Citation:
Godley A., Lewin K., Graham A., Barker H. and Smith R. (2004). Biodegradability determination of municipal waste: an evaluation of methods. In: Proc. Waste 2004 Conf. Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control: Policy and Practice, Research and Solutions. Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, 28-30 September 2004, 40-49
Abstract:
The Environment Agency is required to monitor the diversion of
biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill. Reliable methods are needed to
measure the biodegradability of municipal waste, both as mixed municipal waste and as
individually separated fractions. An evaluation of several methods was carried out using
a variety of organic materials typically found in municipal solid waste. The assessment
considered biological and non-biological methods to determine which provides the bestfit
surrogate measurement for relative waste biodegradability. The biological methods
tested were: the aerobic specific oxygen uptake rate, dynamic respiration index tests, and
the anaerobic biochemical methane potential test. The non-biological methods evaluated
were: dry matter, loss on ignition, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, water extractable
dissolved organic carbon, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, lignin
and cellulose content and cellulase hydrolysis. This paper also reviews how such tests can
be used to measure the relative biodegradation of municipal waste and benchmark the
relative diversion from landfill achieved by the pre-treatment of municipal waste in a
mechanical biological treatment (MBT) process.
