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For decades the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Shanghai has been increasing. Despite the long-time efforts aimed at MSW management (MSWM), the disposal of MSW achieves poor performance. Thus, a MSW minimisation plan for Shanghai was proposed in December 2010. In this study, direct face-to-face interviews and a structured questionnaire survey were used in four different Shanghai community types. We conducted an econometric analysis of the social factors that influence the willingness to pay for MSW separation and discussed the household waste characteristics, the daily waste generation and the current treatment of kitchen wastes. The results suggested that the respondents are environmentally aware of separation, but only practise minimal separation. Negative neighbour effects, confused classification of MSW, and mixed transportation and disposal are the dominant limitations of MSW source-separated collection. Most respondents are willing to pay for MSWM. Public support is influenced by household population, income and cost. The attitudes and behaviours of citizens are important for reducing the amount of MSW disposal by 50% per capita by 2020 (relative to 2010). Concerted efforts should be taken to enlarge pilot areas. In addition, the source separation of kitchen wastes should be promoted.

The ever-growing industry of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal appeals to the growing need for disposal facilities, and MSW treatment facilities are increasingly an environmental and public health concern. Residents living near MSW management facilities are confronted with various risk perceptions, especially odour. In this study, in an effort to assist responsible decision-makers in better planning and managing such a project, a structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to assess the nearby residents' concerns and attitudes surrounding the Laogang Landfill in Shanghai. Geographic information system techniques and relevance analysis were employed to conduct the spatial analysis of physical perceptions, especially odour annoyance. The findings of the research indicate that a significant percentage of the responding sample was aware of the negative impacts of landfills on the environment and public health, and residents in close proximity preferred to live farther from the landfill. The results from the spatial analysis demonstrated a definite degree of correlation between odour annoyance and distance to the facility and proved that the benefits of the socially disadvantaged have been neglected. The research findings also direct attention to the important role of public participation, information disclosure, transparency in management, and mutual communication to avoid conflicts and build social trust.

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To explore the potential effectiveness of a localized waste recycling system in Chinese cities, several rounds of a municipal solid waste source-separated collection (MSWSC) program were implemented throughout China from 2000 to 2017. In our study, to evaluate the achievements of the MSWSC program, a structured questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews were conducted in eight representative cities from the MSWSC pilot cities. Influencing factors were examined via a Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) on both the individual level and the city level. The differences in MSWSC performance among the eight research cities were investigated through a comparative analysis. The results suggested that gender, age, knowledge of MSWSC, satisfaction with sanitation and satisfaction with publicity had significant impacts on MSWSC, and we further found that the city-level factors influenced the relationship between MSWSC performance and the individual-level variables. Differences among the eight research sites indicated that Nanjing and Hangzhou exhibited relatively high achievements in the implementation of MSWSC program, while Yichun and Guiyang showed poor performance. The experiences of these advanced pilot cities suggest that specific containers for designated waste types, widespread public education, and sufficient MSWSC incentives must be provided and publicized to promote municipal solid waste recycling behaviors. Given the unique status of municipal solid waste management in China and its regional heterogeneity, the MSWSC system should be further discussed with regard to local conditions in a wider range of city settings.Implications: This study attempts to discuss the factors affecting performance on municipal solid waste source-separated collection (MSWSC) by considering the nested data of two levels of individual and city from a structured questionnaire survey. Therefore, a Hierarchical Linear Model is established which can analyze the intra-group and inter-group effects of two-level variables. The proposed method can be expanded to other cities to determine the main factors affecting MSWSC or to evaluate the residents' performance on MSWSC.