The aim of this study was to determine the quality (composition) of solid waste of rural communities in Tehran and Alborz provinces and current conditions of the solid waste management in
this area. 18 villages were chosen and after primary training of people, information about the
collection, transport, and disposal of these wastes was obtained by questionnaires. In most villages, the waste collection method was door to door. The results showed that the average
household waste generation rate was 0.44 kg.cap-1.day-1 and the highest waste generation rate
was in spring. The composition of household waste consisted of organic and food waste, paper
and cardboard, plastics, metals, rubber, textiles, glass, woods, and other waste as 46.14%,
6.2%, 6.8%, 5.45%, 3.28%, 4.35%, 4.97%, 9.31%, 5.28%, respectively. Source separation and
recycling programs can be considered as an effective approach for the solid waste management in these areas due to 23.42 % of generated waste were directly recyclable. The mean
density of household waste was 442 kg.m-3, while the maximum and minimum density of the
generated waste were 441.5 ± 138.87 and 346.97±101.74 in summer and fall, respectively. The
total amount of agricultural wastes was 619321.612 ton. yr-1. According to the obtained results,
providing a systematic waste management approach by considering the source segregation of
waste for separation of the recyclable wastes and compost of organic and food wastes is recommended. |