In: Civil Engineering
An affluent suburb in Johannesburg with a population of 35,000 has a solid waste generation rate of 2.3 kg solid waste/day-person. Garden refuse makes up 23% of the total waste generated (by weight). Garden refuse is managed by a composting company who collects the refuse separately. Assume the average density of the solid waste is 140 kg/m3 and is compacted to 340 kg/m3 in the waste collection truck that collects the waste at the home. Once the waste is disposed of in the landfill, it has a density of 220 kg/m3 .
a) Argue why affluent suburbs generate more waste than less wealthy suburbs.
b) Given that the municipal landfill only receives waste from the suburb and has a total available volume of 300 000 m3 remaining, determine how long (in months) will it take to reach the maximum capacity of the landfill.