Comparative assessment of incinerability of municipal solid waste over different economies

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation rates have been steadily increasing over the years globally. Simultaneously, the composition of MSW has also been varying. Combined with the scarcity of land for landfilling, waste incineration is now gradually becoming an indispensable part of MSW management, even in developing countries. However, being an economy intensive process, assessment of the feasibility of incineration of MSW becomes vital prior to employing thermal Waste to Energy (WtE) techniques. A composite indicator to easily quantify the incinerability of MSW called incinerability index or i-Index has been developed in this regard. A comparative assessment of incinerability of MSW generated from different economies was drawn using this indicator. It was observed that incinerability of MSW decreased with a decrease in income. However, a marginal increase in incinerability was observed by 2025 in countries belonging to low-income groups.