Analysis of Household Waste Generation and Composition in Mandalay: Urban–Rural Comparison and Implications for Optimizing Waste Management Facilities

Khin Zaw Win, Helmut Yabar () and Takeshi Mizunoya
Additional contact information
Khin Zaw Win: Degree Programs in Life and Earth Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Doctoral Program in Environmental Studies, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
Helmut Yabar: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
Takeshi Mizunoya: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan

Waste, 2024, vol. 2, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: Data on waste generation and composition are fundamental for effective waste management and can vary over time. Assessing the allocation of waste management facilities is also important to improve the entire waste management system, including land management. A survey conducted among 108 households in both urban and rural areas across six townships analyzed the waste generation and physical composition in Mandalay, highlighting the current trends relating to waste. Concurrently, data on current waste management facilities were gathered. The average waste generation is 0.84 kg/person/day, with urban areas producing 0.91 kg/person/day and rural areas 0.37 kg/person/day. The per capita waste generation rate reported in this study exceeds those in most previous studies conducted in Mandalay up to 2020, as well as the national average and that of most cities in Myanmar. Organic waste constitutes most of the physical composition, accounting for 82.3%, followed by plastic waste (10.7%), paper and cardboard (3.2%), glass (0.9%), metal (0.8%), leather and fabric (0.4%), and other waste (1.7%). Rural areas produce a higher percentage of most types of waste compared with urban areas, except for organic waste. Surprisingly, urban areas produce waste with a higher organic composition compared with rural areas. The percentage of organic waste was found to be higher than in previous studies conducted in Mandalay and other cities. Proper management of organic waste could significantly reduce the burden on waste management. In order to achieve this goal, this study proposes several viable strategies for optimizing solid waste management in Mandalay. The current location of waste management facilities reflects the efficiency of waste management and accessibility. However, there are concerns about this and improvements are necessary. These can be achieved by optimizing the placement of waste management facilities and enhancing the efficiency of the collection and transportation sector.

Keywords: waste characterization; waste management facilities; facilities location optimization; organic waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q16 Q18 Q2 Q20 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q28 Q3 Q31 Q38 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/2/4/26/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/2/4/26/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jwaste:v:2:y:2024:i:4:p:26-509:d:1532699

Access Statistics for this article

Waste is currently edited by Mr. Sumail Li

More articles in Waste from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().