Investigating the Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics and Management of Industrial Waste in Industrial Units of Isfahan Province

Developing industries and population growth along with higher consuming materials and therefore higher solid wastes are the topics that are associated with recent great crises in the world. Considering the importance of industrial waste, this investigation was carried out to characterize quantity and quality of waste and determine contribution of industrial wastes in some industrial units located in Isfahan Province. The questionnaire method was utilized to study the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the industrial waste. After visiting some industrial units and filling in the questionnaire, the data were analyzed to determine the present situation of industrial waste and also waste management in those industries. The result showed that amount of the total waste from production activities of 20 active industries was 21285.48 tons per year, out of which 20340.8 tons is associated with production line. Of this amount, nearly 91% is recycled. This is a sign of appropriate management of the waste in the studied industrial units. Moreover, the average daily production of household wastes resulting from food for laborers is 482.8 per capita, and the average daily production of industrial waste in production line by each laborer is 9650 gram per day. It was concluded that the programs for reducing waste from the beginning are performed only in 10% of the studied industrial units. As a result, these units could implement some programs through seeking advices by experts to reduce waste production in the long term.