THE PROBLEMS OF MUNICIPAL WASTE COLLECTION IN CITY CENTERS AND AIR POLLUTANTS FORMED IN THE PROCESS

摘要

Waste collection is obstructed by heavy traffic, and air pollutants, formed in the daily process of discharging waste containers by garbage trucks, pollute air and harm human health. The current research investigates the amount of air pollutants (CO2, CO, HC, NOx and PM) formed in the old town, the city centre of Tallinn, when the current waste collection system is applied, and how the amount of pollutants could be reduced. The calculation of air pollutants was carried out according to the amount of the burnt fuel. Today the trucks which comply with EURO III requirements are allowed in the city centre. If the truck complying with at least EURO V requirements was taken into use, the decrease in pollution would be considerable. Creation of the pneumatic system would give the Old Town advantages. It would eliminate the noise and exhaust gases generated by garbage trucks, the dropped or leached waste; in addition to that, visual disturbance of seeing garbage trucks would be eliminated and pipeline transport would be more hygienic.