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Sorting out a problem: a co-production approach to household waste management in Shanghai, China

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posted on 2023-06-09, 22:28 authored by Hongmei Lu, Roman Sidortsov
Rapid urban population growth in China has resulted in significant challenges for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. To combat these challenges, Chinese authorities implemented a pilot program of MSW sorting in eight Chinese cities including Shanghai in 2000 but is yet to reach a widespread success. This paper uses a qualitative case-study approach to explore the potential of a community-based co-production strategy for household waste sorting as an alternative to the conventional top-down approach. Co-production implies the involvement of citizens, consumers, volunteers and/or community organizations in producing public service. We find two major drivers of the government-volunteer consortium and the peer-pressure effect help realize the potential of waste-management co-production at a lowered cost with improved efficiency and collaborative innovation. In addition, context-specific conditions including policy consistency, strong volunteer effort and compatibility with local culture to promote public participation must be present for further co-production application. We also acknowledge that the co-production approach would be most effective at the initial stage of policy implementation to foster the waste-sorting habit-formation in regions where the waste collection rates remain low.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Waste Management

ISSN

0956-053X

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

95

Page range

271-277

Event location

United States

Department affiliated with

  • SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-12-16

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2021-01-08

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-12-15

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