Solid waste management is one of the most important challenges facing the local administration in the governorate of Najaf. This paper investigates the domestic amount generated in Najaf governorate for period 2015-2035 and the required landfill volume for the disposal of the waste. The daily per capita waste generation in Al-Najaf is 0.42 kg, the humidity content about 43% and the density of waste around 473 kg/m
3. The total amount was about 5,914,415 ton and the required landfill volume is 11,828,829 m
3.
In the 20th century, due to industrial revolution and technology development, consumption patterns of the people all over the globe have changed and the use of natural resources and goods has increased manifold. Due to this, huge quantities of different types of solid wastes are produced every day creating an alarming problem of their disposal.
In Iraq, after decades of turmoil and international sanctions many of the key infrastructures within Iraq have fallen into disrepair, leading to a terminal decline in the provision of basic and essential services. This is particularly true of waste and resource management which has seen years of underdevelopment and deterioration. This has resulted in a lack of provision of basic public services in the waste sector which have been replaced by a burgeoning black market in waste collection, disposal and recycling [1] .
In Najaf governorate (Figure 1), solid waste management aspect is regarded as one of the major challenges faced by the local administration. This issue is one of the reasons of the political conflict in the governorate because of the saintliness of the city and the increasing in solid waste generation.
Generation rate in Iraq is between (0.35 - 0.65 kg/capita. day) as middle-income country [2] . This rate varies from place to place where it reaches (0.42 kg/capita. day) in Najaf governorate [3] , (0.44 kg/capita. day) in Kirkuk city [4] and (0.496 kg/capita. day) in Mousel city [5] .
The main aims of this study are to:
1) Estimate the amount of domestic solid waste to be generated during period 2015-2035 for future planning for solid waste management and land in Najaf governorate.
2) Calculate the required landfills volume for the disposal of this amount in a safety way without any environment risks.
2. Study Area
The study area hosts the shrine of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, making it a holy place for both Shia and Sunni Muslims. Wadi Al-Salam (valley of peace) is also located in this governorate which is an important Shia burial ground and it is a prominent center of Shia learning. Najaf governorate lies between coordinates latitudes (32˚21'N and 29˚50'N), longitudes (44˚44'E and 42˚50'E) with total area 28,824 sq. km (6.6% of Iraq). Administratively, Al-Najaf governorate includes three qadhaas (Administrative units comprising the Governorate) (Al-Manathera, Al-Kufa and Al-Najaf Qadhaa) (Figure 1).
Based in data from [6] , the population and growth rate for the study area is as shown in Table 1.
3. Calculation of Domestic Solid Waste Volume
Domestic solid waste (domestic waste and portion of commercial waste (visitors waste) were calculated as
Map of study area
Population and growth rate for each Qadhaa
Qadhaa
2014 Population
Growth rate%
Najaf
786,804
2.7
Kufa
346,145
2.5
Manathera
256,599
2.3
well as the approximate amount to be generated in the coming 20 years (2015-2035). This information was used to find out the required landfill volume based on the following steps.
3.1. 1-Estimation the Population for Each Qadhaa
Population for each Qadhaa for period study (2015-2035) was estimated based the flowing equation [7] :
Pi= population in target year
Po = population in base year
n = number of years.
r = Growth rate.
For each Qadhaa, the growth rate used was for Al-Najaf, Al-Kufa and Al-Manathera Qadhaa is 2.7%, 2.5%, 2.3% [6] .
3.2. Calculating the Amount of Domestic Solid Waste for Period from 2015 to 2035
Based on population estimated from previous equation and domestic and visitors waste generation rate (0.42 kg/capita. day and 0.23 kg/capita day) respectively [2] [3] the Amount of domestic waste for period from 2015 to 2035 for each Qadhaa is:
1) Al-Najaf Qadhaa
Based on the population in 2015 and 2016 and the growth rate (Table 1); 1,485,000 individuals visit Al-Najaf Qadhaa each year. These visitors generate waste 0.23 kg/capita. day. The generated waste rate for the visitors, the population and solid waste amount for Najaf Qadhaa for the period (2015-2035) is show in Table 2 and Figure 2.
Amount solid waste based on the population and growth rate (Table 1) for Al-Kufa Qadhaa for the period (2015-2035) was calculated as shown in Table 3 and Figure 3.
Population and solid waste in Al-Kufa Qadhaa
Solid waste(ton)
Population
Year
*53,646
354,799
2015
54,987
363,669
2016
56,361
372,760
2017
57,770
382,079
2018
59,215
391,631
2019
60,695
401,422
2020
62,212
411,458
2021
63,768
421,744
2022
65,362
432,288
2023
66,996
443,095
2024
68,671
454,172
2025
70,388
465,527
2026
72,147
477,165
2027
73,951
489,094
2028
75,800
501,321
2029
77,695
513,854
2030
79,637
526,701
2031
81,628
539,868
2032
83,669
553,365
2033
85,760
567,199
2034
87,904
581,379
2035
1,458,262
SUM
* = (354,799 × 0.42 × 360)/1000.
Expected solid waste in the Al-Najaf Qadhaa
3) Al-Manathera Qadhaa
Amount solid waste based on the population and growth rate (Table 1) for Manathera Qadhaa for the period (2015-2035) is shown in Table 4 and Figure 4.
The accumulated domestic waste quantities for the coming twenty years for the three Qadhaas are illustrated in Table 5 and Figure 5.
Population and solid waste in Al-Kufa Qadhaa
Solid waste in Al-Manathera Qadhaa with its population
Accumulated solid waste quantities for Al-Najaf, Al-Kufa, and Al-Mana- thera Qadhaa with time
Solid waste in Al-Manathera Qadhaa with its population
Solid waste(ton)
Population
Year
*39,690
262,501
2015
40,603
268,538
2016
41,537
274,715
2017
42,492
281,033
2018
43,470
287,497
2019
44,469
294,109
2020
45,492
300,874
2021
46,538
307,794
2022
47,609
314,873
2023
48,704
322,115
2024
49,824
329,524
2025
50,970
337,103
2026
52,142
344,856
2027
53,342
352,788
2028
54,568
360,902
2029
55,823
369,203
2030
57,107
377,695
2031
58,421
386,382
2032
59,765
395,268
2033
61,139
404,359
2034
62,545
413,660
2035
1,056,251
SUM
* = (262,501 × 0.42 × 360)/1000.
According to the principle methods used for landfilling in dry areas it can be classified as: 1) Area, 2) Trench, and 3) depression. The adopted method in this research is the area method that is more suitable with Najaf environs lands of shallow ground water. Waste in the landfill should be covered daily in order to minimize health hazards and maintaining safety environment. The volume of daily cover in the landfill varies between 10% and 15% of the waste volume [7] [8] . Adopting a value of 12% of the waste volume, the accumulated weighs and volume of waste for each Qadhaa and the required capacity of each landfill over the next twenty years can be estimated as shown in Table 6 and Table 7.
4. Conclusions
Al-Najaf Governorate is located south-West Iraq. It covers an area of 28,824 square kilometers and its population in 2014 was 1,158,648 inhabitants. This city is visited regularly by what is called religious tourists. For this reason large quantities of solid waste are generated. In this research the generated solid waste was calculated based on the existing population and the expected population growth rate. This calculation was extended to 2035.
The total amount of solid waste was about 5,914,415 ton and the required landfill volume is 11,828,829 m3 to accommodate this waste. Qadhaa Al-Najaf solid waste generation was the highest relative to the other two Qadhaas
The sum of the solid waste in twenty years for the three Qadhaas
Year
Solid waste (ton) in Al-Najaf Qadhaa
Solid waste (ton) in Al-Kufa Qadhaa
Solid waste (ton) in Al-Manathera Qadhaa
Total (ton)
2015
122,518
53,646
39,690
215,854
2016
125,817
54,987
40,603
221,407
2017
129,205
56,361
41,537
227,103
2018
132,684
57,770
42,492
232,946
2019
136,258
59,215
43,470
238,943
2020
139,927
60,695
44,469
245,091
2021
143,696
62,212
45,492
251,400
2022
147,567
63,768
46,538
257,873
2023
151,542
65,362
47,609
264,513
2024
155,624
66,996
48,704
271,324
2025
159,817
68,671
49,824
278,312
2026
164,123
70,388
50,970
285,481
2027
168,545
72,147
52,142
292,834
2028
173,086
73,951
53,342
300,379
2029
177,750
75,800
54,568
308,118
2030
182,540
77,695
55,823
316,058
2031
187,460
79,637
57,107
324,204
2032
192,512
81,628
58,421
332,561
2033
197,700
83,669
59,765
341,134
2034
203,029
85,760
61,139
349,928
2035
208,502
87,904
62,545
358,951
Sub.Total
3,399,902
1,458,262
1,056,251
5,914,415
The accumulated weighs and volume of waste for each Qadhaa
Qadhaa
Accumulated Waste from 2015 to 2035 Weight (ton)
Volume in Landfill (m3)**
Al-Najaf
3,399,902
6,071,254
Al-Kufa
1,458,261
2,604,038
AL-Manathera
1,056,251
1,886,163
**Density for compacting waste at landfill = 0.56 t/ m3 [9] .
Cumulative and compacted waste volumes for the landfills and its required areas
Al-Najaf landfill
Al-Kufa landfill
AL-Manathera landfill
Accumulated Volume (m3)
6,071,254
2,604,038
1,886,163
+12% Cover
728,550
312,484
226,339
Total volume (m3)
6,799,804
2,916,523
2,112,502
Area 2 m for 3 m depth
2,266,601
972,174
704,167
simply because the religious tourists generate at least 342 ton.
Cite this paper
Mohammad A. Al-Anbari,Mohanad Y. Thameer,Nadhir Al-Ansari,Sven Knutsson, (2016) Estimation of Domestic Solid Waste Amount and Its Required Landfill Volume in Najaf Governorate, Iraq for the Period 2015-2035. Engineering,08,339-346. doi: 10.4236/eng.2016.86031
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