Evaluation of industrial wastes management practices: Case study of the Savojbolagh industrial zone, Iran

The main objective of this research was to investigate the waste characteristics and management activities in the Savojbolagh industrial zone, Iran, in order to rank the active industries from environmental perspectives using an innovative index. First, the industrial categories with over 50 employees were identified and classified according to their production process. Then, 54 industries were selected and all industrial processes, the types and quantities of products, per capita industrial waste generation, physical analysis and management activities in terms of minimisation, storage, processing, recycling and disposal were evaluated. The required data were obtained through questioners, interviews and field observations. A scoring system was prepared for evaluation of environmental status of waste management practices. Results indicated that the total industrial waste generation rate was 67,258 kg d-1, in which 4528 belonged to hazardous waste. Furthermore, the per capita waste generation rate was 5.51 kg d-1. Plastic, paper and cardboard and metals constituted the most fractions of wastes, respectively. Food and beverage, metallic and chemical/plastic industries were the biggest waste generators. Metallic industries with total score of 502.5 and non-metalic-mineral industries with the total score of 114 were categorised as the best and worst industries in terms of waste management practices.