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Sustainability
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Effective Regulation for Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
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Special Issue "Effective Regulation for Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Waste and Recycling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 4716

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mordechai Shechter
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Natural Resource and Environmental Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Interests: environmental economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shira Daskal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business, Reichman University, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
Interests: MSW policy and regulation; MSW management; circular economy; environmental RIA; corporate social responsibility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The problem of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been on the political, scientific, and public agenda for several decades. The increasing amounts of MSW due to population growth and the rising living standards pose acute environmental and social challenges all over the world. To reduce MSW’s negative environmental and social effects, extensive regulation in the field has been promoted and implemented in many countries around the world. So far, regulation has not lived up to expectations, and thus, there is a growing understanding that regulation must be monitored and continuously analyzed to ensure desired results or at least progress in the desired direction.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the efficiency or inefficiency of regulation in the MSW field. Research areas may include (but are not limited to): RIA in the field, innovative regulation/methods to enhance and/or implement sustainable management of MSW, regulatory tools to overcome barriers and challenges.

The focus of this Special Issue is on regulation, the way it is dictated, and the analysis of its contribution or non-contribution to promoting sustainable waste management.

We encourage scholars to submit original research, case studies, or critical review articles that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Analysis and assessment of MSW regulation (RIA)
  • Analysis and assessment of advanced technological means/methods for MSW management (segregation/collection/transportation/treatment)
  • Transparency and traceability along the MSW treatment chain
  • Barriers, challenges, and ways to overcome them
  • Links between MSW regulation and climate regulation
  • Models and methodologies for analyzing regulation in the field (including the analysis of specific regulatory tools such as legislation based on extended producer responsibility, landfill levy, etc.)
  • Case studies of achievements through the implementation of regulatory tools

Prof. Dr. Mordechai Shechter
Dr. Shira Daskal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • municipal solid waste (MSW)
  • reduce, reuse, recycle
  • recovery
  • regulation
  • legislation
  • regulatory impact analysis and assessment (RIA)
  • extended producer responsibility (EPR)

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Article
Systems Thinking and Solid Waste Management in Puerto Rico: Feedback Loops over Time
by
Amanda Brinton
,
Timothy G. Townsend
,
David C. Diehl
,
Katherine Deliz Quiñones
and
Mark M. Lichtenstein
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4648; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054648 - 06 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1398
Abstract
This article uses a systems-thinking framework to analyze Puerto Rico’s solid waste system. Our findings were based on 36 semi-structured interviews from stakeholders that work within the solid waste system. Interviewees represented businesses, advocacy organizations, a university, and government agencies, including municipal, central, [...] Read more.
This article uses a systems-thinking framework to analyze Puerto Rico’s solid waste system. Our findings were based on 36 semi-structured interviews from stakeholders that work within the solid waste system. Interviewees represented businesses, advocacy organizations, a university, and government agencies, including municipal, central, and federal government. This research is unique because it focuses on a case study using a historical lens to explore the policies and stakeholder dynamics that shape a system’s behavior, where the behavior is in reference to the flows of discarded materials either entering the circular economy or the island’s waste disposal facilities. Through our research, we found that Puerto Rico’s overall solid waste system is stalled within a balancing feedback loop where policies and dynamics have taken place that have created resistance to efforts to improve the current situation. In our discussion, we reflect on the policies and stakeholder dynamics that have caused this balancing feedback loop and make recommendations to better support a reinforcing feedback loop that will lead to changes to achieve Puerto Rico’s solid waste disposal and recycling plans and goals required to foster a circular economy. This study can inform future policy making and institutional coordination efforts within Puerto Rico and abroad. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effective Regulation for Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW))
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Article
Has Incineration Replaced Recycling? Evidence from OECD Countries
by
Thomas C. Kinnaman
and
Masashi Yamamoto
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3234; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043234 - 10 Feb 2023
Viewed by 744
Abstract
Despite public efforts to promote recycling, recycling rates in OECD countries with mature recycling programs in 2000 have largely stagnated over the past 20 years. Could the rapid growth in incineration have played a role in suppressing the growth in recycling? This paper [...] Read more.
Despite public efforts to promote recycling, recycling rates in OECD countries with mature recycling programs in 2000 have largely stagnated over the past 20 years. Could the rapid growth in incineration have played a role in suppressing the growth in recycling? This paper introduces a model to understand the relationship (possibly positive or negative) between incineration and recycling. A cursory examination of the data within individual countries appears to support the model by demonstrating both a positive and negative relationship. An econometric model that estimates incineration has a negative but statistically insignificant effect on recycling rates. This result contrasts with the previous literature which found a negative and statistically significant negative relationship between incineration and recycling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effective Regulation for Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW))
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Article
Decentralized Composting Analysis Model—Benefit/Cost Decision-Making Methodology
by
Shira Daskal
,
Omar Asi
,
Isam Sabbah
,
Ofira Ayalon
and
Katie Baransi-Karkaby
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16397; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416397 - 07 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1628
Abstract
Municipal solid waste management is considered one of the major environmental challenges. Organic waste, especially food waste, usually accounts for over 50 wt% of municipal solid waste, yet, in most countries, it is the least recovered material. Decentralized composting aims to develop a [...] Read more.
Municipal solid waste management is considered one of the major environmental challenges. Organic waste, especially food waste, usually accounts for over 50 wt% of municipal solid waste, yet, in most countries, it is the least recovered material. Decentralized composting aims to develop a new framework of waste management, building a closed-loop system for the composting of home, community, and commercial organic waste in urban environments. However, in some cases, decentralized composting is not economically and/or environmentally viable. Even when it is viable, various barriers and challenges need to be addressed in many cases. Different models in the literature address certain aspects of organic waste management, such as food waste treatment technology, recovery of energy, site selection, or environmental impact. The objective of this study is to provide guidelines and a methodological framework to quantify economic, social, operational, environmental, and regulatory aspects, in order to examine the viability and feasibility of decentralized composting projects at any given location. The decentralized composting analysis model proposed in this study has been developed with an innovative approach to decentralized composting project planning and design, an approach that is both holistic and very practical. The innovative model incorporates various aspects to examine the viability of decentralized composting projects based on benefit/cost criteria. In this respect, a result obtained through another model that examines a specific aspect of decentralized composting can be used as input for the model presented here. The decentralized composting analysis model provides a powerful tool for decision makers, based on the quantification of the decentralized composting project characteristics, and a benefit/cost index that takes into account the various impact variables. The decentralized composting analysis model allows examining the viability of the decentralized composting project in different scenarios, locations and options, and can help indicate the most viable alternative. In this paper, we describe the decentralized composting analysis model and its methodological framework, along with numerical examples to demonstrate its implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effective Regulation for Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW))
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