Methodology to design a municipal solid waste generation and composition map: a case study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science and Engineering
• Urban Planning
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Background:

• Effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management is crucial for public health, environmental protection, and resource preservation.
• Waste generation and composition patterns are influenced by socio-economic factors and vary geographically and temporally.
• Lack of organized data hinders efficient MSW management planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a structured methodology for designing municipal solid waste (MSW) management plans tailored to available data.
• To provide a framework for local authorities and private companies to develop their own MSW management strategies.
• To integrate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for visualizing and interpreting waste data.

Main Methods:

• Developed a structured methodology for MSW management planning.
• Proposed two approaches: a direct method for detailed data and an indirect method using bibliographic data.
• Integrated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to generate thematic maps for data visualization.

Main Results:

• The methodology successfully organizes waste generation and composition data.
• Thematic maps generated using GIS enhance the interpretability of waste data.
• The approach was successfully applied to a Spanish town, demonstrating its practical utility.

Conclusions:

• The proposed methodology provides a valuable tool for municipal solid waste (MSW) management planning.
• GIS integration facilitates efficient decision-making in waste management, including route optimization and selective collection.
• The structured approach supports tailored MSW management plans based on data availability.