Comparative study of municipal solid waste generation and composition in Shiraz city (2014)

Background: Exponential growths of population and urbanization, and the development of social economy have resulted in an increase in the amount of MSW generation throughout the world. Objective: The present study aimed to survey qualitative and quantitative analysis of solid waste in Shiraz city and comparative these results with the world scenario of solid wastes generation for improving the sustainable management of solid waste. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 in nine municipality regions Shiraz with a total population of approximately 1,549,354 people. Basic data was gathered through Shiraz waste management organization. Then generation (per capita) and constituent percent of the solid waste were evaluated based on the sampling and field analyzing from reliable guidelines. Data were analyzed with Stata-13 and Excel statistical software. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test used for the normality of variables. Means were compared by Student T test and Mann-Whitney test. Findings: The rate of solid waste generated in the Shiraz city was 222.65 kg per person per year in 2014. Statistical analysis showed that the variables of organic materials, paper and cardboard, glass and metal between developed and developing countries were a significant difference (P<0.05) while plastics and textiles and were not significantly different (P>0.05). Conclusion: Solid waste per capita in Shiraz city (about 600g/day) was near to the average amount of solid waste generation in Iran and other developing countries. Due to the high content of organic material in municipal solid waste of Shiraz, minimization of these material and separation of dry and wet solid wastes must be noted from the people and municipalities.