What is it about?
This study examines how municipal solid waste composition differs among residential, commercial, and mixed waste streams in New York State. Using hand-sorted waste samples collected during fieldwork, we investigated whether different waste streams contain different proportions of materials, such as food waste, paper, plastics, and other recyclables. Because residential and commercial waste are often mixed during collection and at waste management facilities, distinguishing these streams can be challenging. Our findings provide field-based evidence to better understand waste composition and support more practical waste management planning, including identifying opportunities to reduce waste and improve recycling.
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Why is it important?
Understanding how waste composition differs across residential, commercial, and mixed waste streams is important for making informed waste management decisions. In practice, these streams are often mixed during collection and at waste management facilities, making it difficult to determine what materials come from each source. By providing evidence from hand-sorted waste samples, this study helps address gaps in our understanding of waste composition in New York State and can support better waste management planning, more targeted recycling strategies, and efforts to reduce the amount of recoverable materials sent for disposal.
Perspectives
From our fieldwork, we know that residential and commercial waste are not always easy to separate because they are often mixed during collection and at waste management facilities. This creates challenges for understanding the true composition of different waste streams. Our study uses real-world, hand-sorted samples to explore these differences and provide evidence that can support more practical waste management planning in New York State. We hope this work helps researchers, policymakers, and waste management professionals make better-informed decisions about waste reduction, recycling, and resource recovery.
Yiyi Wang
Stony Brook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Exploring Compositional Differences Between Residential, Commercial, and Mixed Municipal Solid Waste Streams in New York State: Evidence from Statewide Hand-Sort Waste Characterization Data 2021–2025, Waste, October 2026, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/waste4040039.
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