The importance of characterizing residual household waste at the local level: A case study of Saguenay, Quebec (Canada)

Knowledge of the quantity and the type of residual household waste (RHW) generated by a population within a given territory is essential for developing affordable, effective, and sustainable management strategies for waste. This study aims to accurately describe the composition of residential residual materials collected directly from households over the course of a year. Household waste was collected from urban and rural sectors that were representative of the study territory. Samples were collected during the winter, summer, and fall of 2014. A total of 3039 kg of RHW was collected and sorted into 9 categories and 39 subcategories. Statistical analysis showed, except for organic matter, that the weight percentage of each category of material did not significantly differ among sampling periods or locations. Therefore, the results for a category were compiled to generate a single value to calculate the relative abundance of each type of residual material. Organic matter made up the majority fraction of the RHW (53% to 66%). This was followed by plastics (9%), bulky items and renovation/demolition debris (6%), textiles (5%), metals (4%), paper and cardboard fiber (4%), glass (2%), and household hazardous waste (2%). This approach has allowed us to improve the accuracy of the data used in MRM, contribute to the creation of a regional dataset for waste, and develop a methodology more applicable to local realities. Specific to the immediate needs of municipal MRM, we updated knowledge regarding the generation, recovery, and disposal of the contents of the residential sector, and tracked the evolution and the variation of contents over a given period. We believe our methodology is applicable to other regions having similar characteristics in terms of climate, socio-economic status, and other parameters that affect the composition of RHW.