Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the composition and characteristics of the generated municipal solid waste (MSW) in order to obtain information about the quantity of recoverable plastic at Bukit Bakri landfill Muar, Malaysia. Solid waste sampling and laboratory analysis were carried out according to the random sampling method based on American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards to determine the waste compositions and proximate analysis (moisture content, volatile matter, ash content and fixed carbon). The total quantity of MSW generated at the site was 330 ton/day made up of 25 individual types of waste. The main compositions of the generated waste were 39% food waste, 12% plastic waste and 16% paper which accounted for about 67% by weight. About 12% of disposed materials at Bakri landfill consisted of recoverable plastics of which 9% plastic film, 2% rigid plastic and 1% plastic foam. The average moisture content of the waste was between 50-58%. Although, there is significant volume of recoverable plastic at the disposal site (approximately 35 tons/day), this materials are still being land filled without any form of treatments. Based on the results obtained, this study has recommended the plastic recovery plan as a feasible MSW strategy to reduce the amount of disposed waste at Bakri landfill.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.