Rural domestic waste management in Zhejiang Province, China: Characteristics, current practices, and an improved strategy

摘要

Lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities has serious health implications for rural dwellers and can degrade the ecosystems. This study offers a systemantic and quantitative overview of historical data on rural domestic waste (RDW) production and past and current management practices in a prototype region in China, where rural areas are undergoing rapid urbanization and are confronted with great environmental challenges associated with poor RDW management practices. The results indicate that RDW is characterized with a large fraction of kitchen waste (42.9%) and high water content (53.4%). The RDW generation (RDWG) per capita between 2012 and 2020 is estimated to increase from 0.68 to 1.01 kg/d-cap. The Hill 1 model is able to adequately simulate/project the population growth in a rural area from 1993 to 2020. The annual RDWG in the region is estimated to double from 6,033,000 tons/year in 2008 to 12,030,000 tons/year by 2020. By comparing three RDW management scenarios based on the life-cycle inventory approach and cost-benefit analysis, it is strongly recommended that the present Scenario 2 (sanitary landfill treatment) be upgraded to Scenario 3 (source separation followed by composting and landfill of RDW) to significantly reduce the ecological footprint and to improve the cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability.