Municipal solid waste characterization, quantification, and management: A case study in Shadegan International Wetland region, Iran

Thepresent study aimed to investigate the description and determination of municipal waste management in seven cities located in Shadegan wetland region, Iran. Some parameters were evaluated, including the waste generation rate, weight density rate, moisture content, pH, and carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio. In addition, the current status of waste management in the region was assessed using a simple questionnaire and via interviews with households and field surveys. According to the findings, the generation rate of solid wastes was 0.55-0.8 kg/capita/day. The wastes contained approximately 70% of corruptible materials, more than 12% of plastic, and approximately 9% of paper and paperboard. The density, moisture content, pH, and C/N were estimated at 3,242 kg/m, 72.7%, 5.6, and 23.4, respectively. In Shadegan wetland region, recycling was active through the informal sectors, while there was no definite program for source reduction and recycling. Daily collection operations were carried out with no specific programs and prioritization in determining the route of the vehicle and performed manually in optimal conditions. Moreover, the final disposal was observed to be poor and in the dumping form. The obtained results indicated that the wastes in the region had considerable potential for recycling and composting. Therefore, it is recommended that integrated waste management be applied through the improvement of the regulations, environmental education, development of source reduction programs, organized recycling, mechanization of waste collection, establishment of central composting plants, and selection and design of safe landfills in order to achieve optimal outcomes.