Municipal Solid Waste Management

Municipal solid waste management is the study of how cities collect, process, and dispose of the everyday refuse generated by households, businesses, and institutions — and how those choices ripple through public health, resource use, and climate systems. Researchers examine the full lifecycle of materials, from curbside collection through landfill decomposition or conversion into energy, using tools like life cycle assessment to weigh environmental trade-offs that aren't visible in day-to-day operations. The stakes are especially high in rapidly urbanizing regions of the Global South, where infrastructure often lags behind waste generation rates and informal recycling sectors fill critical gaps that formal systems leave open. Active research questions include how to design waste-to-energy systems that don't crowd out higher-value recycling, and how governance structures can be restructured to make sustainable waste practices economically viable for lower-income municipalities.

Works

76,061

Total citations

550,466

Keywords

Municipal Solid WasteWaste ManagementDeveloping CountriesRecyclingLandfillLife Cycle Assessment