Abstract
Pollution has become a major threat to the very existence of mankind on this planet. Of the many sources, municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the serious causes of pollution. To minimize pollution, MSW mast be managed in a way that it becomes an asset rather than a liability. For this purpose, a survey was carried out to assess the quantity and quality of MSW in terms of plant food nutrients and toxic metals produced in Peshawar during May 2002-April 2003. Waste samples were collected from houses in different locations (such as IDS colony, Police colony, Carat area, Yakatooth, and Hayatabad Town), hotels, juice shops and city garbage. Adler weighing and necessary processing, waste samples were analyzed for major nutrients (N, P, some micro-nutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn) and some heavy toxic metals (Ni, Cad Pb, Cr). Information on the current utilization status of such wastes were also collected from concerned quarters. The results showed that the amount of MSW produced varied greatly from location to location and from house to house within the same locality. Our data revealed that on average about 0,43 kg of MSW is produced per person per day in Peshawar which is equivalent to about 868 tons per day for Peshawar. Our results showed that the MSW contain variable amounts of elements (total) such as N 0.23¬4.02% P 0.04-0.22%, K 0.05-2.38%, Zn 5-149 pg g-1, Cu <1404 pg, Fe 190-1958 pg, Mn 29-204 pg, Ni <1-259 pg, Cd <1-14, Pb <1-164pg, and Cr <1-187 pg. Currently most of the MSW is used for land filling and which used to be a good source of organic fertilizer in the past. The farmers interest in its use declined because of presence of plastic bags, glasses and hospital wastes. These results suggested that huge amount of MSW is produced in Peshawar but it is not being used for any meaningful purpose despite the.fact that it has large reserves of essential elements.
Zahir Shah , M. Anwar. (2003) Assessment of municipal solid waste for nutrient elements and heavy toxic metals, The Journal Soil & Environment , Volume 22, Issue 4.
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