ABSTRACT
Developing countries in Asia have a number of similarities in terms of their waste composition and characteristics. High moisture content due to the high percentage of organic waste composition results in low calorific value. This makes it is less suitable for thermal treatments and more suitable for biological treatments, such as composting and anaerobic digestion. The organic fraction of municipal waste equates to 62% in Indonesia, 63.4% in China, and 41.8% in India [1]. Waste volume in this region increases with the growth of population, urbanization, industrialization,
and economic development. Indonesia, with a population of 232.7 million, generates 38.5 million tonnes of municipal waste annually. China, with a population of 1.3 billion, generates 1.8 billion tonnes. India, with a population of 1.2 billion, generates 66.69 million tonnes [1]. Another important waste characteristic is the generation rate per capita per day, which is 0.75 kg in Indonesia, 1.54 kg in China, and 0.2 to 0.5 kg in India, depending on the size of the city. Figures 1 and 2 summarize the waste characteristics in the three countries.
