Urban Solid Waste Characterization of the Misiones Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This paper reports the behaviour of solid urban waste generation in the Metropolitan Area of Misiones, during a period of seven days. The waste analysed came from collection routes by household sampling points determined according to the land use and socioeconomic level of the population in the study area. The methodology consisted of visualising the sample universe, selecting the household waste collection routes and then classifying and analysing their composition according to ASTM D5231-92 (2016). This strategy was considered valid, given that the habits and customs of the population are closely related to the socioeconomic levels that directly affect consumption and consequently the quality of waste. Organic matter (51.80%) was the most representative, followed by materials with recycling potential, such as plastic (13.90%), glass (7.90%), paper and cardboard (7.80%), metals/aluminium (2.20%) and tetrabrik (2.60%). The quality of MSW was not uniform between cities, with Garupá (61.50%) being the city that generated the most organic waste, followed by Posadas (57.50%) and ending with Candelaria (29.00%) with a marked decrease. As a limitation of the method, it was determined that the results are representative of each city and of the winter season.