Material flow analysis of solid waste in the district of Guapiles

Material Flow Analysis is a powerful tool, first time used in Costa Rica, to analyze the problems related to solid waste management in the district of Guapiles, in the province of Limon, Costa Rica. It is an analytical method to quantify flows and stocks of materials or substances in a well-defined system, allowing the visualization of solid waste and the actors involved in the process. The methodology used for the investigation was the characterization of residues of one hundred four houses and forty-nine shops, taking as reference the "Guide of interpretation of the methodology for the realization of studies of generation and composition of ordinary waste" of the CYMA program of the year 2012. In addition, surveys were conducted in the residential and commercial sector, as well as interviews with solid waste managers of the municipality of Pococi, and companies that collect recyclable materials and private collectors. Additionally, the analysis of materials received from the waste recovery campaigns for recycling. With this analysis, it was possible to identify the total amounts of solid waste being burned (283.80 tons / year), burials of organic matter (1 204.89 tons / year), glass burials (4.71 tons / year), recovery of solid waste for recycling, including less common flows such as electronic waste and metal scrap (2 115.35 tons / year). Furthermore, it was found that 7 408,04 tons / year had gone to Los Laureles sanitary landfill, and 1 225,44 tons / year of illegal dumping. It was concluded that this tool could be used when making decisions in relation to the improvement of solid waste management systems.