Municipal Solid Waste Management Services Research Articles

Citizens’ willingness to pay for adaptive municipal solid waste management services in Jakarta, Indonesia

The capability of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) services and the system's sustainability are significant challenge in developing cities like Jakarta. MSWM provides a comprehensive, adaptive capacity framework for addressing problems in resource-constrained developing nations where poor assets, flexibility, social organization, learning, and agency have no adaptive means of regaining them. This paper aim to conduct an evaluation framework under adaptive MSWM, estimates citizens’ preferences heterogeneity and, evaluates willingness-to-pay (WTP) under hypothetical scenarios of future adaptive MSWM retribution. The findings indicate that adaptive MSWM services substantially impact the decision to expand their environment. In addition, citizens who supported the adaptive MSWM services tended to have a higher income than the minimum wage, live outside of slums, are older than 39 years, and are aware of climate change and the current MSWM system and infrastructure. The findings imply that policymakers must enhance citizen MSWM awareness of climate change and infrastructure used to dealing with adaptability strategies. Finally, we establish three adaptive MSWM scenario for sustainable services with the optimization of the MSWM system and infrastructure, community-based MSWM, and smart MSWM system and infrastructure.

Efficient scale and scope of business models used in municipal solid waste management

PurposeThe paper aims to compare the efficiency of alternative municipal solid waste (MSW) management business models: a single provider against multiple providers.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper the drivers of MSW management costs are analysed to test the impact of the scale and scope of MSW management services on the average cost. While the business-as-usual scenario foresees a single provider, the alternative scenario foresees multiple providers.FindingsBased on the empirical data on municipal waste management costs, on average, the size and the average cost of the service are inversely related. This trend is supported using sub-sets defined by the quantity of waste managed. Multiple factors aid in explaining this result, and among others, due to scale and scope, factors such as transition costs increase with the number of players running different services.Practical implicationsThe provision of public services of economic interest should favour the participation of more companies wherever possible to the extent that social surplus is produced. However, pursuing this principle to the detriment of efficient service delivery is not ideal. This paper demonstrated that a single-provider waste management business model is efficient under specific conditions, as in this article.Originality/valueThis paper presents an original research methodology for comparatively analysing waste management service efficiency in urban areas and provides adequate evidence using alternative measures of costs according to the phase of the waste management chain, the scale and ultimately the scope of MSW management services.

Defining the Organization of Municipal Solid Waste Management Based on Production Costs

A long-lasting dilemma on the efficient provision of services of general economic interest has become increasingly important in the waste management industry: competition or monopoly in municipal solid waste management. Previous literature has primarily examined the economics of scale and scope to provide an adequate response. Here, we contribute by investigating subadditivity in municipal solid waste management service costs. Subadditivity is a critical concept used to justify imperfect competition, which encourages natural monopolies where one producer will function more effectively than more firms. To test the hypothesis that a subadditivity in costs in waste management exists, we design a simulation based on empirical data for Milan, Italy. We compared the total production cost of the incumbent firm with the alternative hypothesis built by dividing the city into four areas and assigning each area to a different hypothetical firm. The results suggest that the existence of subadditivity results in 6% lower production costs, primarily stemming from business synergies, lower transactional costs, and optimization of productive resources and facilities. The evidence justifies, ceteris paribus, that the provision by a single firm is preferable to multiple firms in the analysis case. Implications for policies are straightforward. The one-fit rule approach fails to set the best condition for policymakers to create a level playing field transparently and efficiently for industry operators to perform efficiently.

Assessing eco-productivity change in Chilean municipal solid waste services

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a public service that affects the environment and public health. This study sought to assess the eco-productivity change (i.e., temporal dynamics of eco-efficiency) of a sample of municipalities in the provision of MSW management services. The Malmquist-Luenberger Productivity Indicator (MLPI) and its drivers, namely eco-efficiency and technical changes, were employed to estimate the eco-productivity change of each municipality. The empirical application was examined in 313 Chilean municipalities from to 2015–2019. Based on the results, on average, Chilean municipalities improved their eco-productivity, with eco-efficiency change being the main driver of this improvement.

Evaluating the waste management situation and attitudes of residents in Bandung, Indonesia.

The increasing amount of waste is becoming a crucial topic in developing countries, causing health-related and environmental issues. In past decades, the Indonesian government implemented regulations dedicated to municipal solid waste management (MSWM); unfortunately, these have not been well communicated to the public. The set tax level is inadequate for the MSWM financial needs in Bandung, Indonesia. Previous studies determined the public interest in MSWM as the critical factor of sustainable MSWM. However, this aspect is not well considered. This study investigated public perception and involvement in MSWM in Bandung. These investigations were conducted through two leading indicators: public interest in MSWM in environmental issues and willingness of inhabitants to pay for sufficient MSWM services. Using a binary probit model, it was found that age, educational level, locality, and satisfaction with MSWM practices play a significant role in the respondents' interest in MSWM, which is crucial to the public perception of MSWM. The results also demonstrate that more than 97% of respondents are not satisfied with MSWM practices, and more than 83% of respondents consider MSWM services insufficient. Awareness of essential operations such as waste handling and recycling is at a low level. On the other hand, more than 67% of respondents are interested in MSWM in connection with environmental issues and are familiar with the 3R concept (reducing waste, reusing, and recycling resources and products). Our MSWM research provides new perspectives on the public perception and involvement in Bandung that could be considered in the planning and implementation of sustainable MSWM. The results indicate that the public's perception and approach to MSWM in Bandung city should be enhanced by better education, providing sufficient awareness, and offering workshops. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:114-125.© 2022 SETAC.

Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia

Abstract Contracting waste management services is one of the most commonly used approaches to the delivery of this service and this topic is clearly in the focus of frequent academic research. The goal of this article is to examine trends in the area of solid waste collection and disposal on the municipal level for the Czech Republic and Slovakia in terms of developments over the past 20 years with a focus on the share of inter-municipal cooperation in the delivery of this service. In contrast to Western European countries, which are undergoing re-municipalization, the data obtained for Slovakia and the Czech Republic over 20 years show that the municipal solid waste management service is dominated by contracting, which has increased over the examined period. This fact is apparently a reflection of the high rate of fragmentation in municipal structures and the low willingness among municipalities to cooperate. The data obtained also indicate that using external suppliers seems to bring marginal savings that could certainly be substantially larger; potential increases in efficiency via contracting are unequivocally limited by the low quality of contract management. Regarding our core question, we found that the proportion of inter-municipal cooperation between service delivery modes did not significantly increase during the investigated period. The experts interviewed almost uniformly agreed on three critical limits related to the issue of inter-municipal cooperation in MSW management delivery – transaction costs of different types, non-existent regular comparisons of best solutions, and limited motivation to select optimal service delivery modes.

Household Solid WasteManagement in the Dominican Republic: Case of the Municipality of Puñal, Santiago

One of the biggest problems that the Dominican Republic has had in recent decades is the efficient management of solid domestic waste. This problem has worsened in recent years due to the decrease in available areas for the construction of sanitary landfills, the lack of recycling culture in the population, the deficiency in waste collection, and the scarce legal controls aimed at preserving water, air and soil among other factors. The objective of this study is to explore the management of solid waste by the population and the municipality of Puñal, province of Santiago, to evaluate and analyze the situation and generation of solid waste, municipal solid waste management services, and the attitudes of the population regarding recycling projects and waste management. A total of 275 households from 29 localities in the municipality of Puñal were surveyed, which allowed for a significant population sample. According to the results, the most significant type of waste produced by families is organic waste, followed by plastic waste and paper. Of the total organic waste produced in the municipality, 53% of solids wastes are handled through the municipal waste collection system, while 47% is used as plant fertilizers or animal feed. On the other hand, most households receive the municipal waste collection service and pay for this service, through which the municipal government collects, processes, and deposits the waste in different landfills. However, a more efficient waste collection system and the development of programs and projects that allow households to manage the solid waste efficiently they produce would be necessary.

"You need to dispose of them somewhere safe": Covid-19, masks, and the pit latrine in Malawi and South Africa.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has generated an immense amount of potentially infectious waste, primarily face masks, which require rapid and sanitary disposal in order to mitigate the spread of the disease. Yet, within Africa, large segments of the population lack access to reliable municipal solid waste management (SWM) services, both complicating the disposal of hazardous waste, and public health efforts. Drawing on extensive qualitative fieldwork, including 96 semi-structured interviews, across four different low-income communities in Blantyre, Malawi and Durban, South Africa, the purpose of this article is to respond to a qualitative gap on mask disposal behaviours, particularly from within low-income and African contexts. Specifically, our purpose was to understand what behaviours have arisen over the past year, across the two disparate national contexts, and how they have been influenced by individual risk perceptions, established traditional practice, state communication, and other media sources. Findings suggest that the wearing of cloth masks simplifies disposal, as cloth masks can (with washing) be reused continuously. However, in communities where disposable masks are more prevalent, primarily within Blantyre, the pit latrine had been adopted as the most common space for 'safe' disposal for a used mask. We argue that this is not a new behaviour, however, and that the pit latrine was already an essential part of many low-income households SWM systems, and that within the Global South, the pit latrine fulfils a valuable and uncounted solid waste management function, in addition to its sanitation role.

Factors influencing household-level positive and negative solid waste management practices in rapidly urbanizing cities: insights from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Abstract Household solid waste management (HSWM) practices are a critical aspect of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) systems. Despite efforts to implement source separation and recycling at the household level in developing countries, negative practices such as illegal dumping and backyard burning remain ubiquitous, particularly in rapidly urbanizing cities. Source separation and recycling behaviors have been rarely studied in such cities. Moreover, studies on illegal dumping and backyard burning using robust tools and frameworks are practically non-existent. This study aims to (a) estimate the prevalence of ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ behaviors for different HSWM practices, and (b) identify their observable and non-observable influencing factors. The focus is Santa Cruz, a rapidly urbanizing city of Bolivia. Household surveys (n = 305) are used to establish the connections between latent constructs (e.g. awareness, satisfaction), and observable variables (e.g. location, socio-demographic characteristics) with each behavior. This is achieved through the combination of exploratory factor analysis to validate the constructs to be included in the analysis, and structural equation modeling to identify the most influential factors. Two causal models are developed, one for the positive behaviors (i.e. source separation, recyclables donation, recyclables selling, and use of drop-off facilities), and the other for the negative behaviors (i.e. illegal dumping and backyard burning). Results indicate that, satisfaction with the MSWM service has a negative and significant influence on the prevalence of illegal dumping and backyard burning behaviors, while the remoteness of the household (i.e. distance to the city center) has a positive significant effect on the prevalence of these behaviors. Source separation and recyclable donation are influenced positively by latent constructs such as attitudes, knowledge, and awareness. For recyclables selling and use of drop-off stations, income and location are the most relevant factors, although with smaller effects.

Critical success factors for PPP MSW projects – perception of different stakeholder groups in India

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being seen as the answer to solve the wide gap in municipal solid waste management (MSWM) service delivery in developing countries. However, not much emphasis has been given to the requirements for successfully implementing them. This paper attempts to identify a set of critical success factors (CSFs), which considered, would increase the chances of success in PPP MSWM projects in India. Seventeen perceived CSFs were identified from secondary sources and validated through sectoral experts. Questionnaire survey was then administered to public sector and private sector respondents involved in the managerial aspects of MSWM through PPP mode. Results suggest similarities in CSFs for PPP projects irrespective of sector and geographical locations. Also, Public sector and Private sector share a common perception of PPP success factors in MSWM except for a few factors. The research can help practitioners to identify key focus areas in MSWM PPP projects.

Household preferences for improved municipal solid waste management services in Penang and Terengganu

It is important to acknowledge the interdependent relationships between the economic and the environment system in achieving sustainable development. The environmental system provides typically four classes of services to the economic system: the natural capital for production, amenity services, basic life support services, and waste sink services. High investment in technology, programmes, projects, or any measures related to the recycling concept in the circular flow of production and consumption relationships should be given more concentration in the future waste management plan and policies. This is because the mass of waste generated from the production and consumption relationships is continually increasing as the population grows, leading to a more polluted environmental system. This study examined the households’ perspectives on the potential improved municipal solid waste management system in their residential area. Two study sites were compared to their households’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the waste management system. By using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) approach, the study concluded that the economic value of the improved municipal solid waste management services in the study sites ranged from MYR 15.42 to MYR 29.67 per month, which on aggregate, ranged from MYR 13.3 million to MYR 117.7 million per year. These economic values indirectly indicated the amount the population preferred to pay as the cost to reduce the impacts of improper management of municipal solid waste.

Partnership towards Synergistic Municipal Solid Waste Management Services in a Coastal Tourism Sub-Region

Solid waste generated on land could potentially contribute continuously to marine waste, with current municipal solid waste management (MSWM) focusing on human-related activities as the main source. While there has been challenges and opportunities in the MSWM’s partnership in the growing waste generation for the coastal tourism area, the aim of this study is to explore public and private sectors as the key players to identify challenges, opportunities, and need for further analysis of the synergistic MSWM services in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand. A mixed-method approach was adopted, including primary data collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. Content analysis, descriptive statistics, and chi-square tests were applied. The results show that the public sector has different MSWM strategies—with public-private partnership (PPP) and without PPP, with many challenges in the EEC region—while the private sector has a lot of potential for MSWM effectiveness. The synergistic opportunities from both sectors can therefore be considered for possible integration into four aspects: challenging synergies within the public sector, potential synergies via the private sector, synergies with a cross-sectoral partnership, and synergies through other types of partnership. Additionally, a synergic partnership was another appropriate approach for MSWM services enhancement.

Institutional approach to assessing the transition to a circular economy: the case of the Kaliningrad region

The article discusses possible reasons for the failure of Russia’s waste management industry reform and highlights the ownership blurring as a factor that may hinder the transition to a circular economy, which has been proposed as one of the outcomes of the reform. This study aims to address possible obstacles to transitioning to a circular economy in the Kaliningrad region. Methodologically, the study uses instruments of new institutional economics: by comparing discrete institutional alternatives for municipal solid waste (MSW) management, the authors propose incentive schemes that will likely stimulate the transition to a circular economy in the region. It is shown that, in Russia, the identification of the holder of the property right to waste is complicated. This can be a hindrance to effective MSW management. Moreover, objects handled by MSW management services may fall into different types, but at the same time, it is possible to transfer objects from one type to another. One of the ways to improve the exclusion of services of MSW utilization is the introduction of incentive tariffs. Low-rise housing in the Kaliningrad region makes it an ideal region for the introduction of such a scheme. When calculating the unsorted waste transport fee, a multiplier can be used to reduce the payment for waste-separating households. This can serve as an additional incentive for overcoming collective action problem in MSW collecting and sorting. To prevent social resistance to such a policy, incentive schemes should be implemented on a voluntary basis.

Variables Influencing per Capita Production, Separate Collection, and Costs of Municipal Solid Waste in the Apulia Region (Italy): An Experience of Deep Learning.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) must be managed to reduce its impact on environmental matrices and population health as much as possible. In particular, the variables that influence the production, separate waste collection, and costs of MSW must be understood. Although many studies have shown that such factors are specific to an area, the awareness of these factors has created opportunities to implement operations to enable more effective and efficient MSW management services, and to specifically respond to the variables that have the most impact. The deep learning approaches used in this study are effective in achieving this goal and can be used in any other territorial context to ensure that the organizations that deal with these issues are more aware and create useful plans to promote the circular economy. Our findings indicate the important influence of number of rooms in a residential buildings and construction years on MSW production, the combination of services such as municipal collection centers and door-to-door service for separate MSW collection and the characteristics of the residential buildings in the municipalities on MSW management costs.

Status of Solid Waste Management Service in Metu Town, South-Western Ethiopia

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) services in most cities and towns are already over-burdened, as cities and municipalities cannot cope with the speeded pace of waste production provided that inadequate financial capacity, insufficient manpower, and facilities. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the status of municipal solid waste management service of Metu town using a questionnaire and observational checklist. A total of 252 households (HHs) and 65 commercial and institutional establishments (CIs) were included in this study. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20. Accordingly, among 317 study participants, 213(67.1%) females and 104 (32.9%) males with a mean age of 36.45 have participated. Concerning solid waste collection frequency, more than 35% of HHs and 70% of CIs get the service from Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) with irregular interval whereas; about 56% of HHs and 15% of CIs responded that they get the service from MSE in more than 30 days.

Economic Inefficiency Levels of Urban Solid Waste Management Services in Portugal

Key performance indicators (KPI) are widely used tools to evaluate the economic (in)efficiency of services, including the ones devoted to urban solid waste management. Regulatory exercises are, then, mostly based on the outputs from KPIs, raising some questions about their validity. In theory, other more appropriate tools could be used to estimate those efficiency levels. This study evaluates the economic inefficiency level of urban solid waste management services in Portugal (2010–2017) through the adoption of partial frontier benchmarking models (order-m) coupled with weight restrictions. That way, the constructed model can evaluate the performance of those services under some regulatory and sustainability requirements. Then, estimated efficiency levels and some common KPIs are compared in order to understand if the latter are sufficient to explain the economic efficiency. The novelty of this research lies in two main aspects: (a) the utilization of a robust order-α model coupled with weight restrictions linked to regulatory and sustainability impositions to estimate efficiency, and (b) the comparison of economic efficiency and some commonly used KPIs, including waste fractions and recycling rate. Results point towards efficiency distributions that follow Weibull functions, with the average close to 50%; thus, nearly half of the resources have been well spent in municipal solid waste management services since 2010 onwards. Nonetheless, in an efficient system, that average would be close to 100%. Additionally, the considered management related KPIs do not exhibit any relationship with economic efficiency, which means that their interpretation and usefulness for regulatory issues are both limited and should be used carefully. In other words, those KPIs are not good performance drivers and carry no capacity to explain economic (in)efficiency in urban solid waste management services.

Decentralization of solid waste management services in rural Lebanon: Barriers and opportunities.

Rapid urbanization, closure of dumps, and insufficient infrastructure funding in Lebanon have resulted in improper municipal solid waste management (MSWM), creating a continuing trash crisis in recent years. In Beirut and Mount Lebanon, MSWM was carried out in centralized waste processing and disposal facilities operated by the government. The trash crisis and failure of the centralized system prompted several municipal authorities to decentralize MSWM by establishing local facilities, paid by the council taxes charged to beneficiary households. To study the feasibility of decentralized MSWM, a survey of 228 households in a rural village in Lebanon explored households' willingness to pay (WTP) for a local MSWM service. For data analysis, a multivariate Tobit model was used to examine the determinants of the WTP amount. Results showed that 79% of surveyed households in the studied village were willing to support local MSWM improvements by contributing an average yearly fee of US$48, representing a 30% increase in their current council taxes. Analysis showed a significant positive association between the WTP amount and the household monthly income level, the residents perceived needs for urgency to act on solid waste management, and the households' responsibility to be involved in MSWM. An interview with the municipality mayor later revealed that financial, technical, and land resources are lacking to enable consideration of a decentralized project for MSWM in the village. Municipalities in rural areas have limited resources and are unable to sustain a decentralized MSWM service unless adjacent towns join effort in supporting and financing MSWM initiatives.

Procurement innovation for a circular economy of construction and demolition waste: Lessons learnt from Suzhou, China

Amidst the global trend of advocating a circular economy, various nations and regions in recent years have started to explore innovative procurement models (e.g., Public Private Partnership [PPP]) in dealing with beset issues related to construction and demolition (C&D) waste. However, PPP is suffering from problems such as ‘long negotiation time’, ‘lack of transparency’, and ‘uneven risk and return allocation’, which in turn lead to ‘ineffective delivery’ and ‘poor value for money’. Using a case study, this paper reports some lessons learnt from innovative practices of procuring C&D management services in Suzhou, China. It is discovered that the public and private sectors, without prior knowledge, are operating based on a general concession framework instead of negotiating a clear-cut agreement from the outset. Several key arrangements, such as price, concession period, and strategic operations, are based on relational contract-type of agreements, which are found particularly innovative for shortening the negotiation time, fostering the trust between the relevant parties, dealing with emerging ad hoc problems, and allowing sustainable development of the circular economy. To make such PPP work, it is critical to devise institutions to prevent corruption and opportunistic behaviors. This research provides useful references to developing a circular economy. Although they focus on C&D waste management, the research findings can be applied to other public procurement settings, such as municipal solid waste management service.

Development of a solid waste service level index

The performance of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system can be determined by assessing its level of services. In Bandung City, the level of solid waste service was determined based on the amount of solid waste being transported to the final disposal site. According to the data from Cleaning state Company of Bandung City in 2017, the percentage of solid waste service level was 98.14%. However, it is visible that a large amount of solid waste at some of the temporary collection sites, riverbanks and runnels remains un-transported. This, and other evidences, indicated that the existing service level performance value was not representative for the overall solid waste service. Thus, this study aims to develop a solid waste service level index which can be used to assess performance of the MSWM Level of Service (LoS). This study was undertaken by selecting components, indicators and sub-indicators which are related to MSWM services, determining the weights for the components, indicators and sub-indicators, as well as defining the aggregation and interpretation of the final index. During the selection of components, indicators and sub-indicators, main literatures used were the Indonesian Government Regulation Number 81 of 2012, the Ministry of Environment Regulation Number 6 of 2014, Integrated Waste Management Scoreboard (IWMS) and Key Performance Index (KPIs) for MSWM. Through this study, 5 components, 26 indicators and 21 sub-indicators were identified and were rigorously analysed. The components were Technical Operation, Institution, Regulation, Finance and Public Participation. Weighting technique used for the index was the subjective weighting. Aggregation index using arithmetic method with the interpretation of the final index was made based on 5 categories and resulted is 76% LoS of Bandung City. In the near future, the developed index can be used to assess better the LoS of the MSWM of Bandung City.

Multi-criteria decision analysis to mitigate the impact of municipal solid waste management services during floods

The efficiency of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) services indicates the sustainability of a city. Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are defined as sustainable global agenda covering normal and disaster situations as per goal#11, to make sustainable cities and communities with holistic disaster risk management. Local governments are among the target groups to adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies. Mitigation plans are highly important, especially during crises such as flooding that have the potential to disrupt regular waste management services in cities.This study aims to identify practical approaches for impact mitigation and preparedness of MSWM services during floods. In this study, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is applied, using a panel of responsible providers and waste management and town planning specialists to assess appropriate impact mitigation alternatives. Flood impacts on MSWM in cities are classified into three situations: 1) Cannot collect waste from sources (CNC), 2) Cannot transfer waste for final disposal (CNT), and 3) Cannot collect and transfer waste for final disposal (CNC and CNT). The decision support system is designed based on the principles of sustainable development, and considers impacting criteria, namely environment, society and economic factors.The results show that modifying waste-hauling trucks is the most appropriate alternative for all situations to prepare for mitigating flood impact on MSWM services. The findings can help develop an appropriate mitigation management plan for waste management systems during floods that challenges practice to develop cities and communities sustainably and achieve the SDGs.