Physical Characterization and Resource-Recovery Potential of Municipal Solid Waste at Transfer Stations and a Landfill in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) characterization is needed to select recovery and disposal options that reflect local waste streams. This study characterized 20 MSW samples from three garbage transfer stations and Jam Chakro disposal site in Karachi, Pakistan, using manual sorting based on ASTM D5231-92. Five samples were analyzed at each site; sample masses ranged from 92 to 105 kg, with 1,988 kg characterized overall. Pooled composition was dominated by other inorganics/non-combustibles (36.3%), plastic (19.7%), food waste (13.4%), other organics/combustibles (12.0%), yard waste (7.6%), and diapers/sanitary products (6.7%). Sample-level analysis showed significant between-site differences in food waste, corrugated material, and other inorganics after false-discovery-rate adjustment. Film represented 95.5% of the plastic fraction. Results support source segregation and targeted recovery, while transfer-to-landfill differences cannot be attributed solely to informal scavenging because waste loads were not paired.