Report number: R1

A
REPORT
ON
OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

SUBMITTED TO
DR. ISHWOR BAJRACHARYA
DR. NAWARAJ BHATTARAI
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
PULCHOWK CAMPUS
IOE, PULCHOWK

SUBMITTED BY
KUSHAL SHRESTHA
069-BME-622

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

PULCHOWK CAMPUS
IOE, PULCHOWK

MARCH 25, 2016

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF FIGURES AND TABLES..................................................................................................II
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................................II
1

INTRODUCTION:........................................................................................................................1

THEORY.......................................................................................................................................1

2.1

Aspects of SWM System.......................................................................................................1

2.2

Factors Affecting SWM.........................................................................................................3

CURRENT SCENARIO................................................................................................................4
3.1

Waste Generation...................................................................................................................4

3.2

Waste Management................................................................................................................6

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS..........................................................................................7

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................8

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

TABLE OF FIGURES AND TABLE

Figure 1: Waste Generation...................................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Source of Waste in KMC (2004)............................................................................................5
Figure 3: Source of Waste in KMC (2009)............................................................................................5
Figure 4: Types of Solid Waste Disposal Method in Municipalities of Nepal........................................6
Y
Table 1: Comparison of Source of Waste in KMC.................................................................................5

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ADB

Asian Development Bank

KMC :

Kathmandu Metropolitan City

LSMC :

Lalitpur Sub- Metropolitan City

SWM :

Solid Waste Management

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

INTRODUCTION:
Solid waste is defined as all the solid and semisolid materials discarded by a community
e.g. garbage, food waste, etc.
Waste Generation encompasses all the activities in which waste, be it solid or semi-solid
material, no longer has sufficient economic value for its possessor to retain it. Waste is
generated in each step of production.
Waste Management refers to the control of waste generation, its storage, collection,
transfer and transport, processing and disposal in a manner that is in accordance with the
best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, public
attitude and other environmental considerations.

THEORY

2.1

Aspects of SWM System

I.
Storage:
Waste storage encompasses proper containers to store wastes and efficient transport
of wastes without any spillage to transfer stations/ disposal sites.
i.
Containers:
- used for storage of wastes at the site of generation until they are collected.
- desirable characteristics: low cost, size, weight, shape, resistance to corrosion,
water tightness, strength and durability.
- 100-200 m between each container (source: nptel)
ii.

II.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

Collection Vehicles:
- must be selected according to terrain, type and density of waste
points, route and kind of material
e.g.: small scale, non-compactor trucks, and compactor

generation

Collection:
Includes the gathering of wastes and transporting of wastes to transfer stations and/or
disposal sites
Factors:
Collection points
Collection frequency
Storage containers
Collection crew
Collection route
Transfer station

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

III.

Transfer and Transport:

The transport of waste after collection, from the collection sites to the processing
area or dump site. It also includes the transport process from generation area up to
the collection area
Transfer station is provided for separation of usable waste. This also serves as an
intermediary between different collection sites and the common disposal site.

IV.

Processing:
Processing is done to achieve the best possible benefit from every functional element
of the SWM system. The wastes that are considered suitable for further use, are
processed to derive maximum economical value from them
Processing can also be done to facilitate disposal.
Various methods of processing are:
Volume reduction or compaction
Size reduction or shredding
Component separation
Drying

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
V.

Recovery and Recycling:

Recycling is the process of utilizing the waste as raw material for a new product.It
can help in reducing the amount of waste. It is done to prevent waste of potentially
useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, energy usage, air
pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by decreasing the
need for "conventional" waste disposal and lowering greenhouse gas emissions
compared to plastic production.
Recovery is the process of extracting the usable part of waste in the form of energy,
or material

VI.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.

Disposal:
Disposal is the final element in all the SWM systems. All types of waste, even after
treatment needs to be disposed
Various disposal techniques are:
Uncontrolled dumping or non-engineered disposal
Sanitary landfill
Composting
Incineration
Gasification
Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)
Pyrolysis

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

The disposal techniques are selected on the basis of the following criteria:
Technical
Institutional
Financial
Social
Environmental

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

2.2

Factors Affecting SWM

I.
Quantity and Characteristics of Wastes:
One measure of characteristic of waste is its density. A high density reflects a
relatively high proportion of organic matter and moisture and lower levels of
recycling.

II.

Climate and Seasonal Variations:

Higher temperature and humidity means faster decomposition. So frequency of waste
collection needs to be higher in high temperature and humid climates.

III.

Physical Characteristics of Urban Area:

The physical characteristics of an area like the accessibility of roads determine the
appropriate mode of method of SWM. The nature and size of roads for example will
determine the nature of collection; hand carriage in narrow road and large trucks in
main roads.

IV.

Cultural Constrains:
There is a tradition of caste for labor to be drawn from a certain sections of
population. Social norms may override the rational solutions. People of so called
higher class hesitate to work in the field of SWM.

V.

Management And Technical Resources:

The resources available at the disposal of the governing body such as available
manpower, budget and other resources like dustbins, collector trucks determine the
SWM system employed.

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

3
3.1

CURRENT SCENARIO
Waste Generation
According to ADB, a survey conducted in 2012, in all 58 municipalities found that
317 grams per capita per day of waste was generated.
According to the findings of the Environment Statistics of Nepal 2013 published by
the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for the fiscal year 2012-2013:

Total amount of wastes generated by the 58 municipalities was around 670

metric tons per day

KMC alone generated 457 metric tons of solid waste per day

Of which, 63.2 percent is organic while plastic, paper, and glass

constitute 10.8, 9 and 5.4 percent of the solid waste respectively

After Kathmandu, the top five solid waste generators among the 58
municipalities are: Pokhara, Lalitpur, Kalaiya, Dharan and Butwal, which
generate 83, 65, 52.1, 50.2 and 47 metric tons of solid waste per day respectively

Lowest quantities were generated at Waling, Dipayal, Triyuga, Ramgram and

Baglung
The data for fiscal year 2006-2007 for KMC was 29.9 metric tons per day and for
fiscal year 2009-2010 was 318.4 tons per day

Figure 1: Waste Generation

(Source: ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS OF NEPAL 2013)

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

2004

From VDCs; 9%

From V

Street; 9%

Street; 10

Institutional; 9%
Commercial; 9%

Commercial; 1
Household; 63%

Figure 2: Source of Waste in KMC (2004)

Figure 3: Sour

(Source: ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS OF NEPAL 2013)

Year
2004
2012

Household
Waste
200
339

Commercial
Waste
30
51

(Source: ENVIRONM

Institutional
Waste
30
0

Street
Waste
30
51

Table 1: Comparison of Source of Waste in KMC

(Source: ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS OF NEPAL 2013)

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

3.2

Waste Management
30% of surveyed household in municipalities separate waste
Collection efficiency ranges from 70 to 90 percent, for KMC 85%
Collection modes: Container service, door-to-door collection, and roadside pickup
from open piles or containers
Transport modes:

rickshaws, carts for primary collection

Tractor for secondary collection

Dump trucks for transport to disposal sites

Transfer sites are not available in major municipalities except KMC, Lalitpur, and
Madhyapur Thimi; transfer station for KMC and LSMC : Teku
For Kathmandu and Lalitpur, a sanitary landfill site at Sisdol, Okharpauwa was
constructed operated as a sanitary landfill site in the early stage of operation,
although currently it is not operated as a sanitary landfill site.
The household waste composition survey revealed that more than 25% of household
waste and a much higher proportion of institutional and commercial waste could be
either reused or recycled
No formal system for recycling exists
Informal and source recycling is present(scrap dealers)
Composting is done in 30% of surveyed household

Figure 4: Types of Solid Waste Disposal Method in Municipalities of Nepal

(Source: Asian Development Bank)

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The current methods of waste disposal are inefficient. The open dumping technique
which is very common can make the waste a disease vector which transmits various
types of disease and also shelter pests and rodents. This can also cause various types of
pollution like air, soil, water, etc. The lack of recovery and recycling means a large
volume of waste needs to be disposed and some potentially useful material is also lost in
the waste. The current disposal technique of landfill site has also failed. The landfill site
has been filled past its capacity and has been extended for temporary relief but the
problem is set to persist if other concrete efforts are not made.
So a better system is required. It should incline with the 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle)
principle to reduce generation and aid proper management of waste. Also to reduce the
waste that is produced, segregation followed by proper disposal techniques tailed to each
component should be applied, e.g.: bio digestion for organic waste, incineration for
inorganic waste. The system should however not contribute to further pollution (of
another kind) e.g. incineration can cause air pollution. So, proper designed systems with
proper pollution control measure must be employed.

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

REFERENCES
ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS OF NEPAL2013. Kathmandu: Central Bureau of Statistics , 2013.
Nptel:: Environmental Science- Municipal Solid Waste Management. 20 June 2012.
<www.nptel.ac.in>.
Recycling. n.d. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling>.
Solid Waste Management in Nepal: Current Status and Policy Recommendations. Mandaluyong
City: Asian Development Bank, 2013.