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Generation rates and current management of municipal, construction and demolition wastes in Tehran

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Abstract

Lack of reliable data is one of the most important constraints of solid waste management. We investigated generation rates of solid waste in Tehran and the factors affecting generation rates. Data were collected from the statistical center of Tehran Waste Management Organization (TWMO). The data analysis showed that the municipal solid waste (MSW) generation was increased from 2006 to 2012; however, because of a decline in gross domestic production (GDP) per capita, a decline of the MSW generation was observed between 2012 and 2014. The correlation coefficient between the total MSW and GDP was 0.91. Thus, the MSW generation rate in Tehran was highly correlated with the GDP per capita and the rate was predictable with a high confidence. The MSW per capita per day in Tehran was 0.96 kg and 76% of the MSW was landfilled. Construction and demolition (C&D) wastes per capita per day was 5.2 kg and 81% of them were landfilled. A low recycling rate indicated that the education programs and/or public participation for waste reduction and recycling in recent years have not been efficient and a revision should be made to the current program.

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Abbreviations

C&D:

Construction and demolition

GDP:

Gross domestic production

MFA:

Material flow analysis

MSW:

Municipal solid waste

NGO:

Non-governmental organization

SSW:

Source-separated waste

SWM:

Solid waste management

TWMO:

Tehran Waste Management Organization

WTE:

Waste-to-energy

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Student Research Committee, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran, project no. 1395-66100. We would like to appreciate the “Student Research Committee” and “Research & Technology Chancellor” in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences for the financial support of this study and TWMO for their support and collaboration in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental and Occupational Hazards Control Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Monireh Majlessi & Nadali Alavi

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Monireh Majlessi, Nadali Alavi & Nazak Amanidaz

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mirzaman Zamanzadeh

  4. Student Research Committee, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Nazak Amanidaz

  5. Environmental Health Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan, Iran

    Nazak Amanidaz

  6. Department of Water Science Engineering, School of Environmental Engineering, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran

    Reza Bakhshoodeh

Authors
  1. Monireh Majlessi
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  2. Mirzaman Zamanzadeh
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  3. Nadali Alavi
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  4. Nazak Amanidaz
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  5. Reza Bakhshoodeh
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Correspondence to Nazak Amanidaz.

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Majlessi, M., Zamanzadeh, M., Alavi, N. et al. Generation rates and current management of municipal, construction and demolition wastes in Tehran. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 21, 191–200 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-018-0772-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-018-0772-z

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