CHARACTERISATION AND COMPOSITION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE - A CASE STUDY

Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSW) involves activities associated with generation, storage, collection, transfer & transport, processing, recovery and disposal of solid waste, which are environmentally compatible adopting principles of economy, aesthetics, energy and conservation. For efficient disposal method it is necessary to characterize the waste. In this study, the composition and characterization of waste from a Municipal town waste were estimated and tested for better management. The composition was estimated by segregating it into different components, i.e., food waste, leaves, paper, cloth, rubber, glass, metals etc, these components were categorized into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. It was observed that the waste contains around 61% biodegradable waste, and the remaining is non-biodegradable waste. Ten samples were characterized for their physico-chemical properties. The analysis indicated that the biodegradable content of MSW is a good source of compost for agriculture purpose whereas non biodegradable content can be used for recycles, reuse or landfill.