Utilizing an integrated assessment scheme for sustainable waste management in low and middle-income countries: Case studies from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Mozambique

Plastic Venture Builder (PVB): An empirically derived assessment tool to support plastic waste management ventures in low- and middle-income countries

Plastic waste management is a complicated challenge that in recent years has gained attention as a global policy priority. In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), waste management is heterogeneous and context-specific and many organizations provide needed waste management services, including entrepreneurs. Sustainable entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to provide these services; however, they face challenges such as limited support system and lack of capacity. The goal of this paper is to understand critical characteristics of successful plastic waste management ventures in LMIC and operationalize those insights into a strategic tool. A wide variety of successful ventures from diverse LMIC contexts are systematically analyzed to identify which factors contribute to their business viability and ability to deliver services. The identified success factors were built into a tool, the Plastic Venture Builder (PVB), based on the multi-criteria analysis methodology. This is validated using empirical cases, tested on projects currently in development and discussed with experts in the field. The results show that political, economic, financial, technological, operational, social, team and legal factors contribute to success; however pathways to success are diverse. We identify a strong team as the most critical factor, whereas financial, political and social factors have the least impact. The PVB can be used by entrepreneurs who want to set up or improve plastic waste management ventures by identifying weak spots or avenues for improvement. The assessment framework can also be used by policy makers, development agencies and financing organizations who want to support or assess waste management initiatives by prioritizing their resources to match the identified critical factors.

Developing a hierarchical framework for assessing the strategic effectiveness of sustainable waste management in the Somaliland construction industry

This study contributes to develop a hierarchical framework for assessing the strategic effectiveness of waste management in the construction industry. This study identifies a valid set of strategic effectiveness attributes of sustainable waste management (SWM) in construction. Prior studies have neglected to develop a strategic effectiveness assessment framework for SWM to identify reduce, reuse, and recycle policy initiatives that ensure waste minimization and resource recovery programs. This study utilizes the fuzzy Delphi method to screen out nonessential attributes in qualitative information. This study initially proposes a set of 75 criteria; after two rounds of assessment, consensus regarding 28 criteria is achieved among experts, and the 28 criteria are validated. Fuzzy interpretive structural modeling divides the attributes into various elements. The modeling constructs a six-level model that depicts the interrelationships among the 28 validated criteria as a hierarchical framework, and it finds and ranks the optimal drivers for practical improvement. This study integrates the best-worst method to measure the weights of different criteria in the hierarchical strategic effectiveness framework. The findings reveal that waste management operational strategy, construction site waste management performance, and the mutual coordination level are the top aspects for assessing strategic effectiveness in the hierarchical framework. In practice, the waste reduction rate, the recycling rate, water and land usage, the reuse rate, and noise and air pollution levels are identified to assist policymakers in evaluation. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Community capitals and (social) sustainability: Use and misuse of asset-based approaches in environmental management

Sustainability has increasingly gained momentum as an underlying framework to orient decisions and actions in environmental management. However, while acting in view of sustainability goals is a noble intention, both the conceptualization and the implementation of sustainability remain a subject of debate. This is partly due to the widespread lack of consideration for its social dimension and the interactions this has with the environmental and economic dimensions. To this end, the Community Capitals Framework and other asset-based approaches are often used to deal with these problematic aspects of sustainability in environmental management. Through a systematic review of scientific peer-reviewed articles, this paper investigates the conceptual and practical application of such approaches. Results from our analysis show that different declinations of community capitals exist within environmental management. In all the forms they assume in the 42 frameworks identified, their employment seems effective in promoting the inclusion of social, economic and environmental dimensions when conducting sustainability assessments. However, we identified two main difficulties that challenge the application of asset-based approaches in practice. First, in most cases, capital assessment is not carried out in the planning phase of an environmental intervention in order to identify community resources; capitals are employed instead to measure the impact of an ecological change ex-post, thus being discordant with their theoretical foundations. Second, the existence of a vast array of terms to refer to community assets creates disorientation among exponents of different stakeholder groups and hinders a practical and effective application of this concept. On the basis of our results, we claim the importance of conducting community resources assessment and stakeholder consultation at different times and through practice oriented approaches and cross-silos communication efforts in order to develop a shared understanding of the problem and facilitate sustainable, adaptive and participatory approaches to environmental management.

Challenges associated with household solid waste management (SWM) during COVID-19 lockdown period: a case of ward 12 Gweru City, Zimbabwe

The research assessed the challenges associated with household solid waste management during COVID-19 lockdown period. A mixed method approach was used triangulating both quantitative and qualitative methods. Ten-percent sample size of 1690 households (target population) participated in the research. Stratified random and purposive sampling methods were used to select the participants. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16 and content analysis were used to analyze the data. Chi-square test was used to test whether education level determines the disposal strategy used during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Research findings demonstrates that compulsive use of personal protection equipment such as masks, spending more time at home, bulk buying, and storage of food has skewed the trend of waste generation resulting in the increase in quantity of waste produced daily. COVID-19 lockdown period resulted in reduced waste collection since waste refuse collectors were not operating during lockdown period leading to illegal dumping and burning of waste. On average amount of waste produced weekly per household level was 73 kg (organic waste 35.2 kg, toxic waste 10 kg, and recyclable waste 26.8 kg). A chi-square p value of 0.35 was obtained, showing that there is a relationship between waste disposal strategy used during COVID-19 lockdown period and level of education of the respondents. The research concludes that COVID-19 has greatly affected waste management strategies from generation, collection, transportation, and disposal. It is recommended that the responsible authorities must prioritize collection of waste during the lockdown period as well as ensuring that waste recyclers and collectors are among the essential service providers during the pandemic.

Designing a fuzzy decision support framework for assessing solid waste management in the South European region

The environmental planning of cities and rural regions is associated with monitoring the performance of several services, including solid waste management. This study proposes a new framework for the comparative assessment of the performance of integrated municipal solid waste management. The framework includes the fuzzy MACBETH multi-criteria decision-making model used to investigate the uncertainties and inefficiencies associated with solid waste management systems. The model consists of all major stages in solid waste management and its environmental impact. The applicability of the model was examined in the South European region. According to the global fuzzy values of the criteria weights, the most influential reported criteria were GHG emission (0.113,0.157,0.202), the waste generation growth rate (0.034,0.063,0.141), and waste generation (0.034,0.054,0.127). The other results indicated that Italy (47.26) and France (42.67) had shown a better performance, only to be followed by Spain (37.68), whereas Greece (15.77) and Portugal (12.85) had received the lowest score. In the context of promoting the circular economy in Europe, having a higher recycling rate and less landfilling is beneficial for Greece and Portugal. In addition to this, all these countries should make efforts on decoupling the waste generation-GDP correlation. Furthermore, the applicability of the model depends on an appropriate scale and criteria. The model can be replicated to other developed societies with a few modifications. However, it is necessary to modify the criteria for assessing developing societies based on local conditions.

A framework for assessing the Ecological Sustainability of Waste Disposal Sites (EcoSWaD)

Although the need for sustainability of waste disposal sites (WDS) is largely agreed upon by various stakeholders, there is still a limitation in evaluating sites' sustainability. This study aimed to define ecological sustainability for WDS and develop a framework for its assessment. A WDS's ecological sustainability was defined as the site's capacity to take up waste without compromising the surrounding ecosystems' health and their abilities to self-regenerate or provide other ecosystem services. A model, called EcoSWaD, was developed in this study to assess the ecological sustainability of WDS. The model has 35 indicators divided into five major themes: (i) location suitability; (ii) operational sustainability; (iii) environmental sustainability; (iv) socioeconomic sustainability; and (v) site capacity sustainability. The EcoSWaD brought together all the different interpretations and indicators in the diverse fields of sustainability study or practice to facilitate a comprehensive and meaningful WDS assessment. Testing the model at the Kiteezi landfill showed that the location, environmental, socioeconomic and site capacity themes at the landfill had low values: 18.7, 19.1, 16.9 and 15, respectively. The operation theme had a very low value of 13.5, showing that the landfill's biggest sustainability concerns stem from site operation and the resultant impact on the environment, local community and site capacity. The overall Sustainability Score of 83.1 showed that the landfill's sustainability is low. A tool for the application of the EcoSWaD can be found at https://ecoswad.org/app/console/.

Municipal Solid Waste Management and Adverse Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Municipal solid waste (MSW) can pose a threat to public health if it is not safely managed. Despite prior research, uncertainties remain and refurbished evidence is needed along with new approaches. We conducted a systematic review of recently published literature to update and expand the epidemiological evidence on the association between MSW management practices and resident populations' health risks. Studies published from January 2005 to January 2020 were searched and reviewed following PRISMA guidelines. Eligible MSW treatment or disposal sites were defined as landfills, dumpsites, incinerators, waste open burning, transfer stations, recycling sites, composting plants, and anaerobic digesters. Occupational risks were not assessed. Health effects investigated included mortality, adverse birth and neonatal outcomes, cancer, respiratory conditions, gastroenteritis, vector-borne diseases, mental health conditions, and cardiovascular diseases. Studies reporting on human biomonitoring for exposure were eligible as well. Twenty-nine studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria of our protocol, assessing health effects only associated with proximity to landfills, incinerators, and dumpsites/open burning sites. There was some evidence of an increased risk of adverse birth and neonatal outcomes for residents near each type of MSW site. There was also some evidence of an increased risk of mortality, respiratory diseases, and negative mental health effects associated with residing near landfills. Additionally, there was some evidence of increased risk of mortality associated with residing near incinerators. However, in many cases, the evidence was inadequate to establish a strong relationship between a specific exposure and outcomes, and the studies rarely assessed new generation technologies. Evidence gaps remain, and recommendations for future research are discussed.