Analysis of residential solid waste at generation sites

An essential preliminary step in municipal solid waste (MSW) management is the accurate determination of the quantities and composition of the wastes. The purpose of this study was to test a procedure for the determination of these parameters at the source of generation (houses), rather than getting such data at transfer stations or disposal sites, as usually done in most previous studies. The average generation rate in kg per capita day(-1) and percentages of various components of residential solid waste in Abu Dhabi City were determined by carrying out a statistically designed sampling survey. This survey covered 40 houses with different socioeconomic levels and totalled 840 samples. The study showed an average generation rate of 1.76 kg per capita day(-1). Linear regression analysis revealed that this rate was dependent on the income level with an increase of about 35% for the high income residents over the average rate. The waste contained approximately 50% food waste. Frequency distribution analysis of waste composition data indicated that the food waste component is normally distributed, whereas the other components do not show a normal distribution pattern. (C) 1997 ISWA.