Materials recovery - a challenge for municipal solid waste managers

摘要

Sustained demand for natural resources, resulting in increasing material prices, has prompted an increased focus on reclaiming materials from waste. As a result, for many items virtually 100% of materials that once comprised industrial waste, such as metals, paper, plastics, various chemicals, and food production residues, are now recovered before they even enter the waste stream. When it comes to most municipal solid waste (MSW), however, the situation is much different as more than 80% of the world's MSW is still landfilled or incinerated (in some cases with energy recovery). So why is this? For a waste material to be suitable for recovery, certain requirements must be fulfilled. A fundamental prerequisite for recovery of a given material from waste is that the necessary chemical, physical and/or biological processes for recovery are commercially available, proven in practice, and cost-effective. Just as importantly, the products of a recycling operation must consistently meet or exceed raw material quality standards as specified by the buyer/user of secondary materials.