Waste Collection Rates Research Articles

Extended Producer Responsibility and Trade Flows in Waste: The Case of Batteries

AbstractIn the debate on international waste trade, the focus on resource efficiency and recycling has gradually begun to accompany the focus on negative environmental externalities. In this context, we examine the impact of extended producer responsibility (EPR) on the export of waste batteries (WB). EPR is considered as a key policy for the “marketization of waste”. WB are a hazardous waste that also contain a high concentration of critical raw materials. As such, they are of strategic importance for the recovery of critical resources, while at the same time requiring proper environmental management. Therefore, it is crucial to understand where WB are treated and how this is affected by related policies. Our results, based on difference-in-difference models in a gravity framework, show a consistent increase in WB exports after EPR implementation compared to the trend for other wastes. This result is likely to be an indirect consequence of the ability of EPR to support growth in waste collection rates, more accurate tracking of transboundary waste flows, and specialization of national waste management systems. In particular, WB exports appear to be directed to countries with more advanced waste management systems, more stringent environmental regulations, and limited endowments of the mineral resources typically contained in batteries.

The crucial role of circular waste management systems in cutting waste leakage into aquatic environments

Waste leakage has become a major global concern owing to the negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health. We combine spatial analysis with the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways to project future waste leakage under current conditions and develop mitigation strategies up to 2040. Here we show that the majority (70%) of potential leakage of municipal solid waste into aquatic environments occurs in China, South Asia, Africa, and India. We show the need for the adoption of active mitigation strategies, in particular circular waste management systems, that could stop waste from entering the aquatic ecosystems in the first place. However, even in a scenario representing a sustainable world in which technical, social, and financial barriers are overcome and public awareness and participation to rapidly increase waste collection rates, reduce, reuse and recycling waste exist, it would be impossible to entirely eliminate waste leakage before 2030, failing to meet the waste-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Quantitative Analysis of Household Food Waste Collection in Warsaw: Assessing Efficiency and Waste Minimization

Food waste management is one of the key challenges of the circular economy and climate transition policies. The proper collection of food waste is the starting point for its further value recovery. Most of the quantitative and qualitative data used to measure the scale of food waste in households and its collection are based on statistical data, diaries, and questionnaires. There is a visible gap in research in terms of the use of direct research methods. This paper presents the results of a quantitative research study on household food waste accumulation and collection in Warsaw from two sources: single-family and multi-family households. The results of the study indicate that in Warsaw households, one can expect generation at the level of 33.4 kg·capita−1·year−1 of avoidable food waste and 38.2 kg·capita−1·year−1 of unavoidable food waste. The average food waste collection rate from households in Warsaw was determined to be at a level of 19.6 kg·capita−1·year−1. In multi-family buildings, which are dominant in Warsaw, this rate is half as pronounced (17.3 kg·capita−1·year−1) compared to single-family buildings (36.2 kg·capita−1·year−1). The average food waste collection efficiency rate from Warsaw households was at a level of 32%. Avoidable food waste accounted for 47% of all food waste generated. The study indicates a growing need to develop policy tools to support the separate collection and prevention of food waste.

Monitoring microplastics in coastal waters of a biosphere reserve: a case study in Menorca (Spain)

This study provides with evidence of the presence of sea surface microplastics in a UNESCO marine biosphere reserve: the island of Menorca in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. From a total of 90 samples, in 100% of the samples, microplastics were observed with a mean value of 0.18 ± 0.01 items/m2. According to data, no significant differences were observed for sampling period with very similar values between 2021 (0.17 ± 0.02 items/m2) and 2022 (0.18 ± 0.02 items/m2). However, significant differences were observed regarding sampling area (both site and locality) suggesting that sea surface plastics in the study area might be more dependent of the spatial scale rather than on the temporal scale. Fibre type microplastics predominated over fragments, films, pellets, and foams, but in the commercial Port de Maó, almost 50% of the identified items were foams which could be related to the transportation of packed goods to this port. Results from the model applied to study the relation between waste management indicators and microplastic abundance indicate that when considering all marine litter categories, the explanatory variables are plastic waste generated by residents population (tonnes/year/km2) and waste collection rate (%), whereas if only plastics are considered, the indicator regarding waste per capita (kg/hab/year) is also included. Data in this study is obtained through a harmonized protocol which can be used to define baseline and threshold values to evaluate good environmental status regarding descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

An Evaluation of the Impact of Illegal Dumping of Solid Waste on Public Health in Nigeria: A Case Study of Lagos State.

The illegal dumping of solid waste is a prevalent issue in Nigeria, affecting all states. Lagos State, in particular, faces waste disposal problems that stem from urbanization, negative public perception towards waste management, insufficient waste disposal education, poor waste disposal practices, and the disposal of waste at illegal and unauthorized sites. This situation is further exacerbated by inadequate municipal solid waste (MSW) collection rates, making it challenging to combat illegal dumping effectively. To align with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 of Sustainable Cities, which seeks to minimize negative environmental effects associated with managing MSW by 2030, this study aims to assess the environmental and health impact of illegal dumping of solid waste in Lagos State. The objectives of this study include assessing people's attitudes towards illegal dumping, evaluating the extent of environmental degradation resulting from illegal solid waste dumping in Lagos, and assessing the health risks associated with exposure to illegally dumped solid waste in Lagos State, as well as determining if illegal dumping contributes to the diseases prevalent in Lagos State. This study will use a quantitative approach to collect data from study participants on demographics, educational background, waste management, and environmental and health issues using computer-assisted self-administered questionnaires (Google Forms). This study will also use observations and photographs of illegally dumped waste in communities and major illegal dumpsites in the study area to provide valuable information to complement the questionnaire responses. By combining both approaches, the study will be able to capture both numerical data and people's behaviors and attitudes associated with illegal dumping. This study will use a mixed sampling method consisting of cluster sampling and convenience sampling, focusing on communities impacted by illegal dumping in Lagos State. The sample size for this study will be 100. The questionnaire for this study will be administered via a Google Forms link that will be shared through various online platforms, enabling participants to access and complete the questionnaire from any location with internet access. To ensure representative participation, as part of the informed consent form on the initial page of the online questionnaire, a screening question that requires participants to indicate if they live or work in the study areas or have been exposed to the impact of illegal dumping will be included. Only those who meet these criteria will be able to proceed with the study. The primary data obtained will be carefully analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. The study's results will highlight the importance of the linkage between illegal dumping, environmental degradation, and diseases prevalent in Lagos State, which could inform policymakers and relevant departments in developing effective strategies to improve public health.

Assessment of factors influencing Indonesian residents’ intention to use a deposit–refund scheme for PET bottle waste

The collection rate is a difficult and important issue in the management of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle waste, as it is related to the behavior of the community to participate and comply with the system established by the government. One system that has been shown to increase the collection rate of PET bottle waste is the deposit–refund scheme (DRS). We tested residents’ intention to participate in the DRS using the theory of planned behavior and complemented it with several important variables that could influence the model. The method used is partial least square-structural equation modeling. The result of the study is that all the variables studied were positively influenced according to their respective paths. Nevertheless, environmental awareness is the latent variable with the strongest positive effect on attitude, and attitude has the strongest positive effect on intention. Public information is the latent variable that positively influences all variables related to intention. The proposed model can be applied globally to identify factors that influence recycling participation, particularly for DRS, and help achieve sustainable development goals while initiating a circular economy by recycling plastic bottle waste.

The use of Google community mobility reports to model residential waste generation behaviors during and after the COVID-19 lockdown

This paper proposed an original analytical approach to quantify waste generation and recycling behaviors in Regina, a Canadian capital city, using Google's Community Mobility Reports (GCMR) mobility data and ANN modeling. Residential waste collection rate (RWCR) in Regina appears to have changed abruptly during the pandemic. Compared to the pre-COVID-19 lockdown period, the correlation between the percent changes in RWCR and GCMR mobility became increasingly stronger and statistically significant during and after COVID-19 lockdown. It appears that the government imposed public health measures improved the consistency of waste generation and recycling behaviors. All 16 models predicting RWCR performed satisfactorily, with R2 near or over 0.70. The univariate Model A along with multivariate Model B and Model G performed better, with MAE of 11.5 to 15.1 tonnes/day and RMSE of 14.5 to 19.7 tonnes/day. The prediction scores of Model A using a Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) based ranking system seems to be negatively influenced by the distribution of the training and testing sets. There is no distinctive trend in the SAW-based prediction scores among the univariate model and the multivariate models. Instead of absolute values, percent changes and SAW relative ranking are adopted, making the proposed approach appropriate for cross-jurisdictional studies.

Investigation of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management practices using an economic input-output life cycle analysis approach

The urban solid waste management is gaining attention due to ecological, economic, and demographic factors, emphasizing the importance of sustainable practices and infrastructure development. There are two main objectives of this work: developing an effective framework to predict the environmental impacts of alternative packaging waste collection rates and estimating the associated environmental emissions, energy consumption, and the materials required for goods and services for the case of Avcilar Municipality in Istanbul City, Türkiye. To achieve these objectives, an Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment model was implemented to assess the impacts of all associated industrial sectors. The results showed that as the amount of packaging waste collection increases, the top two sectors that are responsible for the most emissions are Oil and Gasoline Production and Electricity Production and Supply sectors. In addition, the economic analysis results of the study show that as the packaging waste collection rate increases, the unit packaging waste collection cost decreases. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the environmental emissions of packaging waste management strategies. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of packaging waste management in reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions and promoting more sustainable waste management practices. Policymakers and waste management stakeholders can utilize this framework to identify strategies that minimize environmental impacts and carbon footprints, thereby fostering a transition towards more sustainable waste management options.

A cross-jurisdictional comparison on residential waste collection rates during earlier waves of COVID-19

There is currently a lack of studies on residential waste collection during COVID-19 in North America. SARIMA models were developed to predict residential waste collection rates (RWCR) across four North American jurisdictions before and during the pandemic. Unlike waste disposal rates, RWCR is relatively less sensitive to the changes in COVID-19 regulatory policies and administrative measures, making RWCR more appropriate for cross-jurisdictional comparisons. It is hypothesized that the use of RWCR in forecasting models will help us to better understand the residential waste generation behaviors in North America. Both SARIMA models performed satisfactorily in predicting Regina's RWCR. The SARIMA DCV model's performance is noticeably better during COVID-19, with a 15.7% lower RMSE than that of the benchmark model (SARIMA BCV). The skewness of overprediction ratios was noticeably different between jurisdictions, and modeling errors were generally lower in less populated cities. Conflicting behavioral changes might have altered the residential waste generation characteristics and recycling behaviors differently across the jurisdictions. Overall, SARIMA DCV performed better in the Canadian jurisdiction than in U.S. jurisdictions, likely due to the model's bias on a less variable input dataset. The use of RWCR in forecasting models helps us to better understand the residential waste generation behaviors in North America and better prepare us for a future global pandemic.

Municipal Solid Waste Collection and Coverage Rates in Sub-Saharan African Countries: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The annual volume of waste generated in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) increased from 81 million tonnes to 174 million tonnes per year between 2012 and 2016 and is projected to reach 269 million tonnes in 2030. In 2018, SSA’s municipal solid waste (MSW) collection coverage was estimated at 44%. Concerned that the waste generation rate outweighs the collection pace, we conducted a systematic review of studies on MSW collection to examine the current situation in the region concerning the waste collection and coverage rates and to highlight the impediments to rapid progress in waste collection using the lens of four cities. Findings reveal that, despite the involvement of private waste collectors, collection and coverage rates are still below the desired 100% with backlogs of uncollected waste in public spaces, especially in low-income neighbourhoods where coverage remains abysmally low. This study fortifies the systematic discussion on MSW collection and coverage rates by conducting a meta-analysis. The result of the analysis shows that the waste collection and coverage rates are 65% and 67% in SSA, respectively. Aside from the paucity of data on waste generation rate and characterisation, most available data are incongruent. The review further shows that although several studies have been carried out on waste disposal, waste treatment and recycling in SSA studies directly focused on MSW collection are still few, leaving room for more research in this area. The review offers suggestions on how collection and coverage rates can be increased and equally proposes a strategy for reducing scavenging activities in the region’s unsanitary landfills, given its concomitant health impacts on the scavengers.

EXPLORING RESIDENTS’ PREFERENCES FOR E-WASTE RECYCLING SCENARIOS IN VIETNAM — A CHOICE EXPERIMENT STUDY

Increasing levels of waste from electrical and electronic devices (e-waste) not only harms human health and the environment but also hampers the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In response to such threats, emphasis should be placed on improving waste collection rate, which requires a great deal of resident participation. This research adopts a choice experiment analysis regarding the residents’ preferences toward some proposed e-waste recycling services in Vietnam. Using a sample of 531 respondents, the empirical analysis derived from multinomial logit (MNL) models and random parameter logit (RPL) models yields estimates of the residents’ willingness to pay for the two modes of e-waste collection and three levels of environmental benefit. The findings pinpoint that residents have preferences for the door-to-door pick-up and the higher percentage of waste reduction and material conservation. Of socio-demographic variables, only age and location are significant factors in the choice of e-waste recycling scenarios in the extended RPL model. Estimations of marginal willingness to pay for future recycling options show that on average residents are willing to pay the additional fees that are equal to 2.620% and 0.173% on top of the new product value per purchase in return for convenience of pick-up collection services and an improved percentage of waste avoided as well as materials recovered, respectively. The findings showing the residents’ demand for future e-waste recycling scheme provide crucial information for both government and stakeholders in strategizing implementable and acceptable e-waste recycling policies, thereby progressively achieving the SDGs.

Factors influencing the rate of sorted solid waste collection: An empirical analysis towards local management in Catalonia (NE Spain)

A study of the factors influencing waste sorting behaviours is crucial to assess the current urban waste management schemes and to determine additional, appropriate policies to put in place. While there exist many theoretical considerations on which factors determine the Sorted Municipal Solid Waste Collection (SMSWC) rates, these are sometimes ambiguous, and firm empirical confirmation is often lacking. The present study estimates econometric models based on a comprehensive set of longitudinal data for all 945 Catalonian municipalities from 2000 to 2019. We demonstrate and quantify geographic, demographic, socioeconomic, and policy design determinants of the SMSWC rates at a municipal level. New insights are obtained on the effects of geographic conditions, unemployment, and foreign population on waste management behaviours, sometimes in direct contradiction with earlier theoretical expectations. The empirical evidence suggests that active waste collection policies can serve to increase the rate of sorted waste collection rapidly enough to achieve the recycling goals set by the European Union legislation and the Spanish Waste Law. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of considering demographic trends and differences in waste sorting behaviour between social groups when tackling waste management issues. The main qualitative results are expected to be valid beyond the concrete case of Catalonia.

Economic and environmental assessments of an integrated lithium-ion battery waste recycling supply chain: A hybrid simulation approach

This study aims to evaluate the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) recycling process as a part of the supply chain network and assess its long-term economic and environmental impacts. A novel hybrid analysis incorporating agent-based, system dynamics, and metallurgical process analysis has been used to provide microscopic and macroscopic analyses of the integrated recycling system, which consists of waste collection facilities, transportation, and a waste recycling plant. The intersection between the supply chain and metallurgical process disciplines signifies this study's multidisciplinary nature. Mass balance calculation method and metallurgical process simulation software have been used to model physical and hydrometallurgy processing of the LIB waste within the recycling plant, respectively. The impacts of different LIB compositions and waste collection rate scenarios on economic and environmental performances have been evaluated. The results of the hybrid simulation show that selecting the type of LIB recycling process or technology must incorporate a thorough cost-benefit analysis since the recycling process' incentive depends on LIB composition and amount, operating cost, energy consumption, and waste outputs. The operating cost and waste outputs analyses must also cover LIB waste collection and transportation activities. This study offers valuable insights for LIB manufacturers, recycling companies, and the government in designing infrastructure for the electric vehicle's ecosystem.

Potential Analysis of the Plastics Value Chain for Enhanced Recycling Rates: A Case Study in Iceland

In light of the circular economy gaining momentum, plastics recycling is regarded as a key solution to keep materials in the loop. Continuous efforts are needed to achieve the packaging waste recycling targets set by the European Union. Hence, this work evaluates the potential of the Icelandic plastics value chain for enhanced recycling rates. In addition to identifying the main challenges and opportunities, a feasibility study was conducted on the expansion of the deposit-return system to Skyr cups, allowing for closed-loop solutions. Based on the status quo, proposals for the improvement of the current waste and recycling system are made. Insights were acquired by semi-structured interviews with nine key stakeholders in Iceland, representing vital groups that influence the plastics value chain. The obtained answers followed the same trend, pointing out that a circular economy within the boundaries of Iceland is currently not feasible. This is mainly due to the strong dependence on international partners in all parts of the value chain except waste collection. However, major improvements are required to enhance the current waste collection rate of 28%. No conclusive evidence was found to justify the suitability of Skyr cups for the deposit-return system, as the disadvantages outweigh theoretically higher collection and recycling rates. Moreover, the extended producer responsibility scheme implemented with the Icelandic Recycling Fund is a valuable tool to enforce a design for recycling of products, enabling higher recycling rates. Despite one recycler operating in Iceland, Icelandic stakeholders consider sorting and treatment of mixed plastic waste as economically more efficient by collaborating with experts throughout Europe. Therefore, they expect that the current practice of exporting the majority of the domestic waste will prevail. On the contrary, the authors propose a comprehensive waste treatment and recycling scheme within Iceland, which requires a sorting step prior to three possible pathways, being (1) mechanical recycling, (2) alternative fuel, and (3) waste-to-energy. The aim of the proposed scheme is a reduction in greenhouse gas impact of plastics entering the waste stage by an efficient and flexible design of the relevant technologies within Iceland.

An efficiency analysis of municipal solid waste collection in Italy between 2010 and 2019

This paper presents an efficiency analysis of the collection of municipal solid waste in Italian provinces between 2010 and 2019. Particularly, the waste service efficiency of the 110 provinces was measured by implementing non-parametric Slack Based Measure Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA). A dynamic distributional analysis of efficiencies from 2010 to 2019 was also performed to investigate the behavior of the provinces efficiency in the analysed period specifically considering their size as a discriminant factor influencing it. To this aim a kernel-based method was used. Results show that the efficiency of the MSW collection service in the Italian provinces has increased steadily. The average efficiency grew from 44.7% to 53.0% during the period from 2010 to 2019, following the improvement in the sorted waste collection rate. Furthermore, smaller provinces performed better than larger ones.

Barriers and Enablers to Food Waste Recycling: A Mixed Methods Study amongst UK Citizens.

We aim to identify influences on UK citizens’ household food waste recycling as a basis for designing strategies to increase household food waste collection rates via local services. Using a UK dataset (n = 1801) and the COM-B (Capability–Opportunity–Motivation–Behaviour) model as a theoretical framework, we conduct quantitative regression and supporting thematic analyses to investigate influences on citizens’ recycling of food waste. Results show that automatic motivation (e.g., emotions and habit) and psychological capability (e.g., knowledge) predict household food waste recycling. Physical opportunity (i.e., dealing with food waste in other ways such as home-composting or feeding pets/strays, time and financial costs) was the main barrier to recycling food waste identified in thematic analyses. Participants also reported automatic motivation-related barriers such as concerns over pests, odour, hygiene and local authorities’ food waste collection capabilities. Based on findings we recommend the development of clear, consistent communications aimed at creating positive social norms relating to recycling and increasing knowledge of what can and cannot be put in food waste bins. Improved functional design and free distribution of bins and compostable caddy liners developed according to user-centred needs for cleanliness, convenience and hygiene are also needed. These will not be sufficient without a nationally uniform, efficient and reliable system of household food waste collection.

The factors affecting Italian provinces’ separate waste-collection rates: An empirical investigation

This paper investigates the factors affecting Italian provinces’ separate collection rates from 2007 to 2016, as these rates are relevant environmental performance indicators in urban waste management. We observe data spanning this decade from 103 Italian provinces and use panel data regressions to explore if and how some relevant socio-economic factors—including convictions for crimes committed against the public administration and many indicators of equitable and sustainable well-being that describe the quality of life in Italy—significantly affect provinces’ capability to reach European and national regulators’ separate collection rate targets. The results reveal that the greater the prosecuted crime committed against the public administration, average income, expected age, number of people with a diploma or a degree, and the percentage of female municipal administrators, the greater the separate waste collection rate. In contrast, the greater the number of household members, youth employment rate, total waste produced per capita, and the recourse for landfills, the lower the separate waste collection rate. These results highlight for policy-makers and waste utility managers the need to implement different strategies to increase the ability to meet expected targets and increase environmental performance, and thus, further increasing the quality of life.

Study on Compressive Properties of Recycling PETs and CANs for Designing a Smart Waste Management Compactor

Recycling is a key process in any sustainable development strategy. This paper proposes solutions for the increasing waste collection rates by developing an educational model for developing innovative waste management solutions. The focus in this paper will be on making the correlation between experimental studies on compressive properties of recycling waste and designing a smart waste management compactor. Based on previous achievements on developing an innovative compactor system with selective waste collection, actual experimental trials will be analysed for generating compression patterns for different types of common waste containers which will be used in the conceptual design process of a compactor, impacting concept definition of all 3 subsystems: mechanical, electrical and software. A dedicated software module for compression parameters will be developed for importing experimental data trials and based on these to process and identify relevant compression parameters defining compression pattern for different common waste containers. These parameters will be used to assist the wok mode state machines for compacting wastes. This will improve compactor performance by optimization of compactor usage smart adaptability.

Effectiveness-efficiency nexus in municipal solid waste management: A non-parametric evidence-based study

The scope of this work is to present a comprehensive approach to analyze the effectiveness-efficiency nexus in the evaluation of the performance of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. The rate of separate MSW collection is used to measure service effectiveness. A multiple set of non-parametric indicators is employed to obtain measurements of technical, scale and congestion efficiencies of waste service provision. This approach was implemented to conduct an empirical study to evaluate the performance of MSW management in 258 municipalities in the Apulia region (Southern Italy) from 2010 to 2017. The study was organized in two phases. In the first phase, measures for the three efficiency indicators were calculated applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with an output-oriented model specification. In the second phase, Panel Tobit analysis with random parameters was employed to examine the effectiveness-efficiency one way nexus, considering both municipalities’ heterogeneities and context-specific variables. The efficiency analysis shows that several municipalities are still far from achieving acceptable performance scores. Between 2010 and 2017 the average rate of separate MSW collection increased only from 16.6% to 39.6%, while the average loss of technical efficiency ranged from 27% to 39%. On average, such inefficiency was due to an important extent to the low pure technical efficiency that ranged from about 69% to 81%, and to a lesser extent to scale and congestion inefficiencies. Indeed, scale efficiency was between 85.4% and 92.6%, whereas congestion efficiency was higher than 99%. The study also highlights that there is no trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency. For the largest part of the municipalities, high levels of effectiveness and efficiency can be achieved at the same time. For about 83% of the municipalities the decrease of the sorted waste collection rate is associated to a decrease of the pure technical efficiency. A drop of the output congestion efficiency due to a relatively high collection of the unsorted fraction of waste reduces the rate of the sorted waste collection for most of municipalities (77.3%). Results also indicate that for many municipalities (about 87%) improving the MSW service effectiveness necessarily requires reducing the average quantity of waste generated by people.

Estimation of recoverable resources used in lithium-ion batteries from portable electronic devices in Japan

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are commonly used in portable electronic devices and are becoming increasingly popular worldwide in recent years. As LIBs are composed of several metals, secondary material recovery is vital in promoting sustainable resource use, but a statistical database on the amount and material information of LIBs consumed in Japan is not available. To develop a globally harmonized strategy for LIB recycling, this study estimates the recoverable resources used in LIBs from portable electronic devices in Japan. An analysis of LIB samples and estimated consumption amounts reveals that cobalt has been the most utilized resource of obsolete LIBs, but its usage has gradually decreased in recent years. Instead, nickel usage has increased in both obsolete and in-use LIBs, corresponding to the trend changes of cathode materials. Moreover, the amounts of copper, lithium, manganese, and fluorine steadily increased with the increase in LIB usage. Our results also illustrate the effectiveness of environmental labels in collecting LIBs and separating them into cobalt-rich or nickel-rich groups. We applied a vacuum heat treatment to the LIBs and found that this pretreatment is effective in inactivating LIBs. This study evaluates the LIB waste collection rate in Japan and discuss the challenges behind it. As the demand for sustainable resource use from discarded LIBs will increase in the future, this study will contribute to the development of strategies to continuously improve LIB recycling and resource recovery.