Assessment of solid waste generated in UNITEN, Putrajaya Campus

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the solid waste generation and compositions that are generated from UNITEN Putrajaya Campus and also to calculate potential energy and profit that can be harvested from the solid waste. This study was conducted at UNITEN Putrajaya Campus where the samples of solid waste were collected from different types of source of generation namely residential colleges, faculty building, admin building and cafeteria. The solid wastes collected are weighed, mixed, quartered and the compositions of the samples are determined. From the analysis, the solid waste generation rate is 2,168.2kg/day during ongoing semester and 987.9kg/day during semester break which give 45.5% differences. The major composition of solid waste produced from this study area are food waste (56%), mixed plastic (9%), mixed paper (7%), mixed plastic bottle (6%), box and polystyrene ( 4%) and aluminum (3%). From observation, the amount of solid waste generated in UNITEN Putrajaya Campus is depending on the size of the area whereas the larger area has resulted in higher of solid waste generation. In terms of energy that could be recovered by incineration, the total estimation potential energy that generated by UNITEN is 7,750.6kJ/kg per day. The profits that can be achieved from the recycling activities are RM259.94 per day (during ongoing semester) and RM116.96 (during semester break). The analysis shows that solid waste generated in UNITEN has a good potential in recycling activities and give more benefit to UNITEN. With the data of the solid waste generated in this study, proper management strategies can be planned by top management of UNITEN and put it into action in the future. In long term, it will make UNITEN a green campus which eventually reduces the amount of solid waste generation.