Composition and Variation in Moisture Content of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in District Shopian Kashmir, J&K, India
Ahsan Ul Haq Ahrar1, Manglesh Kumar Jawalkar and Jahangeer Mohammad Reshi
1Department of Environmental Science, Madhyanchal Professional University, Ratibad, Bhopal-462044 (India) Email: 1ahrarehsan786@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The present study deals with the composition, characterization and management of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in Shopian by analyzing the waste at 5 different study sites chosen randomly. The mean composition of waste was determined by spreading, hand sorting, and segregation of samples on the ground to determine the proportion of different components of the waste. In the current study, the proportion of compostable, recyclable, and inert waste was roughly 66 %, recyclable %, and inert 1 %. The proportion of moisture content in various waste categories ranged from 52.24 % for food waste to 0 % for rubber and leather. The moisture content percentage values indicate that the food waste in the study area is highly wet at all study sites and rubber and the leather fraction are not wet at all. Paper and cardboard fractions showed high wetness at site II. Seasonally, the food waste fraction displayed higher percentage of moisture content followed by a paper fraction, cardboard, wooden chips, and inert fraction. Analysis of variance showed insignificant variation in percentage moisture content across different seasons (F=0.0128, P=0.998) and sites (F=0.0081, P=0.9998).