Evaluating the Determinants of Municipal Solid Waste and Impacts of Dumping Site on Communities

Municipal Solid Waste Determination in Pakistan

Abstract

Solid waste (SW) is produced by domestic, commercial, construction and demolition activities due to an increase in population size and urbanization. Solid waste management (SWM) is a major challenge for cities in Pakistan because of the increasing generation of solid waste and its poor management practices. This study calculated the determinants of solid waste and measures the impacts of dumping sites on nearby communities by devising a questionnaire technique. The secondary sources of data included a comprehensive literature review of SWM. The results of this study identified the collection mechanisms for solid waste and the harmful impacts of solid waste on agricultural land, human health, biodiversity loss, groundwater pollution and air pollution. The variables of SWM were tested by statistical analysis, i.e., the ANOVA test, identified the difference among the means of the variables at P<0.5. The pearson correlation analysis of variables identified the relationship among the variables of SWM at P<0.5, for 500 respondents. Factor analysis provided the eigenvalues, the KMO measure of sampling adequacy, Bartlett's test of sphericity and the Total Variance Explained (TVE) at P>0.5, n=500 for the larger data set. In Pakistan, about 5 million people have died because of solid waste-related disorders. About 20 million tonnes of solid waste is generated in Pakistan every year, with an annual growth rate of 2.4%. By improving management, enforcing laws, properly planning dumping sites and adopting cost-effective methods, we can save ourselves and future generations from the harmful impacts of solid waste.