J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2017) 19:265–281
DOI 10.1007/s10163-015-0415-6
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Management of household waste in sanitary landfill
of Mostaganem district (Western Algeria)
I. S. Abdelli1 • M. Asnoune1 • Z. Arab2 • F. Abdelmalek1 • A. Addou1
Received: 11 December 2014 / Accepted: 25 June 2015 / Published online: 16 July 2015
 Springer Japan 2015
Abstract The management of solid waste in Mostaganem
district was limited to collection and transportation to open
dumpsites. By the end of 2010, the situation has changed
since there exists now a sanitary landfill (SL) which allows
for better management. The objective of our work is to
determine the main elements related to MSW (waste gen-
eration, physical composition, physicochemical and bacte-
riological parameters, ways and means to collect) which
enable to help local collectivities (municipality, decision-
makers, political actors and private sector) to decide on how
to improve and exploit the SL. In this respect, we tentatively
propose methods applying the principle of reduction at the
source, recycling, reusing, valorization and elimination (3R-
VE). We propose also optimizing the collection as well as the
utilization of sorting centers and transfer docks. The study is
on the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of MSW col-
lected since 2011 from the SL of Mostaganem city and six
nearby municipalities. The quantities of waste increase
annually by 18 % with a ratio of 0.4 kg/inhab/day for 2013.
The organic matter represents the major fraction with more
than 60 % and the recycled part is of the order of 32 %. The
determination of physicochemical parameters of MSW has
enabled a financial study by valorization channels.
Keywords Household waste  Sanitary landfill 
Characterization  Valorization  Mostaganem (Western
Algeria)
& A. Addou
ahmedaddou1@gmail.com; a.addou@univ-mosta.dz
1 the waste is insufficient. Hence, the number of vehicles
Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l’Environnement
et de la Valorisation (STEVA), Université de Mostaganem,
BP 188, 27000 Mostaganem, Algeria
2
Centre d’Enfouissement Technique (Landfill); Sour,
27210 Mostaganem, Algeria
Introduction
Algeria generates important quantities of household waste
which are neither treated nor valorized and this ends up
with an alarming situation. In order to prevent this, the state
has planned objectives for 2020 in the long-term devel-
opment. In this context, Algeria has established in 2002 a
national plan of actions for the environment and the sus-
tainable development (NPAE-SD), which consists of
engaging Algeria on investing in ecologically durable
development. Two action programs have been set up: the
national program for integrated management of household
wastes (PROGDEM) and the second program, national
plan for management of special wastes, PNAGDES [1].
Despite the efforts made by the state, the quantities of
household wastes are continuously increasing. Algeria
produces 10.3 millions of tons of household wastes per
year with a mean ratio of 0.5 kg/inhab/day [2, 3], that is
less than the world average (0.7 kg/inhab/day).
Algeria has set up several plans to preserve the envi-
ronment, but the malfunctioning of management services
of household waste creates many problems such as bad
smell, proliferation of rats and other harmful animals,
contamination of underground water, etc. The non-disposal
of dangerous waste in dispersed quantities, the littering and
the absence of dumpsite add up with this mismanagement
because people get rid of their waste by leaving it in
uninhabited areas, on the sides of secondary roads, etc.,
creating open-air dumpsites.
The material necessary for collection and transporting
counted is 4100 among which 267 of tip-lorries and 3833
other vehicles of different types for 1541 municipalities
[4]. The vehicle number for collection is estimated at one
vehicle for 7500 inhabitants whereas the international
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standard is one for 4000 inhabitants. The national deficit of
collection vehicles is then 87.5 % [4] and the human
resources are depleting due to unavailability of workers for
collection of wastes. Indeed, the number of waste collec-
tors changed from one for 500 inhabitants 1980, to one for
1500 inhabitants in 2005 [4]. In addition to this major
constraint, low level of education of the collection crew
may be affecting efficient management of solid wastes.
Over a total number of agents of 20,000 at national level,
the qualification rate is less than 4 % in average cities and
is between 7 and 10 % in big cities [5], according to an
investigation made by the Ministry of environment [4].
The collection operation which is at the heart of the
management process and represents 60 % of the global
budget [6] has not escaped from this mismanagement.
On site, the inefficiencies of the municipal collection
services are very noticeable, particularly in remote areas
because of waste stacks spread on street sides. The report
of the World Bank in 2004 shows a collection rate in
Algerian average cities of 65 and 92 % in big cities. The
objective of the Ministry of environment is to reach a
collection rate of 100 % by 2020 over the entire national
territory [1]. In order to overcome this malfunctioning,
curative actions are introduced to boost the management
capacities of cleaning local services. These are by reorga-
nizing the services, by boosting the supervision of their
worker and their training on MSW, the preparation of
programs on communication at local and regional level as
well as the improvement of collection capacities by the
acquisition of vehicles [1]. It is well known that the
quantity and nature of waste generated by a country is
linked to certain parameters such as the food habits,
weather conditions, change of seasons, geographical loca-
tions, socioeconomic standard of people and different
migrations in the country (agricultural, transhumance,
tourism, etc.) [7]. The demographic rise in Algeria affects
also this increase. At Sao Sebastian (Brazil) for example,
the municipal production of waste increases by a factor
3.75 changing from 40 to 150 ton/day during the tourism
period [8]. Therefore, the management of waste becomes
an independent field of study and research at the technical
level as well as at environmental, sanitary, economic and
social levels.
Our work presents the actual situation in managing the
sanitary landfill receiving wastes from Mostaganem city
and six other municipalities. As routine work, waste
composition of classified household wastes is obtained.
Physiochemical parameters were evaluated in order to help
in decision making process of choosing the correct and
existing valorization channels or create new ones. Fur-
thermore, we identify the biological agents and the risk on
the environmental impact. A previous work [9] has enabled
academic experts and environment regional inspectors to
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work together in order to primarily propose valorization
channels and to achieve a better waste management.
Materials and methods
Study area
Mostaganem city is a coastal town of average size, 50 km2
area, located at 350 km west of Algiers and 100 km east of
Oran which is the second largest Algerian city. It is 104 m
above sea level on a coastal plateau 124.9 km wide
(Fig. 1a). Its population has increased from 125,911 in
1998 to 162,825 inhabitants according to the last census in
2008, with an increasing rate of 1.6 %. Having a harbor,
its regional economy is based on fishing, agriculture,
tourism and an industry located mainly on the coast (milk
and milk products, sugar products and refining, chlorine
products, tobacco production unit, etc.). With several
attraction spots, this region is one of the most touristic
places with 120 km coast, a lighthouse, ancient quarters,
caves, forests, archeological search sites, etc.
The six municipalities using the SL are located in the
east of Mostaganem (Fig. 1b). They have a low population,
their agricultural vocation are mainly potatoes and citrus
fruits.
Algeria is divided in three big regions: the littoral, the
high plateaus and the big South (Fig. 1a). Algiers (the
capital, over two million inhabitants) produces more than
0.87 million tons of household waste per year. The big
cities (between 100,000 and 300,000 inhabitants) such as
Oran in the west, Constantine in the east and Tizi-Ouzou in
the center generate between 0.2 and 0.3 million tons per
year. The average cities (between 50,000 and 100,000
inhabitants) such as Mostaganem, Setif and Bechar pro-
duce between 0.1 and 0.19 million tons per year. Finally,
small cities (between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants) such
as Boumerdes and some southern towns, characterized by
low densities of population produce less than 0.05 million
tons per year. Coastal towns, having higher density of
population, generate quantities of waste nearly bigger than
those of the high lands or the big south [10].
Identification of activities generating household
waste
The main activities generating household waste are:
– 24,282 households with 6 persons in average
– 21 hotels with a total capacity of 1343 beds
– 8 university campuses (about 35,000 students)
– Public health sector with more than 600 beds
– 6 private clinics
J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2017) 19:265–281
Fig. 1 a Map of Algeria. b 6
Municipalities and Sour landfill
Fig. 2 a Open dumpsite.
b Sanitary landfill
– A slaughter-house (15–51 ovins/week, 5–7 bovins/
week)
– 4 markets
– A commercial harbor
– A fishing and a yacht harbor
– A duty free zone for vehicles import since 2010
– 7000 stores and shops
– Several industrial units
Management mode of household wastes
The management of wastes in Mostaganem district has
long been limited to collection and transporting to dump-
sites (Fig. 2a), a cheap and environmentally not recom-
mended way to get rid of waste. In this regard, people have
a very negative view towards management of household
wastes and which has nevertheless greatly evolved and
modernized during the last decade. It is out of question to
evacuate and eliminate waste as in the past but doing it in
clean and lasting conditions for health and environment
reasons. In this respect, the processes have improved and
267
the treatment channels are more numerous in order to
manage every type of waste at best.
To eliminate household waste, Algeria opted for the
construction of 110 sanitary landfill of class 2. The pro-
gression status is follows:
• 241 studies of major local schemes of management
of municipal waste have been finalized with 106
validated.
• 19 SL realized and equipped at chief locations, out of
which 16 are subject to expertise and ready to be
exploited.
• 31 SL being realized, out of which 22 have reached a
physical rate above 50 % in 22 districts (chief location
and inter-municipalities) and out of which 20 are under
study.
• 18 SL in 15 districts (chief location and inter-munic-
ipalities) are under study. Six of these are subject to
choosing their location.
This strategy enables to eradicate immediately 4500
anarchical dumpsites existing at national level over a total
of 6000 which leads to rehabilitate 157,000 hectares of
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land for parks and green spaces [5]. These installations for
landfilling of household wastes are becoming true indus-
trial sites obeying strict policies and subject to rigorous
rules of conception, exploitation and surveillance [11, 12].
Sanitary landfill
The SL of Mostaganem city is located in the municipality
of Sour at 22 km from the main district. This SL is
designed to receive household waste from seven sur-
rounding municipalities: Mostaganem, Sayada, Ain Tede-
les, Sour, Ain Boudinar, Kheiredine and Oued-ElKheir. It
has an area of 15 hectares, 2 separate landfills of
100,000 m3 with a lifetime of 10 years. The equipment and
material available are:
– One compacting device
– 8 compacting tip-trucks
– One 2.5 tons truck
– One dumper on tires
– One tractor with a tank
Its realization cost is estimated at more than 536,000 €.
According to its technical specifications, it can treat 60 tons
of household wastes daily belonging to seven municipali-
ties. Its realization study began in 2002, made available in
2010 and exploited in 2011. At start up, the SL faced lot of
problems during its exploitation and has been closed down
several times because of (i) bad smell, (ii) volatile light
waste in the atmosphere, (iii) overflow of landfill leachates
because of wrong dimensions of recuperation pools, (iv)
the inexperience of workers. At present, there are no lea-
chate treatments, which are thrown away after decantation
in pond. This malfunctioning did not allow us to have data
every season during year 2011.
The exploitation principle of separate landfills used in
the SL is based on the landfilling technique of one’s cells as
shown in Fig. 2b, contrarily to the most used one’s cells in
Algeria based on the total exploitation of the surface.
This may have drawbacks such as: the vehicles circula-
tion, the bad mastering of operations, the large area to treat,
the flooding during rain seasons leading to total stop of
activities, difficulties in compacting trashes, choking up
evacuation pipes of lixiviats. Household waste arriving to
SL is systematically weighed and controlled. No other type
of waste such as that from the health sector, toxic wastes,
etc., is accepted. A sorting is conducted at the SL entry
allowing getting through certain wastes such as plastic bags
and films. Note that there is no selective sorting by the cit-
izen. They are arranged in thick cells of 1 m height and then
compacted and covered with isolating material (often earth).
The leachates are drained by adequate pipe to decantation
pools. A study on their treatment is to be finalized.
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Physical composition
Sample collection
To determine the physical composition of household waste,
we have taken from each truck entering the SL, 400 kg to
have a representative sample. The wastes were then spread
over a clean sorting area made of concrete. This manipu-
lation was renewed for each truck. The characterization has
been done manually (quartering method) [13]. The choice
of categories was: organic waste (ferments), paper and
cardboard, plastic, glass, metals, textile and others. The
waste samples were obtained arbitrarily without distinction
of original municipality. After sampling, a sorting has been
conducted to classify the waste according to the main
categories of household waste [14]. A simplified classifi-
cation to seven constituents was adopted. Plastic bags have
been utilized for separating categories. Each category was
weighed so to determine its composition. The safety was
secured by using gloves, masks and spectacles. Once the
weighing operation was finished, the organic fraction
obtained by quartering was conducted in laboratory for
physicochemical and microbiological analysis [13].
Chemical analysis
• The moisture (% M) and dry matter content (% D.M)
were determined by the standard method Afnor NF U
44-171 consisting of drying in oven (Memmert brand)
at 105 ± 2 C until constant weight. The dry matter is
complementary to moisture content because it is the
remains of vegetal product once water is removed.
• The organic matter rate or ashes rate is determined by
the standard method of Afnor NF U 44–160 which
consists of charring the sample at 550 C during 2 h in
an oven (Carbolite model GWF 1200). The mineral
matter (MN %) is the complementary rate to organic
matter rate (% OM = 100 % MM).
• The hydrogen potential (pH) and the conductivity have
been determined according to NF standards ISO 10-390
and NF EN 27888.
• The organic carbon is measured by the Anne method
(AFNOR X 31-109) which consists of oxidizing the
organic carbon contained in the sample by excess of
bichromate potassium in sulfide medium.
• The Kjeldahl nitrogen is determined by the standard
method NF ISO-11261, consisting of mineralizing the
sample during 2 h at 180 C followed by distillation.
• The nitrates have been measured by spectrophotomet-
rical method with sulfosalicyque acid (ISO 7890-3).
• The nitrites have been determined according to NFT
EN 26777.
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• The heavy metals have been determined by inductively
coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-
AES).
Microbiological analysis
10 g sample (household waste cut in small pieces) is taken
and put in suspension in 90 ml of sterile physiological
water. The dilutions have been performed (dilution 1:10)
before analysis [15].
– The search for staphylococcus has been conducted by
the standard method XP-T 90-412, using the Chapman
medium.
– The search for enterococcus has been conducted by the
standard method NF ISO 7899-1, using the Rothe
medium at single or double concentration and also the
Litsky test.
– The search for sulfur-reducing Clostridium and their
spores has been done according to the standard Afnor
NF EN 26461-1-ISO6461-1, using the liver meat jelly
and the solution of alum of Fe.
– The search for Campylobacter jejuni has been done
according to the standard ISO 17-995, using the
Skirrow medium and Gram coloration.
– The search for salmonella spp. has been conducted by
the standard method NF EN ISO 6579, using cystine-
selenite boil and the S–S and API 20E medium.
– The search for yersinia enterocolitica has been done
according to t the standard ISO 10273, using the Mac
Conkey medium and a gallery of API 20E.
– The search for total coliforms has been done by the
routine method NF V 08-050 which consists of deep
sowing with VRBL lactosis at incubation temperature
of 30 C.
– The search for fecal coliforms (thermo-tolerants) has
been conducted by the NF V 08-060 method consisting
of deep sowing with VRBL lactosis at incubation
temperature of 44.5 C.
– The fecal germs have been determined by the standard
horizontal method NF EN ISO 4833, consisting of
sowing on a nutritious medium jelly at incubation
temperature of 30 C.
Results and discussion
Problematical saturation of first cell of sanitary
landfill
The first cell has reached its saturation point after 3 years
of exploitation and not 5 years as predicted. During the
study of its realization in 2002, the quantity of waste was
269
estimated at 65 ton/day (1984 stock), whereas in 2009 it
was 128.5 ton/day. This is due to a bad estimation of
quantities of waste which were generated starting from
November 2010, opening date of SL The reasons were
(i) the population growth, (ii) the city development of six
municipalities, (iii) the agricultural and tourism develop-
ment, (iv) the installation of new industrial units, etc.
Quantities of household waste received in sanitary
landfill
The SL receives waste from seven municipalities: Mosta-
ganem (major location), Ain Tedeles, Sayada, Kheiredine,
Sour, Oued-ElKheir and Ain Boudinar. The quantities of
household waste received have increased by 91.3 ton/day
in 2011 to 120.1 ton/day in 2012 to reach 143.7 ton/day in
2013 with an increasing rate of 24 % in 2012 and 16 % in
2013. The mean ratio in the SL changed from 0.34 to
0.44 kg/inhab/day in 2011–2013 as indicated in Table 1.
The quantities of waste increased annually by 18 % with a
ratio of 0.4 kg/inhab/day for 2013. This production of
waste per inhabitant per day is comparable to medium and
small towns.
The ratio obtained for the SL (0.44) is less than the one
of Mostaganem city (0.59). This is explained by the high
population of the city, its commercial, industrial, university
and school activities, whereas the six other municipalities
are small villages with low consumption and agricultural
activities, hence generating less waste.
Evolution of the production of household wastes
Figure 3 shows the evolution of quantities of waste pro-
duced by Mostaganem city from 1983–2009 before the
construction of SL and from 2011–2013 with the
exploitation of SL If we compare the production of waste
generated by Mostaganem city, we notice more important
quantities before the construction of SL than during the
exploitation. So in 2009, 128.5 ton/day have been gener-
ated [16], whereas in 2013 there was only 105 ton/day. We
expected an increase of the quantity but the reverse hap-
pened. These diminutions are the result of more precise
weighing at the SL entry, whereas previously they were
estimated as function of weight truck charges. These results
are more reliable and we notice an important and logical
evolution of quantities of waste in 2011, 2012 and 2013
with mean growth rates of 20 %. This is due to, on the one
hand to closing down of dumpsites and the other hand to
growing number of holidaymakers estimated at 8 millions
in 2013.
The ratio which was 0.62 kg/inhab/day in 2004 [9] has
stabilized at 0.47–0.48 kg/inhab/day in 2011/2012 then has
increased to 0.59 kg/inhab/day [3]. We find out that for
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Table 1 Quantities of household waste received in SL for the 7 municipalities

Municipalities Population Tons/day Rate kg/ Population Tons/day Rate kg/ Population Tons/day Rate kg/
inhab/day inhab/day inhab/day

Mostaganem 170,829 67.1 0.39 173,562 86.0 0.48 176,339 105 0.59
Ain Tedeles 40,367 11.0 0.27 41,368 14.5 0.35 42,030 16.5 0.39
Sayada 30,220 6.2 0.20 30,703 8.3 0.27 31,194 8.1 0.26
Kheiredine 28,952 3.1 0.11 29,416 5.3 0.18 29,886 7.0 0.23
Sour 23,779 2.6 0.11 24,159 3.6 0.15 24,546 3.9 0.16
Oued-ElKheir 18,206 0.2 0.01 18,450 0.7 0.04 18,793 1.1 0.06
Ain Boudinar 6356 1.1 0.17 6457 1.7 0.26 6560 2.1 0.32
Total 270,368 91.3 0.34 324,115 120.1 0.37 329,348 143.7 0.44

Tons/ day
150
100 Mostaganem- open
dumpsite
Mostaganem-Landfill
50
Landfill
0 logical progression in the region where the consumption in
1983 2004
2006 2009
2011 2012
2013
Fig. 3 Production of quantities per year (in tons/day)
Mostaganem city, this figure is close to the national mean
and of the same order as for average cities like Saida
(0.48 kg/inhab/day, Biskra (0.55 kg/inhab/day) [10], Batna
and Adrar (0.56 kg/inhab/day) [19–21] but weaker with
respect to the one of the capital (0.74 kg/inhab/day). This
result confirms that average cities produce less waste than
big cities and depend on food habits, socio-cultural level of
population and agricultural and/or industrial activities.
Influence of the summer season and fasting month
The region of Mostaganem is reputed for attracting during
the summer season millions of tourists and having conse-
quences on the production of waste. The fasting month
(Ramadan) is known to be a month of abstinence and fasting
from sunrise to sunset, help between citizens, taking charge
of the financially poor, economical and sociocultural
exchange. However, for a long time these practices have
totally changed and an individualistic behavior appeared on
food habits leading to overconsumption and consequently
and important production of household waste.
The first study conducted by our team failed to gather the
exact data during the fasting period (10), but with the
exploitation of SL, we easily extracted the quantities related
to two fasting months coinciding with 20 July to 19 August
2012 and 10 July to 9 August 2013, knowing that the holi-
daymakers does not move during this month. Figure 4 gives
the quantities of household waste produced per season over
all municipalities and at SL level. In 2012 the production
follows a decreasing trend: Ramadan (176.5 ton/day)
[ summer (153.7 ton/day) [ autumn (131.3 ton/day) [
spring (102.9 ton/day) [ winter (93.1 ton/day) which is a
autumn is as important as in summer because of hot months
of ending season. The ratios have calculated for the same
periods (Ramadan (0.54 kg/inhab/day) [ summer (0.50
kg/inhab/day) [ autumn (0.40 kg/inhab/day) [ spring
(0.32 kg/inhab/day) [ winter (0.30 kg/inhab/day).
The same sequence is observed in 2013 with a light
increase with respect to 2012 (Ramadan (186,6 ton/day)
[ summer (167.6 ton/day) [ autumn [ 156.7 ton/day [
spring (137,5 ton/day) [ winter (113 ton/day) with the
following ratios: Ramadan (0.56 kg/inhab/day) [ summer
(0.51 kg/inhab/day) [ autumn (0.48 kg/inhab/day) [ spring
(0.42 kg/inhab/day) [ winter (0.35 kg/inhab/day).
For the fasting month of 2012, the ratio in Mostaganem
city has increased from 0.46 to 0.67 kg/inhab/day and in
SL, from 0.36 to 0.50 kg/inhab/day. For 2013, it increased
from 0.59 to 0.8 kg/inhab/day for the SL The increase of
production is due essentially to change in food habits. More
specifically during this month, Algeria and Maghreb
countries are characterized by an exaggerated nutrition at
all levels (food, fish, mineral water, soft drinks, sweets,
juice, etc.).
Composition of household waste
Composition of household waste in sanitary landfill
and Mostaganem city
The household wastes are a heterogeneous mixture of
several products whose composition can vary with its

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Fig. 4 The quantities of
household waste generated per Tons/day
season and fasting month 200
150
100
50
0 Sour
Automn
winter
spring
2012
generation sources, food habits, social and economic level,
geographical location, population flux, etc. [20]. The seven
categories generally accepted in the classification of MSW
are the organic matter, the cardboard, the plastic, the glass,
the textile and various others. Table 2 summarizes the
different compositions of household waste from 1983 to
2013 for Mostaganem city and for SL from 2012 to 2013.
The composition of household waste received in SL has
not changed during the last years. We find out that the
fermenting fraction is more important in SL than in
Mostaganem city and can wait 70 %. This difference is due
to the more rural lifestyle of municipalities with low rev-
enues and consequently a less nutritive food diet than in big
cities, practically no touristic influence and very poor
commercial activities. We note also a weaker production
for plastic wrapping which are often reused by inhabitants
of small municipalities (11.7 % maximum in 2013) with
respect to the city where it is 14 %. For the other cate-
gories, we did not see a big variation. On the contrary, we
observe in Mostaganem city a diminution of organic matter
changing from 78 % in 1983 to 67 % in 2013, the plastic
from 2.7 to 14 %, the paper and cardboard is stabilized
around 12 %, the rest is without great change. We note that
the paper and cardboard rate dropped in 2004 [9] because
of the shutting down of the local paper factory.
The diminution of organic matter is due to nutritional
change operating in the population by the use of preserved
food, frozen products, prepared dishes, fast food, etc.
During these last three decades, the plastic has increased
from 2.7 % to 14 % in Mostaganem and to 11.7 % in SL.
This is due to the important use of plastic wrapping for
mineral waters, fruit juices, milk and cleaning products. In
other respect, paper-cardboard, glass metals and textiles
were not subject to strong variations during these decades
and remained of little daily use for Algerian citizens.
271
Mostaganem
Ain Tedeles
Sayada
Kheiredine
Oued-ElKheir
summer
fasting month
Automn
winter
Ain Boudinar
spring
summer
fasting month
Lundfill
Fasting month
2013
Composition in percentage of household waste
in Algerian cities as function of their geographical
position
If we compare these results to coastal, high plateaus and
big southern towns (Table 3), we notice for the three big-
gest cities Algiers, Oran and Annaba, the organic matter
(ferments) oscillates between 40 and 50 % whereas for
Mostaganem, Bejaia and Boumerdes, it varies from 67 to
73 %. In the interior cities, it varies from 56 to 83 % with
an average of 70 %, contrarily to southern cities where it is
less important with a mean rate of 55 %. This gives a
national average of 62 %. This difference is linked to
different food habits between inhabitants of coastal big
cities having fast meals, prepared and preserved food,
whereas those of the interior and the big south, they take
more cereals, dry vegetables, fruits and fresh vegetables.
The plastic consisting essentially of PVC and PEHD
wrapping presents variable rates. In the coastal cities, the
average is 12.86 % with a maximum in Oran (24.9 %) and
a minimum in Boumerdes (8.5 %). In the interior cities, the
average is 9 % with a maximum in Constantine (13 %) and
a minimum in Djelfa (2.4 %). In the southern cities, it is
between 20 and 12 %.
The national average is 12 %. The low rates of plastic
recorded in certain cities can be explained by the reuse of
packing bottles and the existence of an informal sector
which recuperates them before collection for an eventual
valorization.
The paper and cardboard represents between 3.2 and
13.7 % in coastal cities, 6.9–17.7 % in interior cities and
8.3–18.5 % in southern cities. The national average is 9 %.
The high rates of paper and cardboard in Batna and
Ghardaia (17.7 and 18.5 %) are due to paper manufactur-
ing industries.
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Table 2 Evolution of household waste composition (%) in Mostaganem city and SL

Categories 1983 [21] 2001 [21] 2004 [9] 2009 [16] 2013 (this study) 2012 (this study) 2013 (this study)

Organic matter 78 77.5 64.6 67.6 67 70 68

Plastic 2.7 7.5 10.5 14.5 14 10.8 11.7
Paper and cardboard 12 13 15.9 10 12 11.5 12
Glass 1.1 0.5 2.8 1.6 1.8 1.3 1.5
Metals 2.2 1.5 1.9 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.1
Textiles 3.4 / 2.3 3.4 2.4 2.7 2.6
Diverse / / 2 1.7 0.4 2.2 3.1

Table 3 Composition in percentage of household in Algerian cities as function of their geographical position
Cities Population OM Plastic Paper and Glass Metals Textiles Diverse References
2008 cardboard

Coastal towns Alger (2008) 2,364,230 54.0 16.4 13.4 1.7 1.7 11.6 0.9 [2]
Oran (2011) 609,940 52.3 24.9 7.2 1.2 1.7 9.9 2.8 [22]
Annaba (2011) 257,359 45.7 10.0 5.2 0.8 2.1 15.0 20.7 [23]
Bejaı̈a (2009) 177,988 69.4 12.3 11.1 0.7 2.7 3.3 0.5 [9]
Mostaganem (2013) 162,885 67.0 14 12.0 1.8 1.1 2.4 0.45 This study
Boumerdes (2008) 41,685 73.0 8.5 9.2 1.6 3.2 4.9 / [10]
The inland cities Constantine (2009) 448,374 70.0 13.0 11.0 2.0 3.0 / 1.0 [2]
Batna (2012) 290,645 56.8 10.9 17.7 1.8 1.8 10.3 1.2 [17]
Djelfa (2009) 289,226 83.5 2.4 7.9 1.2 1.7 1.4 1.9 [9]
Chlef (2011) 178,616 62.9 2.7 3.2 1.7 0.6 5.2 23.5 [24]
Bordj Bou Arreridj (2006) 168,346 61.0 9.0 15.5 / 12.3 2.2 / [19]
Tlemcen (2009) 140,158 71.0 11.0 11.0 1.0 3.0 2.0 13.0 [9]
Saida (2011) 128,413 73.0 8.4 6.9 3.3 2.4 / / [19]
Southern cities Biskra (2006) 205,608 49.0 12.0 18.5 1.5 0.5 / / [19]
Ghardaı̈a (2006) 93,423 58.3 20.0 8.3 / 13.3 / /
Adrar (2010) 64,781 60.1 12.0 11.8 2.2 7.3 / 6.6 [18]
National average (2010) / 62.0 12.0 9.0 1.0 2.0 / 14.0 [25]

The textile is important in Algiers, Oran Annaba and
Ghardaia (10–15 %) because of the existence of textile
industry. For other cities, the rate varies between 2 and
5 %.
Glass and metals are thrown in very little quantities, of
the order of 2–3 % for all Algerian cities except for Bordj
Bou Arreridj and Ghardaia where metals represent more
than 12 % which may be explained by the presence of
electronics industry household items. The low rate regis-
tered for all the other cities is due to the absence of a
consumption culture for canned products and glass and/or
metals packing. For ferrous wastes, they are recuperated by
the informal sector before their collection.
Composition of household wastes in some countries
of the world
The composition of waste presented in this study and for
certain Algerian cities is not too different with respect to
the national average of some countries. Indeed, without
establishing a rigorous correlation with the socioeconomic
level of a state, the composition of household wastes
remains variable and linked to several parameters men-
tioned above. Nevertheless, this study confirms the estab-
lished and observed data in waste studies. The organic
matter part (fermentable, putrescible, green wastes, etc.) is
high in developing countries: 62 % for Algeria, Morocco

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65 %, Tunisia 68 %, Egypt 60 %, Jordan 56 % except
Mauritania (4.8 %) where it is valorized as livestock food
inside households (Table 4). In industrial countries, this
fraction remains less than 50 %: USA 25 %, France
28.8 %, Denmark 29 %, Holland 35 %, Germany 14 %,
Italy and Switzerland 29 % and Japan 30 %. These are due
to very different behaviour in food habits, in north–south
geographical locations, in socio-cultural differences, in
citizens’ behavior, in population movements, etc.
The paper and cardboard part is more important in these
countries (42 % in Japan) which are high consumers of
newspapers, magazines, packaging, paperware, books,
advertisement papers, leaflets, etc. The big production of
glass in household waste in France is due to supplies is
sectors where France is traditionally the most performing
and has high expertise in wine production, in perfumes and
pharmaceutical products [32]. The Italians and Germans
consider glass and paper and cardboard packing more
ecological than plastic. The results found in our study show
that the nature of household waste in Algeria and Mosta-
ganem region tends to look like the one of certain devel-
oped countries which is a positive evolution in the citizen
behaviour with changes in his food, socio-cultural and
environmental habit.
the total nitrogen and the heavy metals. This is done with
the objective of helping to decide on choosing the val-
orization method. The latter, depends on the region needs
in order to move toward a valorization of energy (com-
posting, landfill gas production). The knowledge of heavy
metals indicates the risks in composting. Table 5 shows the
analysis results of these parameters.
Physicochemical parameters
The density value calculated is 480 kg/m3 (Table 5). This
result is comparable to the one of developing countries
whose values are between 200 and 500 kg/m3; Morocco
350 kg/m3; Tunisia and Colombia 300 kg/m3; Malaysia
240 kg/m3; Pakistan 130 kg/m3; Mauritania 410 kg/m3).
Waste density is higher in developing countries than in
industrialized countries [28]. The high rate of moisture and
volatile matter confirms the high level of carbon in organic
matter of household wastes.
The amount of ash (14.5 %) suggests a middle level of
mineral matter. Total nitrogen, in the form of nitrates,
nitrites and ammonium, represents 1.5 % of dry matter.
The heavy metals concentrations are very low, sometimes
less than the limits of detection which is in favor of
composting.

Physicochemical characterizations of household

wastes Microbiological characterization

The physicochemical characterization performed on waste A major hazard linked to household wastes to human
samples enabled to determine the most significant param- health is certainly the bacterial contamination of the worker
eters such as the humidity rate, the dry matter, the ash rate, in direct contact with dirt. We find in these mediums
the volatile matter, the ratio C/N, the pH, the conductivity, dangerous biological agents with high contamination risks

Table 4 The composition in

Countries Organic Plastic Paper and Glass Metals Diverse References
percentage of household waste
matter cardboard
in some world countries
Algeria 62.0 12.0 9.0 1.0 2.0 14.0 [25]
Morocco 65.0 10.0 8.0 2.0 1.0 14.0 [26]
Tunisia 68.0 11.0 9.0 2.0 6.0 4.0 [10]
Mauritania 4.8 20.0 7.3 4.0 4.2 59.7 [27]
Egypt 60.0 12.0 10.0 3.0 2.0 3.0 [10]
Jordan 56.0 13.0 16.0 7.0 5.0 3.0 [10]
France 28.8 11.1 25.3 13..1 4.1 17.6 [28]
Denmark 29.0 0.8 27.0 5.0 6.0 32.0 [29]
Netherlands 35.0 19.5 26.0 4.0 4.0 12.0 [29]
Italy 29.0 5.0 28.0 13.0 2.0 23 [29]
Germany 14.0 22.0 34.0 12.0 5.0 39 [29]
Switzerland 29.0 15.0 20.0 4.0 3.0 29.0 [29]
Japan 30.0 8–10 40–42 7–13 4–7.5 / [30]
China 59.2 15.7 10.1 3.4 1.1 10.5 [31]

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Table 5 Physicochemical characterization of household wastes Table 6 Microorganisms in household wastes

Parameters (This study) 2009 [9] Microorganism Concentrations

Moisture (%) 85.5 58.9 Total coliforms 118 9 106 UFC/g

pH 5.5 6.1 Fecal coliforms 120 9 104 UFC/g
3 3
Density 480 kg/m 360 kg/m Fecal germs 97 9 105 UFC/g
Conductivity 3980 lS/cm / Clostridiums sulfur-reducing* (T, V) Presents
Ashes (%) 14.5 37 Staphylococcus pathogens Presents
volatile matter (%) 68.3 63 Salmonella sp* (V) Presents
Carbon (%) 35.1 29.5 Shigella sp* Presents
Nitrogen (%) 1.5 1.5 Yersinia enterolitica* Presents
C/N 23.4 19.7 E. coli Escherichia coli* (T) Presents
Heavy metal Concentration (mg/kg) Standards Campylobacter jejuni* Presents

Cd \LD 10
Cr \LD 1000 consider primarily, the identification of risky microorgan-
Ni \LD 200 isms existing in wastes for an eventual study of their
Pb \LD 800 impact. Table 6 shows results concerning microorganism
Zn \LD 100 presence in household wastes of Mostaganem.
Cu 300 1000 The species indicated by a star are those classified as
Al 19,500 – potentially infectious according to 2000/54/CE standards
As 400 – of the workers protection against hazards related to bio-
B 2,960 – logical workers exposition. They are classified with indi-
Bi 70 – cations in footnotes. Hence, the biological agents identified
Ca 200,000 – with the letter T produce toxins; those with V possess
K 150,070 – efficient available vaccines.
Mg 38,160 – In the present state of this work, it has been impossible
Mn \LD – to have accurate data on the worker exposed to those
Na 75,230 – hazards in order to establish correlations of cause to effect
Se 1730 3000–4000 between micro-organism types detected in household
Sr 710 – wastes and the subsequent troubles.

LD limit of detection
leading to infections, gastroenteritis, septicemia, meningi-
tis, respiratory and digestive syndromes as well as hepatitis
A. Digestive troubles (nausea and diarrhea) are particularly
observed among scavengers whereas others (sweepers,
drivers) do not suffer from these. It is more frequent in
summer because of temperature and food nature which
contain more water and consequently can easily be driven
to drivers [33].
The microorganisms vary quantitatively and qualita-
tively as function of pH, temperature and treatment mode
(composting, landfill gas production, landfill).
The effects can be local (water pollution, workers,
riverside resident, etc.) or delocalized (greenhouse effect
gases, compost spreading, etc.). The invisible risks impact
(greenhouse effect gases, biological risk) is more difficult
to evaluate because it depends on type, volume and con-
centration of considered thrown material.
Due to the lack of data on the effect of household wastes
on SL and collection workers, we have judged useful to
Waste collection
The Algerian law of 2001 designates the municipality as
the competent organization to provide public service to
collect and eliminate the wastes and in the same time
predict and finance a municipal scheme. In this collection
frame, the municipality of Mostaganem has divided the
city in 16 sectors. Given its insufficient means in terms of
equipment and qualified worker, it has delegated the wastes
collection to 11 sectors to private enterprises.
The collection and the transport are an important stage
in the management of household wastes. It is a stage taking
place in the public space and hence depends on public
services. In most existing sectors, the collection is per-
formed according to the so-called door-to-door collection.
It begins along avenues and main streets then continues
inside quarters.
It is performed in two stages, the first which corre-
sponds to normal collection and the second for household
waste deposits after the first round. This situation which

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is not respecting the collection time, forces certain Collection means

operators to extend the gathering after usual time. The
collection frequency is 7 days a week and at nighttime
for all municipalities exploiting the SL The number of
rotations depends on the quantity of waste collected and
on the vehicle type. The real time of operation is
important if we consider that one vehicle does on aver-
age three rotations (round trip) for the SL, 25 km away
from Mostaganem. The collection is preceded mainly by
a pre-collection to overcome some insufficiencies, in
particular in quarters inaccessible to collection vehicles
(old town, narrow streets, etc.). Therefore, this pre-col-
lection is performed with better efficiency by broadening
the service time for the household waste collection in
peripheral quarters.
The door-to-door method presents certain advantages
such as easy disposal for waste generators (population).
However, it has some drawbacks linked to high cost of
management, because it requires important human means
and equipment.
The application of door-to-door is less spread in
Mostaganem city (38 %) with respect to other municipal-
ities which is above 70 % except for Kheiredine and Oued-
ElKheir where it is 50 % (Table 7). Mostaganem city
presents an urban character with collective habitations,
semi-collective and individual, commercial centers, uni-
versity sites, hospitals, clinics, etc., whereas other munic-
ipalities using the SL are of semi-urban and/or rural type.
Note that collection is performed by 98 %. However,
there exists 2 % deficit in average which is a drawback
concerning wastes often thrown on road sides, in certain
zones outside agglomerations and nearby old dumpsites.
According Odunze et al. (2004) [34] in the city of Zaria in
Nigeria, 54 % of household wastes are collected, 22 % are
disposed anarchically in nature, 19 % are incinerated. In
Morocco, the collection rate is close to 70–80 % in urban
zones where the standard of living is high whereas it is 2 %
in rural medium [35].
The number of agents during the collection is regressing
since the eighties. There was one agent for 500 inhabitants
against 1500 in 2005 [4]. According to our investigations,
one agent covers 1225 inhabitants now. The fleet of waste
collection vehicles for the city is estimated at one com-
pacting tip-lorry for about 11,202 inhabitants, that is a
deficit of 64 %. Despite the State’s effort, the collection
remains far from international standards, which are one
vehicle for 4000 inhabitants [4]. At the level of seven
municipalities, one agent covers 1450 inhabitants and one
lorry covers 9687 inhabitants, which is a deficit of 59 %
(Table 8).
Financing of collection
The Algerian territorial collectivities insure the financing
of service of household wastes taking up from the munic-
ipality budget or from the tax of taking up of household
wastes (TEOM) payed the citizen, the professionals and the
industry. About 100 % of municipalities adopted the sys-
tem of finance of public service in charge of wastes elim-
ination from their own budget [1].
The tax amount for collection household waste is fixed
as following:
– Between 4.46 and 8.92 € per house.
– Between 8.93 and 89.3 € per professional, commercial,
artisanal building.
– Between 44.62 and 17.6 € per camping and caravans
ground.
– Between 89.3 and 893 € per industrial, commercial and
artisanal building.
It has been noticed that 2/3 of households do not pay
taxes in Mostaganem. We succeeded to know the deficit for
some Algerian cities (Table 9) which is not more than
24 %.

Table 7 Collection
Cities Coverage Number Collection Collection mode Sector average
characteristics
rate (%) of sectors frequency distance (km)
(for 24 h) Door-to-door voluntary
(%) contribution

Mostaganem 98 16 01 38 62 155
Ain Tedeles 98 05 01 70 30 45
Sayada 98 04 01 70 30 68
Kheiredine 98 03 01 50 50 50
Sour 98 02 01 90 10 22
Oued-ElKheir 98 02 01 50 50 21
Ain Boudinar 98 02 01 90 10 47

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Table 8 Collection means for SL exploitation Valorization of household wastes in sanitary

Cities Materials used Number of agents landfill
(by inhabitants) (by inhabitants)
The principle of 3R-VE
Mostaganem 1 truck for 11,021 1 agent for 1225
Ain Tedeles 1 truck for 6005 1 agent for 1167
At present, household wastes are a positive economical
Sayada 1 truck for 7798 1 agent for 1950
value as long as we focalize on their management. The
Khaireddine 1 truck for 5977 1 agent for 1758 exploitation of resources contained in these wastes can
Sour 1 truck for 12,273 1 agent for 4091 have a positive impact on the environment, the creation of
Oued El-kheir 1 truck for 18,793 1 agent for 3759 jobs, saving of natural resources, reducing the consumption
Ain Boudinar 1 truck for 6650 1 agent for 2189 of energy. Moreover, it can also have a positive impact on
Total 1 truck for 9148 1 agent for 450 the involvement of the long-term development of socioe-
conomic activity in the region by the creation of enter-
Table 9 Recovery rates of TEOM prises, etc. All wastes can be subject to valorization:
recycling of paper and cardboard, glass, metal, plastic
Amount Amount Recovery
transformation, composting and/or landfill gas production
received (€) planned (€) rates (%)
of organic matter and incineration of non-recoverable
Algiers 650,000 4,029,500 16 matter and recuperation of energy. The policy of applying
Annaba 260,000 2,277,000 11 the principle of 3R-VE (reduction at the source, recycling,
Blida 211,000 2,677,000 8 reusing, valorization and elimination of wastes) in the
Chleff 170,000 1,451,200 12 appropriate conditions is the best choice for our household
Constantine 614,000 2,627,000 23 wastes bearing in mind that now it is easier to manage them
Oran 460,000 2,541,000 18 properly in SL (Fig. 5). With the objective of bringing the
Ouargla 16,600 667,000 2 necessary arguments to local government and to the private
Bechar 22,200 336,000 7 sector of the goodwill of this policy, we have evaluated the
Sétif 333,300 1,409,000 24 cost of this valorization by category of waste for 2012 and
2013. The Table 10 gives the estimated quantities which
should be valorized by recycling or composting, the real
The situation persists despite the improvement of this quantities valorized by the SL as well as the selling
tax by the Finance Law of 2002. However, the same amounts in € for 2012 and 2013. Concerning the organic
finance law points that the municipal popular assem- matter, we determined the quantity of compost susceptible
blies (APC) are in charge of expediting the tax recovery of to be generated by organic matter taking into account the
taking up the household waste within a maximum of loss during the composting 36 % [36].
3 years. There have been no encouraging results and we We note the absence of strategy of valorization by the
believe that it would be judicious to integrate these taxes in local collectivities and by the private sector despite the
trimestrial portions for example in consumption bills of application of decree 02-372 dated 11 November 2002,
electricity and gas. relevant to packing wastes which predicts the creation of
public system of retaking, recycling and recoverable,
Costs of collection waste named ‘‘ECOJEM’’.
If there exists ways of valorization, the SL would have
The Mostaganem municipality estimated the collection cost totalized a benefit of 2,684,174 € in 2012 and 3,736,801 in
per day and per sector, it varies from 89.3 to 134€. The 2013 (Table 3), which represents a non negligible loss for
collection cost in 2012 over passed 714,300 €. Because of the SL
malfunctioning of the collection service (insufficient effi- At national level, the estimations done by the depart-
ciency), the municipality decided to change the payment ment of environment services proves that the possibility of
mode starting beginning of 2013 from daily payment mode recuperation of 760,000 ton/year of waste spread in
to a payment mode by tons. It estimated the cost of one ton of 385,000 ton/year of paper, 130,000 ton/year of plastic,
waste collected to 18.75 €. This gives an extra expense of 100,000 ton/year of metals, 50,000 ton/year of glass and
714,300 € for collection wastes during 2013 with a quantity 95,000 ton/year of various materials. Their valorization
greater than the one of 2012. Despite the change of payment would cost 31.25 million € [10]. Unfortunately the recy-
mode, the expenses did not change. The recovery of this tax cling rate does not overpass 2 %. The reason of this defi-
per household is low, of the order of 3 %. ciency is mainly due to the absence of a real strategy in the

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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2017) 19:265–281 277

Fig. 5 Principle of 3R-VE

Principe of 3RV-E

Recycle Valorizaon
Reuse
Reducon Eliminaon

Metal

Generated of household
Paper &
cardboard

Collecting Recycle Plastic

Separate collection Reuse Glass

Incineration with
Sanitary Landfill Valorization
energy recovery

Composting Biomethanation Energy recovery

Refuse Digestat Digestat + Organic matter

Table 10 Quantities in tons and selling amounts in Euros of household wastes

Compost Plastic Paper and cardboard Metals Textiles Total

2012 Estimated quantity 30,685.5 4734.3 5042 66 3.2 40,531.0

Amount estimated selling 1,626,331.1 700,363 211,214 145,600 666 2,684,174.1
Actual quantity sold 00 132 25.4 0.4 0.6 158.4
Actual amount of sale 00 19,405 1672 176.25 127 21,380.25
% of valorization 00 2.78 0.5 0.6 18.75 0.4
2013 Estimated quantity 35,666.3 6136.7 6294 787 3.7 36,047.4
Amount estimated selling 1,890,306 1,164,330 351,231 330,157 767 3,736,801.0
Actual quantity sold 00 245 2.8 0.8 1.9 250.5
Actual amount of sale 00 29,518 94 286 386 30,284
% of valorization 00 4 0.04 0.1 51.35 0.69

policy of managing the wastes. That is, because of
encouragement lack of investment for creating enterprises
of paper transformation, composting factories, incineration
with energy recuperation, paper and glass industries for
recycling. For example, we can quote the paper recycling
problem faced by the Algerian company tonic packaging
specialized in the production of packing material in
Algeria. The capacity of recycling of the paper industry
existing locally is less than 10 % out of all wastes
generated annually, given that the national consumption of
paper and cardboard is estimated at 600,000 tons/year,
whereas. The local production is less than 50,000 tons/year.
The paper and derivatives import is about 289.5 million €.
Hence, about 335,000 tons of wastes are put in dumpsites
annually. The company tonic packaging consider increas-
ing its recycling rate by 10–38 % if the selective sorting
and collection will be ensured and if the state encourages
the creation of small enterprises for recuperation [1].

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Composting
The composting is made by degradation of organic matter
in presence of air in a medium rich in specific microor-
ganisms. According to Bouhdiba [37], 50 % of 7.8 millions
of tons of household waste produced annually could be
composted, producing 2–3 millions of tons of compost. The
determination of physic-chemical parameters has given
68–70 % of organic matter, 5.5 for the pH, 23.4 for the
ratio C/N, 3980 lS/cm for the conductivity, moisture level
80 % which is in favor of composting this fraction of
wastes produced in Algeria. The cost of treated wastes is
estimated at 24 €/ton and the cost of ton of compost pro-
duced is 48 €/ton. Here also, we estimated the economical
evaluation of the composting operation for 2012 and 2013
in order to encourage the investment in the valorization.
Indeed, if we project the results of these 2 years, we notice
that the investment in the composting is profitable. For the
2 years, the profits realized will be interesting with a rate of
42.4 % for quantities of compost produced: 30,685.5 tons
in 2012 and 22,828 tons in 2013. The selling amounts
would have been respectively 3,835,625 € and 2,852,875 €
with possible gains of 1,623,630 and 1,209,619 €.
Production of landfill gas in the sanitary landfill
The landfill gas is produced spontaneously by anaerobic bio-
logical decomposition of organic matter of wastes in the SL in
presence of specific micro-organism. It is composed essentially
of 60–65 % of methane, 40–35 % of carbon dioxide. This
process depends on some optimized parameters such as the pH,
the temperature, the redox potential, the organic charge and the
time of hydraulic stay. On top of these parameter values, the
production of methane is related to the quantity of biodegrad-
able wastes (BWi) calculated from Eq. 1 [13].
BWi = OMi  CPi ð1Þ
With
i: year of landfilling of household wastes.
BWi: percentage of biodegradable fraction per year.
OMi: percentage of organic matter per year (OM2012 =
70 %; OM2013 = 68 %).
CPi: percentage of cardboard per year (CP2012 =
11.5 %; CP2013 = 12 %).
The amount of biodegradable waste of Mostaganem
landfill is equal to
BW2012 ¼ 70 % þ 11:5 % ¼ 81 : 5 %
BW2013 ¼ 68 % þ 12 % ¼ 80 %
More than 80 % of household wastes landfilled release
landfill gas. Assuming that 1 kg of dry biodegradable
matter contains potentially 350–400 l of landfill gas. The
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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2017) 19:265–281
household wastes received in SL contain more than 68 %
of organic matter, 31.7 % of biodegradable matter is the
percentage of mineral matter. The reserve in m3 per tons of
biodegradable matter is given by Eq. 2 [13]:
Qi ¼ BWi ðOMi : dMi : 375Þ ð2Þ
where:
Qi is the reserve of landfill gas in m3; dM is the per-
centage of mineral matter (31.7 %); 375 is the average
reserve value.
Q2012 ¼ 81:5 % ð70 %  31:7 %  375Þ ¼ 67:82 m3
Q2013 ¼ 80 % ð68 %  31:7 %  375Þ ¼ 64:67 m3
Given that the quantity of household wastes landfilled in
2012 and 2013 is respectively 120.1 ton/day and 143.7
ton/day, the reserve of annual landfill gas is:
2012 : 67:82  120:1  365 ¼ 3  106 m3 =year
2013 : 64:67  143:7  365 ¼ 3:31  106 m3 =year
These quantities of landfill gas are released in the atmo-
sphere without being neither burned nor valorized which
has for consequence a participation in increasing the
greenhouse effect.
Valorization of landfill gas
The combustion of 1 m3 of methane releases 8570 kcal,
which is equivalent to one liter of gas-oil of energy,
0.94 m3 of natural gas or 9.7 kWh of electricity [38]. By
burning the quantity of methane released by the SL, we can
recuperate a thermal energy of 28.37 9 109 kcal or
322.04 9 105 kWh for year 2013.
By valorizing one ton of methane by combustion, we
avoid the release of 5.4 tons of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere [39].
Incineration
A preceding work [9] enabled us to calculate the value of
low calorific value (LCV) which was of 1490 kcal/kg,
value clearly less than the one required for an incineration
with energy valorization. Moreover, the moisture rate is
largely more than 70 %. These two values prove that it is
not profitable to incinerate this household waste in the state
where they are. It is preferable to perform a sorting and
recuperate these non recovery wastes with high value of
LCV which can be incinerated with energy recuperation.
The Algerian government has taken the decision to
study the construction and operation of 48 incineration
plants in 48 districts of the country for a total of 45 millions
€. It must invest in the issue of how to use incineration with
J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2017) 19:265–281 279

Fig. 6 Current situation and

prospects of the management of Before 2010 2011-2013
household wastes Recycle
Recycle

Sanitary landfill
Open dumpsites

Open dumpsites

Horizon 2030

Composng

Recycle

Reuse

Incineraon with
Energy recovery

Sanitary
landfill

or without energy recovery. Our work can serve as a
guideline for the choice of incineration at the municipality
of Mostaganem.
Perspectives
Figure 6 shows the management state of MSW in Mosta-
ganem district before 2010, situation characterized by an
elimination of wastes in dumpsites with practically no
recycling. The construction of SL enabled an improvement
of this management since the dumpsites have eliminated
leading to a better protection of the environment and the
public health, an increase of the recycling rate. Therefore,
population must be aware of the environmental, economical
and social challenge for a lasting management of wastes by:
– Awareness.
– Pedagogical animations.
– Presentations.
– Sites visit.
– Wastes reduction at the source.
– Establishing selective collection of wastes.
– Creation of sorting centers.
– Construction of transfer docks.
– Construction of waste yards.
– Education.
– Formation.
– Organisation of matter valorization.
– Search for maximum valorization.
– Favouring and encouraging the creation of enterprises
for valorization.
Conclusion
This study has enabled to evaluate qualitatively and
quantitatively the evolution of household wastes in the SL
since its creation. We determined the composition of
household waste and their physicochemical and biological
parameters with the objective of an economical study of
valorization. The exploitation of SL of Mostaganem has
enabled a clear improvement in eliminating wastes from
the seven studied municipalities. The collection has also
been improved and the triggering of valorization at the
level of SL has been encouraged by the local people. There
remain some insufficiencies which will disappear with the
acquisition of experience, know-how, training, education
and awareness of citizens.

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One of the major problems to overcome in this man-
agement remains the selective sorting among the popula-
tion. Actions have been taken in cities and quarters,
unfortunately the result is always the same: no improve-
ment in the sorting and collection remains at the initial
state where all household wastes are mixed in the house-
hold waste cans. The valorization of wastes is subordinated
in the first hand to the success of selective sorting which
the citizen must do. In the second hand, it is subordinated
by the government encouragement to invest in this field
and help the private sector to create small enterprises of
valorization and finally to build special places in cities to
recuperate all wastes so to have clean streets and coun-
tryside. Moreover, wastes should be recyclable, reusable,
incinerable, compostable, methanisable material in order to
preserve the environment and the natural resource for
future generation in the frame of a lasting development.
The principle to follow is not to determine beforehand the
best treatment mode of MSW, but to optimize and federate
all practices of wastes management as function of objectives
and municipality context. For this purpose, all means to help
in decision making, consisting of the evaluation of different
solutions to be considered, including health and environ-
mental criteria, remain to be developed and built. However,
improvements to the design level, construction and man-
agement should be considered in the near future.
Acknowledgments This work was supported by a grant from the
directorate general for scientific research and technological develop-
ment (DG-SRTD) from the ministry of higher education and scientific
research.
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict
of interest.
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