Identifying Challenges and Barriers to Participating in the Source Separation of Waste Program in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran: A Qualitative Study from the Citizens’ Perspective

Abstract

There are many problems with the waste management systems (WMSs) in developing countries. In order to provide applicable strategies for improving the WMSs in these countries, there is a need to identify the barriers and challenges at the community level. Our aim in the present study was to explain the challenges and barriers in front of the citizen’s participation in the Source Separation of Waste (SSW) program in Tabriz, Iran. In this qualitative research, 13 citizens were invited to participate and were then interviewed. Data were analyzed with the content analysis approach. MAXQDA10 was applied to facilitate the organization of data. Four core categories of the barriers to sourcing the separation of household waste were identified: (a) problems in the collecting system of waste; (b) a lack of responsibility among citizens; (c) insufficient awareness among citizens, and (d) the expectation of receiving incentives. The findings of the study indicated the potential infrastructure barriers that may hinder in-process household solid waste separation attempts. Recycling investors, environmental health policymakers, and stakeholders should take into account these barriers while designing, implementing, and/or reorienting the Source Separation of Waste (SSW) programs.

Underutilised Resources in Urban Environments

“…The authors formulate recommendations how to overcome these barriers. The findings of this work are similar to the observations made by Babazadeh et al [3], insofar that it is not sufficient to solely focus on technology and infrastructure, because motivational factors, knowledge and social perception also play a major role in implementing effective solid waste management and recycling schemes.…”

“…Table 1 shows that there are interlinkages between circular economy and renewable energy schemes. Seven out of the ten publications address solid wastes and their potential valorisation as part of circular economy schemes [3][4][5][6][7][8][9], which can be material recycling or energetic valorisation. Source-segregated waste destined for energetic valorisation is considered a source of renewable energy; four out of the seven manuscripts which address solid wastes are closely linked to renewable energy, and therefore fall into both categories of circular economy and renewable energy.…”

“…Source separation of household waste into recyclable fractions is a prerequisite for making available waste components as valuable resources, and it is also a public health concern. The study of Babazadeh et al [3] illustrates that, in practice, several challenges exist in a developing country such as Iran to achieve participation of citizens in source separation programmes for household waste. Their qualitative research, which included interviewing inhabitants of the city of Tabriz, identified four core categories of problems, namely insufficient awareness about the system among citizens, lack of responsibility among the population, an expectation of receiving incentives and problems in the collection system itself, such as inappropriate bins.…”

Autonomous Motivation for the Successful Implementation of Waste Management Policy: An Examination Using an Adapted Institutional Analysis and Development Framework in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam

“…To confirm the data's trustworthiness, the data collection process was reviewed and repeated with reference to similar previous field studies that applied an IAD framework in waste management by using qualitative methods [38,74]. In addition, after the participants' answers were processed, they were also asked to review the data (i.e., member checking to ensure credibility).…”

Participation in Community-Based Solid Waste Management in Nkulumane Suburb, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

“…However, those who were aware of the CBSWM further indicated that they were not adequately informed about the implications of combining wastes and the benefits of separation of waste at source. Previous research studies have indicated that awareness campaigns are key to a CBSWM and can have a positive impact on the community's attitudes towards waste management [5,14,53,54]. Awareness campaigns can be done through newspapers, internet, community meetings, radios and television.…”