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Determinants of municipal solid waste: a global analysis by countries’ income level

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Abstract

The generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is an environmental problem worldwide. A high rate of MSW produces pollution and diseases and affects the economic development of countries. This study analyzes the effect that GDP, population density, urbanization, and tourists’ flow have on the generation of MSW in 173 countries worldwide. We grouped countries according to their income levels to control for heterogeneity between regions. The results show that, during 2016, solid waste generation increased along with GDP increments, mainly in high-income countries. We show that the increase in MSW is also due to the rise in population and urbanization. Tourism also has a positive and significant impact on the generation of waste. Our results allow us to recommend some public policy actions.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Initially, MSW information from 192 countries was accessed during 2016. However, due to missing data in some variables, the sample was reduced to 173 countries.

  2. The probability of the skewness and kurtosis parameters is respectively 26% and 73%. The Chi-squared parameter for the joint test of both parameters has a probability of 45%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the editor and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments that substantially improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador

    Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Maria Alejandra Ruano

  3. Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Vanessa Ormeño-Candelario

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  1. Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate
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  2. Maria Alejandra Ruano
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  3. Vanessa Ormeño-Candelario
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Contributions

Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate: conceptualization, methodology, software, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, supervision. Maria Alejandra Ruano: conceptualization, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Vanessa Ormeño-Candelario: investigation, resources, data curation.

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Correspondence to Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate.

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Zambrano-Monserrate, M.A., Ruano, M.A. & Ormeño-Candelario, V. Determinants of municipal solid waste: a global analysis by countries’ income level. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 62421–62430 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15167-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15167-9

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