Income and economic growth have impact on the composition of garbages. High-income earners consume more packaged products, which result in a higher percentage of inorganic materials – metals, plastics, glass, and textile. Garbage characteristics vary according to season, income level, population, social behaviour, climate, and industrial production, the size of markets for garbage materials and the extent of urbanization, effectiveness of recycling, and work reduction. In some places, because of non-uniformity of collection methods, the environmental agencies do not provide separate solid garbage management for the six classification of solid garbage. The majority of substances composing municipal solid garbage include paper, vegetable matter, plastics, metals, textile, rubber and glass. But we can easily know that great majority of the total solid garbage generated in the city is organic. The high level of reuse of recyclable garbage reflects the extent of poverty in the developing countries.
In developing countries, garbage stream is over 50% organic material. Studies in Bandung, Indonesia and Colombia, Sri Lanka have found residential garbage composed of 78% and 81% compostable material, and market garbage 89% and 90% compostable, respectively.
How does this commingled garbage get sorted? Currently, there are MRF for centralized sorting, which is a pre-processing step of the garbage management system. Garbage sorting plant can effectively sort garbage and improve the operation of subsequent waste treatment system while increasing efficiency. For more information on garbage sorting plants, please contact STAVN.
