Modelling national solid waste management

Abstract

The MWS model (MIMES/Waste for Sweden) is a systems engineering model for strategic planning of national solid waste management systems. It was developed for Sweden, but the general approach can be applied to other countries as well. The MWS model integrates cost minimization and emissions accounting and is intended for evaluating, from economic and environmental points of view, waste treatment technologies and waste management policies. The potential users of the model are, e.g. government agencies, companies, trade associations and funding authorities. In the MWS model, the Swedish waste management system is represented by 10 generalized municipal waste management systems. The integration of the generalized systems into a national model allows an analysis on a national level as well as on a generalized municipal level. A case study of the Swedish solid waste management system illustrates the application of the MWS model.