Solid waste quantification for the University of Johannesburg's waste to energy project

Economic growth, urbanization and industrialization of African cities has caused rapid increase in volume and types of municipal solid waste (MSW) and hazardous waste. The inefficient collection, management, disposal and reuse of MSW has impeded the deployment of this waste resource into energy aside the heterogeneity problem associated with it. In addressing these challenges, the South Africa Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) in partnership with the University of Johannesburg is conducting a research into the deployment of waste into energy for use as vehicular fuel. As part of this project, waste quantification was carried out at Doornfontein campus (DFC), University of Johannesburg (UJ). This study investigated the amount of bio-waste generated in UJ DFC by quantifying the entire general and garden waste stream on campus and determining its composition. 310kg of waste is averagely generated on daily basis of which 82.34% are bio-degradable