Simulation Model to Evaluate the Scenarios of Municipal Solid Waste Management

This study compares various solid waste management scenarios in Erbil city, Iraq, in order to evaluate important scientific data and demonstrate ways to reduce the amount of MSW in the city over the next 20 years. It includes an in-depth analysis of waste generation rates and composition. Using variation in techniques of solid waste treatments, such as recycling, incineration, composting, and landfilling, four waste management scenarios have been defined and quantitatively evaluated for this purpose. Solid waste materials collected from a range of homes in the various districts in the city, the samples were taken from 39 homes in 13 districts between December 2022 and December 2023 over the course of a year. Erbil’s current GR is 1.145 kg/ca.d, the total volume of solid waste currently generated in Erbil is 1,050.70 tonne/day and expected to be 2,438.06 tonne/day in year 2044. The majority (73.28%) is notably made up of organic waste, with plastics (9.23%) and paper (7.56%) playing a noteworthy role as well. Combining these techniques results in a significant 63.36% decrease in waste in scenario D. Over the next 20 years, there is expected to be an increase in waste generation in tandem with population growth. The study emphasizes how crucial comprehensive waste management plans are to reducing negative environmental effects. These insights can be used by policymakers to plan for sustainable waste management that takes waste reduction and population growth into account.