An analysis of the commercial waste characterisation in a tourism city in Vietnam

This study provided a detailed description of the waste generation, composition, and characterisation of the commercial activities in a tourism city in Vietnam. Whereby, solid waste from 55 restaurants, 110 shops, 27 handcraft facilities and five markets were collected and classified into 17 categories. Then, physical and chemical characterisations of waste were analysed. The results showed that the commercial waste accounted for 35.1% of municipal waste, in which restaurants were the most significant waste source by 74.5%. The composition of commercial waste was 66.8% for biodegradable waste, 20.1% for recycling materials, 11.3% for combustible waste, and 1.8% for the others. Also, the high moisture content and density, and the low heating value were the characteristics of the commercial waste in a tourism city in Vietnam. Solutions of waste minimisation and improvement of waste quality for incineration were suggested toward the sustainable solid waste management practice. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.