A Tale of Two Countries – The Czech Republic and the United States : A Comparison of Their Municipal Solid Waste Management Systeme
Abstract
The authors of this paper focus on the composition of municipal solid waste (MSW), primarily mixed household waste, from different types of buildings in the Czech Republic during the past 10 years (from 1999 to 2009). The paper is the result of two projects undertaken in the Czech Republic between 1999 and 2009.
The survey focuses on the composition and complete physical-chemical properties of MSW and its changes during the past decade. The composition of MSW varies very significantly in relation to the type of building.
The biggest differences are between the houses with a centralised heat supply and buildings in the country heated primarily by solid fuel. The differences in heating values are very significant having a range of 6.54 - 16.5 MJ/kg, depending on the year and season.
Some of the physical-chemical parameters also vary quite noticeably.