Systemic Analysis of Supermarket Solid Waste Generation in Mexicali, Mexico

Aurora Fierro Ochoa, Moisés Galindo Duarte, Lorenzo A. Sánchez Bueno, Benjamín Valdez Salas, Gisela Montero Alpírez, Michael Schorr Wiener

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DOI: 10.4236/jep.2010.12013                

Abstract

The common practice of managing solid waste (SW) generated by supermarkets in Mexicali, Mexico, consists of mix-ing all kinds of SW without any separation process. The concern of these actions is that does not involve some of these products to be reused or sold for recycling. The company ceases to receive an income of $ 3,881 Mexican pesos as an additional benefit by the generation of approximately 5,869 kg of SW than can be recovered in only one of its eleven branches in the city. However, the only two products that are valued by the supermarkets are wax boxes for fruits and vegetables which are sold to a company that subsequently resell them to fruit shops for reuse, and the cardboard boxes, whose weekly generation in one branch is 5,375 kg. They are separated from the waxed boxes and placed in a compactor to form bales from 300 to 400 kg each and then are collected for sale to a recycling company. As for the generation of different types of plastics that can be recycled, a branch generates weekly 339 kg. The model to simulate the generation of SW in supermarkets was performed using “system dynamics” as a tool for modeling and simulation in order to make better decisions to reduce generation of waste.

Keywords

Solid Waste, Supermarket, Model, System Dynamics

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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