Assessment of municipal solid waste management system in Lae City, Papua New Guinea in the context of sustainable development

Abstract

Lae City (LC) of Morobe Province is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. Due to the abundant natural resources it inherits, the resultant urbanization has led to an influx of the human population. This increase in population as a result of industrialization has led to increased municipal solid waste (MSW) accumulation. To address this exigent issue, which affects the nation’s carbon footprint, it is imperative to review socio-economic and geographic factors to establish a feasible approach for managing MSW efficiently and sustainably. In the quest to achieve the same, the present assessment focuses on the 3 core waste management hierarchy systems to support sustainable development for LC by reviewing existing opportunities and challenges associated with the current MSW management system and the associated policies. The result shows that as a sustainable approach to MSW management of LC, a zero-waste campaign for resource recovery engaging all stakeholders can be implemented since the organic content of MSW generated in LC is as high as 70%. Moreover, the dumping of MSW at the dedicated dumpsite site can be minimized if policies are strengthened and the proposed waste avoidance pathway is implemented strictly. In addition to this, to avoid the contamination of groundwater and recovery of methane, the use of the Fukuoka approach in the existing landfills has been suggested to capture leachate without any huge expenditure. Graphic abstract

Environmental Effects of Bio-Waste Recycling on Industrial Circular Economy and Eco-Sustainability

“…Incineration offers better potential for reducing GHG emissions than gasification or anaerobic digestion since it can process a bigger volume of waste and generate more energy [29]. By tightening restrictions and implementing the provided waste reduction route, MSW disposal at the designated garbage landfill may be decreased [30]. The debt-to-income ratio promotes MSW growth, but the debt-to-output ratio restrains it.…”

Characterization of dumpsite waste of different ages in Ghana

“…Ten years later, the per capita waste generation increased to 1.2 kg/p/d for about 1.3 billion urban residents, and it has been estimated that by the year 2025, about 4.3 billion urban residents will have an average generation rate of about 1.42 kg/p/d for solid waste [ 1 ]. However, the waste characteristics varies according to the source activity [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Products of a Green-Neighbourhood

“…In 2020, Doaemo et al [24] suggested 3 core waste management hierarchy systems to support sustainable development for Lae City by reviewing existing opportunities and challenges associated with the current municipal solid waste management system and the associated policies. The result shows that a zero waste campaign for resource recovery involving all stakeholders can be implemented since the organic content of municipal solid waste generated in Lae City reaches 70%.…”