Municipal solid waste as a resource: part 1 – specifying composition

Waste is a complex societal problem and its management brings together various stakeholders. However, lack of sufficient information on the quantities and types of materials in the waste stream can make sustainable waste management difficult. Since waste in one sector can be valuable as a resource in another, there is a need to understand the distribution of materials within the resource stream, especially those that go to landfill. Current work is seeking to address this: whereas much material is already recycled, this is not the only management option and there remain several problematic materials and components that need to be removed from residual waste. This paper, the first of two case studies, presents a more comprehensive waste composition specification to improve the management of municipal waste. In developing the approach, waste composition specifications currently in use were reviewed and compared with the solid municipal waste collected at community recycling centres and from kerbsides. Key primary and secondary descriptors for the better management of resources arising from municipal waste were determined and the impact of these changes on the information arising from composition analysis is discussed.