Household waste disposal mechanisms in Sri Lanka: Nation-wide survey evidence for their trends and determinants

Analysis of the community behavioural patterns in management of household plastic waste due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected human lifestyle in numerous ways and one such key affected social element is the management of household plastic waste. Due to its effective barrier properties against the COVID-19 virus, usage and consumption of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other single-use plastic (SUP) products have increased exponentially to meet the accelerated demand. Therefore, this paper analyses the changes in community behavioural patterns of household plastic waste management with the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation in Sri Lanka. The comparative analysis of majorly consumed plastic waste types, plastic disposal methods, and perceptions of existing policies before and after the pandemic are broadly discussed. A comprehensive questionnaire was conducted in a stratified randomly sampled community and analysed using SPSS. Disposable face masks (39.9%) and hand sanitiser products (33.0%) were popular plastic products during the pandemic. The frequency of handing over the waste to collectors and recycling centres decreased slightly, from 32.1% to 31.4% and 24.2%-19.8%, respectively. Conversely, respondents' preference for burning plastic waste increased from 23.4% to 27.0% after the pandemic. The plastic disposal methods from before and after the pandemic are significantly associated with income level (p = 0.00) and employment status (p = 0.00). No significant association was observed between the disposal method before the pandemic and the education level of respondents (p = 0.185). However, a significant association was evident between the disposal method after the pandemic and the education level of respondents (p = 0.025).

Factors affecting household solid waste generation and management in Sri Lanka: an empirical study

This study examines the effect of "waste management" factors (Knowledge, Motivation, Time, Awareness, Contribution, Attitudes) on household waste generation (HWG), more precisely the measured weight of waste generated at households for a week (MWWGHW) while controlling for the socioeconomic factors such as family size, monthly family income, education level, and occupation. It also examines the moderating effects of the geographic location (urban versus rural areas) on the relationships between waste management factors and MWWGHW while controlling for the aforementioned socioeconomic factors. The overall results show that socioeconomic factors such as Family Size ([Formula: see text] = 0.134; p < 0.001) and Monthly Family Income ([Formula: see text] = 0.301; p < 0.001) significantly and positively influence MWWGHW, whereas the Occupation factor ([Formula: see text] = - 0.106, p < 0.05) significantly and negatively influences MWWGHW. Furthermore, the results show that the Knowledge ([Formula: see text] = - 0.129, p < 0.05), Motivation ([Formula: see text] = - 0.161, p < 0.001), Contribution ([Formula: see text] = - 0.111, p < 0.05), and Awareness ([Formula: see text]= - 0.189, p < 0.001) factors significantly and negatively influence MWWGHW. While the results show that the geographic location Urban Area moderates significantly the relationship between the Motivation factor and MWWGHW ([Formula: see text] = - 0.129, p < 0.05), the same results show, however, that the geographic location Rural Area moderates significantly but negatively the relationships between Knowledge factor and MWWGHW ([Formula: see text] = - 0.187, p < 0.01); Motivation factor and MWWGHW ([Formula: see text] = - 0.390, p < 0.001); Contribution factor and MWWGHW ([Formula: see text] = - 0.154, p < 0.10); and Awareness factor and MWWGHW ([Formula: see text] = - 0.285, p < 0.001). Based on these results, implications for policy orientations and future research are provided.

Planning for disposal of COVID-19 pandemic wastes in developing countries: a review of current challenges

The health sector is critical to the well-being of any country, but developing countries have several obstacles that prevent them from providing adequate health care. This became an even larger concern after the COVID-19 outbreak left millions of people dead worldwide and generated huge amounts of infected or potentially infected wastes. The management and disposal of medical wastes during and post-COVID-19 represent a major challenge in all countries, but this challenge is particularly great for developing countries that do not have robust waste disposal infrastructure. The main problems in developing countries include inefficient treatment procedures, limited capacity of healthcare facilities, and improper waste disposal procedures. The management of medical wastes in most developing countries was primitive prior to the pandemic. The improper treatment and disposal of these wastes in our current situation may further speed COVID-19 spread, creating a serious risk for workers in the medical and sanitation fields, patients, and all of society. Therefore, there is a critical need to discuss emerging challenges in handling, treating, and disposing of medical wastes in developing countries during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. There is a need to determine best disposal techniques given the conditions and limitations under which developing countries operate. Several open questions need to be investigated concerning this global issue, such as to what extent developing countries can control the expected environmental impacts of COVID-19, particularly those related to medical wastes? What are the projected management scenarios for medical wastes under the COVID-19 outbreak? And what are the major environmental risks posed by contaminated wastes related to COVID-19 treatment? Studies directed at the questions above, careful planning, the use of large capacity mobile recycling facilities, and following established guidelines for disposal of medical wastes should reduce risk of COVID-19 spread in developing countries.

Design and simulation of a secondary resource recycling system: A case study of lead-acid batteries

The recycling of secondary resources is complicated as consumers, recyclers and governments are all involved in this process. In developing countries, compared to legal recyclers, illegal recyclers not only have cost advantages but also create serious pollution. Inappropriate management policies may cause disorder in the recycling market or inefficient fiscal management. This paper takes China's lead-acid batteries (LABs) from 2000 to 2015 as an example to construct a model of a secondary resource recovery system based on heterogeneous groups and analyzes the environmental and economic impacts of used LAB recycling. By simulating the implementation of different tax cuts, subsidies and regulatory policies by the government in each year, we observe the overall environmental impact of the recycling industry. This study finds that when the total amount of government expenditures is limited, the optimal policy combination emphasizes tax reduction and subsidy policies during the growth period of the recycling industry and uses more funds for supervision in the mature period. Under the balance of fiscal revenues and expenditures, the optimal policy combination can reduce the number of illegal recycling companies and waste lead emissions from the recycling market by 97.9% and 45.8%, respectively. Compared to research conducted using mathematical models and system dynamics models, this result is more in line with the actual situation, and the content is more intuitive. The government needs to adopt different policy combinations in different periods according to the state of the recycling market so that the recycling of secondary resources can achieve the optimal effect.

Residential curbside waste collection programs design: A multicriteria and participatory approach using choosing by advantages

Policy making involves translating political visions into programs that seek to change a social behavior. To design these programs, decision makers must consider multiple aspects to achieve sustainable solutions. Furthermore, decision makers must manage interrelated information and preferences of different stakeholders to ensure the policy suits the community and accomplishes its goals. This research provides evidence of the applicability of the Choosing by Advantages (CBA) decision system to make environmental public policies, in particular to design a waste collection program for a city in Canada. The methodology is based on a case study where CBA was used to choose the recycling, organics, and PAYT (Pay as you throw) utility components of the program. To analyze the process, researchers measured decision makers' perceptions of levels of satisfaction or frustration during the program-design process by conducting surveys with decision-makers at different stages in time. The research also measured decision-makers' preference for applying CBA over traditional practices where no formal decision-making method is used, in terms of (1) reaching consensus and transparency, (2) making complex decisions, and (3) making faster decisions. The results show that CBA helped to include multiple aspects in designing for sustainability, and to consider the municipality and community preferences into the program. The study also evidenced that satisfaction levels increased as the process progressed. Finally, 75% of decision makers reported preference for CBA regarding reaching consensus and transparency, while this preference was milder (55%) regarding making complex decisions, and the opposite (27%) regarding making faster decisions.