Waste streams, costs and emissions in municipal solid waste management: a case study from Finland

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is undergoing major changes due mainly to high recovery rate targets being set by the European Union and national Governments. These higher rates have been set as one measure to achieve the sustainable development required by Agenda 21 of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. Increasing the recovery rates for municipal solid waste affects waste management systems, particularly the composition of waste streams, costs and emissions from treatment and disposal activities. A case study has been carried out in Finland to measure the effects of the increase in recovery rates using the Mimes/Waste computer model as a tool. In the case study, it was ascertained that when the recovery rate is increased from the present 21% to 64%, the total waste management costs are increased by 36%, Using the same parameters, it was found that the amount of waste being disposed of to landfill is reduced from 421 kg per person per annum to 195 kg per per son per annum. The effect on greenhouse gas emissions is to reduce the amount produced by landfill sites and traffic by 59%. Traffic emissions overall, however, are increased by 40% in the case study. The "New Mimes/Waste" version developed for Finland has proved to be a suitable tool for strategic waste planning. It offers the capacity to study a number of different strategies and the whole MSWM system as a single unit. It also facilitates and increases the understanding of the interdependence of the various waste streams and functional elements.