CRAFTING A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ON WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Abstract

Theory formulation is crucial in search of a genuine panacea on Solid Waste Management Disposal. The study aims to catenate the different theories in Solid Waste Management to be able to re-craft a theoretical framework for Sustainable Cities. A qualitative research method was applied to consolidate and synthesize the fragmented theories on Urban Ecology, Policy Making, Eco-Innovations, Triple-Bottom Line, Waste Management and Sustainability. Formulation of policy and implementation instruments is vital tool to reinvent Waste Management Theory. Wastes disposal is a global phenomenon. As a result of theoretical analysis, urban transformation amidst economic development poses environmental degradation. Progress is inevitable, hence urban transformation occurs. The upward pressure from economic development creates downward pressure on environmental degradation. This condition when exhibited longer than necessary, stagnation proliferates and cities turned into an ecological sacrificial zone. To mitigate, formulation of policy instruments as government sticks must transpire. And at the end of the spectrum, regulations and policies embodied in the implementation instruments based on Waste Management Theory must be supported by ecoinnovations. These innovations inclusive of new ideas, new behavior, processes, and products in sync in a Waste Management Program measured through environmental preservation/restoration, economic resilience, and social wellbeing commonly called as the “Triple bottom-line”. Thereafter, the metamorphosis of cities from the ecological sacrifice zone into sustainable cities will transpire.