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18-Env-A6 Solid Waste Engineering and Management · December 2014

Question 21 of 29: Goal and Major Steps of a Waste Characterization Study

Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)

Notes on this paper

National Examination, December 2014 — 04-Env-A6 / 18-Env-A6, Solid Waste Engineering and Management. 3 hours duration, closed book, one non-communicating calculator, one letter-sized aid sheet (both sides) permitted. All 29 questions constitute a complete paper (100 marks total).

Reference texts: Tchobanoglous, Theisen & Vigil, Integrated Solid Waste Management: Engineering Principles and Management Issues; Vesilind, Worrell & Reinhart, Solid Waste Engineering; Davis & Cornwell, Introduction to Environmental Engineering (6th ed.); CCME, Guidance Document on Landfill Gas Management; Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Note on source parsing

This paper prints marks IN FRONT of the question number on every line (e.g. "5 1. What are the elements…", "4 16. All 29 questions are answered in full.

Question 21: Goal and Major Steps of a Waste Characterization Study (3 marks)

Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.

The goal of a waste characterization study is to quantify a community's waste generation rate and material composition with enough statistical confidence to design collection, processing and disposal capacity and to set/track diversion targets. The major steps are: (1) define the study's objectives, scope and target sources (residential/commercial/ICI); (2) design a statistically sound sampling plan (number of samples, sampling locations, seasonal coverage) so results are representative; (3) collect representative loads/samples following a standard protocol; (4) manually sort and weigh each sample into standard material categories; (5) record and statistically analyze the results (means, confidence intervals) across seasons and source types; and (6) report findings and translate them into design generation rates and composition percentages for use in planning.