Design of an innovative collection System for the organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Abstract

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges humanity is actually facing. This is why the European Union has recently issued a more restrictive waste management Directive, which establishes a minimum percentages of selective waste collection for the coming years. To achieve these objective is necessary to improve the current selective collection methods. This is why organic matter becomes important, due to the large amount that is generated as well as its subsequent valorization possibilities. In this final master project a study of the current collection systems is made to find out which are their main characteristics that allow improving the separation efficiency. In addition, the existing technologies that allow differentiating organic matter from other types of materials are reviewed. Succeeding, an innovative organic matter collection system based on X-ray technology is designed. This prototype is design to reject the organic matter waste bags that have an amount of improper materials greater than the desired maximum limit. In this way, citizens can be rewarded for making good use of the system. Subsequently, due to the high cost of the X-ray based system a second system was designed. It is a system where users are identified by QR codes on the waste bags. This allows a subsequent bag inspection to benefit or fine the user. Finally, a preliminary economic comparison of both systems and the current one is carried out. In addition to the environmental advantages and compliance with the European Directive, better separation of organic waste at source reduces the cost of pre-treating it. With this framework, the economic feasibility of both designs is studied