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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Leveraging ICT in Karachi’s Solid Waste Management System by Involving Waste Pickers, Recyclers, and Community—An Integrated Approach
ClearSocio-Economic Contributions of Informal Waste Pickers to Urban Waste Management
This study examines the socio-economic contributions of informal waste pickers to urban waste management systems, finding they prevent significant recyclable materials from reaching landfills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sustain livelihoods for millions of urban poor. The authors argue for formalization pathways that integrate waste pickers into municipal systems while preserving their economic autonomy.
Global Plastic Pollution and Informal Waste Pickers
This review examines how plastic pollution disproportionately affects communities in the Global South, where plastic consumption has risen sharply while waste management infrastructure remains underfunded or nonexistent. The study highlights the role of approximately 20 million informal waste workers who already recover and recycle significant quantities of plastic but often work under hazardous conditions without recognition or support. Evidence indicates that integrating these informal workers into formal waste management systems could be an effective strategy for reducing plastic pollution while improving livelihoods.
From Waste Pickers to Producers: An Inclusive Circular Economy Solution through Development of Cooperatives in Waste Management
This paper presented an inclusive circular economy framework centered on waste picker cooperatives in developing countries, arguing that integrating informal sector workers into formal plastic recycling systems improves both waste management outcomes and social equity, with case studies from Latin America and Africa illustrating successful models.
Enhancing Decentralised Recycling Solutions with Digital Technologies
This paper is not about microplastics; it reviews how digital technologies can enhance decentralised plastic recycling systems, particularly in the African context.
Development of a Decision Support System Prototype for Time and Cost Reduction in Collecting Recyclable Waste
This study developed a decision support system to optimize routing for waste pickers collecting recyclable materials, reducing collection time and cost. Improving recyclable waste collection efficiency is important for diverting plastic waste from the environment where it would fragment into microplastics.
Smart Bin and IoT: A Sustainable Future for Waste Management System in Nigeria
Researchers proposed a smart waste bin system using Internet of Things technology to improve waste management in Nigerian cities. The system uses sensors and Wi-Fi connectivity to monitor bin fill levels remotely, enabling more efficient waste collection routes. The study highlights how affordable IoT-based solutions could help developing nations reduce plastic waste accumulation and environmental pollution.
Waterwheel Drainage Cleaner (wdc): an Economic Technology Approach Innovation for Land-water Related Microplastic Pollution Prevention
This study presented the Waterwheel Drainage Cleaner as a low-cost technological innovation for collecting floating plastic waste from drainage channels, demonstrating feasibility for urban waterway cleanup in developing countries.
Informal recycling sector contribution to plastic pollution mitigation: A systematic scoping review and quantitative analysis of prevalence and productivity
This systematic review quantifies the role of informal waste pickers in reducing plastic pollution worldwide. The findings highlight that these workers prevent significant amounts of plastic from entering the environment, making their contributions essential to global efforts to reduce the microplastic contamination that ultimately affects human health.
Complex waste management in Myanmar: role of the actors, relationships, and social capital
Researchers examined the waste management system in Myanmar, analyzing how both formal and informal sectors contribute to waste collection and recycling efforts. They found that informal waste pickers play a critical but underrecognized role in the recycling chain, and that social capital and relationships between actors significantly influence system effectiveness. The study highlights the need for inclusive policies that integrate informal workers into formal waste management frameworks.
Municipal solid waste management challenges in developing regions: A comprehensive review and future perspectives for Asia and Africa
Researchers reviewed a decade of municipal solid waste challenges in developing countries across Asia and Africa, finding that inadequate infrastructure, cultural barriers, and poor policy enforcement are driving waste crises. The study recommends source-level sorting, improved landfill practices, and stronger community involvement rather than focusing solely on recycling.
Cross Platform Waste Reuse, Reduce And Recycle Management Application With Prototyping Methodology
Researchers developed a cross-platform waste management application using a prototyping methodology that incentivizes users to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic waste by offering rewards for environmentally responsible behavior. The study addressed the lack of public motivation for 3R adoption by building a reward-based digital tool to increase community participation in plastic waste reduction.
Innovations for Sustainable Plastic Waste Management in Nigeria
This paper reviews the current state of plastic waste management in Nigeria and proposes innovations for more sustainable disposal and recycling. Inadequate plastic waste management in rapidly urbanizing countries is a major driver of microplastic pollution in freshwater and marine environments.
Plastic waste management: case study of tower market, Hyderabad
Researchers surveyed plastic waste management practices at a market in Hyderabad, India, finding that 50–60% of residents dispose of plastic in open spaces without proper management, and proposed short-, mid-, and long-term interventions including bio-based plastics and reduced packaging to address this gap.
Digital Innovations for a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa
This paper is not about microplastics; it is a book examining digital innovations and circular economy approaches to plastic waste management in sub-Saharan Africa.
Digitally enabled business models for a circular plastic economy in Africa
Researchers explored how digital technologies are enabling circular economy business models for plastic waste management across African retailing and distribution systems. Drawing on focus group discussions and interviews with frontline organizations, the study examined the impact of digital innovations on plastic waste collection, sorting, and recycling. The findings highlight how digital tools can complement ecological goals by creating economic incentives for managing plastic waste in developing economies.
Model-Based Waste Management Handling Angkuts Application to Smart City: The Perspective of Human Security
This Indonesian study describes a mobile waste management app called Angkuts, designed to improve solid waste collection in Pontianak city, framed within the concept of human security. While focused on waste management infrastructure rather than microplastics specifically, improving waste collection directly reduces the plastic pollution that breaks down into microplastics.
Quantification of plastic recovery by the informal waste sector through a probabilistic approach
Researchers used material flow analysis with Monte Carlo simulations to estimate plastic waste management in Chennai, India, finding that the informal waste sector recovers 13–20% of the city's plastic while at least 51% of total plastic waste is mismanaged — with recyclable polymers achieving far higher recovery rates than non-recyclable ones.
An Empirical Investigation on Plastic Waste Issues and Plastic Disposal Strategies to Protect the Environment: A UAE Perspective
An empirical investigation into plastic waste management in a developing country context found that rising volumes of plastic water bottles and single-use items are overwhelming municipal waste systems. The study documents disposal strategies used in practice and identifies infrastructure and policy gaps limiting effective plastic waste management.
The impact of improper solid waste management to plastic pollution in Indonesian coast and marine environment
Indonesia's plastic pollution problem in coastal and marine environments is largely driven by improper solid waste management on land, with rivers carrying significant plastic loads to the sea. The study emphasizes that improving terrestrial waste collection and disposal infrastructure is essential for reducing Indonesia's substantial contribution to ocean plastic pollution.
Introduction to “One Word: Plastics Practicing Anthropology In Solid Waste Management: Usaid Clean Cities, Blue Ocean
This introductory essay discusses how anthropologists can contribute to improving solid waste management systems, including those dealing with plastic waste. The author argues that anthropological methods and perspectives are valuable for understanding the social and infrastructural dimensions of plastic waste management. This interdisciplinary approach is important because plastic pollution is as much a social problem as a technical one.
Towards sustainability through the circular economy of plastic packaging waste management in Rayong Province, Thailand
Researchers analyzed plastic packaging waste recycling in Rayong Province, Thailand using actor-network theory, finding that informal collectors contribute 11.3–64.1% of recycled material and that the circular economy depends critically on their economic viability alongside household-level sorting capacity and effective policy enforcement.
Exploring the Plastic Collection and Recycling Trends in Sri Lanka
This paper is not about microplastics; it surveys plastic waste collection and recycling infrastructure in Sri Lanka, documenting correlations between tourism, rainfall, and recycling rates for different polymer types.
Pemberdayaan masyarakat dalam pengelolaan sampah plastik bernilai jual
This paper (in Indonesian) describes a community empowerment program in a village in East Java helping residents manage and find economic value in plastic waste. The program is a grassroots approach to reducing plastic pollution by turning waste into a resource.
Integrated Recycling and The Impact of Plastic Waste from Industry and Agriculture on The Environment
This review examined the environmental impacts of plastic waste from industrial and agricultural sources and assessed integrated recycling strategies for reducing those impacts. The paper discussed how plastic waste prevention, collection, and recycling can minimize pollution and climate contributions from the growing global plastic waste stream.