ON THE GENERATION OF SOLID WASTES FROM HOUSES IN MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASS NEIGHBORHOODS IN JOÃO PESSOA

Abstract

The per capita domestic solid waste generation rate (PCDSWGR) in João Pessoa was studied with special emphasis given to its determination, estimation from utilization indicators and its variations during the days of the week. The PCDSWGR found in João Pessoa was about 500 g/hab.day, which is lower than that suggested by the literature. The main cause for this is the methodological procedures used in determining the mass of residue at the source, before it can be mixed with fractions of residues other than domestic ones. The correlation coefficients between the mass of domestic solid wastes and water consumption were moderately high and statistically significant at the level of 0.1%. With the exception of Sunday, no differences in the PCDSWGR were found for the various days of the week; as such, optimization of collection based on this data is not suggested. However, in the case of no regular collection on Sunday, the amount of wastes to be collected on Monday is significantly higher than that of the other days of the week and the number of collection vehicles should be multiplied by 1.80. Keywords: Solid wastes. Domestic residues. Generation rate. Water consumption. João Pessoa.