Solid Waste Handling Scenarios, Management and Economic Study in Erbil City

Abstract

Solid waste management has become an important issue for developing countries. Solid waste management is also a weighty problem in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. To date, weak points have been observed in Erbil City, particularly in the handling and transportation of municipal solid waste. Consequently, this issue affects the environment, human health, management, finances, and aesthetics of the city. This research focused on handling scenarios, management, and an economic study of solid waste in New Zanco Village, Erbil City. Data on the quantity and generation rate (GR) of solid waste and current routes for solid waste collection were collected directly. Additionally, truck volume, handling options, and economic subjects were studied. Untimorous software was applied to find the optimum routes for solid waste collection in the studied area. Results revealed that the average GR for 48 samples was 1.114 kg/capita/day. The minimum and maximum values were 0.24 kg/capita/day and 3.28 kg/capita/day, respectively. The optimized capacity for the trucks was 7 m³. The number of pick-up locations per truck was 92. From the current waste collection route, waste is collected in eight cycles each week and the total weekly travel length equals 321.12 km. Based on the results obtained from OptimoRoute software, waste is collected in seven cycles and the total weekly travel length equals 294.03 km. The waste collection will reduce the 27.09 km of travel length in each week, which equals a reduction of 8.43% of the total distance. The operation cost will be reduced by 8.43% per week. Additionally, the total yearly travel length will be reduced by 1,300.32 km and the total yearly cost will be reduced by about $2,730.67.