Solid Waste Services Research Articles

Challenges in municipal solid waste management-A comparative case study between selected metropolitan areas Brazil and Portugal

This research was aimed at analysing the management of urban solid waste in Brazil and Portugal, with an emphasis on the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto and the Recife/PE/Brazil Metropolitan Area. An exploratory research project was conducted with a survey of secondary data, technical visits to institutions and companies in the waste sector, and a comparative analysis of the situation in the areas studied. In Portugal, the management of municipal solid waste in the period before 1995 was predominantly municipal, which evolved into a consortium of municipalities with the entry of Portugal into the European Union in 1986. The country adapted its legislation to the EU Directives, and from 1997, the waste sector suffered a boost with the adoption of the first Strategic Plan for Urban Solid Waste, which was constituted by 40 public waste management companies that associated several municipalities, and some of them also had the state's share in their share capital. However, due to the lack of economic scale of some of these companies, there were mergers, and at the end of 2010, the total number of companies was 23, grouped into entities of a multi-municipal character (when the state enters into the composition of the share capital of the society) and inter-municipal (only constituted by municipalities), currently responsible for the management of waste in Portugal. In Brazil, the National Solid Waste Policy was approved by law in 2010, establishing lines and guidelines for integrated waste management with defined time targets. However, it is not yet fully implemented because about 45% of municipalities still dispose of waste at dumping sites. With regard to the municipalities of the Recife Metropolitan Area, the disposal of waste has already been environmentally appropriate since 2019. According to 2022 data from Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies, the average rate of selective collection in the country is approximately 4%. The research results reveal that Brazil needs to increase selective collection, eliminate approximately 3,600 existing landfills and finally regulate urban solid waste services. While in Portugal, management is well organized as a result of the implementation of PERSU in 1995, there are still challenges to be overcome in order to meet the goals set in the New Legislative Framework, which have not yet been achieved. The specificities and the context are obviously different between the countries, drawing attention to the difference in effectiveness in the implementation of public policies edited by the legal diplomas of the two countries for solid waste management.

Estimating the eco‐efficiency of urban waste services towards sustainable waste management

AbstractAssessing the eco‐efficiency of municipalities regarding the provision of solid waste services is a useful tool for improving its sustainability. However, robust, and reliable methods are needed to benchmark the performance of municipalities. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods typically used to assess the eco‐efficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW) service providers. However, the variables used in the eco‐efficiency assessment bear distinct weights for each individual unit, limiting thus interpretation. Therefore, benchmarking the performance of MSW service providers becomes challenging because different conditions are applied. Thus, this study uses a common set weights DEA (DEA‐CSW) model assess the eco‐efficiency of different municipalities in providing MSW services. Eco‐efficiency scores were estimated by integrating total costs, recycled waste and unsorted waste as input, desirable outputs and undesirable outputs, respectively. The empirical application of the model demonstrated that when using DEA‐CSW, only one municipality (out of 36) was eco‐efficient in managing MSW. The weightings for inputs and outputs were allocated based on the degree of satisfaction estimated for each municipality. Satisfaction ranged from 0.829 to 1.000 indicating that none of the municipalities were heavily penalized based on the eco‐efficiency scores estimation when allocating common weights. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that compared to traditional DEA models, the DEA‐CSW approach is more adequate at benchmarking the performance of municipalities regarding the provision of MSW services.

Measuring the eco-efficiency of municipal solid waste service: A fuzzy DEA model for handling missing data

In the last decades, evaluating the performance of municipal solid waste (MSW) service has attracted the interest of scholars and policymakers worldwide. This study adopts a generalized directional distance function (GDDF) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to measure the eco-efficiency of 94 Apulian municipalities providing MSW service over 2019–2021. The model uses the α-cut method to handle missing data in a fuzzy DEA environment. During the period covered by the research, on average, the MSW eco-efficiency was between 0.825 and 0.879. The MSW separate collection rate is the only factor significantly affecting the MSW eco-efficiency.

“Measuring the health and fiscal outcomes of solid waste management operations by intergovernmental arrangements: The case of public consortia in Brazil”

This study estimates the health-related and public expenditure impacts of the solid waste services provided by public consortia in Brazilian Municipalities from the enactment of Public Consortia law (2005) to 2019. To conduct the analysis, we applied the econometric method of staggered difference-in-differences to publicly available datasets at the municipality level. The results show that the operation of solid waste services by public consortia had statistically significant effects in reducing hospitalizations caused by Schistosomiasis, Diarrhea/gastroenteritis (up to 5 years age) and other intestinal diseases. The results also indicate a positive impact on the reduction of environmental expenses in treated municipalities, supporting the idea that a Solid Waste Consortium can serve as a local coordinator and improve health and fiscal indicators simultaneously. The findings provide quantitative evidence that policymakers at the local and regional level can use to better understand the benefits of adhering to public consortia when preparing new investments and operation developments for this sector. This paper contributes to the literature of applied research in solid waste by shedding light on the underexplored theme of the intergovernmental cooperative arrangements, which can be instrumental in accelerating and enhancing the development of solid waste services.

Measuring ecoefficiency of municipal solid waste management in Apulia to account for governance heterogeneities

This paper adopts a meta-frontier non-parametric directional distance function framework to measure the ecoefficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW) services in 258 municipalities in the Apulia region from 2012 to 2016. Model specification includes the operating cost per quantity of waste as input and the per capita quantities of sorted and unsorted waste as the desirable and undesirable outputs. The heterogeneities due to the different governance systems implemented in the six areas in which the regional territory was partitioned to manage the MSW service were considered. A dynamic distributional analysis of MSW ecoefficiencies was performed, and determinants affecting their measure were investigated. The results show that the average MSW service meta-frontier ecoefficiency decreased from 0.631 to 0.546, while the technology gap ratio value diminished from 0.899 to 0.827. Findings relative to the impact on ecoefficiency of variables measuring either the size or density of MSW services remain inconclusive.

Assessment of Service Reliability among Municipal Solid Waste Service Providers Using Analytical Hierarchy Process: Insights into Household and Corporate Solid Waste Management in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Assessment of Service Reliability among Municipal Solid Waste Service Providers Using Analytical Hierarchy Process: Insights into Household and Corporate Solid Waste Management in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Estimating Zero Waste Index and Resident Waste Participation in Indonesian Middle City

The municipal city has tried to provide the best solid waste services as possible, but the increase in these services does not necessarily increase public participation in managing waste. The objective of this research is to measure the performance of municipal solid waste management while Banda Aceh – Indonesia. The research method uses the Zero Waste Index tool and community surveyed to get a more comprehensive picture of performance in overcoming waste problems. The results can be concluded that the Banda Aceh city government is still achieving a small Zero Waste Index which is 0.28. The majority of the population does not get waste socialization (76.07%), does not sort (75.21%), does not recycle waste (68.31%) and only 54.70% of the community collect used items for resale. The results of the two studies show that it is hard for Banda Aceh to achieve the goal of 30% waste reduction by 2025.

Design of a Community-Based Waste Management System in Rengas Pulau, Medan Marelan District, Medan City

The national target for reducing waste in the community is 30% by 2025. This research aims to describe the design of a community-based waste management system and formulate an overview of household waste management policies and strategies in the Rengas Pulau Subdistrict. Based on identifying the affecting factors in waste management, a situation analysis is carried out using a SWOT analysis to formulate 19 (nineteen) strategies to optimize community-based waste management. The design of community-based waste management in Rengas Pulau Subdistrict starts from sorting and processing at the household, collecting and processing at TPS 3R. It is estimated that from the 46.20 m3/day, the volume of waste generation that is targeted to be reduced in the community can be processed and managed by the community in households at 19.52 m3/day (70.41%), and the residue is 8.20 m3/day. Meanwhile, household waste processed and managed by KSM at TPS 3R is 13.01 m3 per day (70.40%), and residue is 5.47 m3 per day. Furthermore, the residual waste is transported to TPS and TPA. Communities play a role, from the source of destruction to processing it on a regional scale. The government plays a role by holding a comprehensive waste management outreach and education program and improving the performance of solid waste services. The private sector plays a role by providing support through physical assistance or as an off taker of waste processing products from the community.Keywords: Waste Management, Household Waste, Policy, Community, Government, Private

Determining the Illegal Waste Disposal in Coastal Area using Transect Walk Approach

The increasing population and anthropogenic activities in cities/regencies in Indonesia have caused many waste-related problems, which can trigger environmental and human health. In addition to population growth, rapid economic development has resulted in an increasing amount and type of waste. The coastal area is one area that still needs to get adequate solid waste services. There have been many studies on waste management. However, research has yet to examine the amount and composition of waste generation in coastal areas that have not been served by waste management.. This study shows the waste generation and composition trend in coastal areas that must be served in waste management and determines the appropriate waste management strategy. This research method uses a transect walk survey carried out by following a predetermined route in the area. Paths are made randomly by forming circles or straight lines for 10 km. The composition of illegal waste dumps found included leaves (69.02%), plastic (15.24%), branches and twigs (9.93%), paper and cardboard (3.75%), food waste (1.97%), and rubber (0.1%). At least 1.59 tonnes/day of illegal waste is estimated in Sidorejo Village. While this figure increases at the district level, the amount of unaccommodated waste is estimated at 19.85 tonnes/day. Efforts to handle waste that can be done are changing the mindset and paradigm of the community through an educational approach, improving the waste management system by providing waste facilities and reducing the amount of waste collected through a simple program (Reuses, Reduces, Recycle) that involves the community.

Pertangungjawaban Pidana Tim Anggaran Pemerintah Daerah Dalam Penetapan RKA-SKPD Yang Menimbulkan Kerugian Negara

Introduction: The corruption case at the Ambon City Environmental and Solid Waste Service (DLHP) is getting hotly discussed by the Ambon city public. DLHP Ambon City, where one of the points that became the focus of the prosecution's indictment was the discrepancy in the standard analysis of spending on the fuel oil procurement project for the waste fleet belonging to the Ambon city government.Purposes of the Research: To know the form of abuse of authority by officials that result in state losses. And knowing that the Investigator Formulated the Elements of Abuse of Authority for the Crime of Corruption, the Ambon City Environment and Waste Office. Methods of the Research: The research method used in analyzing and discussing is normative juridical, a normative study must of course use a statutory approach because it is careful that various legal rules are the focus of a research. The legal materials used are primary, secondary and tertiary legal materials.Results of the Research: The results of the study point to the decision Number 32/Pid.Sus-TPK/2021/P stating that the defendant has been indicted by the public prosecutor and has been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption, as regulated and subject to criminal penalties in Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Republic of Indonesia Law. Number 31 of 1999 concerning Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law Number R.I. 20 of 2001 concerning Amendments to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) to 1 of the Criminal Code in the SUBSIDAIR ACCOUNT.

Modeling the Impact of Fees and Circular Economy Options on the Financial Sustainability of the Solid Waste Management System in Jordan

Municipal solid waste services in Jordan are being provided by municipalities, where 90% of the generated solid waste finds its way to the landfills and dump sites. All Jordanian municipalities are suffering from low cost recovery where it reaches 50% in its best case. Realizing these facts, recently, the Jordanian government has embarked on an ambitious package of regulations and policies to promote the adoption of circular economy options. The National Solid Waste Management Strategy (NSWMS) of Jordan has called for rationalization, gradual increase of the service fees and adoption of circular economy options through recycling and composting. To assess the impacts of the proposed policies by the NSWMS on the financial sustainability, a system dynamic modeling (SDM) was carried out for the two largest municipalities in the country, namely Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and Greater Irbid Municipality (GIM). The share of solid waste management cost from the total municipal budget in GAM and GIM is 13.3% and 24%, respectively. On the other hand, the cost per ton of solid waste management in GAM is USD 85 and in GIM it is USD 50. Medium-term and long-term scenarios were considered in the SDM analysis. By considering the year 2016 as a baseline year, the simulation revealed that during the midterm period (2022–2026), the cost recovery will be increased from 54% to 82.5% in GAM, while in GIM it will be raised from 45% to 70%. Moreover, during the long-term period (2027–2034) as a result of adopting circular economy options by recycling and composting, both GAM and GIM will achieve full cost recovery of the solid waste services, in 2028 and 2029, respectively. Furthermore, diverting the solid waste from the landfill will lead to climate change mitigation, where about 652,275 tons of CO2eq. and greenhouse gases will be avoided. It is recommended that municipalities in Jordan should consider a more efficient solid waste collection mechanism rather than through electricity bills. Further research is needed to assess the impact of other circular economy options such as waste to energy and extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Combined Use of an Information System and LCA Approach to Assess the Performances of a Solid Waste Management System

A municipal solid waste information system, named W-MySir, is utilised to acquire high-quality data to implement an attributional life-cycle assessment (LCA) focused on the evolution of the environmental performances of municipal solid waste management in a specific area. The main aim was to investigate how this combined approach can be used for monitoring progress of the management scheme toward important targets, such as being CO2-neutral, increasing the circularity of the service, and planning a transparent approach to cost evaluation. The analysis was applied to the municipality of Procida, one of the three islands of Naples Bay (Italy), and focused on the last ten years of activity of the local solid waste service. The results of the life cycle impact assessment are reported in terms of the main impact categories. They indicate a positive evolution of the environmental performances, with improvements of up to 140% for global warming potential. The positive results are mainly due to the large increase in household source separation and separate collection in Procida during the period under analysis, together with the availability of a more integrated and sustainable regional system of solid waste management. Further improvements may be achieved through better performance at the sorting and remanufacturing stages of dry recyclable fractions and the availability of anaerobic digestion units to produce biomethane from organic fractions of municipal solid waste. The combined approach indicates potential further benefits for both the tools: LCAs could provide reliable results in shorter times; information systems could offer a wider spectrum of services for monitoring and planning waste management systems in a sustainable way.

Persistent Ascaris Transmission Is Possible in Urban Areas Even Where Sanitation Coverage Is High.

In low-income, urban, informal communities lacking sewerage and solid waste services, onsite sanitation (sludges, aqueous effluent) and child feces are potential sources of human fecal contamination in living environments. Working in informal communities of urban Maputo, Mozambique, we developed a quantitative, stochastic, mass-balance approach to evaluate plausible scenarios of localized contamination that could explain why the soil-transmitted helminth Ascaris remains endemic despite nearly universal coverage of latrines that sequester most fecal wastes. We used microscopy to enumerate presumptively viable Ascaris ova in feces, fecal sludges, and soils from compounds (i.e., household clusters) and then constructed a steady-state mass-balance model to evaluate possible contamination scenarios capable of explaining observed ova counts in soils. Observed Ascaris counts (mean = -0.01 log10 ova per wet gram of soil, sd = 0.71 log10) could be explained by deposits of 1.9 grams per day (10th percentile 0.04 grams, 90th percentile 84 grams) of child feces on average, rare fecal sludge contamination events that transport 17 kg every three years (10th percentile 1.0 kg, 90th percentile 260 kg), or a daily discharge of 2.7 kg aqueous effluent from an onsite system (10th percentile 0.09 kg, 90th percentile 82 kg). Results suggest that even limited intermittent flows of fecal wastes in this setting can result in a steady-state density of Ascaris ova in soils capable of sustaining transmission, given the high prevalence of Ascaris shedding by children (prevalence = 25%; mean = 3.7 log10 per wet gram, sd = 1.1 log10), the high Ascaris ova counts in fecal sludges (prevalence = 88%; mean = 1.8 log10 per wet gram, sd = 0.95 log10), and the extended persistence and viability of Ascaris ova in soils. Even near-universal coverage of onsite sanitation may allow for sustained transmission of Ascaris under these conditions.

Factors influencing eco-efficiency of municipal solid waste management in Chile: A double-bootstrap approach.

Improving eco-efficiency in the provision of municipal solid waste plays an important role for a sustainable economy. Eco-efficiency of municipal solid waste service providers (MSWSPs) has been generally assessed using the conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. However, this approach is sensitive to data noise and has no statistical properties. To overcome these limitations, in this paper, we adopt the double-bootstrap DEA model to derive robust eco-efficiency scores. This nonparametric method allows conducting statistical inference to explore environmental factors affecting the eco-efficiency of MSWSPs. The empirical approach focused on a sample of 298 MSWSPs in Chile, a middle-income country whose policies for promoting waste recycling are incipient. The results indicated that based on the bias-corrected eco-efficiency scores, the potential saving in costs and unsorted waste could be up to 37.8% on average to generate the same level of output (recycled waste). The findings showed that dealing with data noise and uncertainly is of great importance when conducting benchmarking analysis. The region where the municipality is located, tourism, population density and waste per capita are environmental variables that significantly influenced eco-efficiency of Chilean MSWSPs. Several policy implications are discussed based on the findings of this study.

Enabling the informal recycling sector to prevent plastic pollution and deliver an inclusive circular economy

Recycling by the informal sector provides a rapid, inexpensive solution to plastic pollution, whilst supporting the livelihoods via their inclusion and empowerment. This solution will have the greatest benefit to the environment if supporting interventions are targeted at types of plastic pollution that are the most damaging from an ecological and wider risk perspective. Interventions should target three aspects of the pollution: reducing barriers to collection, improving the revenue from the materials and wider informal recycler remuneration, and increasing the quality of the materials. Done well, these interventions will increase the collection rate, reduce pollution from plastics, and help millions of people escape poverty. They present a scalable international solution to a global challenge; and are likely the only viable solution to the widespread lack of solid waste services and infrastructure across low- and middle-income countries.

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.

Sector arc routing-based spatial decision support system for waste collection in Brazil.

We present a sector arc routing problem-based spatial decision support system technology to develop tactical and operational plans and manage solid waste collection activities including household refuse collection and human and mechanical street sweeping. The proposed technology can also manage solid waste services through optimization (minimizing sector costs, distances and resources). The proposed technology is called optimized planning and integrated logistics management. It can be directly applied to Brazilian municipalities as it contains its major natural features. The system uses advanced technics from sector arc routing and sector scheduling, fleet and staff scheduling and daily plan management using mobile smartphone apps. The technology also allows for waste system inspections that are transparent to all participants in real time. We present the results of cases evaluated in the field for residential refuse collection and human and mechanical street sweeping in two Brazilian cities (Campo Grande and São Paulo). The plan implementations achieved from 12 to 28% actual fixed and variable cost savings for sectors (vehicles and workers) and routes (time and distances) for residential refuse collection and from 7 to 42% savings for human and mechanical street sweeping for the companies.

How much does it cost to collect recyclable and residual waste in medium-income countries? A case study in the Chilean waste sector

ABSTRACT Improper municipal solid waste (MSW) management leads to contamination of water, soil and air with negative impacts on human health. Moreover, not dealing with residual waste has huge implications for meeting circular economy targets. Understanding how much it costs could lead to a better quality of service and boost environmental sustainability. This study estimates an input distance function using econometric techniques to measure the technical efficiency of the MSW sector in Chile. This approach further allows us to estimate the shadow price of residual waste in terms of total costs. The results indicated that the average technical efficiency of the waste sector was 0.592. This means that the potential savings in costs and residual waste among municipalities could be at the level of 40.8%. Large divergences among municipalities were found since efficiency scores ranged between 0.029 and 0.863. It is found that for 53% of the municipalities evaluated, efficiency scores varied between 0.61 and 0.80. On average, the cost of reducing residual waste was 81.10 US $ per kilogram. This means that on average the cost of preventing one more kilogram of residual waste not being collected and recycled was 81.10 US $. It was also found that on average as population density increased, the shadow price of residual waste increased as well.Implications: The study provides a methodology that allows the policy makers to estimate the efficiency of the solid waste sector where limited available statistical data usually exists in developing and medium-income countries. They have the opportunity to understand what drives costs and identify the best and worst performers. This information is essential to develop local initiatives to enhance waste recycling and therefore, achieving the targets established at national level. Managers can also see if there are other operating factors that could influence performance such as population density. The proposed methodology allows integrating other exogenous variables that might be interesting to policy makers. For instance, a tourism index could be included in the assessment to evaluate whether tourism impacts on the efficiency of municipalities in the provision of municipal solid waste services and therefore, to analyze the implementation of an eco-tax for tourists.

Actors’ Involvement in Municipal Solid Waste Management by the Local Government: Lessons and Experiences from the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

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.

Determination of Service Priority Areas as an Effort to Increase Urban Solid Waste Service Coverage (Case study Ngawi Regency)

Limited budget and infrastructure require that a selection be made, which areas prioritize solid waste services. The priority of waste services is determined based on the results of the assessment of the interest scale matrix of the service area. Regions with the highest matrix scores receive priority, followed by sites with lower scores. This study aims to determine the importance of increasing the solid waste service area in Ngawi district, with 19 sub-districts. The results showed that the Ngawi sub-district, as the district capital, Ngawi sub-district was the priority to improve solid waste services, followed by Kedunggalar, Karangjati, Mantingan, and Padas sub-districts.