Abstract
Financing municipal solid waste (MSW) services is one of the key challenges faced by cities in developing countries. This study used plastic waste, a constituent of MSW, to explore the possibility of generating revenue for financing MSW management in the municipalities of Nepal. The results of this study suggest that plastic material recovery could generate revenue, which is equivalent to 1.38 times of the plastic-waste-related management cost when collection efficiency reaches 66.7%. An increase in 1% of recovery rate and collection efficiency could cover an additional 4.64% and 2.06% of the costs of managing plastic waste, respectively. In addition, an increase in tax on imported plastic materials could also motivate recovery of plastic waste for recycle and reuse. An additional 1% tax on plastic imports would be sufficient to cover plastic-related waste management when plastic waste recovery and collection efficiency rates are low. This plastic recovery- revenue exercise could be expanded to other materials such as paper and metal to fully understand the possibility of sustainable financing of MSW management and reducing environmental harm in developing countries like Nepal.
Highlights
There has been a steady increase in the urban population worldwide over the years
Based on the collection efficiency, the daily quantity of materials that can be processed for material recovery is 432 tons
The results indicate that if collection efficiency increases to 66.7%, the revenue generated from the recovered plastic at 12% material recovery rate (MRR) would outweigh the plastic-related municipal solid waste (MSW)
Summary
There has been a steady increase in the urban population worldwide over the years. According to a report published by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, the world’s urban population was 55% of the total population in 2018 but is expected to increase up to 68% by 2050 [1]. According to the Report, more than 90% of this growth would take place in Asia and Africa. The increase in urban population, coupled with economic growth and improved living standards, has resulted in the generation of enormous amounts of waste already in cities in developing countries [2]. Municipal solid waste (MSW), if not managed properly, produces negative externalities and contributes to flooding and waterlogging during extreme climatic events such as excessive rainfall [3,4,5,6].
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