Municipal Solid Waste Factsheet

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is useless or unwanted material discarded as a result of human or animal activity. Most commonly it is solids, semisolids or liquids in containers thrown out of houses, commercial or industrial premises.
Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is the generation, separation, collection, transfer, transportation and disposal of waste in a way that takes into account public health, economics, conservation, aesthetics, and the environment, and is responsive to public demands.

The story so far:
Changing lifestyles, the increasing use of disposable materials and excessive packaging are all contributing to an increase in the amount of waste being created. Waste management is now a global concern. The problems associated with MSW management are complex because of the quantity and diversity of the nature of waste and financial limitations on public services in large cities. The problem is not only confined to land, it includes air and water as well.

Solid waste generation in Pakistan ranges between 0.283 to 0.612 kg/capita/day and the waste generation growth rate is 2.4% per year (Draft Environmental Assessment Report, Stockholm, November 1993).

Solid domestic waste is typically dumped on low-lying land. Then it is burnt to reduce its volume and lengthen the life span of the dumpsite. However, refuse does not burn well and smouldering dumps produce clouds of smoke that can be seen from miles away, smell bad, and create a breeding ground for flies and rats. The result is unsightly and unsanitary conditions. This land could be used for more productive purposes and potentially valuable recyclable materials are lost.

• There is no proper waste collection system.
• Waste is dumped on the streets.
• Different types of waste are not collected separately.
• There are no controlled sanitary landfill sites.
• Citizens are not aware of the relationship between ways of disposing off waste and the resulting environmental and public health problems.

Houses: Appliances, newspapers, clothing, disposable tableware, food packaging, cans, bottles, food scraps, yard trimming.
Commercial buildings: Corrugated boxes, food wastes, office paper, and disposable tableware.
Institutions: Office paper, cafeteria and restroom waste, classroom wastes, yard trimmings.
Industries: Corrugated boxes, lunchroom wastes, and office papers, wood pallets.

High-grade paper: Office and computer paper
Mixed Paper: Mixed coloured papers, magazines, glossy paper, and other paper, not fitting the categories of high grade paper, newsprint, and corrugated

Corrugated: Corrugated boxes, corrugated and brown (craft) paper
Yard Waste: Branches, twigs, leaves, grass and other plant material
Food Waste: All food waste excluding bones
Glass: Clear and coloured glass
Plastics: All types of plastics
Ferrous metals: Iron, steel, and tin and metal cans
Non-ferrous metals: Primarily Aluminium, Aluminium cans, copper, brass and lead
Wood: Lumber, wood products, pallets and furniture
Rubber: Tyres, footwear, wire cords, gaskets
Textiles: Furniture, clothing, and footwear
Miscellaneous: Other organic and inorganic materials, including rock, sand, dirt, ceramics, plaster, bones ashes, etc.

• Hauled Container System
Containers loaded with MSW are taken to the disposal site, emptied and brought back to the same site or to the next site. In Pakistan, the container is mostly transported from one place to another with the help of a truck or tractor.
• Stationary Container System
In this system, the containers are emptied into vehicles, so a number of containers can be emptied in one trip.

• Landfill

Residential wastes are usually collected and transported directly to a landfill site. When new landfills are being planned, the most important issue is to find a location that is acceptable to the public and to local regulatory agencies. In the management of existing landfills, the major concern is to ensure that proper operational procedures are followed carefully and routinely.
In the past, the term sanitary landfill was used to describe landfill where the waste was covered at the end of each day's operation. Today, sanitary landfill refers to an engineered facility, designed and operated to minimise public health and environmental impacts.
Problems with landfill:
Landfills are subject to biological and physical factors in the environment. As a result, they change over time and may cause the following problems:

• Leachate contamination of groundwater
• Methane production
• Incomplete decomposition
• Separation
The separation of solid waste components is one of the most positive and effective ways to recover and reuse materials.

• Size Reduction

Size reduction is a process in which collected waste materials are mechanically reduced in size. In practice, the terms shredding, grinding, and milling are used interchangeably to describe mechanical size reduction. The objective of size reduction is to obtain a final product that is reasonably uniform and considerably reduced in size in comparison with its original form.

• Screening

Screening is used to separate mixtures of materials of different sizes into two or more sizes by using screening surfaces.

Many new technologies have been developed to solve MSW problems, but unfortunately, these technologies are either too sophisticated or expensive for use in developing countries like Pakistan.

Improper disposal of MSW has serious results for the environment and human health. Problems can spread over a wide area. For example disposal of wastes into nallahs, canals and rivers can pollute the water supply along the whole length of the watercourse. Infections and diseases can spread from dump sites into the general population.

• Skin and eye infections are common
• Dust in the air at dumpsites can cause breathing problems in children and adults
• Flies breed on uncovered piles of rotting garbage and spread diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis, and cholera. Mosquitoes transmit many types of diseases like malaria and yellow fever
• Dogs, cats and rats living around refuse carry a variety of diseases including plague and flea born fever
• Intestinal, parasitic and skin diseases are found in workers engaged in collecting refuse.

The most serious problem is groundwater contamination. As water filters through any material, chemicals in the material may dissolve in the water, a process called leaching. The resulting mixture is called leachate. As water percolates through MSW, it makes a leachate that consists of decomposing organic matter combined with iron, mercury, lead, zinc, and other metals from rusting cans, discarded batteries and appliances. It may also contain paints, pesticides, cleaning fluids, newspaper inks, and other chemicals. Contaminated water can have a serious impact on all living creatures, including humans, in an ecosystem.

When waste is burnt heavy metals like lead, toxic gases and smoke spreads over residential areas. The wind also carries waste, dust and gases caused by decomposition. Putrefaction of waste in sunlight during daytime results in bad smells and reduced visibility.

There is an urgent need to manage MSW from the time it is created to its safe disposal. The public and local municipal authorities need to work together. It is important to create awareness about the consequences of pollution so that people become conscious of the need to deal with this problem.

According to a World Bank report, Pakistan has responded to its environmental problems by developing laws, establishing Government agencies and accepting technical assistance from donors, including the World Bank. Despite this, the response remains fragmented and environmental institutions, laws, and other initiatives do not solve the whole problem.
Environmental legislation is still not well developed in Pakistan, especially in comparison to the developed world. For example, there are no national quality standards for MSW.

Currently, individuals dispose off wastes by throwing away plastic bags, wrappers, fruit peels, cigarette butts, etc. in public places. Littering spreads pollution and ends up clogging drains and causing sanitation problems. This can be controlled by making roadside dustbins or proper disposal of waste at home. If proper waste management is practiced, this waste could be converted into useful products.

The best way to reduce waste is not to produce it in the first place. Everyone should try to reduce his/her consumption of goods as much as possible. For example, choose products with minimum packaging and instead of accepting plastic bags when shopping, use cloth bags.

Items should not just be thrown away after use if they can be used again. Doing this results in a reduction in waste and better conservation of resources. Items, which can be re-used, include glass jars and bottles, and plastic bags.

Recycling means creating new things from used items. Almost 20-30 per cent of MSW contains materials which could be recycled. For instance:
• Paper can be re-pulped and reprocessed into recycled paper, cardboard and other paper products.
• Broken glass can be crushed, re-melted and made into containers.
• Some forms of plastic can be re-melted and fabricated into carpet fiber or cloth.
• Food wastes and yard wastes can be composted to produce fertilisers and soil conditioners.

For more information on MSWM, please visit the following internet sites:

www.no-burn.org/regional/country/pakistan
www.lboro.ac.uk/pakistan
www.lists.essential.org
www.tve.org/ho/org/cfm
http://pakistan.lead.org/swm/rationale.htm
www.eco-web.com

Compiled and edited by Environmental Pollution Unit, WWF- Pakistan.