Analysis of Current Situation in Municipal Waste Management and Implementation of Decision Support Software in Astana, Kazakhstan

Abstract

The city of Astana, capital of Kazakhstan with population of 804,474 generates approximately 1.39 kg/inh./day of municipal solid waste while collection rate is higher than 72% (MSW). An MBT plant of planned capacity of 600-800 tn/day and a new landfill cell of about 2 million tones are in place. Preliminary studies showed that the MSW composition is as follows: food and garden waste 29.5%, plastics 18.5%, paper 13%, glass 14.5%, textiles 9.5%, metals 0.9% and others 14.1%. About 23-34 tons of recyclables (paper, metal, glass, PET bottles, HDPE film, HDPE plastic, etc.) is separated in the existing MBT daily. In 2014 it is planned to implement separate waste collection in places of waste accumulation and a waste separation at source system. The purpose of the study is to assess the current situation of municipal solid waste in Astana and implement a Decision Support Software tool developed by the research team in order to analyse data, compare alternative waste management scenarios and propose a holistic approach in solid waste management planning. The latest available data on waste generation, composition and existing infrastructure were used in order to identify the baseline situation. This is the first research of this type conducted in Kazakhstan