Comparison of physical composition of municipal solid waste in Czech municipalities and their potential in separation
Laen...
Kuupäev
2021
Kättesaadav alates
Autorid
Zhao, S.
Altmann, V.
Richterova, L.
Vitkova, V.
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Abstrakt
Czech Republic has been moving from landfill-based waste system toward resourcebased waste management system with an increasing rate of recyclable waste in the last years
(38.6% of recycling by material and 11.7% of energy recovery in 2018). However, landfill is still
a popular way of mixed municipal solid waste (MMSW) disposal due to the low tax. In the Czech
Republic, MMSW is collected from households by door-to-door system or recovery operations
(Household Waste Recycling Centre) and only should consists of everyday items, which are
further non-recyclable and non-reusable. However, a significant amount of recyclable waste can
still be found in MMSW. Therefore, a good knowledge of the physical composition of MMSW
is required to define strategy plans and improve waste management in municipalities. This work
is aimed at comparing the physical composition of MMSW in the Czech Republic with small
municipalities up to 2,999 inhabitants and big municipalities from 3,000 inhabitants to recognize
the share of recyclable and non-recyclable waste in MSW and designate the potential of separation
at source. Composition of MMSW was determined by a physical evaluation of waste collected
from households in target municipalities which consists in a detailed manual sorting of waste into
13 specific groups according to their types, and weighting by a scale. We found that the real
proportion of MMSW that could no longer be reused or recycled was much less than the amount
disposed of in the municipal waste bins. A large part of MMSW consisted of organic waste together
with food waste. This type of waste is especially useful when people turn it into compost to prevent
the production of waste and it returns the nutrients back to the soil, closing the circle. The rate of
recyclable waste was also high in many municipalities covered by our analyses, which indicated
a lower rate of separation and reflected an insufficient sorting system in municipality and
insufficient education of inhabitants. On the other hand, it points to the larger space of separation
potential in households. In conclusion the evaluation emphasizes the improper proportion of
MMSW in Czech municipalities. A lot of waste can be recycled but once it is thrown into black
bins as MMSW, there is no chance that it will be reused/recycled. It therefore calls for measures
to improve sorting at source, which will benefit municipal authorities in term of increasing recycle
rates in order to comply with regulations and make a profit. We found the analysis of the physical
composition of MMSW as a fundamental method for municipalities to verify the separation rate
at the source, and it is recommended to conduct this analysis regularly and monitor developments.
Kirjeldus
Received: February 23rd, 2021 ; Accepted: May 2nd, 2021 ; Published: May 17th, 2021 ; Correspondence: zhao@tf.czu.cz
Märksõnad
physical analysis, waste composition, municipal solid waste, separation at source, Czech Republic, articles