Solid Waste Generation Rate Calculator

Work out solid waste generation rate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Solid Waste Generation Rate Calculator

Municipal waste generation is population times per capita rate, with commercial and institutional waste added as a share. Rates range from 0.3-0.6 kg per person per day in low and middle income cities to 1.5-2.5 in high income ones. Volume follows from as-discarded bulk density, typically 200-300 kg/m3.

Formulas

Waste generation

Domestic (t/day) = population x per capita rate / 1000; total = domestic x (1 + commercial share)

Volume

Volume (m3) = tonnes x 1000 / bulk density

Worked example

With the default values below, Solid Waste Generation Rate Calculator returns Daily Waste Generation of 56.250. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Populationminimum 0: 100,000
Per Capita Generationminimum 0 kg/person/day: 0.45 kg/person/day
Commercial And Institutional Shareaccepts 0–100 %: 25 %
As-Discarded Bulk Densityminimum 0 kg/m3: 250 kg/m3

Results

Daily Waste Generation: 56.250
Domestic Waste: 45.000
Daily Volume: 225.00
Annual Generation: 20,531.3

Step by step

1Values used
2Waste generation
3Volume
4Daily Waste Generation= 56.250
5Domestic Waste= 45.000
6Daily Volume= 225.00
7Annual Generation= 20,531.3

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why measure volume as well as mass?

Because collection vehicles, bins and transfer stations are volume limited before they are weight limited on light waste. Compaction ratio then determines how much mass a vehicle can actually carry.

How is per capita rate determined?

By weighing all waste received at disposal and transfer points over a representative period and dividing by served population. Waste characterisation studies add composition data.