A baseline study characterizing the municipal solid waste in the State of Kuwait

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 952 - 960
• Main Authors: Al-Jarallah, Rawa, Aleisa, Esra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Applied sciences; Data Collection; Exact sciences and technology; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Kuwait; Municipal solid waste; Other wastes and particular components of wastes; Pollution; Regression; Regression Analysis; Solid Waste - analysis; Statistical analysis; Urban and domestic wastes; Waste characterization; Waste composition; Wastes; Kuwait; Asia; Waste composition; Regression; Statistical analysis; Kuwait; Waste characterization; Municipal solid waste; Solid waste; Organic waste; Organic matter; Seasonal variation; Urban waste
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.02.015

•The average municipal waste for the last 5years was found to be 1.01kg/capitaday.•Organic waste dominates with 44.4%, followed by film 11.2%.•Season held a significant effect on waste composition.•Since 1995, waste categories proportions have been significantly changed. This paper provides a new reference line for municipal solid waste characterization in Kuwait. The baseline data were collected in accordance with the Standard Test Method for the Determination of the Composition of Unprocessed Municipal Solid Waste (ASTM). The results indicated that the average daily municipal waste generation level is 1.01kg/person. Detailed waste stream surveys were conducted for more than 600 samples of municipal solid waste (MSW). The waste categories included paper, corrugated fibers, PET bottles, film, organic matter, wood, metal, glass, and others. The results indicated that organic waste dominated the characterization (44.4%), followed by film (11.2%) and then corrugated fibers (8.6%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to investigate the influence of season and governorate on waste composition. A significant seasonal variation was observed in almost all waste categories. In addition, significant differences in proportions between the current level and 1995 baseline were observed in most waste categories at the 95% confidence level.