Strategic Planning for Solid Waste Management in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, South Texas

摘要

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is experiencing a NAFTA-based developmental change due to its location and economic ties with Mexico and other states in the United States. These changes induce an increase in population and thereby a rise in the solid waste generation. This research aims at preparing a strategic plan by providing an optimal waste distribution pattern that minimizes the overall cost involved in the Solid Waste Management (SWM) in the valley. In the process, the waste streams, their characteristics, storage, transfer techniques and the disposal of wastes at the landfills were studied. The optimal waste distribution strategies for the base and strategic cases were assessed for the year 2004. Projected information of population and economic impacts on solid waste generation supports the optimization analysis leading to assess regionalization potentials in the SWM planning process of the valley. The model results suggest certain shipping patterns for the SWM in the valley. The valley spends about $37430.64/ton of waste generated in managing its solid wastes according to the results obtained from the base model. A large percentage of this amount (i.e. about 79%) is spent in shipping the waste and the remaining 21% is the tipping fees collected at the gate of landfills. Hence, a regional plan may be designed to reduce the shipping cost and thereby improve an overall cost effectiveness.