Bernard Morvan, Cemagref of Rennes
(free)The global cost of household waste management increases by about 20 to 50% when selective collection of biowaste is introduced. In fact, high quality MSW composts can be produced, averaging the same quality as biowaste composts, if a strict treatment process is used. Of all the criteria considered in this paper (impurities, heavy metals, pathogens and pesticides contents), the MSW compost of Lantic in France is similar to biowaste composts. Moreover, with MSW composting, the amount of waste directed to landfill or incineration is only about 50% of the input MSW. The expected savings in a system with MSW composting, in relation to a system with selective collection of biowaste followed by composting, is about 1.1 million euros per annum for 75,000 inhabitants, or even more, when the landfill or incineration costs are very high. The future European Compost Directive should take these considerations into account.
KEY WORDS: MSW, Municipal Solid Waste, Biowaste, Compost, Composting, Heavy metals, Impurities
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