Physical compositions and characteristics of municipal solid waste

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is becoming one of the most challenging tasks for today’s policy makers, environmental scientists, sanitation engineers, and many others working on it. Understanding the physical compositions and characteristics of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the keys to successful waste management, as the data obtained will provide management options that help develop an effective management strategy. The objectives of the study are to determine the physical compositions and characteristics of MSW of the city of Imphal and to offer management options for a successful waste management. The MSW generated in the main market of Imphal City is temporarily dumped on any available free space in and around the crowded market before being transported to a permanent dumpsite. Waste samples were collected from these temporary dumpsites during two seasons, i.e. summer and winter, and the components were observed according to their physical appearance and grouped into three important categories. The results showed that the percentage of organic biodegradable waste was the highest for both observed seasons. The high content of organic waste requires frequent collection and removal. There is a need for a segregation facility to explore the potential of MSW recovery and recycling along with a composting plant that is currently operating to manage MSW in the study area in a sustainable manner.