Role of Waste Collection Efficiency in Providing a Cleaner Rural Environment

Florin-Constantin Mihai,Adrian Grozavu

doi:10.3390/su11236855

Florin-Constantin Mihai, Adrian Grozavu

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236855

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Dec 2, 2019
Citations: 33	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University

Abstract

The exposure of rural communities to illegal waste dumping practices associated with the lack of or poor waste collection schemes prior to the closure of rural dumpsites under EU regulations and the role of collection efficiency afterward in reducing this critical environmental threat constitutes a key issue in rural Romania. The present study reveals huge amounts of household uncollected waste released into the natural environment outside the official statistics of rural dumpsites. Despite the expansion of waste collection coverage towards rural areas since 2010, the problem of illegal dumping practice is difficult to solve. The improvement of collection efficiency, better law enforcement, and surveillance of environmental authorities coupled with educational and environmental awareness are necessary steps to combat this bad practice. A circular economy paradigm must be enacted in rural regions through separate collection schemes and to improve cost-efficient alternatives, such as home composting, and traditional and creative reuse practices, particularly in less developed regions.

Highlights

Uncollected wastes across rural communities are susceptible to uncontrolled disposal via open dumping or open burning practices, with direct impacts on environmental factors and public health
This study demonstrates that even with a reasonable collection efficiency (WCS70), such as un upper range of middle-income countries like Romania in rural areas, the amounts of uncollected household waste could fill over 50% of the local dumps in only one year across 147 communes
The closure process of rural wild dumps (2009–2010) provided the most comprehensive database at North-East Region level concerning the volumes of such sites but the paper points out serious gaps at the local scale (LAU2) within a county or between western and eastern counties of this peripheral EU region

Summary

Introduction

Uncollected wastes across rural communities are susceptible to uncontrolled disposal via open dumping or open burning practices, with direct impacts on environmental factors (air–water–soil nexus) and public health. Rural areas are often neglected by formal waste management services due to a complex of factors, such as geographical barriers, sparse settlements, low population densities, poorer socioeconomic conditions, long distances from urban areas, transportation costs, etc. The increasing amounts of waste generated across the globe raise more difficulties in dealing with proper waste management activities at the regional and local scale involving urban or rural municipalities [9,10]. The old non-compliant landfills are replaced by new regional integrated waste management facilities, which must include rural communities [11,12]

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