The document discusses the composition, types, and characteristics of municipal solid waste (MSW), emphasizing the importance of analysis for effective waste management planning. It provides insights into the sources of MSW, typical distribution of components, and methodologies for conducting field investigations and sampling. The analysis aims to identify material suitability for processing, recovery, and recycling while informing future management technologies.

1. COMPOSITION OF SOLID WASTE
Sources,Types,Composition,Sampling
and Characteristics of Solid Waste
Prof.Vaibhav D.Kamble
BE(Civil), ME(Civil- Environmental Engineering)

2. Need for Analysis
1. It provides a basic data on which management system
is planned, designed and operated
2. Changes/Trends in composition & quality of wastes are
known – Future Planning
3. Selection of equipment & appropriate technology
4. Indicates the amount and type of material suitable for
processing, recovery and recycling
5. Assist designers & manufacturers in the production of
vehicle and equipment suitable for future needs

3. Nature of Municipal Solid waste
 Organic( Combustible)
 Inorganic( Non- Combustible)
 Putrescible
 Recyclable
 Hazardous
 Infectious

4. Composition of Municipal Solid Waste
 Composition- Individual components that makes up
 Usually based on percent by weight
 Important in evaluating equipment needs, systems,
management programs and plans
 The residential and commercial waste- 50-75%
 The actual percentage distribution will depend on
1. Extent of construction and demolition activities
2. Types of water & wastewater treatments used
3. Extent of municipal services provided

5. Estimated distribution of all Components of MSW generated in a typical Community
excluding industrial & agricultural waste
Sr.No Waste Category Range Typic
al
1 Residential and commercial, excluding special and hazardous
wastes
50-75 62
2 Special (Bulky items, consumer electronics, white goods ,
yard waste collected separately, batteries, oils & tyres
3-12 5
3 Hazardous 0.01-1 0.1
4 Institutional 3-5 3.4
5 Construction and demolition 8-20 14
6 Municipal services
Street & alley cleaning 2-5 3.8
Tree and Landscaping 2-5 3
Parks & recreational areas 1.5-3 2
Catch basin 0.5-1.2 0.7
7 Treatment Plant Sludges 3-8 6

6. Typical Physical Composition of Residential
MSW excluding recycled materials and food
wastes discharged with Wastewater

7. Sr.
No
Component Range Typical Packaging Material
1 Organic
Food waste 6-18 9
Paper 25-40 34
Cardboard 3-10 6 50-60
Plastics 4-10 7 12-16
Textiles 0-4 2
Rubber 0-2 0.5
Leather 0-2 0.5
Yard Wastes 5-20 18.5
Wood 1-4 2 4-8
Mis.organics - -
2 Inorganic
Glass 4-12 8 20-30
Tin cans 2-8 6 6-8
Aluminium 0-1 0.5 2-4
Other metal 1-4 3
Dirt,ash etc 0-6 3

8. Typical Distribution of Components in
residential MSW for Low, middle & upper
income countries excluding recycled
materials

9. Sr.
No
Component LIC MIC UIC
1 Organic
Food waste 40-85 20-65 6-30
Paper 1-10 8-30 20-45
Cardboard 1-10 8-30 5-15
Plastics 1-5 2-6 2-8
Textiles 1-5 2-10 2-6
Rubber 1-5 1-4 0-2
Leather 1-5 1-4 0-2
Yard Wastes 1-5 1-10 10-20
Wood 1-5 1-10 1-4
Mis.organics - - -
2 Inorganic
Glass 1-10 1-10 4-12
Tin cans 2-8
Aluminium 1-5 1-5 0-1
Other metal 1-4
Dirt,ash etc 1-40 1-30 0-10

10. Field of the composition of MSW in the field/Investigations/Determination of
percentage distribution of waste components in the field
 Heterogeneous nature – composition not an easy task
 Field investigations – obtaining data on solid waste
1. Weighing of vehicle at the disposal site
2. Sorting of waste at disposal site
3. Visiting institutional and Industrial sites

11. 1.Weighing of vehicle at the disposal site
 Weighing of loaded & unloaded vehicle with a weighing
scale or weighbridge-20,000kg
 Weighing – carried out daily at the disposal site to
determine the average weight
 Shift system
 The waste measured at the disposal site do not include
1. Waste salvaged at the site of generation
2. Waste disposed off in unauthorized places
3. Waste salvaged by the collectors
4. Waste salvaged at the disposal site

13. 2.Sorting of waste at disposal site
 Sorting – manually, each sample size-100-150kg
 This process separates the waste into various
components, each component is weighed separately
 Equipment used for this purpose includes
1. A sorting table(3m*1.5m)
2. A measuring box(1m*0.5m*1m)
3. Bins or boxes of about 60 liters capacity
4. A platform weighing machine
5. This procedure may not be feasible in developing
countries

16. 3.Visiting institutional and Industrial sites
 To identify waste being generated and disposal methods
being used

18. Composition Studies
 Materials Flow
 Manual Sorting

19. Manual Sorting Methodology
 Study Planning
 Sample Plan
 Sampling Procedure
 Data Interpretation

20. Sample Plan
 Load Selection
 Number of Samples

21. Sampling Procedure
 Vehicle Unloading
 Sample Selection and Retrieval
 Container Preparation
 Sample Placement
 Sorting

22. Waste contents are
unloaded for sorting

23. Appropriate mass of material is
selected randomly

24. Each load is separated manually by component
example - Wood, concrete, plastic, metal, etc.

25. Components are separated

27. Each component is weighed and weights
recorded

30. Data Interpretation
 Weighted Average based on Source
Composition/Distribution
 Collection of data

31. Number of samples to be collected
 Solid waste- heterogeneous
 Samples obtained from the same sampling point in a day
(24Hr)-variation
 Hence the method by which sample is collected & the
number of sample collected is important
 Large number of sample- waste of resources
 Small number of samples – decreases the accuracy

32. Number of samples to be collected
 A method of determining number of samples – suggested
by – Dennis E. Carruth & Albert J. Klee(1969)

33. Number of samples to be collected
 Since the % of one constituent differs greatly from the
others – data follows a multinomial distribution
 So the data is subjected to a normalizing
transformation by using arcsin function
 Y=2arcsin√X
Where
X=original percentage value of a component expressed as
decimal
Y= transformed value of X

34. Number of samples to be collected
 To determine the number of samples required for
composition analysis following formula is used
 N=(ZSδ)²
 Where N=number of samples
Z= standard normal deviate for confidence level desired
(normally 95%)
S= estimated standard deviation ( transformed basis)
δ= sensitivity (transformed basis)
δ=[2arcsin √X- 2arcsin√X+-∆]

35. Samples to be collected for various constituents
Sr.
No
Constituent Expected
Range%
SD ∆ δ
lower
δupper N
Lowe
r
N Upper
1 Paper 3-6 0.0742 0.01 0.0545 0.0405 7 12
2 Rubber 0.3-0.8 0.0298 0.001 0.017 0.0109 12 29
3 Glass 0.3-0.9 0.0285 0.001 0.017 0.01 11 31
4 Metals 0.3-0.8 0.0277 0.001 0.017 0.0109 10 25
5 Compostab
le Matter
30-60 0.1766 0.1 0.199 0.166 3 4
6 Inert 40-60 0.0731 0.1 0.184 0.166 1 2

36.  The number of samples for any chemical parameter can
be determined by using this method
 Collection of sample basic aim- the sample size –
economy and precision

37. Collection of samples of solid waste
 Site for collecting sample for MSW – to cover a large
population size
 Based on the type of area- sampling points are
distributed all over the study area
 Sampling points – Economic status of population
 Approx.10 kg of sample is collected from each of 10
points from outside & inside of a heap
 Mixed thoroughly and subsequently reduced by method
of quartering
 Subjected to physical analysis- chemical analysis(10-12kg
packed in plastic bag-lab)
 Waste from industry and institution

38. Types of Materials recovered from MSW
1. Aluminium-Aluminum can,secondary aluminium
2. Paper-old newspaper, cardboard,high grade paper &
mixed paper
3. Plastics
4. Glass-container glass, flat glass, pressed or amber or
green glass most common in MSW
5. Ferrous metals(Iron & steel)
6. Non Ferrous metals-
7. Yard waste collected separately – composting of
organic fraction- becoming more popular
8. Construction and demolition waste

42. Future changes in waste composition
 4 waste components that have an important influence on
the composition of waste-
1. Food waste,
2. Paper and cardboard,
3. Yard waste and
4. Plastic