The Waste Crisis

Sahadat Hossain is Director, Solid Waste Institute for Sustainability, and Professor, Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. He has over 20 years of experience in sustainable waste management, reuse of recycling materials, landfill gas to energy, and landfill mining. H. James Law is Vice President and Project Director of SCS Engineers, USA and ISWA Board Member and Chair of the Working Group on Landfill headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He has over 36 years of professional experience in geotechnical engineering and solid waste management, landfill design, cell construction, final closure and remediation. Araya Asfaw is managing partner of Sustainability Advisory Group, a private limited company registered in Ethiopia, advising government and non-government organizations and the private sector on sustainability and resiliency. He was Dean of the Faculty of Science at the Addis Ababa University.

Preface ix

Series Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

References 12

Chapter 2: Current Waste Management Practices 13

2.1 Urbanization and Waste Generation 13

2.2 Waste Collection 20

2.2.1 Why Waste Collection is Low in Developing Countries 23

2.2.1.1 Waste Collection Flow 23

2.2.1.2 Waste Collection Vehicles and Their Capacity 25

2.2.1.3 Traffic Situation in Developing Countries 29

2.2.1.4 Trained Waste Collection Workers 30

2.2.1.5 Lack of Social Awareness and Illegal Dumping 31

2.2.1.6 Absence of Regulations and/or Lack of Interest in Implementing Them 32

2.2.2 Consequences of Having Lower Waste Collection and Associated Open Dumping 32

2.2.2.1 Polluted Water Channels/Lakes/Rivers/Oceans 33

2.2.2.2 Flash Flooding During Rainy Seasons 34

2.2.2.3 Serious Health Hazards 35

2.3 Processing and Final Disposal 36

2.3.1 Problems with Landfilling in Both Developed and Developing Countries 39

2.3.2 Problems with Open Dumping – Only in Developing Countries 43

2.3.2.1 Water Pollution 43

2.3.2.2 Air Pollution 45

2.3.2.3 Safety and Operation 47

2.4 Composting 56

2.5 Recycling 56

2.6 Waste-to-Energy (WTE) 59

2.6.1 Case Study: Reppie Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Plant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 61

2.7 Summary of Current Challenges of Waste Management in Developing Countries 66

References 66

Chapter 3: Case Studies – SWIS Winter School Ambassadors 69

3.1. Bangladesh 71

3.1.1. Introduction 71

3.1.2. Collection 71

3.1.3. Processing and Recycling 72

3.1.4. Final Disposal 74

3.1.5. Major Problems 74

3.2 Brazil 78

3.2.1 Introduction 78

3.2.2 Collection 79

3.2.3 Processing and Recycling 79

3.2.4 Final Disposal 80

3.2.5 Major Problems 81

3.3 Colombia 84

3.3.1 Introduction 84

3.3.2 Collection 84

3.3.3 Processing and Recycling 85

3.3.4 Final Disposal 86

3.3.5 Major Problems 86

3.4 Ethiopia 89

3.4.1 Introduction 90

3.4.2 Collection 90

3.4.3 Processing and Recycling 93

3.4.4 Final Disposal 94

3.4.5 Major Problems 95

3.5 Georgia 99

3.5.1 Introduction 99

3.5.2 Collection 100

3.5.3 Processing and Recycling 100

3.5.4 Final Disposal 101

3.5.5 Major Problems 102

3.6 India 105

3.6.1 Introduction 106

3.6.2 Collection 106

3.6.2.1 Collection and Processing of Wastes 106

3.6.3 Processing and Recycling 107

3.6.4 Final Disposal 108

3.6.5 Major Problems 109

3.7 Lebanon 112

3.7.1 Introduction 112

3.7.2 Collection 113

3.7.3 Processing and Recycling 113

3.7.4 Final Disposal 115

3.7.5 Major Problems 116

3.8 Mexico 118

3.8.1 Introduction 118

3.8.2 Collection 120

3.8.3 Processing and Recycling 121

3.8.4 Final Disposal 122

3.8.5 Major Problems 124

3.9 Pakistan 127

3.9.1 Introduction 127

3.9.2 Collection 128

3.9.3 Processing and Recycling 129

3.9.4 Final Disposal 133

3.9.5 Major Problems 135

3.10 Portugal 139

3.10.1 Introduction 139

3.10.2 Collection 140

3.10.3 Processing and Recycling 140

3.10.4 Final Disposal 141

3.10.5 Major Problems 141

3.11 Serbia 145

3.11.1 Introduction 146

3.11.2 Collection 146

3.11.3 Processing and Recycling 147

3.11.4 Final Disposal 147

3.11.5 Major Problems 149

3.12 UAE 151

3.12.1 Introduction 152

3.12.2 Collection 152

3.12.3 Processing and Recycling 154

3.12.4 Final Disposal 155

3.12.5 Major Problems 156

3.13 Vietnam 158

3.13.1 Introduction 158

3.13.2 Collection 159

3.13.3 Processing and Recycling 160

3.13.4 Final Disposal 160

3.13.5 Major Problems 160

3.14 Summary 165

References 166

Chapter 4: Future Directions 173

4.1 Material Flow in Sustainable Waste Management System 180

4.2 Part A: Sustainable Waste Management Framework – Waste Collection 180

4.2.1 Creating Social Awareness of Importance of Waste Collection and Management 182

4.2.2 Mixed Waste vs. Source Separated Waste 184

4.2.3 Collection Vehicles 185

4.2.4 Creation of Different Zonings for City Waste Collection 186

4.2.5 Collection Time and Frequency 187

4.2.6 Training and Creating Skilled Manpower 187

4.3 Part B: Sustainable Waste Management Framework: Waste Processing and Recycling 188

4.3.1 Material Recovery Facility (MRF) 188

4.3.1.1 Immediate Impact of China Ban 190

4.3.2 The Impact of COVID-19 on Plastic Waste 192

4.3.2.1 Generation and Classification of COVID-19 Waste 193

4.3.2.2 Issues Pertaining to the Littering of COVID-19 Waste and their Consequences 198

4.3.3 Characteristics of Waste during COVID-19 (April to December 2020) (Aurpa 2021) 200

4.3.3.1 Characteristics of MSW 200

4.3.3.2 Plastic Waste Characterization 200

4.3.3.3 The Implication of Plastic Waste Increase on Landfill Life 202

4.3.4 Reuse of Plastic Waste in Engineering Applications 203

4.3.4.1 Case Study I – The Use of Recycled Plastics Pins (RPPs) for Highway Slope Stabilization 204

4.3.4.2 Case Study II: Plastic Road 211

4.3.5 Reuse of Recycled Food Waste: Composting 218

4.4 Part C: Sustainable Waste Management Framework – Disposal/Final Destination 222

4.4.1 Anaerobic Digester 222

4.4.1.1 UTA Research on Gas Production (Latif 2021) 228

4.4.2 Temporary Disposal (Biocell) 232

4.4.2.1 UTA Research on Gas Production: Laboratory-Scale Simulated Biocell Study 236

4.4.2.2 UTA Research on Gas Production: UTA Field-Scale Biocell Operation (Rahman 2018) 245

4.4.3 Landfill Mining of Biocell Operation 256

4.4.3.1 Feasibility Study of Landfill Mining in Texas 258

4.4.3.2 Case 1 –City of Denton Landfill in Texas, USA 259

4.4.3.3 Case 2 – City of Irving Landfill in Texas, USA 271

4.4.3.4 Reuse of Mined Biocell Materials 284

4.4.4 Waste-to-Energy as a Final Disposal Option 284

4.4.4.1 Sample Calculation 286

4.4.4.2 Lower Calorific Value of Overall Waste Mass 286

4.5 SMART Facilities Challenges and Opportunities – The Case of Ethiopia 288

4.5.1 Ethiopia Country Profile 289

4.5.2 SMART Facility in Ethiopia 291

4.6 Training and Human Capacity Building 294

4.6.1 Inception of Solid Waste Institute for Sustainability (SWIS) 295

4.6.2 Training and Educating Solid Waste Professionals – ISWA-SWIS Winter School 2016 297

4.6.2.1 Program Objectives 298

4.6.2.2 Planned Program Activities to Achieve Goals 299

4.6.2.3 Program Response 302

4.6.2.4 Future Continuation of the Program 304

References 306

Chapter 5: Decision Making for Sustainable Waste Management Systems 313

5.1 Small City – Bahir Dar, Ethiopia 315

5.1.1 Waste Characteristics 316

5.1.2 Existing Waste Management Practices and Problems for Decision Making 316

5.1.3 Proposed Sustainable Waste/Resource Management Approach 318

5.2 Medium City – Guwahati, India 321

5.2.1 Waste Characteristics 322

5.2.2 Existing Waste Management Practices and Problems for Decision Making 323

5.2.3 Proposed Sustainable Waste/Resource Management Approach 324

5.3 Large City – Bogotá, Colombia 327

5.3.1 Waste Characteristics 328

5.3.2 Existing Waste Management Practices and Problems for Decision Making 329

5.3.3 Proposed Sustainable Waste/Resource Management Approach 330

References 335

Chapter 6: Summary 337

Index 343