DOI h ps://doi.o g/10.18690/978-961-286-353-1.8
ISBN 978-961-286-353-1
MUNICIPAL WASTE COMPOSITION ANALYSIS –
APPROACHES TO AND SOLUTIONS FOR CZECH
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Keywo ds:
was e
managemen ,
municipal
was e,
was e
composi ion
analysis,
was e
ea men ,
was e
composi ion
analysis
me hodology.
J
IŘÍ
K
ROPÁČ
,
J
IŘÍ
G
REGOR
&
M
ARTIN
P
AVLAS
B no Uni e si y o Technology, Ins i u e o P ocess Enginee ing, B no, Czech
Republic, e-mail: [email p o ec ed]b .cz, ji i.g ego @ u b .cz, ma in.pa las@ u b .cz
Abs ac Cu en ends in Eu opean Union was e managemen
(WM) ha e esul ed in he uni ied Eu opean Re e ence Model
on Was e. The Eu opean Commission and Eu opean
En i onmen Agency commissioned esea ch subjec s o
de elop he model, which co e s all 28 EU Membe S a es.
Uni o m in o ma ion abou municipal was e composi ion is
essen ial o WM modelling a all e i o ial adminis a ion le els.
This pape desc ibes demands o ( esidual) municipal was e
composi ion analyses in he condi ions o Czech WM. Besides
legisla ion and en i onmen al s a egies, he main mo i a ion is
o assess analyses p ocedu es om he poin o iew o hei
economic and echnical easibili y. The e o e, he equi emen s
o analyses in a speci ic pu pose con ex a e desc ibed, and he
main sampling me hods a e assessed. Typical me hods and
p ocedu es a e iden i ied in he pape . The au ho ’s eam u he
de elops sugges ions o p opose op imal and e ec i e was e
composi ion analyses solu ion o in ended pu poses in Czech
WM con ex .
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1 In oduc ion
Rele an and compa able in o ma ion abou municipal was e (MW) composi ion is
essen ial o was e managemen (WM) business models and plans a all e i o ial
adminis a ion le els. Cu en ends in Eu opean Union WM ha e esul ed in
isions o he Ci cula Economy and he uni ied Eu opean Re e ence Model on
Was e. The up- o-da e backg ound o MW composi ion analysis is a documen
called SWA-Tool (iC consulen en ZT GmbH, 2004), which is no obliga o y and
does no mee cu en WM equi emen s.
The e o e, he e is a p ojec unde he Minis y o En i onmen o he Czech
Republic, leading o a p oposal o a new Czech ce i ied me hodology. B no
Uni e si y o Technology, Ins i u e o P ocess Enginee ing is he coo dina o o his
p ojec . The new me hodology should enable no only compa ison o alues om
indi idual s udies, bu abo e all s a is ical e alua ion o he expanding da ase o
esul s and subsequen o ecas ing. Rele an in o ma ion abou MW composi ion
and quali y o ecas s o u u e composi ion a e c ucial o he de elopmen o
ele an models and plans in he ield o was e managemen . These include echno-
economical models o MW ea men uni s (e.g. so ing line, ans e s a ion, ene gy
eco e y o was e collec ion sys em modelling) and complex business models
conce ning speci ic in es men in was e managemen .
Cu en wo k co esponds o he beginning o he p ojec and consis s mainly o
es ing indi idual p ocedu es and analysis op ions. A he same ime, wo k is unde
way on he design o a s a is ical backg ound o he subsequen e alua ion o
ele an knowledge abou he composi ion o MW in a ce ain egion.
2 Me hods
The e a e se e al di e en ly de ailed and a iously demanding me hods o analysing
he composi ion o MW and esidual MW in pa icula . An impo an o e iew is
he pape om Dahlén & Lage k is (2008), which p o ides simple desc ip ions o
me hodologies om a ound he wo ld. The pape p esen s mainly physical sampling
p ocedu es; o he , a he ou da ed p ocedu es a e also men ioned. The indings
om Dahlén & Lage k is (2008) a e complemen ed by da a om he UK De a
J. K opáč, J. G ego , M. Pa las: Municipal Was e Composi ion Analysis – App oaches o and
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(2008) (Annex 5 - Re iew o Was e Audi ing Me hodologies), which includes a
abula ed o e iew o me hodologies.
In he USA, me hods o de e mining he composi ion o was e ha e been unde
de elopmen since he 1960s. The Ame ican Socie y o Tes ing and Ma e ials
(ASTM) me hod was las upda ed in 2016 unde ASTM D5231-92 (2016).
In Eu ope, he Eu opean Commission seeks o suppo a ision o wha is called
he ci cula economy, as summa ized in he Ci cula Economy Package om he
Eu opean Commission (2015). De elopmen s in EU was e managemen a e heading
owa ds an uni ied Eu opean Re e ence Model on Was e (Eunomia Resea ch &
Consul ing, 2015). This si ua ion will a ec he de elopmen o new me hodologies
o MW composi ion analyses in indi idual EU membe s a es. The Eu opean
si ua ion in ecen decades is desc ibed in he ex below.
2.1 Eu opean Municipal Was e Composi ion Analyses Me hodics
The SWA-Tool (iC consulen en ZT GmbH, 2004) is a me hodology de eloped as
pa o a Eu opean Commission p ojec . The aim o he me hodology is o
s anda dize he p ocedu es used o de e mine he composi ion o MMW ac oss EU
s a es. Howe e , his me hodology should no become he Eu opean s anda d. The
main documen is p ima ily a comp ehensi e in en o y o ela ed knowledge;
de ailed desc ip ions a e p o ided in he annexes. These indings a e e lec ed in 24
gene al ecommenda ions co e ing all necessa y MW composi ion s udy pa ame e s,
especially he equi ed accu acy o he s udy; s a i ica ion c i e ia; collec ion and
so ing p ocedu es o samples; and inally, he s a is ical backg ound o p ocessing
he analysis esul s.
The F ench MODECOM me hodology (Mon ejo e al., 2011) (Wa e P., 2008)
ecommends a minimum o 5 MW collec ion ehicles o analyses, wi h a leas 2
ons o was e om each. I is ecommended o analyse a 500 kg sample by manual
so ing and sie ing. This me hodology does no speci y measu emen accu acy.
Finnish No d es me hodology (1995) and Swedish NSR me hodology (1997) -
while he o iginal 1995 p ocedu es ocused on he numbe and olume o he MW
samples and he sampling p ocedu es, he 1997 NSR me hodology ocused mo e on
cha ac e iza ion o so ed ac ions (Dahlén e al., 2007). The sampling akes place
om collec ion ehicles, wi h subsequen subsampling.
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The Du ch RIVM (1995) is an ex ensi e and de ailed me hod demanding bo h cos
and analysis equipmen (Co nelissen & O e, 1993). I combines manual and
mechanical p ocedu es.
The Swiss SAEFL me hodology (Swiss Agency o he En i onmen , Fo es s and
Landscape, 2003) uses speci ic s a i ica ion ac o s: socio-economic ac o s,
geog aphical loca ion, ou ism, seasonali y, was e cha ging sys em and he e ec o
sepa a e collec ion o biowas e. The Swiss me hod compiled by Mays e & Vi e
(1995) deals wi h de ailed analysis o was e samples, especially om a chemical poin
o iew. The main objec i e o his me hod is o de e mine he con en o hea y
me als in esidual MW.
In Aus ia and Ge many, he e a e me hodologies a he le el o indi idual Lands
and egions. Usually sampling om collec ion ehicles is used, ollowed by a
p ocedu e o so ed subsample homogeniza ion and sepa a ion. So ing is done
manually and wi h sie es. The ou pu om such analyses is mos ly in Ge man, e.g.
Ke n & Siepenko hen (2010) and Vogel e al. (2009). Cu en ly, s anda diza ion o
p ocedu es and e ision o me hodology was ca ied ou in Aus ia in 2017.
Sampling om con aine s is p e e ed and s a i ica ion p ocedu es a e es ablished.
In Sco land, Ze o Was e Sco land published Guidance on he Me hodology o
Was e Composi ion Analysis (Ze o Was e Sco land, 2015). P ocedu es o
de e mining he numbe o samples a e de e mined acco ding o he equi ed le el
o s udy accu acy. Samples o so ing a e aken om collec ion con aine s. This
me hod, de eloped in 2006 unde he auspices o he En i onmen Agency o
England and Wales (Bu nley e al., 2007), deals mainly wi h s a i ica ion pa ame e s
ha a ec he amoun and composi ion o was e.
In Poland in 2006, a epo on he “De e mina ion o he me hodology o es ing
he sie e, mo phological and chemical composi ion o municipal was e” (Jęd czak
& Szpad , 2006) was issued o he Polish Minis y o he En i onmen . The
Eu opean SWA-Tool p ocedu es (iC consulen en ZT GmbH, 2004) we e
e e enced and commen ed on.
J. K opáč, J. G ego , M. Pa las: Municipal Was e Composi ion Analysis – App oaches o and
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2.2 Municipal Was e Composi ion Analysis Me hodics in Czech
Republic
Mos MW composi ion in o ma ion is based on s udies ela ed o publicly unded
p ojec s, whe e published p ojec esul s and ela ed publica ions can be ound. In
con as , local s udies o smalle municipali ies and in e nal s udies o companies
ope a ing in he Czech WM o en emain unpublished o a e men ioned only in
e e ences and sho epo s.
The e o e, he a ailable MW composi ion da a o en ep esen s only pa ial
in o ma ion ha is di icul o compa e. Howe e , a la ge pa o he Czech s udies
e e s o he me hodology es ablished in 2008 unde p ojec SP/2 1/132/08
(Benešo á e al., 2008), which is based on he esul s o an ex ensi e analysis o MW
composi ion (12 measu emen s in each o he h ee ypes o buildings pe mon h
h oughou 2008). P e ious Czech me hodologies a e he “720/2/00” om 2003
and he “VÚMH”, which ha e been de eloped since he 1970s.
The main cha ac e is ics o he SP/2 1/132/08 me hod om 2008 (Benešo á e al.,
2008) a e as ollows:
− The size o he main sample is based on he load o a collec ion ehicle and
should be 6 o 8 ; he so ing sample should be 200 kg (co esponding o a
olume o app oxima ely 1 m3);
− Sampling o he analysed (so ed) sub-sample is ecommended by
“qua a ion” he sample om he collec ion wagon;
− Th ee o ou building ypes a e moni o ed: u al, illa, mixed (housing
es a e, small own) and housing es a e, la ge own. The size o he collec ion
a eas in he indi idual building ypes is ecommended;
− Was e so ing is based on sc eening and manual so ing o abo e-sc een
ac ions. Th ee le els o classi ica ion a e moni o ed; he i s le el
dis inguishes 11 componen s: pape and boa d and ca dboa d, plas ics,
glass, me als, bio-was e, ex iles, mine al was e, haza dous was e,
combus ible was e, elec ical equipmen , ine ac ion;

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2.3 S a e-o - he-a in Municipal Was e Composi ion Analyses Me hodics
The mos signi ican me hodological p ocedu es we e iden i ied and a e desc ibed
in he ex below.
S a i ica ion (s a i ica ion laye ) is a p ocedu e o es ablishing a sampling
schedule o a speci ic locali y o egion in o de o ob ain ep esen a i e da a in
ela ion o he aim o he analysis. The p ocedu e consis s in di iding he a ge a ea
in o se e al smalle ep esen a i e g oups (s a i ica ion laye s) o indi idual ypes
o moni o ed ac o s. Samples om indi idual g oups a e ob ained p opo ionally
acco ding o he a io o hei o al ep esen a ion in he a ea. S a i ica ion is a
p e equisi e o p ope s a is ical planning o expe imen al and measu ed da a
e alua ion.
Place o sampling wi hin MW ea men :
− A s a is ical su ey o ques ionnai e is a complemen a y app oach;
− Sampling o households is expec ed o be inaccu a e when he was e
p oduce s know abou he expe imen being conduc ed;
− Samples om MW collec ion con aine s, e.g. olumes o 120, 240 o 1100
li es; his way is ecommended by Eu opean SWA-Tool (iC consulen en
ZT GmbH, 2004);
− Sampling om collec ion ehicles and subsequen sub-sampling o manual
so ing. This is o en used in cu en s udies.
− Sample collec ion a he was e acili y, i.e. homogenized samples om he
acili y was e bunke .
Homogeniza ion o MW samples and sub-sampling o so ing - usually,
“qua a ion” is used o educe he olume o he so ed sub-sample om he o al
la ge- olume sample aken. The disad an age is he g adual educ ion o he
homogenei y o he so ed olume and hus i s ep esen a i eness. O he echniques
such as machine cu ing o milling may also be used; hese a e used when i is
necessa y o ob ain a e y small sample olume o chemical and physical analysis.
J. K opáč, J. G ego , M. Pa las: Municipal Was e Composi ion Analysis – App oaches o and
Solu ions o Czech Was e Managemen
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So ing me hod - o easons o economy, ime and logis ics, manual so ing is he
me hod mos commonly used. I is also common o use a sie e wi h a mesh size o
abou 40 o 20 mm and o ho oughly sepa a e only he o e size was e ac ion.
Mechanical so ing may ha e g ea po en ial, which is ela ed, o example, o he
cos and sa e y o human labou and he cos o new echnologies. Se e al
mechanical so ing me hods can be men ioned:
− So ing wi h a g a e o sie e in a ib a ing o d um design;
− Hyd aulic and pneuma ic so ing;
− Magne ic sepa a o s and elec os a ic sc eens a e sui able, o example, o
sepa a ing e ous and non- e ous me als om ine ma e ials;
− Op ical so ing sys ems based on he op ical iden i ica ion o ma e ials
(di e en wa eleng hs, e.g. UV, NIR, X-Ray, lase , mic owa es,
spec oscopy) and hei subsequen mechanical sepa a ion (pneuma ically,
obo ic g ippe ).
The scope and ange o moni o ed componen s and so ing le els. The i s
basic le el o classi ica ion usually consis s o 10 o 20 ac ions di e en ia ed by
ma e ial (e.g. plas ics, pape , me als o glass), pu pose (e.g. elec ical was e, ood
was e, sani a y was e, complex packaging) o o he p ope ies (e.g. ine ac ions
acco ding o he sie es used, haza dous ac ions). Lowe classi ica ion le els o en
di e signi ican ly be ween indi idual analyses and me hodological app oaches. In
gene al, he ag eemen be ween app oaches and me hods o ca ego iza ion and
s udies is ques ionable o indi idual me hodologies.
Subsequen labo a o y es s occu occasionally and ocus p ima ily on so ed MW
ac ions, hei ene gy pa ame e s o he p esence o pollu an p ecu so s.
S udies o en do no speci y measu emen accu acy when p ocessing measu ed
da a. Mean alue, median, s anda d de ia ion o coe icien o a ia ion can be used
o in e p e he esul s o he analysis.
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3 Resul s
Design o he new me hodology is in he ini ial design phase. Cu en wo ks
co esponds o he beginning o he p ojec and consis mainly o es ing indi idual
p ocedu es and MW analysis op ions. A he same ime, wo k is unde way on he
design o a s a is ical backg ound o he subsequen e alua ion o ele an
knowledge abou he composi ion o MW in a ce ain egion. The socio-economic
pa ame e s o he egion a e moni o ed along wi h o he ac o s ha may a ec local
MW composi ion.
These opics, sugges ions and p ac ical demands o esidual MW composi ion
analyses in Czech condi ions we e iden i ied based on he i s phase o p ac ical
es s:
− Samples om MW collec ion con aine s, e.g. olumes o 120, 240 o 1100
li es. This way is ecommended by Eu opean SWA-Tool (iC consulen en
ZT GmbH, 2004), and he leas impac on he sample du ing MW collec ion
and anspo a ion is expec ed (e.g. ans e o mois u e con en be ween
MW ac ions o olume change by p essing);
− So ing akes place manually; applica ion o sc eening analyses is discussed.
A 40 mm sie e will p obably be he mos app op ia e.
− The i s wo le els o so ing ocused mainly on he ma e ial composi ion
o he esidual MW mix u e and he p opo ion o packaging ma e ials;
− The e will be only ecommenda ions o classi ica ion o a hi d so ing
le el; his is a possibili y o speci ic aims o indi idual s udies (e.g. s udies
ocused on u he ea men and ma e ial o ene gy eco e y).
− A possible ash con en measu emen could be analysed in he win e
(hea ing) season.
− S anda d de ia ions will be pa o he esul s p esen a ion. The
me hodology will include ecommenda ions o he necessa y numbe o
measu emen s in ela ion o he accu acy o he analysis.
− Classi ica ion o complex, mul i-ma e ial and con amina ed ma e ials will be
designed in acco dance wi h he objec i es o he me hodology, he p ac ical
possibili ies and he demands o he s a is ical e alua ion.
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4 Conclusions
Di e en ly de ailed and demanding me hods o analysing he composi ion o MW
and esidual MW a e applicable in he wo ld and in he EU. Da a om indi idual
s udies can p o ide a ied and di icul o compa e in o ma ion on he composi ion
o MW and especially esidual MW, making i di icul o plan he ope a ion o
ea men uni s o complex business models in he ield o was e managemen .
In o ma ion om a ange o coun ies and egions will g adually be uni ied in hei
me hodologies, as sugges ed by de elopmen a ound he Eu opean Re e ence
Model o Was e.
A new Czech me hodics is p oposed by B no Uni e si y o Technology, Ins i u e o
P ocess Enginee ing o he Czech Minis y o En i onmen . The aim is o o e a
me hodology ha p o ides basic da a o complex s a is ical p ocessing and enables
ele an o ecas ing o he de elopmen o MW composi ion. In he cu en wo king
phase a he beginning o he p ojec , demands o esidual MW composi ion
analyses in Czech condi ions we e iden i ied and he i s p ac ical es s we e ca ied
ou .
Acknowledgmen s
The au ho s g a e ully acknowledge he inancial suppo p o ided by ERDF wi hin he esea ch
p ojec No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_026/0008413 "S a egic Pa ne ship o En i onmen al
Technologies and Ene gy P oduc ion”.
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