CHAPTER 3

3.1 Quantification of
waste

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

The quantities of MSW generated in a community
may be estimated by one of three techniques: input
analysis, secondary data analysis, or output analysis.
Input analysis estimates MSW based on use of a
number of products.
For example, if 100,000 cans of soft drinks are sold
each week in a particular community, the MSW,
including litter, can be expected to include 100,000
aluminum cans per week.
week
The estimation techniques is highly inaccurate except
in small and isolated communities.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

Secondary data may be used to estimate solid waste
production by some empirical relationship.
For example, one study (Shell and Shure, 1972)
concluded that solid waste generation could be
predicted as
W = 0.01795S 0.00376F 0.00322D + 0.0071P
0.0002L + 44.7,
Where W = wasted generated (tons), S = number of
stops made by the MSW pickup truck
truck, F = number of
families served, D = number of single family
dwellings, P = population, and L = adjusted income
per dwelling unit (dollars)

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

Models like this one are inherently inaccurate and
may have no general application.
When possible, solid waste generation should be
measured by output analysis
analysis, that is
is, by weighing the
refuse dumped at the disposal site, either with truck
scales or with portable wheeled scales.
Daily weight of refuse varies with the day of the
week and the week of the year.
Weather conditions also affect refuse weight,
weight since
moisture content can vary between 15 to 30%.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

If every truckload cannot be weighed, statistical
methods must be used to estimate the total quantity
from sample truckload weights.
The best method for estimating waste quantity is to
install permanent scales at disposal facilities and
weigh every truck on the way in and again on the
way out.
An increasing number of solid waste disposal
facilities are equipped with scales
scales, but many landfills
still are not.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

In the US, facilities without scales record incoming
waste in cubic yards and charge tipping fees by the
cubic yard.
Since estimating the volume of waste in closed or
covered vehicle or container is difficult, the volume
recorded is usually the capacity of the vehicle or
container.
For the reasons previously stated, expressing waste
quantity in tons is preferable to cubic yards
yards.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

This conversion is conceptually simple, as shown in
the following equation:
M = VD/2000
Where,
M = mass off waste in tons, V = volume
off
h
l
waste in cubic yards and D = density of waste in
pounds per cubic yard.
If the density is expressed in tons per cubic yard,
dividing by 2000 is unnecessary.
Although simple conceptually, converting cubic yards
to tons can be difficult in practice.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

The density of solid waste varies from one type of
waste to another, from one type of vehicle to
another, and even among collection crews.
In small waste streams
streams, local conditions can cause
the overall density of MSW, as received at disposal
facilities, to vary from 250 to 800 lb/cu yd.
A conversion factor of 3.0 to 3.3 cu yd/tn (600 to 667
lb/cu yd) is reasonable for both MSW and bulky
waste in many large waste streams; however
however, this
conversion factor may not be reasonable for a
particular waste streams.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

At disposal facilities without permanent scales,
environmental engineers can use portable scales to
develop a better estimate of the tons of waste being
delivered.
delivered
Selected trucks are weighed, and environmental
engineers use the results to estimate the overall
weight of the waste stream.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

Portable truck scales are available in three basic
configurations:
(1) platforms scales designed to accommodate entire
vehicles (or trailers)
trailers),
(2) axle scales designed to accommodate one axle or
a pair of tandem axles at a time, and
(3) wheel scales designed to be used in pairs to
accommodate one axle or a pair of tandem axles at a
time.
time

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

Axle scales can be used singly or in pairs.
Similarly, either one or two pairs of wheel scales can
be used.
When
h a single
l axle
l scale
l off a single
l pair off wheel
h l
scales is used, adding the results for individual axles
yields the weight of the vehicle.
Platform scales are the easiest to use, but the cost
can be prohibitive.
The use of wheel scales tends to be difficult and time
consuming.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

The cost of axle scales is similar to that of wheel
scales, and axle scales are easier to use than wheel
scales.
The use of a pair of portable axle scales is
recommended in the Municipal solid waste survey
protocol prepared for the U.S EPA.
Regardless of what type of scale is used, a solid base
that does not become soft in wet weather is
required.
required

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

Truck weighing surveys, like other waste
characterization field studies, are typically conducted
during all hours that a disposal facility is open during
a full operating week.
A full week is used because the variation in waste
characteristics is greater among the hours of a day
and among the days of a week than among the
weeks of a month.
Also, spreading the days of field work out over
several weeks is substantially more expensive.
A truck weighing survey should be conducted during
at least two weeks one week during the period of
minimum waste generation and one week during the
period of maximum waste generation.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

One week during each season of the year is
preferable.
Holiday weeks should be avoided.
i hi allll trucks
k entering
i the
h di
ili iis
Weighing
disposall ffacility
rarely possible, so a method of truck selection must
be chosen.
A conceptually simple approach is to weight every nth
truck (for example, every 5th truck) that delivers
waste to the facility.
facility
This approach assumes that the trucks weighed
represent all trucks arriving at the facility.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

The total waste tonnage can be estimated with the
following equation:
W = T (w/t)
Where
W = the
delivered
h
h totall weight
h off the
h waste d
l
d to
the facility, T = the total number of trucks that
delivered waste to the facility, w = the total weight of
the trucks that were weighed and t = the number of
trucks that were weighed.
This approach is suited to a facility that receives a
fairly constant flow of trucks.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

Unfortunately, the rate at which trucks arrive at most
facilities fluctuates during the operating day.
A weighing crew targeting every nth truck will miss
trucks during the busy parts of the day and be idle at
other times
times.
Missing trucks during the busy parts of the day can
bias the results; the trucks that arrive at these times
tend to be curbside collection trucks, which have a
distinctive range of weights.
Also, having a crew and its equipment stand idle at
slow times while waiting for the nth truck to arrive
reduces the amount of data collected, which reduces
the statistical value of the overall results.

Quantities of Municipal Solid Waste

A better approach is to weigh as many trucks as
possible during the operating day, keeping track of
the total number of trucks that deliver waste during
each hour
hour.