Planning Tools and Procedures for Rational Municipal Solid Wastes Management

Abstract

A rational approach for developing optimal municipal solid wastes (MSW) management plans comprises two steps, the strategic and the detailed planning one. The objectives of the strategic planning are the screening of alternative technologies, the definition of the number and approximate location of sites for treatment and/or disposal installations, the formulation of alternative management plans and the selection of the most prominent ones. The detailed optimal planning, which normally follows, focuses on the latter and develops the plan that meets all legal and other requirements with the least cost. In addition, it performs sensitivity analysis involving the development of alternative optimal plans, each of which meets a set of constraints. The latter reflects the preferences and/or objections of the communities concerned (e.g. the exclusion or imposition of sites and/or technologies, the application of capacity limits etc.). The local authorities can then select among the alternative plans the one, which balances best their preferences and objections against the associated costs. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012.