GIS for the Management of Biodegradable Municipal Waste

Mary Purcell is a student member of Cré, currently carrying out Ph.D research on Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) at University College Dublin in the School of Architecture, Landscape and Civil Engineering, under supervision of Dr. William Magette, Senior Lecturer. Financial support for this project by the EPA ERTDI Programme and the National Development Plan is gratefully acknowledged.

The aim of the research is to develop a GIS tool for assessing BMW generation on a local basis in both residential and commercial areas of Dublin and to facilitate BMW planning management. This will be achieved through:

o         Analysis and characterisation of BMW according to socio-economic factors

o         Development of algorithms to optimise BMW collection

o         Delineating areas in which targeted intervention strategies should be implemented for maximum effectiveness in diverting BMW.

Using ArcGIS predictions of BMW generation will be mapped according to socio-demographics. Waste generation rates, according to population, social class,

socio-economic group and household will be mapped according the Electoral Divisions for the four Local Authorities in the Dublin region.

Waste generation rates from scientific literature will be applied to the data. The waste generation for the commercial sector will also be mapped with the aid of An Post Geodirectory codes and combined to the household layer to give total BMW generation.

The generation rate arising from the research will be used to estimate the magnitude and distribution of BMW requiring collection and will also be used to identify those districts, in which unique intervention strategies may be useful. For a select number of these “unique” areas, residents and businesses will be surveyed regarding attitudes towards waste management.

Once verified against actual waste collection data, the GIS “model” using socio-economic indicators and housing types will constitute a valuable planning tool in predicting the generation of BMW as a function of these variables going into the future. Contact Mary.Purcell@ucd.ie