Improvement of waste management practices in a fast expanding sub-megacity in Pakistan, on the basis of qualitative and quantitative indicators. (15th February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ali, Mustafa; Geng, Yong; Robins, Dawn; Cooper, Dave; Roberts, Will; Vogtländer, Joost
• Is Part Of: Waste management. Volume 85(2019)
• Page Start: 253
• Page End: 263
• Publication Date: 2019-02-15
• Subjects: Waste management -- Household waste -- Integrated waste management -- Continuous improvement -- Greenhouse gas emissions -- Low carbon development; Hazardous wastes -- Periodicals; Refuse and refuse disposal -- Periodicals; 363.728
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2018.12.030
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-053X

Abstract

Highlights: Comprehensive indicators were used to rank municipal waste management in a major city. Carbon emissions from three different household waste disposal scenarios were assessed. Emissions determined for 4 different household groups across 3 different seasons. Integrated waste disposal systems resulted in least amount of emissions. Abstract: This paper deals with an analysis of waste management practices in the fast-growing city of Gujranwala with 2.6 million inhabitants, with a fast growing middle income group of 56%, and an urbanization rate of 3.49% per annum. This city is like many other cities in the developing world, characterised by hardly any waste management infrastructure. The study comprises: (1) an inventory of current waste flows, per income group as well as per season, (2) an inventory of waste management shortcomings, (3)) a what-if analysis on the carbon footprint of three waste treatment techniques. The inventory of current waste flows is based on a comprehensive site study involving 776 samples in total. The waste management shortcomings have been qualitatively analysed by Wasteaware model, which deals with physical aspects (public health, environmental control, resource management) as well as governance factors (user & provider inclusivity, financial stability, institutions & policies). The what-if analysis of the carbon footprint has been based on an LCA-based tool. The findings of this study are that: (1) the optimum choice of waste treatment scenario differs for the seasons, (2) the high and middle income groups have nearly half of the share of the waste (3) the Wasteaware system appears to be a powerful tool to communicate the weak spots and to make stakeholders aware of the opportunities for improvement. The novelty of this paper is that it focused on the impact of household income groups in combination with seasonal differences while comparing different waste disposal scenarios.