Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Per Capital MSW Generation Status, 1960-2006
350
10
300
8
Population (millions)
250
6
200
Generation
150
4
Discards
100
2
50
Recovery
0
0
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Year
Population (millions)
Generation
Recovery
Discards
Figure 5.6
Per capita MSW generation, recovery and discards in the United States from 1960 to 2006 (U.S.
EPA 2007)
Out of this amount, an estimated 70 percent is collected by private companies
and dumped without pretreatment in a sanitary landfill. The rest (which is not
collected) is dumped by individuals, usually in open spaces or in drains. The
bulk of MSW was found to be organic waste, making composting a primary
management option.
Table 5.3 shows the MSW recycling and disposal in selected European coun-
tries based on the selected yearly data from 1997 to 1999. It can be seen that the
management of MSW varied significantly from country to country. For example,
Greece, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Italy are heavily dependent on landfilling
(91 to 78 percent), while Denmark, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and Sweden
put less than one third (11 to 33 percent) of their MSW in the landfill. Denmark
sent 50 percent of its MSW to incineration while Greece used none. Austria
and Belgium have the best recovery (recycling and composting) rate, 64 and
52 percent, respectively, while Greece and Portugal have less than 10 percent
of recovery. Even with 1997 to 1999 data, half of the European counties listed
have a better MSW recovery rate (64 to 33 percent) than the United States (32.5
percent in 2006).
A more recent survey showed that in England, 67 percent of municipal solid
waste (MSW) generated is landfilled, 9 percent incinerated, and 23.5 percent
recycled or composted. During 2004/2005, 29.7 million tonnes of MSW was
produced. This was 2.1 percent more than that produced in 2003/2004 (Husaini
et al. 2007). The recycled or composted MSW increased to 27 percent during
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