WHAT'S A WASTE

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

By definition WASTE means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.

Municipal Solid Waste is defined as waste collected by municipalities. It covers waste from households, including bulky waste, similar waste from commerce and trade, office buildings, institutions and small businesses, as well as yard and garden waste, street sweepings, the contents of litter containers, and market cleansing waste if managed as household waste. The definition excludes waste from municipal sewage networks and treatment, as well as waste from construction and demolition activities (OECD definition).

WASTE COMPOSITION BY ECONOMIC INCOME

The Municipal Solid Waste composition is related to several factors as the income level, the urbanisation rate and the market products trend.

The Energy Content changes according to the composition and can range from 2 kWh (7.2 MJ) to 4 kWh (14.4 MJ) per kilogram of Waste. 

The chart below show the average main fraction composition in different economic scenarios.

Be aware that the economic scenario is not related to the National Economy, but directly depend from the economy of the place where the waste is collected.

WASTE PRODUCTION RATE BY ECONOMIC INCOME

Waste generation is a natural product of urbanisation, economic development, and population growth.

As nations and cities become more populated and prosperous, offer more products and services to citizens, and participate in global trade and exchange, they face corresponding amounts of municipal solid waste.

The waste production rate is a function of the population income level.