Question

A town with 0.45 million population sends its entire organic waste to a composting site on a daily basis through a truck of 15 ton carrying capacity. Assume total waste generated per capita per day is 0.21 kg and 40% of the total waste is organic waste. The minimum number of weekly round trips required by the truck (in integer) will be \(\underline{\hspace{1cm}}\).

Hint:

Always convert kg to tons when comparing with truck capacity, and round up the number of required trips.

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 21

Total population: \[ 0.45 \text{ million} = 450000 \text{ persons} \] Total waste generated per day: \[ 450000 \times 0.21 = 94500 \text{ kg/day} \] Organic waste (40%): \[ 0.40 \times 94500 = 37800 \text{ kg/day} \] Convert to tons: \[ 37800 \text{ kg} = 37.8 \text{ tons/day} \] Truck capacity: \[ 15 \text{ tons per trip} \] Daily trips needed: \[ \frac{37.8}{15} = 2.52 \Rightarrow 3 \text{ trips/day} \] Weekly trips: \[ 3 \times 7 = 21 \] Thus, the minimum number of weekly round trips is: \[ \boxed{21} \]