Carbon discharge through municipal solid waste in Haikou, China

Abstract

SUMMARYWith rapid urban development, municipal solid waste (MSW) has become a pressing issue. Estimation of carbon discharge through municipal solid waste provides a way to assess environmental load of solid waste from the viewpoint of the carbon cycle. With few studies on carbon flow in urban ecosystems, this research contributes to urban carbon research and provides insights into human impacts on the carbon cycle. Based on a comprehensive fieldwork investigation of a typical Chinese tourist city -Haikou City, Hainan Island -the characteristics of MSW carbon discharge and human activities that influenced it were analysed. The results indicated that, in 2001, the total carbon discharge from 261.9 Gg of MSW was 105.1 GgC per year, and 174.6 kgC per capita per annum. Carbon is discharged in the form of food scraps (24%), plastics (20%), wood (17%), fabrics (14%), paper (13%), and dust and stone (12%). If landfill received all the waste, 4.7% of MSW carbon would be transformed into methane, with a value of 4.9 GgC. Between 1991 and 1999, Haikou's per capita MSW carbon discharge increased by 59.9%, and total MSW carbon discharge increased by 124.9%. MSW carbon discharge in Haikou is significantly affected by the growth of residential expenditure and urbanisation. Local characteristics of tourism also influence Haikou's MSW carbon discharge, not only in terms of its yearly variation, but also its monthly variation. Integrating data on carbon discharge with carbon consumption will provide a systematic view of the carbon metabolism in urban ecosystems, and further insights into the generation of urban environmental pollution.