Unlocking system transitions for municipal solid waste infrastructure

Unlocking system transitions for municipal solid waste infrastructure: A model for mapping interdependencies in a local context

Liu, Z. (TU Delft Integral Design & Management)
Schraven, D.F.J. (TU Delft Real Estate Management)
de Jong, Martin (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam; Fudan University)
Hertogh, M.J.C.M. (TU Delft Integral Design & Management; Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)

2023

Rapid global urbanization, urban renewal and changes in people's lifestyles have led to both an increase in waste generation and more complex waste types. In response to these changes, many local governments have invested in municipal solid waste infrastructure (MSWI) to implement circular strategies. However, matching and bridging the costly and logistically complex MSWI with the dynamic social context is a central challenge. In this paper we aim to explore the interdependencies between MSWI and the local social system, and then conceptualize and empirically validate the systemic nature of MSWI. We first review the current MSW treatment methods, corresponding infrastructure, and the challenges facing them. Then, we interrogate system-oriented concepts and use two key insights to set up a conceptual model for mapping the interdependencies in a MSWI system (MSWIS). Finally, a case study of the Dutch city of Almere is used to empirically validate the MSWIS model and identify the social systems that contribute to the development of the MSWIS. The analysis reveals that the development of MSWIS is beyond the municipality's control: efficient resource recovery facilities established by businesses under market rules and waste reuse facilities constructed by social organizations/individuals based on their own needs are key pieces of the puzzle to complete the MSWIS. This highlights the ability of the framework to capture interdependencies that go further than just the formal municipal sphere of influence.

Circular economy
Socio-technical systems
System of systems
Waste infrastructure
Waste management

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a36964ff-6a22-4d1f-aa5a-d902bcb040f4

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107180

0921-3449

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 198

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2023 Z. Liu, D.F.J. Schraven, Martin de Jong, M.J.C.M. Hertogh