Composition and parameters of household bio-waste in four seasons

Bio-waste makes up almost half portion of municipal solid waste. The characterization of household bio-waste is important in determining the most appropriate treatment method. The differences in composition and parameters of bio-waste derived from urban settlement (U-bio-waste) and family houses (F-bio-waste) during the four climate seasons are described in this paper. Twelve components and 20 parameters for bio-waste were evaluated. The composition of U-bio-waste was almost steady over those seasons, unlike F-bio-waste. U-bio-waste was comprised mainly (58.2%) of fruit and vegetable debris. F-bio-waste was primarily made up of seasonal garden components. The amount of variation among seasons in both type of bio-waste increased in sequence: basic parameters < macro-elements < potentially toxic elements. Spearman's correlations among proportions of individual components and parameters of bio-waste were found out. Results of this research could be utilized to support another composition and parameters of bio-waste and be suitable for establishing bio-waste processing. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.