An important issue for the daily functioning of a household is the way of disposing of unnecessary matter – municipal waste. It contains a fraction that decomposes quickly, and for this reason, it can be classified as FMCG. This group of matter, which should be removed quickly, includes: organic kitchen waste: plant and animal, and in the case of single- or two-family housing, also green garden waste (for example, mown grass, leaves, fruit not suitable for consumption). It should be emphasized that in the case of collection once every two weeks, during warm weather, the decomposition of the mentioned waste takes place in the containers. In many cases, it is not possible to increase the frequency of collection due to transport costs. Research conducted at the beginning of the 21st century in Poland showed that among expenditures on services related to environmental protection, 66.9% were fees for the removal of liquid waste, and 33.1% for the removal of municipal solid waste. A way to reduce future costs of collection and processing of unnecessary matter in households may be the introduction of collection of unnecessary household waste in two containers – dry and wet. Other solutions should also be introduced that will enable more frequent disposal of rapidly decomposing waste from households. It is worth emphasizing that international legal acts adopted by Poland prohibit the landfilling of biodegradable waste. By 2010, their deposition should be reduced by 25% compared to 1995.
Apart from reducing the costs of daily life in households and international legal acts, one should mention the external costs borne by the entire society. These are generated, among other things, as a result of road freight transport. It consists of: emission of pollutants, noise, accidents, loss of time due to congestion. According to data from 2000, for 17 Western European countries, the costs of road freight transport amounted to 211.7 euros per 1,000 tonne-kilometers. In 2004, there were 4,500 accidents involving trucks in Poland. 470 people died in them, and 1,700 were injured.
Assumptions for the system of collecting rapidly decomposing waste
An important issue in implementing and introducing a system for collecting rapidly decomposing waste is to indicate the area it concerns. Currently, in Poland, in rural and recreational areas (villages, small towns), some of this waste is managed by the residents. The collection problem concerns only the areas of large cities and compact urbanized areas. In this area, it is not advisable to increase traffic, especially in the case of trucks. Research conducted back in the 1990s showed a lack of acceptance by residents for the movement of heavy specialized vehicles along residential streets. It is necessary to introduce a collection system that will not cause additional high fees. We carry out many daily activities taking place in the household with minimal own costs. We often accept environmental protection only when we do not personally bear any costs or lose benefits. Research has shown that high-quality compost is created only from the collection of rapidly decomposing waste originating from households. It cannot be obtained from mixed municipal waste. Therefore, it will probably be necessary to introduce a separate collection of green waste.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2007.