Valorisation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste

The appropriate selection of treatment or final disposal for municipal solid waste generated by a population depends on multiple characteristics; decision-making becomes a challenge for those responsible for its integral management. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate multi-scenarios of valorisation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. The methodology used included a sample of 421 houses to determine the generation and composition of the aforementioned municipal solid waste; this data served as input to be able to design four treatment and final disposal scenarios: current situation, composting, anaerobic digestion and landfill. The parameters of humidity, biochemical methane potential and biogas were used. In addition, organic fraction variability and treatment cost were considered. Data analysis included design of experiments with the uncertainty coefficient and predictive equations. The results showed that composting was the scenario that presented the highest coefficient of determination and therefore it would be the best choice to fit the particular conditions of the localities. It is concluded that this applied methodology can be used as a tool in the decision-making process regarding the valorisation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and can be replicated at a national and international level.