Analysis of Household Waste Generation and Composition in Mandalay: Urban–Rural Comparison and Implications for Optimizing Waste Management Facilities
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe work deals with determining the composition and rate of household waste generation. Given the current management situation of this type of stream, these studies, which can help to manage this waste better, are of vital importance.
While the current article is intriguing and worthy of publication, it is clear that future work in this area should be more extensive. This could involve broader sampling, conducted at different times, and taking into account the suggestions outlined below.
It is my belief that sampling waste from individual households may not be the most effective method, as the composition of the sample could be altered by the knowledge that it will be analyzed. Instead, sampling directly from collection trucks, with their corresponding quartering processes, could provide a more realistic and representative sample.
The sampling on the collection trucks would also reduce possible interference due to the choice of housing since the economic level itself will have a relevant impact. For these reasons, sampling should be considered from a representative fraction of the collection carried out by waste transport trucks for future studies.
To better understand the figures shown, the axes of the graphs must show the variables represented along with their units. There are different graphs (Figures 2, 3, & 4) that do not show this information, which would be necessary to indicate. In addition, Figure 3 needs a better resolution and is challenging to follow. It would be appropriate to use a figure with a higher resolution.
The significant difference in the amount of organic matter obtained should be explained more broadly, raising the possible hypotheses to explain this result. Little importance is given to the time the sampling is carried out, which is crucial. In this sense, an analysis at other times of the year would be necessary to complete the information shown and make it more representative of reality. Identifying the composition of a stream as heterogeneous as waste with a sample taken for a week is risky.
Author Response
Thank you very much for kindly taking the time to revise our paper. Please find the response to your comments and suggestions in the attached file.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors1. In this study, attention needs to be paid to the issue of uniformity of letter case in the headings and subheadings of all chapters.
2. Section 2.1.1.
In this section, “Since Mandalay is a popular tourist destination, For this study, municipal solid waste mainly refers to the waste generated from households and excludes waste from the commercial and tourism sectors.” There is no segregation at the source of waste, how did this study ensure that the waste collected was household generated waste? How was commercial and tourism waste excluded at source?
3. Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5 are too blurry and need to be replaced with higher definition images.
4. Line 361: Please explain how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the rise in per capita waste generation in 2020?
5. Line 368: Figure 2 is incorrectly annotated.
6. Line 412: Table 4 has been annotated in error.
7. The font of Table 5 does not match the body of the text and needs to be standardized.
Author Response
Thank you very much for kindly taking the time to revise pour paper. Please find the response to your comments and suggestions in the attached file.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
