Role of Waste Collection Efficiency in Providing a Cleaner Rural Environment

Abstract

The exposure of rural communities to illegal waste dumping practices associated with the lack of or poor waste collection schemes prior to the closure of rural dumpsites under EU regulations and the role of collection efficiency afterward in reducing this critical environmental threat constitutes a key issue in rural Romania. The present study reveals huge amounts of household uncollected waste released into the natural environment outside the official statistics of rural dumpsites. Despite the expansion of waste collection coverage towards rural areas since 2010, the problem of illegal dumping practice is difficult to solve. The improvement of collection efficiency, better law enforcement, and surveillance of environmental authorities coupled with educational and environmental awareness are necessary steps to combat this bad practice. A circular economy paradigm must be enacted in rural regions through separate collection schemes and to improve cost-efficient alternatives, such as home composting, and traditional and creative reuse practices, particularly in less developed regions.

Assessment of COVID-19 Waste Flows During the Emergency State in Romania and Related Public Health and Environmental Concerns

“…Local authorities are responsible to collect and properly dispose of such wastes. Uncontrolled waste disposal practice is a serious environmental issue in Romania where peri-urban and rural regions are the most exposed to such practices [ 15 ]. Each spring season, the local authorities must perform sanitation activities around their localities.…”

“…Romania is coping with several mismanagement practices such as poor efficiency of source-separated waste collection schemes in urban areas, the prevalence of landfills as a main waste management option, delays in implementation of regional integrated waste management systems, lack of a reliable waste statistics database, etc. Furthermore, rural Romania is facing illegal waste disposal practices (wild dumps, open burning practices), plastic pollution of freshwater bodies and limited waste collection coverage of the rural population in some counties [ 14 , 15 ]. The circular economy remains underdeveloped despite the promising potential in this area [ 16 ], but the new circular economy plan promoted EU could catalyze the effort in the right direction [ 17 ].…”

Rural Residents’ Awareness of Environmental Protection and Waste Classification Behavior in Jiangsu, China: An Empirical Analysis

“…Further, other studies observed that having environmental education improves the residents' sense of environmental protection awareness. This also includes understanding the benefits of collecting and classifying rural wastes in their day-to-day life [13,25]. Therefore, the more learned an individual is, the higher environmental protection awareness they have.…”

“…This implies that the environment is conserved and protected as the residents dump the available household wastes in the right waste bins after classification. Further, the availability of the waste bins within the rural areas conveniences the rural residents and improves the frequency of cleaning and classification [13]. Even more, it increases the likelihood of attending to environmental health.…”

“…China incorporated the rural solid waste into the scope of the public administration, emphasizing the need to control waste and sewages to enhance the living environments of the rural population. However, despite the efforts put in place by the government, challenges still exist, such as inherent characteristics of waste classification, lack of facilities, and administrative measures that overwhelm rural waste management [11][12][13].…”