Notes

Solid waste management (SWM) is a critical environmental problem with direct effects on both environment, e.g., air, water, and soil, and public health. The increase in waste generation across the world greatly complicates proper waste management activities [1,2]. Any non-liquid waste created by individuals, households, small businesses, or institutions outside of the waste generated within cities is referred to as solid waste (SW) and the uncontrolled disposal of SW may affect public health and the environment [3]. It is known that the collection rates of SW may vary significantly from one country to another. According to Hoornweg and Bhada-Tata [4], less than 50% of waste generated is collected in low-income countries: 50% to 80% is collected in middle-income countries, and more than 90% is collected in high-income countries. However, hardly anywhere is 100% collected. The rapid growth in urban populations, economies, and power consumption in developing countries, combined with the failure of institutional authorities responsible for city planning, roadworks, SWM, and the environment to execute their core functional duties, has led to rampant SW generation [5,6,7,8].
SWM plays a vital role in minimizing the impacts faced by municipal and rural areas due to increasing urbanization [9]. It has become a major environmental challenge in developing countries due to the economic growth and the acceleration of consumption, which caused an expansion in SW generation. SWM systems in most cities of lower-middle-income countries are underachieving their goals, underperforming, and originating adverse sustainability effects in urban growth and development [10,11,12,13].
Nonetheless, since waste management is gradually considered a “basic human right” [14], there is a rising demand to improve SWM in cities in the developing world due to the rural-to-urban surge of migration. This need is linked to at least 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [14,15]. The increase in waste creation has caused a severe shortage of landfills and higher costs for waste management [16]. SWM is directly related to the circular economy, which are two basic concepts that have a crucial role in the 2030 Agenda, especially in SDG for sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life below water (SDG 14) [17]. The Stockholm Environment Institute’s latest report, commissioned by the European Environment Agency [18], identified that, among the targets with the most substantial synergistic potential to make progress on SDGs implementation, is SDG target 12.4, which aims toward responsible management of chemicals and waste.