Activity and emission inventory of open waste burning at the household level in developing countries: a case study of Semarang City

Bimastyaji Surya Ramadan; Indriyani Rachman; Toru Matsumoto

doi:10.1007/s10163-022-01371-3

Activity and emission inventory of open waste burning at the household level in developing countries: a case study of Semarang City

J Mater Cycles Waste Manag. 2022;24(3):1194-1204. doi: 10.1007/s10163-022-01371-3. Epub 2022 Feb 19.

Authors

Bimastyaji Surya Ramadan^{1

2}, Indriyani Rachman^{1

3}, Toru Matsumoto¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu, 808-0135 Japan.
² Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, 50275 Indonesia.
³ Department of Natural Science Education, School of Postgraduate Studies, Universitas Pakuan, Bogor, 16143 Indonesia.

Abstract

In this study, total burned household waste and the potential emissions released from waste burning in Semarang City, Indonesia, were estimated. Waste piles were monitored using the transect walk survey method in 16 sub-districts of Semarang City. Carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), hydrocarbon (HC), nitrous oxide (NO_x), and total particulate matter (TPM) were directly analyzed through a simulation of waste combustion. The potential emissions from other pollutants were predicted by multiplying the weight of the burned waste by the emission factors available in the literature. The estimated waste burned in Semarang City in 2020-2021 was 58.8 Gg/year, or approximately 9.70% of the total waste generated in Semarang City. This estimation exceeds local government estimates of 2020 by two-fold. Peri-urban areas (both inner and outer) were identified as the most significant contributors to waste burning. Further, garden waste was the most burned waste (73.61%), followed by plastic waste (17.45%). Other wastes, including paper, leather, textile, rubber, and food, were also burned. Overall, a decrease in the activity of waste burning is an important step for reducing the potential of air pollution and climate change.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10163-022-01371-3.

Keywords: Developing countries; Estimated emission; Open burning; Peri-urban areas; Waste mismanagement.