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Fuel consumption during seven different daily activities of a garbage co-collection truck and a normal packer truck was estimated from the trucks' global positioning system (GPS) data and fuel consumption records. The co-collection and the normal garbage packer consumed approximately 1.8 L and 1.26 L of diesel per km, respectively, while travelling within the collection areas. Using these fuel rates and the GPS data, the results show that both types of trucks consumed more than 60% of daily total fuel while actually collecting waste on the route. The average daily fuel consumption was 2-4 times higher on rural routes compared to urban areas. Fuel consumption varied significantly depending on the housing density along the collection route. In addition, approximately 5-6 times as much fuel was required to collect a kilogram of waste on a rural route compared to an urban route. Potential methods of reducing fuel consumption were examined. Consistent use of optimal collection routes could potentially save an average of 7.5 L of fuel per truck per day. Reducing the loading time per stop was also studied, but the results suggest that this method does not have significant potential to reduce fuel consumption.

Most of the 4000 composting sites in North America employ open windrow composting techniques in which rainfall often comes into contact with the compost. The resulting runoff can leach contaminants from the compost, making the runoff unsuitable for direct release into receiving waters. Stormwater from these facilities is usually collected in a detention pond and treated prior to release. There is little guidance for determining the appropriate size of these runoff detention ponds. One barrier to modelling the hydrology of composting sites is a lack of basic information regarding rainfall–runoff relationships for compost. This note describes the results of laboratory and field experiments designed to estimate the fraction of rainfall incident on a compost windrow that leaches from the windrow onto the composting pad and into the detention pond. The results indicate that approximately 68% of the rainfall incident on a saturated compost windrow will eventually run off. Key words: solid waste management, composting, runoff, detention pond.

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