Solid waste management strategies to achieve sustainable greening of AIT campus | |
| Author | Phyoe Thet Khaing |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-15-17 |
| Subject(s) | Integrated solid waste management--Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) Sustainable development |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sciences in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-15-17 |
| Abstract | Solid Waste Management is one of most important pillars for achieving sustainability in higher education institutions, along with waste and wastewater, and energy management. As AIT campus is also planning to become a green campus, a detailed study about AIT’s waste generation, composition and characteristics, existing good and bad practices was conducted. The objective of the study was to provide a baseline data related to solid waste in AIT campus and also to suggest 3R strategies for achieving a clean and green AIT campus. Waste audit conducted in AIT showed that on an annual basis the institution generates 528.6 tonnes of solid waste, which is nearly 0.5kg/day/person. Food waste is the highest composition (52.5%), followed by packaging waste (42.3%). MSW had lower moisture content (43.5%) and lower C/N ratio (14:1), volatile solids (83-85%), and 4 % of low ash content. The gross calorific value observed as dry basis ranged was 5800 kcal/kg. Waste segregation is almost negligible in AIT, and mixed waste is binned in garbage bins and collected, temporarily stored at the material recovery facility and finally send to local Tha Khlong Municipality for final disposal. The overall waste recycling rate is 13.36%, out of which 9% is food waste recycling as animal feed and nearly 4.36% of dry recyclable waste collection and trading to junk shops. The three pilot project conducted on dry and wet waste segregation and household level, kitchen organic waste composting at individual scale, and recyclable packaging waste segregation at community scale had comparatively low participation and low success rate, except for cage bin collection of recyclable packaging wastes. A total of 821.6 kg recyclable packaging waste was collected from these bins, earning around 6,000 THB additional income to the waste collection staffs within the seven month. This study however shows that there is a scope for increasing the overall waste recovery rate by motivating people to practice sustainable solid waste management by providing information, appropriate facilities, and regulations on 3R principles. |
| Year | 2015 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Visvanathan, C.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nguyen, Thi Kim Oanh;Vilas Nitivattananon; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2015 |