Solid Waste Generation and

Collection Rates
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Latifah Abd. Manaf
 Solid Waste Generation
 Not a new phenomenon
 It is as old as the human civilization
 Before the industrial revolution, the major
constituents of wastes were domestic sewage
and agricultural residues ~ which were
biodegradable in nature.
 After industrialization ~ quantity has increased
& also changed the quality ~ diverse types of
waste in urban areas

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 Definition
Generation
means all waste created within a jurisdiction (or
by a business or residence), both that which is
disposed and that which is diverted
Generator
means a person or business that creates the
waste

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 Changes due to Urbanization &
Industrialization
 Changes in waste characteristics ~ rapid
development & standard of living
 Increased volume of waste generated
 Use of modern techniques in waste management
 Rapid economic growth
 Concentration of large population in a small area.

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 Generation Rate
 Correlation between income of an area and the
amount of waste generated.
 More affluent an area ~ the greater waste generated

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 1988 1995
Urban population 6,050 8,700
Collection coverage (%) 85 100
Served pop. (1000) 5,140 8,700
Generation rate (kg/cap/yr) 241 277
Bulk density 200 186
SW collected (1000 ton/yr) 1,240 2,409
SW volume (1000 cu m/yr) 6,200 11,600
Cost (million RM/yr) 124 216
 THE EFFECT OF INCOME ON MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE GENERATION RATES FOR COUNTRIES OF
VARYING LEVELS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
A MODEL
by Martin Medina

The relationship between MSW generation rates and

income is assumed to be a direct and positive one
The present paper analyzes this relationship for 123
countries, based on data compiled by the United
Nations

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 It was found that instead of a straight line, solid
waste generation shows a curvilinear shape as
income increases
The proposed model indicates a transitional pattern:
as a country develops, its waste generation rate
increases; then for middle and upper-income
countries a transition takes place, in which waste
generation and income show a very weak
association, and for the wealthiest countries, their
waste generation rates actually decrease

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 Waste Generation is the
total amount of municipal
solid waste disposed,
PLUS the amount
recovered for recycling

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 IMPORTANCE OF WASTE
QUANTITIES
 Importance in determining
 compliance waste diversion programs,
 in selecting specific equipment,
 in designing of waste collection routes,
 MRF, and
 disposal facilities.

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 HOW TO QUANTIFY SOLID
WASTE?
 To obtain data that can be used to develop and
implement effective solid waste management
programs
 Volume & weight measurements
 Volume ~ loose wastes is different from
compacted in vehicle & landfill ~ must relate
to degree of compaction @ specific weight
under storage conditions
 Weight ~ accurate because tonnage can be
measures directly

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 HOW TO QUANTIFY SOLID
WASTE? - Cont.
 Unit waste generation rate – kg/capita/day
 Malaysia – 0.8 kg/capita/day
 Kuala Lumpur (KL) – 1.7 kg/capita/day

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 METHODS TO ESTIMATE
WASTE QUANTITIES
 Load-account analysis
 The number of individual loads & its waste
characteristic
 No of truck loads x compactor size x bulk
density
 Weight-volume analysis
 By weighing and measuring each load
 Weighing scales
 Materials-balance analysis
 To determine generation and movement of wastes

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 SOLID WASTE GENERATION
RATES
Category Distribution (%) Rate (lb/cap/day)

Residential & 67.1 4.14

commercial
Institutional 3.4 0.21

Construction & 14.0 0.86

demolition
Municipal services 9.5 0.58

Treatment plant 6.0 0.37

sludges
TOTAL 100% 6.16
POPULATIONS AND GENERATION
RATES
IN MALAYSIA
YEAR POPULATION WASTE
(million) (million ton/yr)
1991 17.5 4.5

1994 18.9 5.0

2015 31.8 7.8

2020 35.9 9.1

 SOLID WASTE GENERATION
 Quantity depends on:
 standard of living,
 food habits and
 degree of commercial activities
 Quality
 varies seasonally.

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 WHAT CAN YOU DO TO REDUCE SOLID WASTE

 Carry your own cloth or jute bag when you go

shopping.
 Say no to all plastic bags as far as possible.
 Reuse the soft drinks poly bottles for storing water.
 Segregate the waste in the house – keep two
garbage bins and see to it that the biodegradable
and the non biodegradable is put into separate bins
and dispose off separately.
 Dig a compost pit in your garden and put all the
bio degradable into it.

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 WHAT CAN YOU DO TO REDUCE SOLID WASTE - Cont.

 Not to throw the waste/litter on the streets, drains,

open spaces, water bodies, etc
 Storage of organic/bio-degradable and recyclable
waste separately at source
 Pay adequately for the services provided.
 Public education.

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 SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
RATES
 Waste collected are
 Commingled wastes
 Source-separated wastes
 Collection frequency
 Daily,
 Weekly,
 Monthly, and
 Seasonally

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 SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
RATES – Cont.
 Range of difference (4-15%) for
 Waste generated in residential & commercial
 Waste collected for processing & disposal
 Must consider other activities
 Composted
 Burned in fire
 Discharge to sewer
 Given to charitable agencies
 Sold at garage sale, etc.

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 FACTORS AFFECTING
GENERATION RATES
 Source reduction & recycling activities
 Public attitudes & legislation
 Geographic & physical factors
 Geographic location
 Seasonal of the year
 Use of the kitchen food waste grinders
 Frequency of collection
 Characteristics of service area

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 WASTE CHARACTERISATION
 GOAL ~ to identify sources, characteristics &
quantities of the waste generated
 Is important before introduced a new technology
 Basic requirement in planning efficient methods
for handling, collection, transportation,
treatment & disposal
 Difficult to perform because
 Large number of sources
 Limited number of samples to be analyzed

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 WASTE CHARACTERISATION
Waste characterization means finding out how
much paper, glass, food waste, etc. is discarded in
your waste stream
Waste characterization information helps in
planning how to reduce waste, set up recycling
programs, and conserve money and resources

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 How is the data collected?
by taking samples of waste and sorting it into material
types like newspaper and aluminum cans, and
weighing each type
Typically, samples are taken from trucks delivering
waste to landfills and transfer stations from
residential, commercial, and self-haul sources
Most of the data for the disposed waste stream only

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 WASTE CHARACTERISATION -
Steps
 Gather existing information
 Identify waste generation sources & waste
categories
 Develop sampling methodology
 Conduct field studies
 Conduct market surveys for special wastes
 Assess factors affecting waste generation rates

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 WASTE CHARACTERISATION
STUDIES – Residential &
Commercial
 Food waste
 Wastes from handling, preparation, cooking & eating of
food wastes
 Paper
 Old newspaper, high-grade paper, magazine, mixed
paper, cardboard, others
 Plastics
 PETE, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS
 Aluminium
 Beverage containers, secondary Al
 Yard wastes
 Grass clippings, leaves, bush & tree trimmings

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 Waste Management at Source -
household
 Action to be taken:
 Not to throw any solid waste in the neighborhood,
on the streets, open spaces, and vacant lands, into
the drains or water bodies
 Keep food waste/biodegradable waste in a non
corrosive container with a cover (lid)
 Keep dry, recyclable waste in a bin or bag or a sack
 Keep domestic hazardous waste if and when
generated separately for disposal at specially
notified locations

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 ACTIVITY
 How should the waste categories if you were to
conduct a waste characterization for UPM?
 How are bulky items, consumer electronics,
white goods, oil, tires and batteries now handle
in your community? What fraction of the
individual components are now recycled?
 Should construction and demolition wastes be
counted in determining the waste diversion
percentage for a community?

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