Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Composition, and Resource Recovery Potential: A Data-Driven Circular Economy Perspective

Abstract

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) still presents a significant problem of environmental and resource efficiency, caused by the growing amount of waste produced, the unequal level of waste treatment and continued reliance on waste disposal practices.  Variations in waste generation were analysed using descriptive statistics, income group comparisons, correlation analysis and multiple regression to determine factors associated with the recovery performance. Total annual municipal solid waste production is 8.58 million tonnes, and the median per-capita per-day production rose from 0.44 kg in low-income countries to 1.43 kg in high-income countries. Organic wastes accounted for the highest share of 41.73%, followed by paper, plastic, glass and metals. An estimated potentially recoverable fraction of 78.91%, and a combined mean recycling and composting rate of 28.62%, equate to a recovery gap of 49.92 percentage points. Gross domestic product was significantly positively associated with the total waste generation, but none of the waste composition variables was significant predictors in the regression model. The results revealed that a significant number of recoverable materials are yet to be used and that source segregation, appropriate recovery technologies, and policies for the circular economy in context are needed.