastes are to be used as fuel, or are used for any other purpose, we must
know their chemical characteristics, which includes the following:
 Chemical Characteristics

1 Lipids:

 This class of compounds includes fats, oils and grease, and the principal sources of lipids are
garbage, cooking oils and fats.
 Lipids have high heating values, about 38,000 kJ/kg (kilojoules per kilogram), which makes
waste with high lipid content suitable for energy recovery.

 Although lipids are biodegradable, the rate of biodegradation is relatively slow because
lipids have a low solubility in water.
 Chemical Characteristics

2 Carbohydrates:
 These are found primarily in food and yard wastes, which encompass sugar and polymer of
sugars (e.g., starch, cellulose, etc.) with general formula (CH2O)x.

 Carbohydrates are readily biodegraded to products such as carbon dioxide, water and methane.

 Decomposing carbohydrates attract flies and rats, and therefore, should not be left exposed for
long duration.
 Chemical Characteristics

3 Proteins:
 These are compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, and consist of an
organic acid with a substituted amine group (NH2). They are mainly found in food and garden
wastes.

 The partial decomposition of these compounds can result in the production of amines that
have unpleasant odours.
 Chemical Characteristics

4 Natural fibres:
 These are found in paper products, food and yard wastes and include the natural compounds, cellulose and
lignin, that are resistant to biodegradation. (Note that paper is almost 100% cellulose, cotton over 95% and
wood products over 40%.)

 Because they are a highly combustible solid waste, having a high proportion of paper and wood products,
they are suitable for incineration.

 Calorific values of oven-dried paper products are in the range of 12,000 -18,000 kJ/kg and of wood about
20,000 kJ/kg, i.e., about half that for fuel oil, which is 44,200 kJ/kg.
 Chemical Characteristics

5 Synthetic organic material (Plastics):

 They are highly resistant to biodegradation and, therefore, are objectionable and of special
concern in SWM.

 Hence the increasing attention being paid to the recycling of plastics to reduce the
proportion of this waste component at disposal sites.

 Plastics have a high heating value, about 32,000 kJ/kg, which makes them very suitable for
incineration. But, you must note that polyvinyl chloride (PVC), when burnt, produces
dioxins and acid gas. The latter increases corrosion in the combustion system and is
responsible for acid rain
 Chemical Characteristics

6 Non-combustibles:
 This class includes glass, ceramics, metals, dust and ashes, and accounts for 12 – 25% of dry solids.
Heating values:
 An evaluation of the potential of a waste material for use as fuel for incineration requires a determination of its
heating value, expressed as kilojoules per kilogram (kJ/kg).

 The heating value is determined experimentally using the Bomb calorimeter test, in which the heat generated, at a
constant temperature of 25oC from the combustion of a dry sample is measured.
 Chemical Characteristics

Heating values:
NB:
 While evaluating incineration as a means of disposal or energy recovery, we need to consider the heating
values of respective constituents of the wastes.

 For example:
• Organic material yields energy only when dry.
• The moisture content in the waste reduces the dry organic material per kilogram of waste and requires a significant
amount of energy for drying.
• The ash content of the waste reduces the proportion of dry organic material per kilogram of waste and retains
some heat when removed from the furnace
 Chemical Characteristics analysis

Ultimate analysis:
 This refers to an analysis of waste to determine the proportion of
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur, and the
analysis is done to make mass balance calculation for a chemical
or thermal process.
 Besides, it is necessary to determine ash fraction because of its
potentially harmful environmental effects, brought about by the
presence of toxic metals such as cadmium, chromium, mercury,
nickel, lead, tin and zinc.
 Note that other metals (e.g., iron, magnesium, etc.) may also be
present but they are non-toxic.
 Chemical Characteristics

Proximate analysis:
 This is important in evaluating the combustion properties of wastes or a waste or refuse derived fuel.
The fractions of interest are:

 moisture content, which adds weight to the waste without increasing its heating value, and the
evaporation of water reduces the heat released from the fuel;

 ash, which adds weight without generating any heat during combustion;

 volatile matter, i.e., that portion of the waste that is converted to gases before and during
combustion
 Chemical Characteristics

Proximate analysis:
 fixed carbon, which represents the carbon remaining on the
surface grates as charcoal.
 A waste or fuel with a high proportion of fixed carbon
requires a longer retention time on the furnace grates to
achieve complete combustion than a waste or fuel with a low
proportion of fixed carbon.

 Table 5 illustrates a proximate analysis for the combustible

components of municipal solid waste.
 Chemical Characteristics
Table 5:Municipal Solid Waste: A Typical Proximate Analysis

Note: In order to evaluate alternative processing and recovery options

(e.g., incineration process), we need information on the chemical
characteristics of wastes, and wastes can typically be a combination of
combustible and non-combustible materials.
 WASTE GENERATION

 Waste generation – Is the quantity (weight or volume) of materials or

products that enter a waste stream before composting, incinerating, landfilling,
or recycling.

 Also can represent the amount of waste generated by a given source or

category of sources and includes all materials discarded, whether or not they
are later recycled or disposed in a landfill.
.
 WASTE GENERATION RATES

Solid waste generation rates estimate the amount of waste created by residences

or businesses over a certain amount of time (day, year, etc.).
Waste generation includes all materials discarded, whether or not they are later
recycled or disposed in a landfill.
In 2016, the worlds' cities generated 2.01 billion tonnes of solid waste, amounting to
a footprint of 0.74 kilograms per person per day. ...

Waste generation rate for Malawi is 0.5 kg/person/day.

.
 Compilation and comparison of solid waste generation in large cities of various countries show that waste
is generated at the rate of

 0.4–0.6 kg/person/day in low- income countries,

 1.1–5.0 kg/person/day in high income countries

 0.52 and 1.0 kg/person/day in middle-income countries

 In Malawi: 0.5kg/person per day

 Estimated waste generation is approximately 8,500 tons/day for the whole country
 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WASTE GENERATION

 Geographic Location
 Population characteristics
 Public Attitudes
 Season of the year
________________________
 Legislation
 Duty of Care
 Polluter Pays Principle
 Pay as You Throw
 GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

 The influence of geographic location is related to

the different climates that can influence both the
amount of certain types of solid wastes generated.

 For example, in warmer areas, the generation rate

tends to be higher as there is greater movement of
people than in colder areas.
 POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

 Generation tends to be high in wealthier communities because they have better

incomes and hence consume and discard more wastes.

 It follows that the most industrialised countries produce more wastes than non-
industrialised (developing) countries.
 SEASON OF THE YEAR

 The quantities of agricultural wastes are affected by season of the

year.

 For example, the quantities of food wastes are related to the

growing season for vegetables and fruits.
 PUBLIC ATTITUDES

 Significant reductions in the quantities of solid

wastes generated occur when and if people are
willing to change – on their own volition – their
habits and lifestyles to conserve natural resources
and to reduce the economic burden associated with
the management of solid wastes.
 LEGISLATION

 This is perhaps the most important factor affecting the

generation of wastes.

 For instance, the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) may

restrict how much waste one generates and where littering
attracts a penalty, waste generation tends to be low.

 Other legislations include Duty of Care and Pay As You

Throw
 WASTE HANDLING

 Handling refers to activities associated with managing solid

wastes until they are placed in the containers used for their
storage before collection or return to drop-off and recycling
centers.

 Depending on the type of collection service, handling may also

be required to move the loaded containers to the collection point
and to return the empty container to the point where they are
stored between collections.
 WASTE STORAGE

 The first phase to manage solid waste is at home level (Industrial site).

 It requires temporary storage of refuse on the premises.

 For industries, and other commercial centers, proper on-site storage of solid waste is the
beginning of proper disposal, because unkept solid waste or simple dumps are sources of
nuisance, flies, smells and other hazards.
 HOW TO DETERMINE GENERATION RATES

The following methods are commonly used to assess the per

capita generation rates:

 Load Count Analysis

 Weight-Volume Analysis

 Material-Balance Analysis
 LOAD COUNT ANALYSIS

In this method, the following are noted over a specified time:

 Number of individual loads, and

 Corresponding vehicle characteristics

 WEIGHT-VOLUME ANALYSIS

 Detailed weight-volume data are obtained by weighing and measuring each

load.
 MATERIALS-BALANCE ANALYSIS

 The only way to determine the generation and movement of solid wastes with some degree
of reliability is to perform a detailed materials balance analysis for each generation source,
such as an individual home or a commercial or individual activity.

 However, this method is time-consuming.

 The approach to be followed in the preparation of a materials balance analysis is as follows

 HOW TO PERFORM A MATERIALS-BALANCE
ANALYSIS/MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS

1. Draw a systems boundary around the unit to be

studied.

2. Identify all the activities that cross or occur within

the boundary and affect the generation of wastes.

3. Identify the rate of generation associated with

these activities.

4. Using a materials balance analysis, determine the

quantity of wastes generated, collected and stored.
Inflow = (Outflow – Storage)
 PROBLEM: TUTORIAL

Consider a small enterprise company that generates a certain amount of wastes per day. Of this
amount, bottles and cans represent 20 per cent (by weight) and are recycled by the company.
The paper wastes (32 per cent) are burnt in the backyard incinerator. The rest of the wastes are
put into containers for collection by the City Council. On a given day, 9 kg of raw materials is
brought into the company. The company uses 3.2 kg of raw materials that day and 2.3 kg of raw
materials is stored for another day’s use. The magazines received represent 5 per cent of paper
wastes of the day and they are not thrown away.
Draw a materials flow diagram of this enterprise company and calculate the amount of wastes
disposed of during this day.
THE END