Rapid Waste Composition Studies for the Assessment of Solid Waste Management Systems in Developing Countries Max J Krause and Timothy G Townsend * Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA * Corresponding author: Timothy G Townsend, Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA, Tel: (352) 392-0846; Fax: (352) 392-3394; E-mail: ttown@ufl.edu Received date: March 28, 2014; Accepted date: May 05, 2014; Published date: May 12, 2014 Copyright: ©2014 Townsend TG, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract A methodology for the rapid assessment of waste composition was assessed by examining municipal solid waste from five rural communities throughout Central America and the Caribbean. Target waste components were minimized and a sieve-shaker table was employed to maximize the quantity of waste that could be sorted in an efficient and timely manner. Food waste (along with other fine materials) was the largest component by weight, but plastics represented a major fraction. To illustrate potential utility of composition study results, the data were used to estimate the methane generation potential, L 0 , of each municipality’s waste stream. While the approach does not provide the statistical rigor of more standardized waste composition methodologies, the technique does provide a tool for rapid assessment of local waste characteristics. Keywords: Waste composition; Food waste; Landfill; Central America; Haiti; Methane potential Introduction Adequate solid waste management systems (SWMS) have lagged in developing countries behind other infrastructure needs. Rural municipalities, in particular, do not have the resources to construct and maintain the infrastructure that supports the use of conventional waste collection vehicles. While rural municipalities are often legally responsible for municipal solid waste (MSW) collection for all residents, the burden often falls to informal businesses. Without formal contracts or established liabilities, collectors often dispose of the waste wherever they can [1,2]. In many cases, an unmanaged dump site is established over several years or decades. While this creates a single, isolated source of pollution, it also concentrates the liquid and gaseous emissions. Furthermore, as technology advances and social habits change, waste composition changes. Whereas most of the waste dumped twenty years ago in rural areas may have been predominantly organic and biodegradable, the proliferation of plastics, electronics, and other environmentally persistent materials within current waste streams warrant modern SWMS. To address the problems posed from sub-standard waste disposal, rural communities are often urged to implement more sustainable SWMS, both by national regulations and by outside parties. Challenges to implementing more sustainable practices include limited financial resources and the need to match an appropriate technology to the region’s specific waste characteristics. Accurate waste composition data can be a crucial tool for selecting an appropriate waste management approach; the relative fractions of food waste, plastics, metals, and other components dictate the viability of technologies such as composting, anaerobic digestion, thermal energy recovery, and recycling. Such data are often lacking in developing countries [3–6], and even rarer in rural areas [7,8]. The cost and nature of the studies can be prohibitive to small and local governments, as they are typically performed over a period of multiple days or weeks, and sampling events are repeated throughout the year [9–11]. The largest direct cost of a composition study is attributed to labor, which typically requires 4 to 12 operators as well as a supervisor [9,12]. The work presented in this paper was motivated by challenges the authors faced as part of several efforts providing assistance to rural communities on waste management issues. Some estimate of the composition of the local waste stream was desired, but time and resources were not available for a complete waste composition study. Over several trips, a protocol was developed that allowed a quick evaluation of a municipality’s waste stream in a single sampling event. A description and assessment of this procedure are presented within to provide benefit to others interested in similar activities. Results of composition studies from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras are described, and the utility of the results are illustrated by estimating the MSW methane potential, L 0 (m 3 CH 4 /Mg MSW) of the different communities and through evaluating the occurrence of plastics in each waste stream. Other challenges with respect to waste collection and management in the subject communities are also discussed to provide a broader context of issues to the reader. Materials and Methods Site Descriptions Rapid waste composition studies were performed on six waste streams in five rural towns across Central America from 2010 to 2013 as part of an on-going effort by the authors to assess current waste management practices in developing countries and assist local communities. As illustrated in Figure 1, the locations included Nosara, Costa Rica; Tactic and San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala; Cabaret, Haiti; and Villa de San Francisco, Honduras. The waste streams examined in the study were market or residential waste as indicated in Table 1. The local markets were the primary sources of commerce within the communities. As such, large amounts of waste were generated weekly at these central locations. International Journal of Waste Resources Krause MJ and Townsend TG, Int J Waste Resources 2014, 4:2 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2252-5211.1000145 Research Article Open Access Int J Waste Resources ISSN:2252-5211 IJWR, an open access journal Volume 4 • Issue 2 • 1000145