Management of organic waste recycling program 50310.5.3 Equipment monitoring
A major part of waste recycling technology is the various items of equipment used in the
program. These can vary widely in nature according to use. Monitoring of these assets is
equally important since they can influence the system efficiency to a great extent. For
example, a leak in the gas holder tank of a digester can reduce its efficiency significantly.
10.5.4 Organizational infrastructure
The organization for monitoring depends largely on the extent and intensity of the
program. In most cases the program is not for a central based system, but for large-
scale people participation. For a centrally based recovery and recycling program,
reasonably well-qualified technicians (but less in number) are required. Where the
program is more public intensive and emphasis is placed on making it a social
habit, a large number of people who may not necessarily be with higher
qualification but with more dedication and commitment are required. In such cases
large-scale training and apprenticeship are more beneficial.
The financial aspects of these establishments depend on their size and
manpower involvement. In all cases the central organization should be
adequately furnished with basic requirements such as laboratory and training
units so that feedbacks from the field and the present knowledge can be better
blended to support the implementation of the waste recycling programs.
10.6 Case studies of waste recycling management program
10.6.1 Biomass management by the Montreal Metropolitan
Community, Canada (Frigon and Guiot 2005)
The Quebec Waste Management Policy (1998-2008) is requesting the
municipalities within its province to prepare a waste management plan including
a global objective of 60% reduction of the solid wastes destined for sanitary
landfills. The Montreal municipality which has a population of 3.5 millions
produces about 5.8 million tons of solid wastes annually. Based on a study of
various management scenarios, it was found that anaerobic digestion of the solid
wastes was the most cost-effective solution resulting in a potential CH 4 gas
generation of 17-140 Mm^3 which can be used to produce electricity of 53,000-
440,000 MWh equivalent to a revenue of 17 million Canadian $ annually. This
solution would lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emission of 62,000-
500,000 tons of CO 2 -equivalents annually.