Yield and physical characteristics analysis of domestic waste in rural areas of China and its disposal proposal

Abstract: In recent decades, a huge accumulation of domestic waste has caused serious environmental contamination, including negative impacts on human health in rural areas of China. Generally, collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste are usually considered as the most important stages of waste management, which are directly linked to waste generation and characteristics. So, it is difficult to optimize the design of the required infrastructures and facilities without an accurate estimation of the amounts and characteristics of domestic waste. Nevertheless, to date few studies have investigated the characteristics of domestic waste in the rural areas of China. The main purpose of our work is to provide reliable background information as a reference and guidance for the source classification, for recycling, and for the treatment and disposal of domestic waste in rural areas of China. A total of 580 households in 59 villages of 6 provinces in West China were surveyed and 128 questionnaires were reviewed, based on which, the generation and physical characteristics of domestic waste in rural areas of China were analyzed via statistic method and the comparisons between different regions, between urban and rural areas and between China and other countries. Results showed that the sources of domestic waste in rural areas of China mainly included catering, daily consumption (such as packages, residues and obsoleted daily goods), cleaning from public areas and agricultural production. The generation rate of rural domestic waste was 0.034-3.000 kg/d per capita in different regions with the median of 0.521 kg/d per capita. It is much lower than the generation rate in cities and other developed countries. The total generation reached up to 148 million tons in 2014 in rural areas of China. The rural domestic waste showed the characteristics of wide range of sources, low generation rate, high volume, good compressibility, rapid growth and significant regional differences. Rural domestic waste was mainly composed of kitchen waste, ash, plastics and rubbers and paper with a cumulative proportion of 83.61%. The composition of the rural domestic waste differed significantly from regions. The content of plastic/rubber gradually decreased from south to north in China; on the contrary, the ash waste increased. In recent decades, the contents of kitchen waste, paper, plastic/rubber increased with time but the contents of ash waste, brick/ceramic, wood and glass decreased. It is because the composition of domestic waste in the countryside was gradually becoming similar with that of municipal solid waste in the city. However, it still had lower contents of kitchen waste and metals while higher content of ash waste compared with those in cities. The bulk density of the domestic waste was 40-650 kg/m3 with an average of 263 kg/m3. Moreover, the compressibility of the RDW was very good. Based on the outcome of this research, compressed garbage trucks and transfer stations are suggested in the countryside where the centralized treatment and disposal in the local county has been developed. Furthermore, sorting collection is recommended to separate kitchen waste and ash at the source and then treat them on site. These recommendations can greatly relieve the loads of waste collection, transportation and disposal and ensure financial viability.