The processes related to solid waste management (SWM) are being revised as new technologies emerge and are applied in the area to achieve greater environmental, social and economic sustainability for society. To achieve our goal, two robust review protocols (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Context (PICOC) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)) were used to systematically analyze 62 documents extracted from the Web of Science database to identify the main techniques and tools for Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) and Data Mining (DM) as applied to SWM and explore the technological potential to optimize the stages of collecting and transporting waste. Moreover, it was possible to analyze the main challenges and opportunities of KDD and DM for SWM. The results show that the most used tools for SWM are MATLAB (29.7%) and GIS (13.5%), whereas the most used techniques are Artificial Neural Networks (35.8%), Linear Regression (16.0%) and Support Vector Machine (12.3%). In addition, 15.3% of the studies were conducted with data from China, 11.1% from India and 9.7% of the studies analyzed and compared data from several other countries. Furthermore, the research showed that the main challenges in the field of study are related to the collection and treatment of data, whereas the opportunities appear to be linked mainly to the impact on the pillars of sustainable development. Thus, this study portrays important issues associated with the use of KDD and DM for optimal SWM and has the potential to assist and direct researchers and field professionals in future studies.

The heterogeneity and the volume of solid urban waste generated daily cause difficulties in their management, which causes environmental impacts, health and public safety problems. Among all waste management activities, collection is one of the most relevant from an occupational point of view because employees are subject to physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic risks as well as suffering accident. This article aims to instruct companies to apply multidisciplinary management tools that conciliate and serve as a basis for decision making related to environmental and occupational safety management. Therefore, the Ad Hoc Environmental Impact Assessment techniques and the RMT Risk Management Tool were used to identify the environmental impacts generated and the risks to which employees in the urban solid waste collection sector are exposed. It happened through the collection of operational, environmental information and work safety data, in 2017, of companies operating in 7 (seven) municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Ad Hoc report showed that the environmental aspects of surface water, groundwater, soil, odor and air pollution, generate negative and irreversible environmental impacts. Furthermore, the analysis of accidents at work, the identification of the major agents that cause accidents at work and the nature of injuries, showed their high frequency and severity. In total 60 accidents were recorded and all occurred with garbage collectors. Among these, 13 had as causative agents “glassware, fiberglass, blade, except vial, bottle” and the most recurrent types of injuries were “excoriation and abrasion (superficial wound)” and “by cutting, laceration, blunt wound, puncture (open wound)”, both with 22% of occurrence, which generate work leave. Furthermore, the elaboration of Action Plans and application of the 5W2H Quality Management tool proved to be excellent tools for assessments regarding the minimization of environmental impacts and the control of accidents at work.