Morphology of household waste on the example of Sri Lanka and Poland — case study

Abstract

Household waste is a global problem that many countries cannot cope with and deal with difficulty. In many regions of the world, a dynamic increase in the amount of waste generated is observed, which causes significant environmental pollution and excessive use of non-renewable resources. In the case of household waste, important indicators are not only its quantity per person but also its morphology. This study compares the amount of waste generated and its morphology by a household in Sri Lanka (Colombo) and Poland (Tarnów). The presented data comes from 2022, during a time of economic crisis caused initially by the COVID-19 pandemic and then due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Currently, Sri Lanka is going through one of the greatest economic crises in its history. Poland is currently experiencing high inflation and reduced demand for many consumer goods due to continuous price increases. These events significantly affect the demand for various types of consumer goods and, paradoxically, this may reduce the amount of waste generated. It is important to identify and implement new strategies to recycle or optimize the usage of waste and develop value added products that would, in turn, have a positive impact on the domestic waste awareness. The results of the conducted research indicate a  significant share of biodegradable waste in the stream of generated waste, especially in Sri Lanka. The vast majority of generated waste can be recycled, but sorting is required. Comparing the data obtained from this case study, 71% of food waste is generated in Sri Lanka, whereas 22.1% is generated in Poland. This indicates that Poland produces a significant amount of processed food. Moreover, the recorded plastic waste produced by Polish families is twice that of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, both countries indicate a positive trend to generate more waste in the future despite economic challenges faced locally as well as globally. Therefore, it is vital to understand the amount and morphology of waste as well as to implement more efficient and economical strategies to eliminate negative impacts.