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Effective Measures for Municipal Solid Waste Management for Cities in Some Asian Countries

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Abstract

Due to increasing generation of municipal solid waste and lack of understanding about the different stages of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practices, several cities in Asian countries and elsewhere are facing environmental and health problems caused by improper municipal solid waste management. Based on literatures of municipal solid waste management practices, there have been no established criteria for effective municipal solid waste management practices. This study aimed to investigate the existing municipal solid waste management practices, and develop MSWM indicators and their influencing factors responsible for effective MSWM practices which covered collection efficiency, treatment efficiency, benefit/cost ratio, and social satisfaction. Based on data collected from 80 cities in three Asian countries (Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand), factors influencing the efficiency of the municipal solid waste management indicators were identified using Response Surface Methodology. A municipal solid waste management effectiveness diagram with the satisfactory levels for MSWM practices was developed and tested with actual data of four cities in Asian countries having different municipal solid waste management efficiencies. The findings identified the influencing factors affecting the municipal solid waste management efficiencies of these tested cities and proposed effective measures for improving municipal solid waste management practices. The effective municipal solid waste management measures, as proposed, are recommended for implementation by various cities to minimize environmental pollution and protect public health.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South, Research Partnerships for User Driven Sanitation, co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the participating institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand

    Achara Taweesan & Thammarat Koottatep

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand

    Chongrak Polprasert

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  1. Achara Taweesan
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  2. Thammarat Koottatep
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  3. Chongrak Polprasert
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Correspondence to Achara Taweesan.

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Taweesan, A., Koottatep, T. & Polprasert, C. Effective Measures for Municipal Solid Waste Management for Cities in Some Asian Countries. Expo Health 9, 125–133 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-016-0227-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-016-0227-5

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