Waste from public places like parks, pedestrian zones or sidewalks is a visible yet unexploited waste stream. Publications and information on the amounts and makeup of this waste flow are very scarce. To evaluate the resource potential and enable waste management planning, this study aims to assess the quality and quantity of public waste in a detailed waste characterisation campaign. For the first time, an analysis at this level of detail was conducted in a medium-sized town (25,000 inhabitants) in Austria. The sampling campaign included the whole town area. In total, almost 1000 kg of waste was sorted in up to 88 different fractions, which allows the detailed composition of, for example, packaging waste and single-use plastics to be delineated. We found that the amount of waste collected in public street bins is approximately 2.6 % of the total mixed municipal solid waste, resulting in 4.1 kg of public waste per inhabitant annually. The vast majority of this waste is currently collected as mixed waste. The results indicate a high share (52 %) of recyclable materials (glass, metal, paper and lightweight packaging) in mixed public waste, most of which is packaging (44 % of total waste). Other large shares include dog feces (18 % of total waste) and biogenic waste (17 % of total waste). The results lay the foundation for further investigations into, for example, exploiting recycling potential or evaluating possible improvements in separate waste collection in public spaces. Further, the collected data serve as an essential knowledge basis for policymakers and local authorities.

中文翻译：

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公共废物的成分——奥地利的案例研究

公园、步行区或人行道等公共场所产生的废物是一种可见但未经利用的废物流。关于这种废物流的数量和构成的出版物和信息非常稀少。为了评估资源潜力并制定废物管理规划，本研究旨在通过详细的废物特征分析活动评估公共废物的质量和数量。这是首次在奥地利的一个中等规模城镇（25,000 名居民）进行如此详细的分析。此次抽样活动覆盖了整个城镇地区。总共近 1000 公斤的废物被分类为多达 88 个不同的部分，从而可以描绘出包装废物和一次性塑料等的详细成分。我们发现，公共街道垃圾箱收集的垃圾量约占混合城市固体垃圾总量的 2.6%，导致每名居民每年产生 4.1 公斤公共垃圾。目前，绝大多数废物都作为混合废物收集。结果表明，混合公共废物中可回收材料（玻璃、金属、纸张和轻质包装）的比例很高（52%），其中大部分是包装（占废物总量的44%）。其他较大份额包括狗粪便（占废物总量的 18%）和生物废物（占废物总量的 17%）。研究结果为进一步调查奠定了基础，例如开发回收潜力或评估公共场所单独废物收集的可能改进。此外，收集的数据可以作为政策制定者和地方当局的重要知识基础。