Baku, Azerbaijan, September 10, 2015

Aim Texas – ICP Joint Venture Azerbaijan National Solid Waste Management development team have finalized and submitted to the Client (Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan Republic) the “National Solid Waste Management Strategy Concept Paper (CP)” that is the third deliverable of the National Solid Waste Management Strategy consultancy assignment.

Because this report is intended to be reviewed for possible decision-making at Azerbaijan’s highest levels of government, this report is deliberately kept as brief as possible in presenting all relevant information.  The extensive background information on the country’s setting relative to the waste sector and our comprehensive data collection effort is not repeated but can be found in other project documentation.  This report is largely focused on the potential strategy and solutions for upgrading Azerbaijan’s solid waste systems.

• Waste generation distribution is mapped for all Azerbaijan.  Using this information, the quantity of waste within each rayon, i.e., rayon wastesheds, and regional waste sheds are mapped. See a sample map for regions that aggregate wastes into potential zones of about 300 tons/day, which is generally considered the minimum quantity needed to achieve economies-of-scale in a sanitary landfill facility.

The Concept Paper studied the National Strategy concepts on two main Framework Options, which are:

1. Technical Options
2. Enabling Framework Options

Economies-of-scale always require local cost analysis to determine accurately.  For Azerbaijan, economies-of-scale are indicated below:

Primary Collection in neighborhoods where access of large trucks is limited; Mini Vehicles, service zone	5 tons/day
Secondary collection of wastes brought from the periphery of primary collection zones; Large Vehicles (trucks), service zone	50 tons/day
Door-to-door Collection; Large Vehicles (trucks), service zone	50 tons/day, two trips/day
Transfer Stations; Service Zone	at least or around 100 tons/day;
Transfer Truck for Transfer Station	4 trips/day
Mechanized Composting	At least 100 tons/day
Waste to Energy Facilities;	Minimum 300 tons/day
Upgrading Dumpsites to Controlled Landfills; required equipment	From Local Contractors
Engineered Sanitary Landfills (SLFs); viable size Bulldozers & Compactors	300 tons/day
Distance from Transfer Stations to SLFs	At most 200 km

 

• Enabling frameworks provide the support systems that enable solid waste technical activities to be successful and sustainable.  

Enabling frameworks lay out the laws, regulations, policies, institutional structures, enforcement systems, financial systems, cost recovery mechanisms, market incentives, private sector incentives and other support systems.  Through these frameworks, an approach to capacity building at every level of government is implemented.

All technical and enabling framework options have three levels of topic arrangements which enable to evaluate 6 Scenarios that fully cover the array of arrangements that have been developed.  

Recommended scenario was ranked as the best, based on a qualitative comparison of the combined Cost and Sustainability evaluation criteria.