When it comes to waste, especially municipal solid waste, all possible and available measures should be taken to reduce the quantities of generated and disposed waste, while the waste destined to be landfilled should be biologically stabilized in order to prevent adverse effects on the environment due to the generation of landfill gas during biodegradable waste decomposition. To establish an efficient and integrated waste management system, it is usually not enough to morphologically characterize the waste fraction, it is also necessary to determine its characteristics through analysis of the physico-chemical properties as well as by determining its biodegradability. These properties are of great importance for further managing and utilization of biodegradable components, primarily as raw materials for energy recovery.
Biodegradability
Biodegradable municipal waste
During determination of biodegradability of municipal solid waste and other types of wastes, valuable information is gathered which facilitate the decision-making process within the entire waste management system, especially during the design and construction of waste management centers. Even though the composition of municipal solid waste depends on a number of parameters, the municipal solid waste of major European cities is very similar in composition and consist of a significant share of biodegradable fraction.
According to available information, most part of the produced biodegradable municipal waste is still landfilled in the Republic of Croatia. In order to increase awareness of people and knowledge about the need for a more rational and efficient waste management it is necessary to show and demonstrate how certain waste materials are suitable for reuse, i.e. savings through energy production.
Most common methods used for determination of the biodegradability of waste materials are:
- determination of biogas potential (e.g. GS21, GS90,…)
- determination of organic and inorganic carbon content in waste (TC, IC, TOC)
- determination of loss on ignition and the biomass content of the waste
- determination of aerobic biological stability of waste materials (e.g. RDRI, AT4,…)
