Author(s)

D. Asante-Darko, E. S. Adabor, S. K. Amponsah

Abstract

Successful planning of a solid waste management system depends on the accuracy of prediction of solid waste generation. With a continual economic development and increase in the living standards, the demand for goods and services is increasing at an unprecedented rate, resulting in a commensurate increase in per capita waste generation. In order to facilitate informed decision making for effective solid waste management, we propose a Fourier series model to forecast solid waste generation in Kumasi, Ghana. A monthly solid waste data from 2007 to 2014 was obtained from the solid waste department of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana. This was used to formulate the Fourier series model for forecasting solid waste. This approach incorporates the characteristics of the data making them more appropriate for forecasting solid waste. It was found that out of the 84 periods considered in the Fourier series model, period 42 was the best model for forecasting solid waste generation. The 1 year monthly forecast revealed that the generation of solid waste will increase as a result of the high rate of urbanization and population growth.

Keywords

solid waste, Fourier series, waste management, forecasting