Local Waste Management Systems Research Articles

Effect of the ICT‐enabled reclaimer system on the informal waste recycling system in Cape Town, South Africa: The Regenize model

AbstractThe impact of information and communication technology (ICT)‐enabled waste management systems on municipal solid waste, waste reclaimer integration, and resource recovery is critical, particularly in the informal recycling sector. This study investigates the effects of the ICT‐enabled waste management system in Cape Town, South Africa, with a focus on the Regenize model. Leveraging digital technologies, the Regenize model aims to improve waste picker integration and resource recovery within the local waste management system. A qualitative research methodology involving semi structured interviews with key stakeholders in Cape Town's ICT‐enabled waste reclaimer system, data triangulation, and thematic content analysis was employed to investigate the system's transformative potential. Preliminary findings indicate the Regenize system's alignment with extended producer responsibility (EPR) principles and its embodiment of local entrepreneurial innovation. Waste pickers' active participation as cocreators of waste management mobile platforms has transitioned them from traditional waste collectors to technological contributors, enhancing their role in the waste management ecosystem. Furthermore, the ICT‐enabled waste reclaimer system has significantly regularized the status of foreign waste pickers, providing them with essential rights and access to banking services through mobile platforms. By utilizing Internet and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Internet of Things (IoT), the Regenize model not only improves resource recovery but also promotes sustainable waste management practices. This represents a substantial step towards inclusive urban waste management in Cape Town. The study's implications extend beyond Cape Town, offering valuable insights for enhancing waste management practices and promoting sustainability across South Africa's broader waste management landscape.

The Growing Problem of Textile Waste Generation—The Current State of Textile Waste Management

The textile industry is global, and most brands export their products to many different markets with different infrastructures, logistics, and regulations. A textile waste recovery system that works in one country may fail in another. European Union legislation (Directive (EU) 2018/851) mandates that post-consumer textile waste must be separately collected in all associated countries. This directive has also stated that, in January 2025, the rate of textile waste recycling in Europe should be increased. Local governments will be under pressure to improve the collection, sorting, and recycling of textiles. Supporting local governments could be part of a more long-term approach to managing high-value textile waste by implementing Extended Producer Responsibility, which would increase the recycling rate of textile companies. This would enable reuse of over 60% of recovered clothes, recycling into fibers of 35%, and only throwing away 5%. Today, most textile waste (85%) is disposed of as solid waste and must be disposed of through municipal or local waste management systems that either landfill or incinerate the waste. To increase reuse and recycling efficiency, textile waste should be collected and sorted according to the relevant input requirements. The dominant form of textile waste sorting is manual sorting. Sorting centers could be a future solution for intensifying the recycling of textile waste. Advances in textile waste management will require digitization processes, which will facilitate the collection, sorting, and recycling of textiles. It is very important that digitization will help to guide used products to recycling and encourage manufacturers to participate in the use and collection of product data. Currently, both the digitization of textile waste management and fiber recycling technologies are at the level of laboratory research and have not been implemented. The aim of this publication is to analyze the state of textile waste management, especially the various forms of recycling that involve a local governments and the textile industry.

Gendered community-based waste management and the feminization of environmental responsibility in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia

This article investigates gender dynamics in the practices of community-based waste management in households and local communities in the Greater Jakarta region of Indonesia, using a Feminist Political Ecology framework. We argue that community-based waste management, which was established as a decentralized waste management system, reinforces gender inequality by relying on women feeling responsible for waste management in their homes and communities and doing related care work. While our focused ethnographic studies in Bogor District, Tangerang City, and Depok City in 2021–2022 found diverse local waste management systems involving both formal and informal enterprises, the practices across these sites were clearly gendered, with women engaged in underpaid care work. We trace this gendered division of labor to the continued influence of ibuism, the ideology of the Indonesian state that deems women responsible for household and community hygiene, in effect feminizing environmental responsibility. We argue that, to become truly sustainable, waste management practices must be designed with men and women in communities, and address various forms of gender inequality and the gendered impact of community waste practices on health.

Assessing the Connections between COVID-19 and Waste Management in Brazil

In addition to the health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, several countries—particularly in developing regions—faced serious additional challenges in the economic, social and environmental areas. In Brazil, one of these challenges refers to the changes in consumption caused by the lockdowns, and the environmental impacts caused by new patterns of waste generation. Against this background, this paper investigates the changes in consumption and waste generation in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a technical contribution to the topic by comparing the perception of survey respondents on the amount of household waste produced before and during the pandemic, and cross-checking these with information on current aspects of policymaking, the findings suggest that the amount of some specific types of household waste has noticeably increased, challenging even more the local waste management systems. The data instrument was validated by a pre-test, prior to deployment. According to the respondents, packaging (both plastic and paper/cardboard) was the type of waste that reported the highest increase in generation during the lockdowns, which is in line with the results of increased consumption of food delivery within this period. The results also suggest that current waste management policies make Brazil ill-equipped to deal with one of the non-intended effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely impacted Latin America’s largest country.

Challenges for Sustainability in Packaging of Fresh Vegetables in Organic Farming

The policy of circular economy focuses on phasing out fossil-based packaging and replacing it with more sustainable alternatives. Companies face the challenge of choosing packaging for their products that are functional and affordable, and place relatively less pressure on the environment. This is especially important for organic farms that make voluntary commitments to undertake sustainable decisions regarding practices and methods of farming and types of packaging used. This publication attempts to analyze the determinants of the choices of sustainable packaging solutions made by organic farming companies with the example of Scilly Organic, an organic micro farm from the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom—a producer of organic vegetables. There are many options for fresh vegetable packaging, which include fossil-based packaging, bio-based packaging, and packaging manufactured from material that is a mixture of synthetic, natural, or modified polymers. Biodegradable packaging, including compostable ones, is currently of particular interest because, when separated and disposed of in the correct manner in the waste management phase, they have sustainability potential. Biodegradable plastics constitute over 55.5% of global bioplastics production. Packaging is the largest market segment for bioplastic, with 48% of the total bioplastics market in 2021. Although the use of biobased packaging brings some advantages, it also comes with certain limitations that are the subject of intensive research. In this publication, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool was used and a critical review of the literature was carried out. Based on the analysis, the key factors and aspects influencing the environmental performance of selected types of packaging were identified. The LCA was carried out for the three selected packaging types, including low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags, polylactic acid (PLA) bags, and polyester starch biopolymer (PCSB) bags. The research showed that the selection of more sustainable packaging is not straightforward. The analysis performed was the basis for providing recommendations for improving the sustainability of organic farms with regard to the selection of packaging for fresh vegetables. The critical processes in the life cycle that have to be considered are, in the first place, the production of polymer-based materials, and to a lesser extent, the production of the packaging bags and post-consumption waste utilization. In the case of PLA bags, 51% of the total impact is attributed to the production of polymer material. For starch polyester bags, this share is 58%, and for LDPE it constitutes 41% of the total score. At the same time, the choice of packaging should be made in the context of the specific properties of the packaging material, the requirements for disposal methods, and local waste management systems.

Opportunities for single-use plastic reduction in the food service sector during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in consumption of single-use plastics (SUPs), particularly in the food service sector, due to concerns for public health and safety. To follow public health guidelines, food services have been limited to takeout service and have restricted use of personal reusable items. This study investigated opportunities to reduce increased use of SUPs in Nova Scotia food services sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic using semi-structured interviews and focus groups with stakeholders from the food service sector. Many participants had already implemented SUP reduction strategies prior to COVID-19. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to rely on SUPs and to pause SUP reduction strategies. Obstacles to SUP reduction included operational challenges from COVID-19 restrictions, misunderstanding of local waste management systems, costs of transitioning to zero plastic waste, poorly manufactured alternatives, greenwashing, and ingrained societal convenience culture. Whilst not all SUP consumption patterns were attributed to COVID-19, these barriers prevented food retailers, waste managers and consumers from achieving zero-plastic waste goals. Food services should adopt SUP reduction strategies, including re-introducing reusables, implementing exchange programs for bulk items and takeout, providing education and awareness to staff and consumers, and sourcing sustainable SUP alternatives. SUP reduction strategies can be implemented immediately as public health officials and researchers agree reusable items can be used safely when using basic hygiene measures. Food services across Nova Scotia should adapt their operational procedures and create behaviour change to reduce SUPs.

'Wasters, agnostics, enforcers, competitors, and community integrators': Reclaimers, S@S, and the five types of residents in Johannesburg, South Africa

• In Johannesburg, reclaimers have not been integrated into separation at source (S@S) • Un-integrated S@S forces residents to make a political choice to include reclaimers. • Residents as: wasters, agnostics, enforcers, community integrators, and competitors. • Without integration, S@S acts as a disintegration project for reclaimers. Within South Africa’s recycling economy, informal waste pickers (also known as reclaimers) generate immense value for local waste management systems by diverting waste from landfills. However, official municipal separation at source (S@S) programmes, that task residents with sorting recyclables from their waste for separate collection, have failed to integrate reclaimers’ unofficial collection system. This dislocates reclaimers, forcing them to work on the margins of municipal S@S programmes and forge separate links with residents to maintain access to recyclables. Drawing on extensive qualitative research in Johannesburg, South Africa, this article reflects on how residents in three different residential neighbourhoods understood and interacted with reclaimers’ unofficial collection system and the official S@S programme run by the city. Our findings suggest that five types of residents emerge: wasters (who did not see the value in recycling), agnostics (who did not care who collected their recyclables), enforcers (who actively prevented reclaimers from accessing recyclables), community integrators (who gave their materials to reclaimers); and competitors (who supplemented their own income by selling recyclables). We argue that residents and reclaimers play active roles in shaping official S@S on the ground, and cannot be ignored when developing S@S programmes. Furthermore, S@S and integration are inherently related, as they each target the same residents and the same recyclables, and therefore cannot be understood or addressed in isolation. Unless a specific commitment is made to integrate S@S, S@S becomes a reclaimer dis-integration programme. These findings have broad implications for how S@S should be conceptualised, designed, and implemented.

Towards flexible evaluation schemes in areas with lacking information: a case of waste governance in Mexico

Local governments face the need to achieve sustainability in the provision of public services, and to do so, proper governance is essential. This work proposes a method to assess governance in local waste management systems based on a set of indicators that are flexible and robust enough to allow objective and reliable evaluation even where the information that is available is deficient. The proposal is based on a set of indicators divided into six categories that represent an increasing order of governance maturity: institutional framework; government effectiveness; transparency and accountability; network creation; participation; and corruption control. The article presents the proposal and a first test in two Mexican municipalities, which are an example of municipal solid waste management systems in an incipient stage of development, where there may be serious limitations in terms of access to information. The results show that the methodology can be replicated in different contexts and can be useful for making decisions about improvements in municipal solid waste management systems or for comparing them with others. In addition, sufficient information was obtained for a first diagnosis of the cases studied, which indicates the coherence of the proposed framework. Points for practitioners Proper governance is essential to achieve sustainability in the provision of public services. The assessment of local governance must be robust enough to motivate changes and, at the same time, flexible enough to allow reliable evaluation where the quality of service and the availability of information may be scant. We propose a new framework for the assessment of governance in municipal solid waste management systems that meets these requirements, based on a set of indicators clustered according to governance maturity.

Info from the global world

The Covid-19 pandemic, has emphasised the need to consider the interconnectedness of our planet, and the importance of highlighting new, and previously underrepresented perspectives on global waste management issues. The new corner, “Info from the global world” wants to collect thoughts and impressions from different parts of the world, with the aim of contributing to a more innovative and inclusive waste management studies discourse. The column will promote cultural intersections on issues affecting circular waste management, environmental protection and human health. We will highlight contributions from diverse expert authors who discuss, among a number of topics, how gender inequality and environmental racism can be combated through truly sustainable waste management and how the circular economy and Sustainable Developing Goals can contribute to combating poverty and mitigating waste inequalities. The second issue of the Column features the work of Dare Sholanke and Jutta Guterblet of the University of Victoria, Canada. Their discussion centres the lives and livelihoods of informal recyclers in Western Canada- a topic which has traditionally been contextualised within Global South settings. Sholanke and Guterblet’s reflection is both empirically interesting, as they provide a vivid snapshot of the quotidian vulnerabilities of this group, but also conceptually valuable, as the theoretical framework they utilise could be readily adapted for scholarly use within other contexts. Their conclusions challenge the inclusivity of local waste management systems for informal recyclers, and the further recommendations that continue to come out of this project should be of great international interest.

A nationwide assessment of litter on China’s beaches using citizen science data

China is the largest plastic consumer in the world. Despite its plastic waste import ban in 2017, this populous economy inevitably generates a large amount of waste, including plastic waste, a considerable part of which has become marine litter. Data from the 2018 National Coastal Cleanup and Monitoring Project, the largest beach litter monitoring activities using the citizen science approach in China, have been retrieved and analyzed to understand spatial patterns, composition, and original usage of marine litter. Within this project, 24 beaches were surveyed every two months. As a result, the mean density was 3.85 ± 5.39 items m−2, much higher than that reported by previous studies in China. There were great differences in the spatial distribution of litter. The highest densities appeared in the runoff-affected area of the Yangtze River, which was another difference from previous studies. Low-density, easy-to-transport foamed plastics were the major contributor to marine litter in these areas. Along China’s coast, approximately 90% of litter was from land-based sources, and over half of that originated from domestic sources. Including foamed plastic products, plastic litter with low recycling value dominated. Both natural and human factors influencing the spatiotemporal distribution and composition of litter are discussed. Socioeconomic factors, such as the lifestyle and consumption levels of citizens and local waste management systems, are possible explanations for the low-value characteristic of marine litter. The deviation between previous data and citizen science data in this study may be caused by many factors. Based on the discussion on these factors, some suggestions for citizen science research in China are also put forward.

WASTE MANAGEMENT VERSUS SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

The aim of the paper was to present the ways for activities that municipalities could take to improve their waste management systems. The issue of waste management and shaping social attitudes in terms of their disposal is the domain of local governments. It closely fits the essence of sustainable local development. It is important for every community not only in the context of environmental protection, but also for socio-economic reasons. There is a wide variety of solutions for the disposal of waste. According to the authors, sustainable development of this sphere of human life and activity can be more effectively implemented when the attitudes and opinions of residents are known. It can then be done by searching for and implementing patterns adapted to local conditions. On the example of the Biecz commune located in the Małopolskie province, the functioning of the local waste management system was presented in the light of the existing secondary data and the results of own surveys. Real problems were discussed and ways to overcome them were proposed.

Understanding the role of waste prevention in local waste management: A literature review.

Local waste management has so far been characterised by end-of-pipe solutions, landfilling, incineration, and recycling. End-of-pipe solutions build on a different mind-set than life cycle-based approaches, and for this reason, local waste managers are reluctant to consider strategies for waste prevention. To accelerate the transition of waste and resource management towards a more integrated management, waste prevention needs to play a larger role in the local waste management. In this review article, we collect knowledge from the scientific community on waste prevention of relevance to local waste management. We analyse the trends in the waste prevention literature by organising the literature into four categories. The results indicate an increasing interest in waste prevention, but not much literature specifically concerns the integration of prevention into the local waste management. However, evidence from the literature can inform local waste management on the prevention potential; the environmental and social effects of prevention; how individuals in households can be motivated to reduce waste; and how the effects of prevention measures can be monitored. Nevertheless, knowledge is still lacking on local waste prevention, especially regarding the methods for monitoring and how local waste management systems can be designed to encourage waste reduction in the households. We end the article with recommendations for future research. The literature review can be useful for both practitioners in the waste sector and for academics seeking an overview of previous research on waste prevention.

Semi-quantitative analysis of solid waste flows from nano-enabled consumer products in Europe, Denmark and the United Kingdom – Abundance, distribution and management

Many nano-enabled consumer products are known to be in the global market. At the same, little is known about the quantity, type, location etc. of the engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) inside the products. This limits the scientific investigations of potential environmental effects of these materials, and especially the knowledge of ENM behaviour and potential effects at the end-of-life stage of the products is scarce. To gain a better understanding of the end-of-life waste treatment of nano-enabled consumer product, we provide an overview of the ENMs flowing into and throughout waste systems in Europe, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Using a nanoproduct inventory (nanodb.dk), we performed a four-step analysis to estimate the most abundant ENMs and in which waste fractions they are present. We found that in terms of number of products: (i) nano silver is the most used ENM in consumer products, and (ii) plastic from used product containers is the largest waste fraction also comprising a large variety of ENMs, though possibly in very small masses. Also, we showed that the local waste management system can influence the distribution of ENMs. It is recommended that future research focus on recycling and landfilling of nano-enabled products since these compartments represent hot spots for end-of-life nanoproducts.

Tourism implications on local waste management. Case study: Neamț County

The paper examines tourism as potential source of waste generation in urban and rural areas from NeamCounty. An assessment method is proposed and t he final result is mapping the process at local scale. In order to analyze the tourism impact on local waste management system, the waste generated by tourists (estimated values) is related to local household waste generation. This paper outlines the disparities within cities and communes and it also analyses the bad practices of tourists supported by field observations.

Integration of the informal sector into municipal solid waste management in the Philippines – What does it need?

The integration of the informal sector into municipal solid waste management is a challenge many developing countries face. In Iloilo City, Philippines around 220tons of municipal solid waste are collected every day and disposed at a 10ha large dumpsite. In order to improve the local waste management system the Local Government decided to develop a new Waste Management Center with integrated landfill. However, the proposed area is adjacent to the presently used dumpsite where more than 300 waste pickers dwell and depend on waste picking as their source of livelihood. The Local Government recognized the hidden threat imposed by the waste picker’s presence for this development project and proposed various measures to integrate the informal sector into the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) program. As a key intervention a Waste Workers Association, called USWAG Calahunan Livelihood Association Inc. (UCLA) was initiated and registered as a formal business enterprise in May 2009. Up to date, UCLA counts 240 members who commit to follow certain rules and to work within a team that jointly recovers wasted materials. As a cooperative they are empowered to explore new livelihood options such as the recovery of Alternative Fuels for commercial (cement industry) and household use, production of compost and making of handicrafts out of used packages. These activities do not only provide alternative livelihood for them but also lessen the generation of leachate and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions from waste disposal, whereby the life time of the proposed new sanitary landfill can be extended likewise.

Early detection and evaluation of waste through sensorized containers for a collection monitoring application

The present study describes a novel application for use in the monitoring of municipal solid waste, based on distributed sensor technology and geographical information systems. Original field testing and evaluation of the application were carried out in Pudong, Shanghai (PR China). The local waste management system in Pudong features particular requirements related to the rapidly increasing rate of waste production. In view of the fact that collected waste is currently deployed to landfills or to incineration plants within the context investigated, the key aspects to be taken into account in waste collection procedures include monitoring of the overall amount of waste produced, quantitative measurement of the waste present at each collection point and identification of classes of material present in the collected waste. The case study described herein focuses particularly on the above mentioned aspects, proposing the implementation of a network of sensorized waste containers linked to a data management system. Containers used were equipped with a set of sensors mounted onto standard waste bins. The design, implementation and validation procedures applied are subsequently described. The main aim to be achieved by data collection and evaluation was to provide for feasibility analysis of the final device. Data pertaining to the content of waste containers, sampled and processed by means of devices validated on two purpose-designed prototypes, were therefore uploaded to a central monitoring server using GPRS connection. The data monitoring and management modules are integrated into an existing application used by local municipal authorities. A field test campaign was performed in the Pudong area. The system was evaluated in terms of real data flow from the network nodes (containers) as well as in terms of optimization functions, such as collection vehicle routing and scheduling. The most important outcomes obtained were related to calculations of waste weight and volume. The latter data were subsequently used as parameters for the routing optimization of collection trucks and material density evaluation.

What is waste? To whom? - An anthropological perspective on garbage

What is waste? To whom?--An anthropological perspective on garbage explores the fact that what constitutes waste is a highly subjective notion. In Tacna, Peru, the place from where this article draws its empirical material, waste is not only seen as a risk to public health and the environment. Some find it is a mere aesthetic inconvenience, for others it is the only source of income. Yet another way of perceiving waste is as a social contagion, in which the negative qualities of garbage are transmitted to surrounding people in the eyes of others. Such perceptions of waste, it is argued, are important parts of local waste management systems, and the understanding of such perceptions might increase the effectiveness of waste management campaigns.