Municipal solid waste management: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia provinces

Abstract

The rapid increase in pollution and waste in Saudi Arabia is primarily due to rapid urbanization and industrial development. Local governments and government agencies are faced with the problem of waste disposal on a daily basis. The League of Arab States has called on researchers to develop solid waste management projects for the Arab region at the national level. The aim of the study is to critically analyze and study the current state of solid waste in the Saudi Arabia provinces, which should help in identifying the most promising approaches to solid waste management, which will ultimately improve the level of environmental safety. It was found that the annual volume of solid waste in Saudi Arabia, which is calculated per capita, is 1.4 kg/day/person, which is significantly higher than the world average. According to the forecast, about 3545 thousand tons of waste will be generated by 2030, which requires a global approach to waste management to mitigate the long-term impact on the environment and health. The study found that the Mass Burn scenario provides the potential to generate 61.3, and 180.0 MW, respectively in Medina, and Jeddah, which is higher than the Mass Burn's recycling power scenario and the RDF with the biomethane scenario. Joint in-depth analysis and practical research of the current situation in the field of solid waste management made it possible to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current MSW management systems, as well as to identify promising areas for the country to reach a higher level of waste management in accordance with the set goals.