What is Integrated Waste Management (IWM) ?
Integrated Waste Management (IWM) stand for an assembled method of handling Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).
It considers the entire stream of waste from households that is collected and handled by the municipality.
What is the IWM method?
The integrated method considers all techniques of waste treatment alternatives such as recycling, composting, biogasification, incineration with energy recovery and also state of the art landfill technology.
The objective is to treat each type of waste in the most environmentally efficient and economic efficient way.
What happens with the tissue waste in IWM?
Toilet paper is taken care of by the normal sewage system. Other tissue paper from household towels or handkerchiefs can be either composted, incinerated or put in landfills: tissue is compatible with all modern waste treatment methods.
What happens when tissue is composted?
When tissue is composted, it is degraded into soil while creating predominantly carbon dioxide.
In the composting facilities, tissue brings the following advantages to the process.
* It is bulky and therefore helps to allow air/oxygene to enter the composting cycle.
* It degrades easily and facilitates the process.
* It may help reduce the odor emission that is generated; this depends on the quantity of tissue / paper in the bio-waste.
* It brings a better balance on the C/N (carbon/nitrogen); this balance is important for proper composting.
* Adding paper to the compost may increase the water buffering capacity of the soil; this depends on the quantity of tissue / paper in the bio-waste.
What happens when tissue is incinerated in waste-to-energy facilities?
Incinerating tissue makes it oxidize into predominantly carbon dioxide and water.
The energy content of tissues is recovered and transferred into heat or power. In this case the CO2 emission is neutral since the energy recovery replaces burning of other fuels for power or heat generation.
Tissue burns well without any risks and volume is reduced by about 80%.
What happens with tissue in a landfill?
Landfilling is the most common method of Municipal Solid Waste Management. Tissues are compatible with state of the art landfill technology. Tissue decomposes rather rapidly – depending on the moisture content in a landfill. Since landfill is not about composting the intention is not to have a quick decomposing process. The decomposing occurs in an anaerobic (without oxygen) process. There are no risks or hazards in putting tissue on a landfill.
What is the future of MSW ?
Tissues are compatible with all modern technologies of MSW management.
As soon as the European Landfill Directive becomes effective, tissues will not enter directly landfills. Along with other MSW components they will be treated either in an waste-to-energy incinerator or via Mechanic-Biologic-Treatment to reduce organic materials in solid waste. The resulting inert materials will then be ready for landfill.
