title: Characterization of municipal solid waste in high-altitude sub-tropical regions.
abstract: Solid waste management (SWM) is one of the most challenging issues owing to lack of authentic data on different elements of SWM, namely, storage, collection, transportation, separation, processing and disposal. This study presents an assessment of existing status of SWM in conjunction with municipal solid waste (MSW) generation rates, physical and chemical characterization of MSW in high-altitude sub-tropical regions. Weighing of empty and fully loaded trucks per trip revealed total quantity of MSW collected. The average efficiency of MSW collection was 70%. From the baseline data, it is inferred that the population and MSW generation rates are not co-related. The collected MSW included biodegradables (organic wastes), paper, plastic, glass, ceramics, metals, inert materials, ash and debris. The data analysis indicated that the biodegradable components dominate the characterization at 54.83% followed by inert, ash and debris at 21.06%, paper at 8.77%, plastic at 8.18%, glass and ceramics at 4.45% and metals at 2.71%. Statistical measures were also applied and 90% confidence interval (CI) was generated for the characterization data measuring its statistical significance.
authors.affiliation: a Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Division , Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) , Nagpur , Maharashtra , India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: a Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Division , Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) , Nagpur , Maharashtra , India.
authors.forename: Hiya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dhar
authors.affiliation: a Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Division , Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) , Nagpur , Maharashtra , India.
authors.forename: Vijay V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: a Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Division , Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) , Nagpur , Maharashtra , India.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Bhattacharyya
authors.affiliation: a Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Division , Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) , Nagpur , Maharashtra , India.
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Vaidya
authors.affiliation: b Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) , Delhi , India.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Akolkar
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D004777:Environment; D007194:India; D062611:Solid Waste; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: High altitude; composition; elemental analysis; quantification; solid waste management