Source separation, characterization and recycling potential of household solid waste: A case study of Kumasi, Ghana.

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Date
2013
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Abstract
A person stops generating waste only when he or she is in a state to be disposed of as waste (Adogame, 2009). As the generation of solid waste in Kumasi increases continuously with economic growth, the importance of recycling and other waste recovery options become more apparent in order to prolong the lifespan of the only existing landfill. This study was undertaken to assess the willingness of households in low and middle income communities in Kumasi to separate household waste at source as well as the set out rate and efficiency at which the households can separate the waste into the desired categories in order to evaluate the potential of households to sort out uncontaminated solid waste for waste recovery options including recycling and composting. Parameters such as waste generation (kg/capita/day), waste composition and bulk density of solid waste were also considered. The recorded data was modelled to ascertain the possibility of predicting the per capita generation of waste using the household size as the independent variable. Households willing to source separate waste were given differently coloured bags and their solid wastes collected, sorted into components with the weight and volume measured. The separation efficiencies were taken into account. Over 70% of respondents in both groups were willing to separate waste at source. The solid waste generation rates were 0.407kg/capita/day and 0.578kg/capita/day for low and middle income groups respectively. The findings show that income levels influence solid waste generation as a result of differences in consumption patterns. The wastes were sorted into six fractions of which the highest constituent was organic, 62% on average. Separation efficiencies were highest in the organic category (over 70%), followed by other wastes category (over 69%), and the paper and plastics category (over 60%).The findings show a highly efficient source separation programme significantly enhances the recycling potential of recyclables in the waste stream whiles the high organic separation efficiencies could help recover majority of the organic waste in the waste stream for composting purposes. Regression analysis of modelled data showed a significant positive relationship between the per capita generation of solid waste and the household size. The results indicate that household size could be an important tool to predict the per capita generation of solid waste, in addition to other social, cultural and economic parameters.
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A thesis submitted to The Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation,
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