Determinants of municipal solid and hazardous waste management in the occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional study

Evaluation of the municipal solid waste (MSW) management system seems necessary to promote urban services. The present study is aimed to identify and prioritize the problems and deficiencies of MSW management in Iran. This study has used a mixed-methods (Scoping review and Delphi technique) approach to achieve its goals. The results obtained by the scoping review showed that the average rate of Iran’s MSW generation in the last decade (2009–2019) was 0.745 kg/capita/day. The average of MSW composition was estimated to include: organic material (68.42%), paper and cardboard (7.31%), plastic (9.80%), pet (0.99%), metal (1.59%), rubber (1.09%), textile (3.02%), glass (2.33%), wood (0.97%), and others (4.48%). Also a scoping review of the current status of Iran’s MSW management showed that at present, Iran’s MSW management has both some strengths (such as collecting more than 90% of the total generated MSW) and lot of weaknesses such as lack of a systematic program for MSW reduction, weakness in source separation, low processing and recycling, unsanitary disposal of MSW, etc. According to the results of the Delphi technique, Iran’s main MSW management problems are: disregarding the investment for culturalization in the field of SWM and low effectiveness of the existing educational methods, disregarding the principles of integrated solid waste management hierarchy, imbalance in cost-efficiency in MSW systems, the existence of major deficits and weaknesses in recruitment and selection of staffs and the existence of additional non-expert human resources, lack of incongruity between the non-standard solid waste disposal crimes and their penalties, lack of executive guarantees for the proper implementation of the existing regulations, poor performance of the responsible organizations in the field of public education, as well as lack of effective cooperation among the responsible bodies in this field. Overall, consideration and elimination of priority problems and reinforcement the strengths of Iran’s MSW management system can be effective in improving the performance of this system.

Purpose Due to the increasing population and prosperity, the generation rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased significantly, resulting in serious problems on public health and the environment. Every single person in the world is affected by the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) issue. MSWM is reaching a critical level in almost all areas of the world and seeking the development of MSW strategies for a sustainable environment. This paper aims to present the existing global status of MSW generation, composition, management and related problems. Design/methodology/approach A total of 59 developed and developing countries have been grouped based on their gross national income to compare the status of various MSWM technologies among them. A total of 19 selection criteria have been discussed to select appropriate MSWM technology(s) for a city/town, which affects their applicability, operational suitability and performance. All risks and challenges arising during the life cycle of the waste to energy (WtE) project have also been discussed. This paper also gives a comparative overview of different globally accepted MSWM technologies and the present market growth of all WtE technologies. Findings It was found that most developed countries have effectively implemented the solid waste management (SWM) hierarchy and are now focusing heavily on reducing, reusing and recycling of MSW. On the other hand, SWM has become very serious in low-income and low-middle-income countries because most of the MSW openly dumps and most countries are dependent on inadequate waste infrastructure and the informal sector. There are also some other major challenges related to effective waste policies, availability of funds, appropriate technology selection and adequacy of trained people. This study clears the picture of MSW generation, composition, management strategies and policies at the worldwide context. This manuscript could be valuable for all nations around the world where effective MSWM has not yet been implemented. Originality/value This study clears the picture of solid waste generation, composition, management strategies and policies at the worldwide context. This manuscript could be valuable for all nations around the world where effective MSWM has not yet been implemented. In this study, no data was generated. All supporting data were obtained from previously published papers in journals, the outcomes of the international conferences and published reports by government organizations.

Integrated Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management is a tedious task requiring the simultaneous fulfilment of technical, economical and social constraints. It combines a range of collection and treatment methods to handle all materials in the waste stream in an environmentally effective, economically affordable and socially acceptable way (McDougall, 2001). Due to the complexity of the issues required for effective integrated MSW management, various computer-aided approaches that help the decision makers reach their final decision have been engaged since the early days of integrated MSW management. Any computer-based system supporting decision making is defined as a DSS (Finlay, 1989). DSS incorporate computer-based models of real life biophysical and economic systems. There are two main categories of DSS applied to solid waste management: the first one, based on applied mathematics, emphasises application of statistical, optimisation or simulation modelling. The second category of DSS provides specific problem-solving expertise stored as facts, rules and procedures. In addition, there are also hybrid approaches. Recently, there has been a major shift towards Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) computer-aided tools. LCA is a holistic approach that is increasingly utilised for solid waste management especially in the decision-making process and in strategy-planning. LCA can be categorised as a hybrid approach since it utilises equations for inventory analysis and recycling loops on the one hand, while on the other it requires expertise input for impact assessment and characterisation. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a holistic approach that quantifies all environmental burdens and therefore all environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of products or processes (Rebitzer et al. 2004). LCA is not an exact scientific tool, but a science-based assessment methodology for the impacts of a product or system on the environment (Winkler & Bilitewski 2007). It is increasingly utilised for solid waste management systems especially in the decision-making process and in strategy-planning. LCA has been utilised for sustainable MSW management since 1995 (Guereca et al. 2006). LCA is an ideal tool for application in MSW management because geographic locations, characteristics of waste, energy sources, availability of some disposal options and size of markets for products derived from waste management differ widely (White et al., 1997; Mendes et al., 2004). LCA can help reduce local pressures and waste management costs, while considering the broader effects and trade-offs felt elsewhere across society (Koneczny and Pennington, 2007). The LCA procedure has been standardized in 1998 and revised in 2006 (ISO 14040, 2006). Based on this standard, LCA consists of the following four sections:

Indonesia municiple solid waste life cycle and environmental monitoring: current situation, before and future challenges

A municipality is an administrative division composed of a defined territory and population (Al-Salem and Lettieri, 2009). While there are many varieties of municipalities, most fall into one of two categories: a single settlement and a land area similar to a township that may contain multiple settlements, or even just part of one, such as a city's municipality. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) can be defined as solid waste which includes all domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional wastes, street sweepings and construction debris (Magutu et al., 2010). The major types of MSW are food wastes, paper, plastic, rags, metal and glass, with some hazardous household wastes such as electric light bulbs, batteries, discarded medicines and automotive parts. MSW is thus seen as primarily coming from households but also includes wastes from offices, hotels, shopping complexes/shops, schools, institutions, and from municipal services such as street cleaning and maintenance of recreational areas. In some countries the solid wastes management system also handles human wastes such as night-soil, ashes from incinerators, septic tank sludge and sludge from sewage treatment plants. The complexities and enormity of the challenges become evident when considering other waste types to be managed and these include industrial solid waste, municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, storm water and hazardous waste. This chapter will focus on the major ways of managing the Municipal Solid Waste, especially through the proper long-term strategies by looking at the following four key areas: Formulation of the municipal solid waste management strategy; Objectives of municipal solid waste management; Waste management strategies used in municipal solid waste management; and lastly the challenges facing the implementation of sound municipal solid waste management strategies

Trends and problems of solid waste management in developing countries: A case study in seven Palestinian districts

Solid waste management is now acknowledged as one of the major environmental issues of our times. It remains a challenge for developed countries and is an exponentially growing problem for developing countries. The last four decades are marked by several incidents highlighting problems with solid and hazardous waste management across the world. 1. Trans-boundary shipments of hazardous and solid waste have received world-wide attention and media headlines. Infamous examples include Khian Sea which started its journey from Philadelphia in 1986 and Mobro which started its journey from New York in 1987; two US barges or ships with cargoes of municipal solid waste that went from one country to another looking for a port to dump their wastes. The Mobro went all the way to Belize and brought its cargo back to Brooklyn, New York for incineration and landfilling. Many speculate that Khian Sea dumped its cargo somewhere in the Indian Ocean in 1988. 2. Most recently, a fire started on 27 January 2016 in India’s oldest and largest open dumping site, Deonar in Mumbai, and was visible in satellite images (shown in Fig. 1.1). It continued for several days leading to complaints of air pollution and closure of schools for 2 days. The massive fire was attributed to the buildup of methane gas in the open dump where the waste had reached heights of more than 30 m. Fires in this dumping site have been recurrent making living conditions in the surrounding areas extremely difficult. 3. Many sources have identified poor solid waste management as one of the major contributing factors to the spread of plague in Surat, India in 1994. Incidents like these led to promulgation of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules in India in 2000. 4. Several industrial sites all around the world remain unusable or a toxic nuisance for their neighbours due to improper handling and management of hazardous wastes on-site. One of the earliest and most cited examples in the USA includes Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, where toxic waste was dumped through the 1920s and got national attention only in 1976–1978. The Superfund program (under the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA for ensuring proper disposal of solid and hazardous waste) was initiated in 1980 in the USA and was the government’s response for remediating and rehabilitating such contaminated industrial sites.

Technological advancements, environmental regulations, and emphasis on resource conservation and recovery have greatly reduced the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste (MSW) management, including emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study was conducted using a life-cycle methodology to track changes in GHG emissions during the past 25 years from the management of MSW in the United States. For the baseline year of 1974, MSW management consisted of limited recycling, combustion without energy recovery, and landfilling without gas collection or control. This was compared with data for 1980, 1990, and 1997, accounting for changes in MSW quantity, composition, management practices, and technology. Over time, the United States has moved toward increased recycling, composting, combustion (with energy recovery) and landfilling with gas recovery, control, and utilization. These changes were accounted for with historical data on MSW composition, quantities, management practices, and technological changes. Included in the analysis were the benefits of materials recycling and energy recovery to the extent that these displace virgin raw materials and fossil fuel electricity production, respectively. Carbon sinks associated with MSW management also were addressed. The results indicate that the MSW management actions taken by U.S. communities have significantly reduced potential GHG emissions despite an almost 2-fold increase in waste generation. GHG emissions from MSW management were estimated to be 36 million metric tons carbon equivalents (MMTCE) in 1974 and 8 MMTCE in 1997. If MSW were being managed today as it was in 1974, GHG emissions would be ~60 MMTCE.

The problem of efficient management of municipal solid waste (MSW) flows remains one of the most urgent environmental and socio-economic problems of the Ukrainian regions. Ineffective MSW management leads to a significant negative impact on the abiogenic and biogenic components of the environment, as well as on the Ukrainian regions' citizens' state of health. Each individual region has its specific situation that should be taken into consideration for the development and implementation of regional plans for MSW management. Usually most of these regional plans are limited by such factors as determination of the volume of generated MSW, inventory of landfills, calculation of the required number of containers and technical means, justified expediency of MSW sorting stations placement, new MSW landfills construction etc. However, little attention is paid to introduction of innovative approaches for development of an effective MSW management system. There is no systematic approach to solving the MSW-related problem and all efforts aim at eliminating the consequences, rather than changing the ultimate cause. The aim of the research is to assess the prerequisites for the formation and implementation of a MSW management plan in Odesa Region from a systematic approach perspective. The methodological basis of the research includes analysis of the existing regulatory and legislative framework in the area of regional MSW management. The work is based on the relevant published data, materials of the Draft Regional Waste Management Plan in Odesa Region by 2030, as well as the results of our own research activities. The regional MSW management plan can be implemented at the following main areas: introduction of a MSW management system in big cities (separation of easily-decomposed organic fraction and hazardous waste, creation of recycling centre and stations etc.); landfill activities (construction of waste sorting plant, construction of biochemical processing/composting facilities, biogas production); development of logistics services (transition to small garbage trucks: separate vehicles for individual MSW components or vehicles with separate sections without waste precompaction); training of qualified personnel, educational work with great masses of population. Consideration of these prerequisites during the formation and implementation of a MSW management plan in Odesa Region will help to increase the environmental safety of the population, reduce the negative impact on the environment through improvement and modernization of the existing MSW management system and achievement of the final "zero waste" condition after conversion of the maximum waste amount into liquid secondary raw materials, alternative energy source and environmentally friendly organic mineral fertilizer. The implementation of the conceptual and theoretical foundations for formation of an optimized MSW management system will contribute to the achievement of the goals of sustainable development set by Odesa Region.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a global issue. Improper MSW management has adverse effects on human health and the environment. In view of this, promoting sound MSW management has been the focus of many policy makers, researchers and academics. In most countries including Ghana, this complex task has been entrusted to the local government. However, the success of the local government in this endeavor largely depends on the involvement of other actors of solid waste management. This study therefore seeks to evaluate the involvement of actors by the local government in MSW management using the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana as a case study. Qualitative case study approach involving observations, one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions with a wide range of actors is employed. The results of the study underscore major drawbacks in the MSW management system in the Kumasi metropolis where policies are formulated by the top-down approach. This study contributes to literature by encouraging the habit of source separation of waste among solid waste service users since it has the tendency of reducing the quantity of waste to be dumped at the disposal sites and consequently, protracting the lifespan of landfills and dumpsites in the metropolis. The study further entreats the local government to formulate MSW management regulations and policies with a bottom-up approach through broader consultations with actors to ensure that the provisions take into consideration the cultural and distinct local needs in the area.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become a highly challenging issue for many countries at different levels of development since the growth of population and urbanisation has resulted in a large increase in MSW generation. It is difficult to forecast the solid waste generated and its characteristics due to the non-linear nature of the MSW system, hence the importance of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and machine learning (ML) methods. This paper discusses a systematic literature review (SLR) on the application of AI techniques in MSW management, including waste generation prediction, waste collection and transportation and waste treatment and final disposal. The study reviewed and analysed the research studies published between 2000 and 2021, and investigated the current challenges faced by researchers in implementing AI approaches in the MSW system. It was concluded that artificial neural networks are the most used approach in various MSW-related problems. However, the lack and reliability of data are limiting the advancement of AI techniques in this field. Additionally, most studies claimed that their results are accurate and can be implemented in real-life scenarios, with an absence of a clear baseline to assess the performance of the adopted approaches. The detailed gaps and future suggestions for AI techniques in MSW systems are also discussed for further research.

Qingdao is an important economic center in eastern coastal China. With the rapid urbanization process, problems of municipal solid waste (MSW) management have become a new concern for the government. In Qingdao, MSW collection and transportation (MSW-CT) amounts increased from 0.81 × 106 t/a in 1999 to 1.85 × 106 t/a in 2015. The per capita MSW production was nearly 1.1 kg/(capita·d), higher than the Chinese average value of 0.70 kg/(capita·d). The MSW management system of Qingdao was dominated by the “Municipal Public Bureau of Qingdao.” Due to the continuous reform of the sanitation management system, an operation mechanism of separation for government and enterprise, unified management, orderly competition and a three-level management system of “City – District – Street” were established. MSW-CT mode was mainly based on the combination of “multi-way collection in early, transfer station compression in late” and “compression car direct transport.” MSW treatment was mainly located at the “XiaoJianXi Solid Waste Comprehensive Disposal plant of Qingdao,” including sanitary landfill, incineration, composting, and recycling. Qingdao was one of the earliest pilot cities of MSW source separation in China. Although some relevant achievements were achieved, many problems were also found. In the future, MSW source separation will be regarded as a key concern for government departments in Qingdao. MSW management of Qingdao had always been leading position in the Shandong Province. However, some problems cannot be ignored, such as multi-head management, inadequate market competition, and inconsistent power between supervision and law enforcement. In the future, Qingdao’s MSW management will be improved through structural reform, financial investment, and an increase in market competition and public environmental awareness. A “Qingdao model” in Chinese MSW management will be gradually established.

Akwa Ibom state is one of the nine states in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This region is critical to sustainable economic development in the country being the main oil producing area. With its location within the tropical rainforest and dense population, Uyo, like other major cities in Nigeria generates enormous municipal solid waste which is not adequately managed. Municipal solid waste management has therefore emerged as one of the greatest challenges facing environmental agencies in the city. Solid waste management is simply reduced to waste transfer with overflow dump sites causing serious environmental pollution. Waste management practices are characterized by inefficient collection and poor disposal methods. Waste stream comprises: 65% of compostable materials, 10% plastics, 8% paper, 4% metal, 3% textile, 3% glass and 7% others. The rate of waste generation ranged between 0.49 to 0.60 kg/capita/day with an average of 0.54 kg/capita/day. Inadequate finances, lack of institutional arrangement, insufficient information on the quantity and quality of waste as well as inappropriate technology are the main constraints militating against effective solid waste management in Uyo. The findings in this research are useful in formulating adequate waste disposal procedures. In addition, the potential of waste recovery, reduction and reuse based on waste characteristics is projected at about $8million annually. However, further research is required in the area in order to maximize this potential.

Strategies for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management can be sustainable only because of site-specific analyses and choices that take into account not only financial but also environmental costs. Generally, a correct approach should use different scenarios based on the environmental, social, economic and technological conditions of the specific area and on its expected potential. The aim of this paper is to presents an innovative model for the implementation of integrated MSW management approach which can result extremely useful where the MSW systems have to be refined or even designed such in the case of low-income countries. The proposed approach provides the best solid waste (SW) allocation/distribution among the available treatments and disposal options minimizing at the same time the total cost by means of an optimization procedure. The environmental impacts of potential scenarios are simultaneously estimated by means of a tailored Life Cycle Assessment procedure. The LCA tool in the model focus on the specific impacts from a SW management scenario that makes the model more explicit with respect to traditional LCA application. Additional tools allow, through site-specific numerical models, to provide also a preliminary evaluation of local impacts when required (e.g. atmospheric emissions). Such a model can be useful as a supporting tool in decision making for both governmental and non-governmental institutions involved in the planning of more sustainable eco-friendly strategies for MSW management.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the present municipal solid wastes (MSWs) management system, from an engineering management (EM) perspective, for the City of Kitwe while proposing a levers-driven sustainable municipal solid waste management (MSWM) model focussing on improving waste management (WM).Design/methodology/approachThe research work involves four stages. First, a comprehensive review of literature is conducted on MSWM. Second, structured interviews are conducted with key experts in solid waste management in the City of Kitwe in order to enhance the knowledge inputs. Third, direct observations and an interview with a WM driver are conducted in order to understand; the collection, disposal and treatment options for MSWs. Lastly, a sustainable model for managing MSWs is proposedFindingsThe research findings indicate that the existing MSW system for the city is highly unsustainable and lacks EM methodologies. There are still a number of challenges in the management of MSWs which include: lack of proper collection and storage of MSWs; lack of an engineered landfill; lack of waste recovery and treatment systems; and lack of public education aimed at reducing and separating MSWs.Practical implicationsA correct and detailed database for waste generation, collection, treatment and disposal is needed for the City of Kitwe. The system is necessary for WM resources allocation as well as for planning sustainable WM projects. The proposed model has been developed based on the actual observations, data collection and analysis.Originality/valueThe research identifies a gap in the management of MSWs for the City of Kitwe. This work is original as no similar MSW model has been proposed globally and specific for a developing economy such as Africa.