Municipal Solid Waste Characterization and It Is Assessment for Potential Compost Production: A Case Study in Zanjan City, Iran

Abstract

The increasing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generations and their improper disposal have great social costs, and is an issue of increasing concern. There are strict mandatory targets in many nations to reduce the amount of MSW entering the landfill. At present, the source reducing, recycling, re-using, waste combusting and also composting the MSW are the major strategies which are being advised spread across the world. Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practices in Zanjan, a city with population of about 350,000 persons, are generating about 300 tons of MSW daily, those which consist of the collection, transportation and land filling of the wastes. The wastes are not recycled and composted but just mainly land filled. Therefore, this research is conducted to study the generation, characterization and management strategies of solid wastes in Zanjan city. The samplings of MSW were performed in all four seasons during 2010 and the contents of its main components are determined. The qualitative and quantitative results indicated that the composting of MSW is feasible and can be adopted as a proper MSWM approach in the studied area. Recycling of paper, plastic and glass along with composting of MSW are highly recommended.