Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Comparison of MSW management practices in Pakistan and China

  • REVIEW
  • Published:
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The situation of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Pakistan and China was analyzed. In Pakistan, neither MSW collection nor disposal is effective due to the lack of institutional, administrative and financial arrangements. The MSW collection rate is about 60% and remainder 40% is leftover either in streets or vacant plots. Pakistan requires an economic and sustainable technology to achieve prompt solution for MSW collection and disposal problems in the country. Whereas, China has shown a progressive improvement in MSW management. Landfilling is a predominant and cost-effective method of MSW management in China. Also it has been revealed that MSW in China is treated by incineration. Whereas, there is neither engineered landfill nor any waste-to-energy treatment facility in Pakistan. Additionally, this study suggests a future potential investment in the waste management sector under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Shaikh F, Ji Q, Fan Y (2016) Prospects of Pakistan–China energy and economic corridor. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 59:253–263

    Google Scholar 

  2. Ahmed S, Mahmood A, Hasan A, Sidhu GAS, Butt MFU (2016) A comparative review of China, India and Pakistan renewable energy sectors and sharing opportunities. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 57:216–225

    Google Scholar 

  3. Valasai GD, Uqaili MA, Memon HR, Samoo SR, Mirjat NH, Harijan K (2017) Overcoming electricity crisis in Pakistan: a review of sustainable electricity options. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 72:734–745

    Google Scholar 

  4. Mahar RB, Sahito AR, Yue D, Khan K (2016) Modeling and simulation of landfill gas production from pretreated MSW landfill simulator. Front Environ Sci Eng 10(1):159–167

    Google Scholar 

  5. Scaglia B, Salati S, Di Gregorio A, Carrera A, Tambone F, Adani F (2013) Short mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste allows landfill impact reduction saving waste energy content. Bioresour Technol 143:131–138

    Google Scholar 

  6. Gioannis GD, Muntoni A, Cappai G, Milia S (2009) Landfill gas generation after mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste. Estimation of gas generation rate constants. Waste Manag 29(3):1026–1034

    Google Scholar 

  7. Morris JWF, Barlaz MA (2011) A performance-based system for the long-term management of municipal waste landfills. Waste Manag 31(4):649–662

    Google Scholar 

  8. Mansour AA, Motte A, Pallier V, Feuillade-Cathalifaud G, Ponthieux A (2012) Assessment of the aerobic preparation and bottom ash addition as pretreatment steps before landfilling: impact on methanogenesis kinetics and leachate parameters. Waste Manag 32(10):1864–1872

    Google Scholar 

  9. Brandstätter C, Laner D, Fellner J (2015) Carbon pools and flows during lab-scale degradation of old landfilled waste under different oxygen and water regimes. Waste Manag 40:100–111

    Google Scholar 

  10. Aleluia J, Ferrão P (2016) Characterization of urban waste management practices in developing Asian countries: a new analytical framework based on waste characteristics and urban dimension. Waste Manag 58:415–429

    Google Scholar 

  11. National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Statistical Yearbook. China Statistics Publishing House, Beijing, China. ISBN10 7503782536, ISBN13 9787503782534. 01 Oct, 2017; 943. https://www.bookdpository.com

  12. Ali M, Zhang J, Raga R, Lavagnolo MC, Pivato A, Wang X, Zhang Y, Cossu R, Yue D (2018) Effectiveness of aerobic pretreatment of municipal solid waste for accelerating biogas generation during simulated landfilling. Front Environ Sci Eng 12(5):231–236

    Google Scholar 

  13. Cossu R (2010) Technical evolution of landfilling. Waste Manag 30:947–948

    Google Scholar 

  14. Korai MS, Mahar RB, Uqaili MA (2017) The feasibility of municipal solid waste for energy generation and its existing management practices in Pakistan. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 72:338–353

    Google Scholar 

  15. Zuberi MJS, Ali SF (2015) Greenhouse effect reduction by recovering energy from waste landfills in Pakistan. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 44:117–131

    Google Scholar 

  16. Diaz LF (2009) Options for improving solid waste management in economically developing countries. Waste Manag 29(1):1

    Google Scholar 

  17. Marshall RE, Farahbakhsh K (2013) Systems approaches to integrated solid waste management in developing countries. Waste Manag 33(4):988–1003

    Google Scholar 

  18. Korai MS, Mahar RB, Uqaili MA (2016) Optimization of waste to energy routes through biochemical and thermochemical treatment options of municipal solid waste in Hyderabad, Pakistan. Energy Convers Manag 124:333–343

    Google Scholar 

  19. Batool SA, Chuadhry MN (2009) The impact of municipal solid waste treatment methods on greenhouse gas emissions in Lahore, Pakistan. Waste Manag 29(1):63–69

    Google Scholar 

  20. Ali SM, Pervaiz A, Afzal B, Hamid N, Yasmin A (2014) Open dumping of municipal solid waste and its hazardous impacts on soil and vegetation diversity at waste dumping sites of Islamabad city. J King Saud Univ Sci 26(1):59–65

    Google Scholar 

  21. Dincer F, Odabasi M, Muezzinoglu A (2006) Chemical characterization of odorous gases at a landfill site by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 1122(1–2):222–229

    Google Scholar 

  22. Safar KM, Bux MR, Aslam UM, Shankar BA, Goel RK (2018) The feasibility of putrescible components of municipal solid waste for biomethane production at Hyderabad, Pakistan. Waste Manag Res 36(2):169–182

    Google Scholar 

  23. Das B, Bhave PV, Sapkota A, Byanju RM (2018) Estimating emissions from open burning of municipal solid waste in municipalities of Nepal. Waste Manag 79:481–490

    Google Scholar 

  24. Rauf O, Wang S, Yuan P, Tan J (2015) An overview of energy status and development in Pakistan. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 48:892–931

    Google Scholar 

  25. Zakir Hossain HM, Hasna Hossain Q, Uddin Monir MM, Ahmed MT (2014) Municipal solid waste (MSW) as a source of renewable energy in Bangladesh: revisited. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 39:35–41

    Google Scholar 

  26. Komal R, Abbas F (2015) Linking financial development, economic growth and energy consumption in Pakistan. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 44:211–220

    Google Scholar 

  27. Bhutto AW, Bazmi AA, Zahedi G (2011) Greener energy: issues and challenges for Pakistan—Biomass energy prospective. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 15(6):3207–3219

    Google Scholar 

  28. Fei X, Zekkos D, Raskin L (2016) Quantification of parameters influencing methane generation due to biodegradation of municipal solid waste in landfills and laboratory experiments. Waste Manag 55:276–287

    Google Scholar 

  29. Farooq MK, Kumar S (2013) An assessment of renewable energy potential for electricity generation in Pakistan. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 20:240–254

    Google Scholar 

  30. Malatesta S et al (2015) The right place, solid waste management in the Republic of Maldives: between infrastructural measures and local practices. Misc Geogr 19(2):25–32

    Google Scholar 

  31. Guerrero LA, Ger M, William H (2013) Solid waste management challenges for cities in developing countries. Waste Manag 33:220–232

    Google Scholar 

  32. Kumar A, Samadder SR (2017) A review on technological options of waste to energy for effective management of municipal solid waste. Waste Manag 69:407–422

    Google Scholar 

  33. Yeny D, Yulinah T (2012) Solid waste management in asian developing countries: challenges and opportunities. J Appl Environ Biol Sci 2(7):329–335

    Google Scholar 

  34. Assamoi B, Lawryshyn Y (2012) The environmental comparison of landfilling vs. incineration of MSW accounting for waste diversion. Waste Manag 32(5):1019–1030

    Google Scholar 

  35. Gerassimidou S, Evangelou A, Komilis D (2013) Aerobic biological pretreatment of municipal solid waste with a high content of putrescible: effect on landfill emissions. Waste Manag Res 31:783–791

    Google Scholar 

  36. Hussain F, Chaudhry MN, Batool SA (2014) Assessment of key parameters in municipal solid waste management: a prerequisite for sustainability. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol 21(6):519–525

    Google Scholar 

  37. Shahzad M (2013) Comparison of solid waste management between Oslo (Norway) and Lahore (Pakistan). Norwegian university of life science, Department of Noragric, Master thesis

  38. De Clercq D, Wen Z, Fan F, Caicedo L (2016) Biomethane production potential from restaurant food waste in megacities and project level-bottlenecks: a case study in Beijing. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 59:1676–1685

    Google Scholar 

  39. Singh A, Basak P (2018) Economic and environmental evaluation of municipal solid waste management system using industrial ecology approach: evidence from India. J Clean Prod 195:10–20

    Google Scholar 

  40. Divya D, Gopinath LR, Merlin-Christy P (2015) A review on current aspects and diverse prospects for enhancing biogas production in sustainable means. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 42(Supplement C):690–699

    Google Scholar 

  41. Thi NBD, Lin C-Y, Kumar G (2016) Electricity generation comparison of food waste-based bioenergy with wind and solar powers: a mini review. Sustain Environ Res 26(5):197–202

    Google Scholar 

  42. Starr K, Villalba G, Gabarrell X (2015) Upgraded biogas from municipal solid waste for natural gas substitution and CO2 reduction—a case study of Austria, Italy, and Spain. Waste Manag 38:105–116

    Google Scholar 

  43. National Bureau of Statistics of China (2017) China statistical yearbook. National Bureau of Statistics of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  44. Zeng C, Niu D, Zhao Y (2015) A comprehensive overview of rural solid waste management in China. Front Environ Sci Eng 9(6):949–961

    Google Scholar 

  45. Chen X, Geng Y, Fujita T (2010) An overview of municipal solid waste management in China. Waste Manag 30(4):716–724

    Google Scholar 

  46. Ali M, Zhang J, Raga R, Lavagnolo MC, Pivato A, Wang X, Zhang Y, Cossu R, Yue D (2018) Effectiveness of aerobic pretreatment of municipal solid waste for accelerating biogas generation during simulated landfilling. Front Environ Sci Eng 12(3):5

    Google Scholar 

  47. Zhang Y, Yue D, Liu J, Lu P, Wang Y, Liu J, Nie Y (2012) Release of non-methane organic compounds during simulated landfilling of aerobically pretreated municipal solid waste. J Environ Manag 101:54–58

    Google Scholar 

  48. Li R, Yue D, Liu J, Nie Y (2009) Size fractionation of organic matter and heavy metals in raw and treated leachate. Waste Manag 29(9):2527–2533

    Google Scholar 

  49. Fei F, Wen Z, Huang S, De Clercq D (2018) Mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste: energy efficiency, environmental impact and economic feasibility analysis. J Clean Prod 178:731–739

    Google Scholar 

  50. Wang Y, Yan Y, Chen G, Zuo J, Du H (2015) Effective approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from waste to energy process: a China study. Resour Conserv Recycl 104(Part A):103–108

    Google Scholar 

  51. Yue D, Han B, Sun Y, Yang T (2014) Sulfide emissions from different areas of a municipal solid waste landfill in China. Waste Manag 34(6):1041–1044

    Google Scholar 

  52. Xu Q, Jin X, Ma Z, Tao H, Ko JH (2014) Methane production in simulated hybrid bioreactor landfill. Biores Technol 168:92–96

    Google Scholar 

  53. Zhou H, Meng A, Long Y, Li Q, Zhang Y (2014) An overview of characteristics of municipal solid waste fuel in China: physical, chemical composition and heating value. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 36:107–122

    Google Scholar 

  54. Liu T, Chen Z, Zhang J, Xiong H, Cheng X. Study of a short-term biological pretreatment of MSW with low aeration. In: The 4th international conference on bioinformatics and biomedical engineering; 2010

  55. Nie Y (2010) The technology and policy of urban solid waste disposal in China. Int J Environ Stud 67(2):183–193

    Google Scholar 

  56. World Bank. Waste management in China—issues and recommendations. The World Bank, working paper No. 9 (2005); 2005

  57. Nie Y (2008) Development and prospects of municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration in China. Front Environ Sci Eng China 2(1):1–7

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, 76062, Pakistan

    Muhammad Safar Korai

  2. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Munawar Ali, Cheng Lei & Dongbei Yue

  3. Department of Mining Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, 76062, Pakistan

    Munawar Ali

  4. US-Pakistan Center of Advance Studies in Water, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, 76062, Pakistan

    Rasool Bux Mahar

Authors
  1. Muhammad Safar Korai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Munawar Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Cheng Lei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rasool Bux Mahar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Dongbei Yue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad Safar Korai.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Korai, M.S., Ali, M., Lei, C. et al. Comparison of MSW management practices in Pakistan and China. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 22, 443–453 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-019-00951-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-019-00951-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation