case study on household waste management

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 05 January 2022

Household solid waste management practices and perceptions among residents in the East Coast of Malaysia

• Widad Fadhullah   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4652-0661 1 , 2 ,
• Nor Iffah Najwa Imran 1 ,
• Sharifah Norkhadijah Syed Ismail 3 ,
• Mohd Hafiidz Jaafar 2 &
• Hasmah Abdullah 1 , 4  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  1 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Poor waste disposal practices hamper the progress towards an integrated solid waste management in households. Knowledge of current practices and perception of household solid waste management is necessary for accurate decision making in the move towards a more sustainable approach. This study investigates the household waste practices and perceptions about waste management in Panji, one of the sub-districts in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.

A stratified random sampling technique using a cross-sectional survey questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 338 households were interviewed in the survey and data were analyzed using SPSS. Chi-square goodness of fit test was used to determine the relationships between categorical variables, whereas Chi-square bivariate correlation test was performed to observe the correlation between the perceptions of waste segregation with socio-demographic background of the respondents. The correlation between perception of respondents with the locality, house type and waste type were also conducted. Principal component analysis was used to identify grouping of variables and to establish which factors were interrelated in any given construct.

The results of the study revealed that 74.3 % of households disposed of food debris as waste and 18.3% disposed of plastic materials as waste. The study also showed that 50.3% of the households segregate their waste while 49.7% did not. About 95.9% of the respondents were aware that improper waste management leads to disease; such as diarrhea and malaria. There were associations between locality, age and house type with waste segregation practices among respondents (Chi-square test, p<0.05). Associations were also found between locality with the perception of improper waste management which lead to disease (Chi-square test, p<0.05). Principal Component Analysis showed that 17.94% of the variance has high positive loading (positive relationship) with age, marital status and, type of house.

This study highlights the importance to design waste separation programs that suit the needs of targeted population as a boost towards sustainable solid waste management practices.

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Solid waste management (SWM) in the majority of developing countries including Malaysia is dominated by open dumping due to lower capital, operational and maintenance cost in comparison with another disposal method [ 47 ]. This non-sanitary and non-engineered approach are without appropriate liners, gas collection and leachate collection and treatment, thereby exposing the surrounding environment with multiple air, water and soil pollution issues [ 15 , 23 ]. The effects of the ineffective management of household solid waste on public health (Fig. 1 ) can be separated into physical, biological, non-communicable diseases, psychosocial and ergonomics health risks [ 6 , 51 , 77 ]. Contaminated soil, air and water provide breeding ground to biological vectors such as flies, rodents and insects pests. Many diseases are sequentially caused by these biological vectors, such as diarrhoea, dysentery, gastrointestinal problems, worm infection, food poisoning, dengue fever, cholera, leptospirosis and bacterial infection; irritation of the skin, nose and eyes; as well as respiratory symptoms [ 25 , 41 , 42 , 52 ]. Exposure to gases generated by landfill waste such as methane, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide can produce inflammation and bronchoconstriction and can affect the immune cell. Hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride released from the waste if deposited in the respiratory system, may cause cough, chest tightness and breathlessness [ 21 ].

Effect of ineffective household solid waste management on public health

Another category of health effects that can be closely related to household solid waste management is non-communicable diseases. Some studies estimated that the pollutions from the dumpsite might cause cancers (e.g. liver, pancreas, kidney, larynx) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma [ 8 , 31 , 51 ]. Other health effects under this category worth mentioning are birth defects, preterm babies, congenital disorders and Down’s syndrome [ 51 , 52 ]. Apart from physical and biological effects, inefficient household waste management can lead to psychosocial effects such as disturbing odour, unsightly waste, and thinking, cognitive and stress-related problems [ 6 , 51 , 52 , 74 , 77 ]. Ergonomics is the final category of related health effects that is worth mentioning specifically for the working community of household waste management (Fig. 1 ). The risk of ergonomic issues is related to body posture, repetitive movement and excessive force movement [ 6 ].

Majority of the solid waste generated in Malaysia composed of organic waste with high moisture content [ 43 ], hence, the handling and waste separation at source is the most critical step in waste management [ 62 ]. The increasing amount of waste generated annually is also intensified by lack of land for disposing waste, questioning the sustainability of the current municipal solid waste (MSW) practices of using landfills [ 46 ]. Nevertheless, the lack of success in public participation to manage the solid waste is primarily rooted by the NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitude and the public perception that solid waste is a local municipal problem is highly prevalent among Malaysians [ 3 ]. Thus, most of the existing waste segregation practices by waste-pickers are mostly done in the informal sector as means of livelihood for the poor and additional source of income. On the other hand, this practice causes serious health problems, aggravating the socio-economic situation [ 10 ].

In Kelantan, the common practice of waste disposal in rural and remote areas is by burying and burning of waste (Kamaruddin et al. 2016) while in urban or semi-urban areas, stationary waste storage containers are provided mainly at the sides of the main road. Kota Bharu Municipal Council (KBMC) is the local authority responsible in providing stationary waste storage container at collection site of waste within Kota Bharu district, collecting the solid waste approximately 3 times a week by compactor vehicles and transporting waste to the dumpsite located in Beris Lalang, Bachok [ 27 ]. However, the flaws of SWM in Kelantan lies primarily in inadequate bin and waste collection provided by local authorities, KBMC mainly constrained by financial issues (Rahim et al 2012). House to house waste collection is also hard to be implemented owing to narrow lanes and alleys which are mostly inaccessible [ 61 ] due to the development practice and geographical area in the state. Therefore, the locals’ resort to burying and burning their wastes within their house compound which has always been the practice since decades ago.

Household waste is one of the primary sources of MSW comprising of food wastes, paper, plastic, rags, metal and glasses from residential areas. Household waste is among the solid wastes managed by KBMC in Kota Bharu covering 15 sub-districts including Panji. Panji has the highest population compared to the other sub-district; therefore, assessment of household SWM among the residents is important to address their awareness and practices for planning an effective form of SWM. Some of the key factors influencing the effectiveness of SWM is by considering the size of the family, their income [ 67 ], level of education [ 19 ] and the location of household [ 1 ]. This factor is also supported by Shigeru [ 66 ] that the characteristics of households determine their recycling behavior and that sociodemographic conditions vary across municipalities. Socio-economic status and housing characteristics also affect the amount of municipal waste and how they manage it [ 20 ]. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the characteristics and needs of various households in designing a suitable waste management program.

Efficient SWM system is now a global concern which requires a sustainable SWM primarily in the developing countries. This study is another effort in gearing towards sustainable waste management practices in Malaysia which is also in line with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals encompassing SDG3 Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production. So far, limited studies were reported in the East Coast of Malaysia, particularly in Kelantan on waste management practices at the household level [ 61 ] which is highly required to improve the current practices including finding the prospect of whether proper at source-sorting in households is feasible to be implemented. This study provides a case study in Panji, Kota Bharu concerning the current household characteristics and awareness of managing household solid waste in Kelantan. The findings are crucial for the waste authorities in the process of designing and providing an effective and specific action plan in the area.

Figure 2 shows the percentage of households by garbage collection facilities and median monthly household income (MYR) for the districts in Kelantan. Kota Bharu is the district with the highest median monthly household gross income and percentage of garbage collection facilities. Apart from Lojing, which is located in the highlands, Bachok, Tumpat and Pasir Puteh are the districts with the lowest percentage of garbage collection facilities within 100m of the households. Meanwhile, Bachok (34.9%), Pasir Mas (36.6%), and Pasir Puteh (38%) households are without garbage collection facilities. The figure described the problem with household solid waste management in Kelantan. The major issues contributing to the problem are due to insufficient financial resources, lack of human labor, and transportation [ 61 ]. In one of the rural area in Kelantan, it was found that the solid waste management is considered inefficient due to a lack of knowledge in proper waste handling and the importance of segregating waste properly as proper waste handling start at home (Abas et al. 2020).

Percentage of households by garbage collection facilities and median monthly household income (MYR) for the districts in Kelantan

Household SWM is not a new issue, thus, published studies were found using survey and questionnaires and fieldwork studies. Waste characterization process was carried out by Kamaruddin et al. (2016) in 4 landfills in Kelantan. Nevertheless, they did not cover household waste knowledge, attitude and practices. Abdullah et al. [ 1 ] surveyed the household’s awareness on privatization of solid waste management and their satisfaction of the services offered but did not cover the health implications. Saat et al. [ 61 ] surveyed the practices and attitude on household waste management with a small sample size of less than 30 which limits its applicability to other region. Our study aimed to improve these previous studies by covering a wider sample size from the largest sub-district in Kelantan, Malaysia. The objective of this study is to assess the household SWM practices and perceptions among the residents of Panji vicinity in Kota Bharu district, Kelantan. Specifically, the objectives are to assess household SWM practices and perceptions in the Panji sub-district, to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics or other factors and practices in SWM at the household level and to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics or other factors and perceptions in SWM at household level.

This study was conducted in Panji, Kota Bharu district, Kelantan, Malaysia (Fig. 3 ), located at the east cost of Peninsular Malaysia and has the highest population among the 15 sub-districts of Kota Bharu, the capital state of Kelantan. A total of 338 respondents were recruited in this study. The population of interest in this study involved residents in Kota Bharu district and considered only residents who have attained 18 years old and above. Sample unit is residents living in Kota Bharu district of more than a year and aged more than 18 years. The target population comprised all the households in Kota Bharu District (491,237); however, it is impossible to conduct a study with such a large number within a limited time period and inadequate financial budget. Therefore, a multi- stage random sampling technique was used in selecting the appropriate sample in order to evaluate the objectives of this study and to ensure that households in the districts had the same possibility of being included in the study (Dlamini et al., 2017). Initially, one district of Kelantan state (Kota Bharu) was selected out of 10 total districts. In the second stage, one sub-district of Kota Bharu District (Panji) was selected out of 15 total sub-districts. Eventually, 338 households were randomly selected as sample size. Convenient sampling was also used to select respondents due to time constraint and response obtained from target population. The localities involved were Kampung Tapang, Kampung Chempaka, Kampung Belukar, Kampung Panji, Taman Sri Iman, Taman Desa Kujid and Taman Bendahara.

Location of the study area in Panji, Kota Bharu district, Kelantan, Malaysia (Source:ArcGis Software version 10.2; source of shape file: Department of Drainage and Irrigation, obtained with consent)

Data collection

A survey was conducted from January to May 2018. The questionnaire was translated from English to Malay language and the translation was done back to back and validated by experts in environmental science and public health field. A pilot test was conducted with a small sample size of ~30 to determine the suitability of the items in the questionnaire and the time taken by respondents to complete the questionnaires (Dlamini et al. 2017). Respondents were interviewed based on a questionnaire adopted and modified from Asante et al. [ 9 ]. The questionnaire involved two phases; the first one was to determine the socio-demographic of the respondents, including gender, age, types of housing, religion, educational level, occupation and the number of occupants in the household. Part two was an assessment to determine the status of household management of solid waste. The questionnaire included both open and closed questions (Dlamini et al. 2017). The closed questions were designed for ease of answering by the respondents with the aim of collecting the maximum appropriate responses, whereas the open questions are intended to encourage respondents to provide further elaboration on certain questions. The reliability of Cronbach’s alpha test of this questionnaire was found to be acceptable (α=0.71). Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethic Committee of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM/JEPeM/17100560).

Data analysis

Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24.0. Descriptive analyses were used to report the frequency and percentage of socio-demographic patterns, method of household waste disposal and perceptions of household toward waste management. Chi-square goodness of fit test was used to determine the relationships between categorical variables, which allow us to test whether the observed proportions for a categorical variable differ from the hypothesized proportions [ 24 ]. The null hypothesis of the Chi-Square test is that no relationship exists on the categorical variables in the population; they are independent. Chi-square bivariate correlation test was performed to observe the correlation between the perceptions of waste segregation with socio-demographic background of the respondents [ 29 ]. The correlation between perception of respondents with the locality, house type and waste type were also conducted. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to identify grouping of variables and to establish which factors were interrelated in any given construct, where a set of highly inter-correlated measured variables were grouped into distinct factors [ 24 ]. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkim (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was performed to evaluate the data's suitability for exploratory factor analysis [ 69 ].

Socio-demographic Characteristics and Respondents Background in Panji sub-district

We first report descriptive statistics for all variables before discussing results from correlation analysis of socio-demographic factors and respondent’s background with household solid waste management (SWM) practices and perceptions. We then present the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Table 1 represents the socio-demographic background and characteristics of the respondents in this study. Most of the respondents are from Kg. Belukar (N=125, 37%), followed by Kg. Panji (N=61, 18%), the rest are from Kg. Tapang (N=33), Kg. Chempaka, Taman Desa Kujid, Taman Sri Iman (N=30, respectively) and from Taman Bendahara (N=29). Majority of the respondents are female (N=182, 53.8%) and age between 35 to 49 years old (N=91, 26.9%). Most of the respondents have completed secondary education (N=194, 57.4%) and 31.1% have completed their degree or diploma (N=105). Majority of the respondents are married (75.7%), Muslim (97%) and earned between MYR 1000 to 2000 per month. About 32% of the respondents are self-employed and lived in a bungalow house type (30.5%). Most of the household consist of 4 to 6 occupants (53.6%). Majority of them cook at home (91.4%) on daily basis (68.6%). The Chi-square test shows that there is a significant difference among all categorical variables except for gender (χ 2 = 2.000, p = 0.157).

Proportion of Household Solid Waste Disposed by respondents in Panji Sub-District

Figure 4 represents the type of waste disposed of by respondents in the study. More than half (74.38%) of the waste disposed by household is food debris, followed by plastic waste (19.01%) and bottles (5.79%) while the rest accounts for 0.83%.

Types of waste disposed by household in Panji district

Household SWM practices and perceptions among respondents in Panji sub-district

Table 2 shows the household waste management practices and perceptions among respondents in Panji district. In terms of the household SWM practices, about 170 of the respondents (50.3%) segregate their waste at home while the remaining 168 respondents (49.7%) did not practice waste segregation at home. There is no significant difference between those who segregate waste at home and those who don’t (χ 2 =0.12, p=0.91). As shown in Fig. 1 and Table 2 , the major type of waste disposed by respondents are food (N=251, 74.3%). A significant difference was found among the different type of waste disposed (χ 2 =656.56, p<0.001). Out of the 338 respondents interviewed, 75.4% of the respondent themselves normally carries their household waste to the allocated bin or waste collection point provided by the local authority. Majority of the respondents (323 respondents) agree that the waste disposal site provided by the local authorities were appropriate (95.6%) relative to 15 respondents who disagree (4.4%). A significant difference was found between those who responded that appropriate waste disposal site was provided and those who do not (χ2=280.66, p<0.001).

Most of them also have the perception that proper waste management is important (99.7%). More than half (62.4%) of the respondent agrees that it is their responsibility to clean the waste in their residential area while 24.3% suggested that it is the responsibility of the district council. Another 3.3% suggested it is the responsibility of the community members followed by private waste operators (1.5%). The majority (95.9%) of the respondents suggested poor waste management can contribute to disease occurrence, whereas 2.7% suggested it does not cause diseases and another 1.5% were unsure if it causes any diseases.

In terms of the household SWM perceptions, 40.8% of the respondents have responded that other diseases than diarrhea, malaria and typhoid are related to improper waste management. This is followed by diarrhea (30.5%) and malaria (21.9%). Majority of the participants responded that they have awareness on proper waste management (92.9%) and 81.4% responded that cleanliness is the main factor which motivates them to dispose the waste properly. The chi-square test shows that all variables under respondents’ perception differ significantly from the hypothesized values (Table 2 ).

Relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, respondent’s background and household SWM practices (waste segregation practices)

Chi square analysis was performed to find out what factors contribute to waste segregation practices among the respondents (Table 3 ). Results indicate that waste segregation practice was correlated with the locality (χ 2 = 43.35, p<0.001). For instance, out of 29 respondents in Taman Bendahara, all of them segregate their waste (100%). This trend was also observed for Taman Desa Kujid where most of the respondents segregate their waste (22 out of 30, 73.3%). In contrast, most of respondents from the village, did not segregate their waste. For example, out of 125 total number of respondents in Kg Belukar, 53 of them segregates their waste (42.4%) while 72 of them did not (57.6%).

A significant correlation was found between waste segregation practice and age (χ 2 =11.62, p<0.001). Based on the age range of the total number of respondents, respondents at the age of 50-65 years old are those who segregated more than the rest (N=43) and those at the age of 35-49 are those who did not segregate their waste the most (N=52 in Table 3 ). The type of house was significantly correlated with waste segregation practice (χ 2 =12.73, p=0.03). The respondents who live in bungalow houses are those who segregate the most (N=58). Those who live in semi-detached houses also have more respondents (N=24) segregating their waste than those who did not (N=13). Meanwhile those who live in other type of houses, terrace, village and others have more respondents who did not segregate their waste (Table 3 ). Other variables, gender, education level, marital status, monthly income, occupation, the number of persons per household and the practice of cooking at home did not show any significant correlation with waste segregation practice (p>0.05, Table 3 ).

Relationship between respondent’s background and household SWM practices (the type of waste disposed) from the household in Panji sub-district

The chi-square test was also conducted to determine the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, respondent’s background and the type of waste disposed. There is a significant correlation between locality with the waste type disposed in Panji district (Table 4 ). All localities showed that food waste was the major type of waste being disposed of from the households. A significant correlation was also found between respondents living in different house types with type of waste disposed. Most of the respondents who live in bungalows (N = 81) and other type of house (N = 78) disposed of food as the main waste from their households. Other characteristics were not significantly correlated with type of waste.

Correlation between respondents’ background (locality and/ or house type) and the perception in household SWM (appropriate site of household waste disposal provided by the local council and improper waste management contribute to disease occurrence)

Correlation analysis was also performed to determine what factors contribute towards the perception of household SWM in Panji district. No significant correlation was found between different locality with the appropriate waste disposal site provided (p = 0.152) as most of the locality has an appropriate disposal site (Table 5 ). There was also no significant relationship between type of house with appropriate disposal site provided by the local council (p=0.131). On the other hand, significant correlation was found between locality and the respondent’s perceptions on improper waste management which contribute to disease occurrence (p=0.042). Out of all localities, majority of the respondents from Kg Belukar has the perception that improper waste management contributes to disease occurrence (Table 5 ).

Principal component analysis (PCA)

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a dimension-reduction tool that can be used to reduce a large set of variables to a small set that still contains most of the information in the original large set [ 24 ]. It converts a set of observations of possibly correlated variables (entities each of which takes on various numerical values) into a set of values of linearly uncorrelated variables called principal components [ 37 ]. This transformation is defined in such a way that the first principal component has the largest possible variance (that is, accounts for as much of the variability in the data as possible), and each succeeding component in turn has the highest variance possible under the constraint that it is orthogonal to the preceding components.

PCA in this study was performed to determine the variables that influence or related to waste segregation behavior among respondents. Table 6 highlight the PCA analysis to illustrate the component factors that influence waste segregation behavior among respondents in this study. Only 13 significant variables were highlighted in the table with the factor loading of more than 0.5. Only factor loadings value >0.5 are considered for selection and interpretation due to having significant factor loadings influence the acceptable KMO value that represent a significant correlation for the PCA model in the study. The PCA generates four principal components that represent 48.26% of the total variance in the variables dataset and produced an acceptable KMO value of 0.603 (more than 0.5). Bartlett’s test of sphericity showed that PCA could be applied to the data at the p< 0.001 level. This approved that the data met the requirements for factor analysis [ 24 , 69 ].

The component matrix produced in PCA showed that PC1 represents 17.94% of the variance with high positive loading (positive relationship) on age, marital status and, type of house (Table 6 ). This pattern indicates that age, married and type of house were the group that segregates their waste the most. This group of community can be proposed as the target to actively participate in waste management practices within the district. In contrast, locality and education have negative loading or negative relationship with the segregation activity. As a result, policy makers should increase educational activities on proper household waste practices and management related issues to minimize both the environmental and health impacts of household waste practices among the population.

PC2 represents 10.93% of the variance with high loadings on cooking at home and cooking frequency. This pattern implies that those who cook at home and frequently cook were among the most respondents who practice waste segregation. However, no consequences can be drawn about individual factors as these may have the opposite relationship to the observed factor in other components. Similar trend was observed for PC3 whereby 9.96% of the data variance has high loading on the perception of the respondents towards waste management. High loading was observed on perception that improper waste management contributes to disease occurrence and the cleanliness is the main element that motivates them to segregate. PC3 has high negative loading with monthly income. This result suggests that respondents with low income are those who segregate more.

Meanwhile, PC4 represents 9.42% of the data variance. Variables that have high positive loadings were the respondents who brought the waste to the communal bin themselves, indicating that this group of respondents are those who segregate more. High positive loading was also found on the perception that residents are among those responsible for cleaning the residential area. The number of persons living in a household has negative loading in PC4, indicating that the higher the number of people lives in the household, the lesser chances of them to segregate the waste.

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

a 4 components extracted.

b Only cases for which Practice of waste segregation = Yes are used in the analysis phase.

This study explores the behavioral perspective in view that the way people manage waste is associated with their attitude and perception. Individual perception is governed by their background and present situation, shaped by values, moods, socials circumstances and individual expectation (Kaoje et al 2017). The results of this study are discussed from three aspects: (1) characterization of household solid waste management practices and perceptions among respondents (2) correlation between socioeconomic and respondent’s background with waste segregation practices and (3) correlation between socioeconomic and respondent’s background with household waste management perceptions. One of the primary intentions of acquiring the respondent’s characteristics was to understand the correlation between level of involvement in household SWM practices and the characteristics of the respondents.

Food waste was found as the major type of waste disposed by the communities in Panji sub-district (Fig. 1 and Table 2 ). Food waste has high moisture content and causes smell, which subsequently attracts disease vectors, such as flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches, and the proliferation of rodents, such as rats and mice, which pose threats to public health [ 68 , 75 ]. Majority of the respondents were found to cook at home (N=309, 91.4%) and cook on a daily basis (N=232, 68.6%; Table 1 ) which suggests that composting should be incorporated as one of the main approaches for proper waste management practices in the community. Individual compost bin should be provided in each household coupled with adequate training on simple compost technique can be organized within the locality as a stage by stage process. Alternatively, community scale composting can be proposed to focus solely on food waste management which is currently a growing practice among Malaysians [ 38 , 56 ]. This approach is gaining attention because of their lower energy footprint, ease of operation, need for lesser resources, lower operation and maintenance costs which have higher chances of public acceptance [ 32 ]. Food waste is organic waste which can decomposed and degraded into organic matter [ 33 ], which in turn can be used by the public to fertilize their garden soil. Most importantly, the training should emphasize on the practicality and feasible option of composting which is otherwise seen as a time-consuming and burdensome process [ 33 ].

Composting is beneficial to the environment by reducing greenhouse gases emissions and improvement of soil quality when applied to land. Furthermore, it is also in line with the circular economy concept by closing the loop of the system [ 14 ]. On the other hand, there are issues pertaining to its quality such as the nutrient and trace metal content. So, sorting the waste at source play a crucial role in minimising these impurities and collection systems play a fundamental role in removing some pollutants from wastes, especially organic fraction of municipal solid wastes, and improving compost quality [ 13 ]. One way to overcome this is by accommodating the waste collection and composting facilities with easy and convenient measurement of these contents which may be accessible by the community. Community composting programs should incorporate not only the step-by-step procedure of how to do composting but at the same time introducing easy to use kit or techniques applicable to the public and community such as test strip to measure the nutrients and trace metal [ 11 ]. In addition, by adding composting accelerators, the nutritional quality of the compost can be overcome. This factor can be done by developing a manual for public use.

The case of local composting at homes reduces transportation and collection cost by decreasing the amount of domestic waste carried to centralized composting facilities [ 76 ]. At the same time, household waste contains impurities and are widely distributed which hinders the efficiency of centralized composting facilities in disposing them. Centralized composting facilities in Asia suffer from low compost quality and poor sales [ 32 ]. As a result, community composting system at a smaller scale is more convenient within this region.

Composting is linked to diseases such as Aspergillosis, Legionnaire’s disease, histoplasmosis, paronychia and tetanus. In the case of Aspergillosis and Legionnaire’s disease, it may cause higher potential risk in large scale composting facilities compared to the smaller scale composting at home due to massive handling and agitating process in the former [ 26 , 59 ]. Histoplasmosis have been associated with chicken manure used in composting, however it is not able to survive in a well-done composting process [ 39 ]. Therefore, disease spread can be minimised by having local composting at homes and community composting system at a smaller scale than centralized composting facility. The most important thing in minimising disease spread would be the practise of wearing gloves and face mask during this composting activity.

In this study, there was not much difference between the respondents who separated their waste and who did not (Table 2 ), which implies there is room for increasing the practice of waste segregation. Waste segregation practice is lacking in developing countries, most prominently in Asia ( [ 15 , 48 ]; Vassanadumrongdee and Kittipongvises 2018) and African continents (Dlamini et al. 2017; Yoada et al. 2014). Since respondents lack adequate knowledge on the critical importance of waste separation at source in general, the volume of municipal solid waste dumped in landfill sites are progressively increasing, thus jeopardizing the remaining landfill space at a faster rate than initially planned. Therefore, to alleviate this environmental problem in the developing countries in general and in Panji sub-districts, specifically, more focused and sustained public awareness programs, integrated with an enabling infrastructure, are required to change residents’ perceptions toward improved waste separation at source rates [ 49 ]. Additionally, the outcome of the waste segregation activities should be similarly emphasized and how waste minimization in the first instance, and waste segregation at source, will benefit and enhance the standard of living or life quality of households ([ 44 ]; Yoada et al. 2014 [ 49 ];).

The perceptions of the respondents towards waste management were generally good. About 99.7% reported that waste management is important, 62.4% report that it is the responsibility of them to manage waste (Table 2 ). Resident’s participation in waste management activities is one of the ways in maximizing the capture of source-segregated materials which can be facilitated by providing an associated infrastructure [ 58 ]. Nevertheless, there are still some respondents who felt that waste management is not their responsibility, but instead lies mainly on the district council, which highlights the general perception of some Malaysians that waste is a local municipal issue [ 46 ]. About 95.9% of the respondents were aware that improper waste management leads to sicknesses or diseases, which implies that most of the households were aware of the health implication of waste. The management of MSW in developing Asian countries is driven by a public health perspective: the collection and disposal of waste in order to avoid the spread of disease vectors from uncollected waste [ 5 ]. The perception of the remaining 2.7% that waste management does not cause disease and 1.5% who were unsure need to be changed by targeting this group as a follow up program focusing on waste management and health issues. The respondents also have adequate level of awareness and knowledge about proper waste management (92.9%). This high level of awareness is because of several reasons for properly disposing of waste, including cleanliness as the major factor (81.4%), followed by fear of illnesses (12.4%), and odor (6.2%).

Most of the respondents thought that improper waste management could lead to diarrhea and malaria (Table 2 ). Diarrhea and waste management is associated with environmental factors such as waste disposal mechanism. House-to-house waste collection has been shown to decrease the incidence of malaria compared to other waste collection method [ 7 ]. Hence, this implies the possibility of malaria incidence in areas which burn their waste and areas which are inaccessible by any waste collection. Other diseases could be related to typhoid, dysentery, cholera, respiratory infections and injury [ 42 ]. Proper waste management can lead to improvement in the quality of the environment and public health while, mismanagement of waste can be implicated with water, soil and air pollutions [ 1 ], breeding of mosquitos, which in turn, causes disease [ 15 , 68 ]. Although knowledge and awareness are acceptable among the respondents, this perception did not inculcate into waste segregation practices. In order to bridge the gap between awareness and behavior change, it is necessary for individuals to understand the importance of their role in how to do it and why it is important to do so [ 34 ]. More focused, detailed and continuous awareness and knowledge should be emphasized on this aspect specifically in the topics of environmental cleanliness, drainage systems, the recycling process in theory and practice, and a proper way to dispose of wastes [ 61 ].

Our findings have reported that socio-demographic factors (age, marital status) and respondents’ background (locality and house types) have influenced the household waste practices and perceptions in Panji sub-district (Tables 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 ). Age is associated with the maturity of the person which plays a significant factor in impacting their level of awareness on environmental health and sanitation ([ 12 , 17 ]; Meneses and [ 40 , 45 ]). The result of our study is consistent with the findings by Fan et al. [ 22 ] that older individuals prefer to engage more in waste sorting activities than young people in Singapore.

On the other hand, the number of children in the household may be a significant factor that influence waste separation. This for instance has been mentioned in Xu et al., (2017), where the intention of middle-aged adults towards behaving a more eco-friendly system was affected by critical social reference groups around them, such as the interaction with family or the motivation, especially children, and/or the consideration of the health situation of the whole family.

However, in other studies such as in Ittiravivongs [ 28 ] and Vassanadumrongdee & Kittipongvises (2018), socio-demographic variables became insignificant factors that influenced waste segregation participation. Knussen et al., [ 36 ] & White & Hyde [ 73 ] also indicate that the strongest variable influence participation in waste segregation program was past behaviour on regular source separation at home or recycling habit. Having waste separation in the office also could have positive influence on source separation intention, which is consistent with the study of Saphores et al. [ 64 ].

Considering number of children in the analysis is beyond the scope of this paper. Our result indicates that there is no significant difference in the waste segregation practice by the number of occupants in the household (χ 2 = 2.36, p = 0.31). For instance, the results show 54.2% of household with more than 6 occupants practice waste segregation, as compared to those who are not at 45.8%. This would suggest that the number of children in the house could be less influence on the waste segregation practice or vice versa. Future study may consider number of children in the family as one of the variables to be tested to confirm the hypothesis.

It was interesting to note that the types of housing in the case study were found to contribute heavily to the practices and perceptions of household waste management. Respondents who lived in bungalows (30.5%) and other type of houses than semi-detached, terrace and village (28.4%) are most likely to segregate their waste. Bungalows are associated with high income areas in Malaysia [ 53 ], which could be related to waste collection services are provided from these areas and possibly these households subscribe to this service. Potentially, these types of houses also have more space to be allocated for waste sorting than the other type of houses.

Other socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, education level and monthly income did not influence the practices and perceptions of the respondents. There were no significant associations between gender and waste segregation practices (χ 2 =0.596, p=0.440). Our finding is contrasting to the study by Ehrampoush and Moghadam [ 18 ] which reported that gender is likely to have an influence on the perceptions of household SWM. This view is supported by Mukherji et al. [ 48 ] who found that women, because of traditional gender roles associated with their household activities, have a closer engagement with waste management at household level.

The level of education has been reported as an important factor that could influence people’s perception of household waste management [ 40 ]. In this study, most of the respondents received their education until secondary school (57.4%), followed by diploma or degree (31.1%) but this did not influence their household SWM practices and perception (χ 2 =6.188, p=0.19), in particular waste segregation practice (Table 3 ). The poor average income of respondents is considered a very important variable that could influence people’s perception and attitudes negatively on solid waste management system (Parfitt et al. 1994 [ 40 ];). But, this is not the case in our study as economic consideration appears not to play a major role in the respondent’s perception as well as attitude to solid waste management practices (χ 2 =4.55, p=0.47).

The outcome from the PCA analysis showed that age, marital status and type of housing are the factors which contributed the most to waste segregation practices at home. Our finding agrees with the study by Vassanadumrongdee and Kittipongvises (2018) which found that age and family with children have a positive influence on respondent's source separation. Age was also a determinant factor in waste management practices in other studies [ 2 , 15 ]. With aging and married respondents, this could be highly related to the increasing sense of responsibility towards the environment and the importance of increasing the quality of life among household members. Types of housing could be related to either waste collection services were provided in these areas or that limited number of households subscribe to their service. Other studies in the literature have reported on the positive relationship between residence types and waste separation practices ([ 15 ]; Vassanadumrongdee and Kittipongvises 2018).

The high loadings on cooking at home and cooking frequency towards waste segregation practices indicate that these groups of respondents can be chosen for further interventions in terms of adopting proper waste management practices such as small-scale composting, recycling and waste minimization practices. The lifestyle of the respondents plays a significant role in the daily waste disposal practices in households (Yoada et al. 2014 [ 15 ];). The link between improper waste management practice and disease occurrence was also reported in studies in Ghana (Yoada et al. 2014 [ 2 ];). Their studies also reported that cleanliness was the main factor which motivates them to segregate the waste which is concurrent with the findings in this study.

Education is negatively related to waste segregation activity (Table 6 ), indicating that people with lower education are more willing to segregate their waste as compared to those with higher education. The likely reasons could be related to different lifestyle and time constraint to allocate purposely for waste sorting activities [ 15 ]. People with higher education level may be spending most of their time at the workplace, and not at home. However, more educational campaign should be promoted by emphasizing on the benefits of waste segregation activities. Sufficient knowledge, such as clear instructions provided in a communication and collection campaign, can increase the probability of waste separation behavior (Vassanadumrongdee and Kittipongvises S 2018).

The higher number of occupants living in the household is associated with a less likely chance of segregating the waste (Table 6 ). The result of our study is consistent with the study by Addo et al. [ 2 ] which reported that household sizes of 4 to 6 and above 7 were less likely to engage in the practice of waste management as compared to household size below 4 people. This is probably due to the household size tends to reduce the quantity of household waste and the practice of waste management. In contrast, studies by Osbjer et al. [ 54 ], indicate that waste management practice is associated with a higher number of people in the households, which could possibly be due to the need to handle waste generated by larger populations within the household.

One of the objectives of this study was to determine variables that influence waste segregation behavior among respondents. The PCA was adapted for this objective rather than correlation analysis for several reason. The correlation coefficient assumes a linear association where any linear transformation of variables will not affect the correlation. However, variables X and Y may also have a non-linear association, which could still yield a low correlation coefficient [ 30 ]. In addition, the correlation coefficient cannot be interpreted as causal.

It is possible that there is a causal effect of one variable on the other, but there may also be other possible explanations that the correlation coefficient does not take into account. Since several variables may influence respondent’s behavior on waste segregation activity at one time, the correlation coefficient analysis may not adequate to identify the significant variables and the connectivity between them accurately. Therefore, PCA was used to help us understand the connection between these variables as it can identify the correlation among the features efficiently.

There are thousands of features in the dataset that possible to highlight some trend or the influence of one factor to another. There are challenges to visualize the algorithm on all features efficiently especially when the performance of the algorithm may reduce with the bigger dataset. The PCA improve the algorithm performance by getting rid of correlated variables which don't contribute to the model and the analysis of the algorithms reduces significantly with less number of features. The Principal Components are also independent of one another. There is no correlation among them. It also reduces overfitting by reducing the number of features where it mainly occurs when there are too many variables in the dataset.

The scenario of the covid-19 pandemic contributes to a significant challenge in managing household waste management globally and specifically in developing countries. Waste management in the pandemic scenario requires consideration in SARS-CoV-2 transmission through MSW handling that includes survival time of the virus on the surfaces: population density and socioeconomic conditions [ 35 ]. In general, waste management phases (waste packing and delivering by the users; waste withdrawal; waste transport; and waste treatment) exposed the community and workers to direct contact with contaminated objects and surfaces; as well as contact with airborne droplets at a distance that may lead to the covid-19 [ 16 ]. Due to these reasons, waste management practices are designed to respond to the pandemic through changes in the collection system, allocation of treatment options, safety measure and priority separation, and functionality of circular economy strategies [ 72 ].

As a developing country, it is predicted that the effect of covid-19 on the waste management practices are more crucial due to the increase in disposable personal protective equipment at the household level and changes in eating habits, as a consequence of lifestyle disruptions and psychological stress due to lockdowns [ 4 , 55 ]. Developing countries have a higher risk of waste and wastewater contamination, leading to significant public health issues [ 71 ]. Inefficient waste management practices such as insecure landfills, lack of technical knowledge, scientific and economic resources, and lack of waste emergency policies produce severe consequences to the community and workers [ 63 , 65 , 71 ].

In order to improve the level of household solid waste management in the study area and Malaysia in general, it is important to empower the key drivers. The key drivers can be categorized as institutional-administrative, technological, economical, and social drivers [ 70 ]. A strong policy that implements direct regulation and enforcement; provide economic incentives or disincentives; and inform, interact and engage with the community are required [ 60 ].

Household solid waste management technologies that are being practised globally are landfilling, incineration, pyrolysis, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), gasification, and anaerobic digestion [ 57 ]. As a developing country that focuses on solid waste management through landfilling, it is important to put extra attention on: i. decentralization of household solid waste management; ii. segregation at the source; iii. hygienic and safe handling; iv. flammable landfilll gasses handling; v. soil salinity from compost application; vi. Sustainable landfill management; vii. alternative markets for energy products; and viii. Implementation of the “pay as you throw” system [ 50 ].

Practical Implications, Study Limitations and Future Perspectives

This study highlights that waste segregation practice among respondents are still low and food waste are mixed with other household waste. This study provides as a baseline data in the region where less study was emphasized.

Quantitative and qualitative approach were used in this study by adopting descriptive and statistical analysis to improve the significance of the issue. Despite the significance of some aspects of this study, further studies should be done to incorporate children and teenagers as the participants and a more detailed questionnaire incorporating detailed health implications. Apart from that, a cross-sectional survey using random sampling technique was used to assess the household SWM practices and perceptions among the residents. This study is also limited to only Panji sub-districts which requires a wider region to generalize the findings of the study. The survey questionnaires depend on self-reporting manner, which may be subject to bias. Further study is recommended to engage observation at houses or at the waste collecting points to complement the survey. Moreover, the association between household socio-economic factors and health implications were limited. Future study should address this factor for a more focused and sustained public awareness programs.

Conclusions

The study found that the waste segregation practice among respondents can be considered as low, where the number of respondents who segregate their waste was equivalent to those who did not, which implies there is room for improvement. The main component of solid waste generated at home was largely food debris that has the potential to be composted and plastics that can be recycled, which were mainly disposed without separation. The local solid waste management authority should focus on utilizing this organic waste through a larger scale and wider involvement of the locals in composting program. The growth of small-scale community-based waste composting can act as a potential start up venue in accelerating this program, without the necessity of extensive investment by the local authority. The authority in the study area has provided appropriate waste disposal sites, but there are also some that were disposed in inappropriate sites. Majority of the respondents were also aware that improper waste management can lead to diseases. Age, marital status and, type of house was found to be the group that segregate their waste the most, indicating that respondents which fall under this category can be the target for further intervention programs. This study suggests the local authorities to design waste separation programs that suit the needs of targeted population, to ensure high participation rate among the community. Marketing and campaigns should emphasize the positive perception and attitude towards waste separation at home and also negative perception of non-participants. This study may provide authorities in Malaysia with baseline information to set the future implementations of waste segregation activities in households. This study also suggests focusing on inculcating community involvement in doing waste separation at source, waste reduction and recycling as a habit and way of life. The local authority may facilitate this activity by providing bins to segregate wastes, establishing waste banks and recycling facilities at a wider scale than the scattered existing ones. Both a top-down and bottom-up approach should work hand in-hand to realize the sustainable solid waste management as a success.

Nevertheless, acknowledging the limitations of the current study, a more detailed and thorough study should incorporate a wider region, in-depth association of waste separation programs and health implications. Combining survey questionnaire with statistical analysis act as a stepping stone to expand the study by engaging the community in actual waste separation activities. This can be done by initiating a collaboration between the local authority, the leader in a community and the residents itself as a pilot study. In addition, the findings of this study will serve as baseline evidence and pave the way for other researchers and policymakers to conduct more rigorous studies on this arena.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are included within the supplementary material section.

Abbreviations

Statistical Package for Social Science

Solid Waste Management

municipal solid waste

not in my backyard

Kota Bharu Municipal Council

Sustainable Development Goals

Malaysian Ringgit

Principal component analysis

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkim

Refuse Derived Fuel

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to everybody who completed the questionnaires and to Miss Aisyah Ariff, Miss Zetty Hiddayah binti Zuharizam and Mr Wan Izulfikri bin Wan Mohd Roslan for assisting in data collection.

This study was financially supported by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (Postdoctoral Fellowship SLAB) and Universiti Sains Malaysia. None of the funders were involved in the design of the study, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in the writing of the manuscript.

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School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

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Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Sharifah Norkhadijah Syed Ismail

Biomedicine Program, School of Health Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

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WF contributed in conceptualization and writing the manuscript. NINI collected the data, contributed to the literature review and execute the project. SNSI contributed in the formal analysis, methodology, data curation and the tables and figures. MHJ contributed to editing of the manuscript. HA contributed in supervision, project administration and planning. All authors have read and approved the final version of this manuscript.

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Fadhullah, W., Imran, N.I.N., Ismail, S.N.S. et al. Household solid waste management practices and perceptions among residents in the East Coast of Malaysia. BMC Public Health 22 , 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12274-7

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12274-7

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Title: “Seasonal suburbanization” in Moscow oblast’: Challenges of household waste management

Gunko, Maria ; Medvedev, Andrey

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Geographia Polonica Vol. 89 No. 4 (2016)

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Second homes used for recreation are widespread, in Russia they are located mainly in the suburbs. Our research is aimed at contributing to the debate on environmental impact of second homes. We focus on the issue of household waste management drawing empirical evidence from Moscow oblast’. The paper proposes a spatial analysis of remote sensing data concerning the number and localization of illegal landfills and tests the spatial relation between illegal landfills and second home settlements. The significant number of identified illegal landfills and their location reflect the inefficiency of region’s waste management system and population’s low environmental awareness.

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The Correlation Between Household Income and Food Wastage: A Case Study of Food Wastage Quantity and Consumer Attitudes

Food waste is a multifaceted issue with immense social and environmental implications. Supply chain efficiency, supply and demand, and food knowledge all play a role in commercial and individual food waste. Though more commonly considered in the context of food insecurity, socioeconomic status should also be considered in the context of food waste. To determine whether there is a correlation between socioeconomic status and amount of food wasted, I conducted a qualitative research survey of peoples’ attitudes toward food waste in San Mateo County. I also conducted quantitative analysis on existing data from Cal Recycle about per capita food waste and annual household income in San Mateo County. A positive correlation between food waste and annual household income was found. That is, people with higher income tend to waste more food. Although all survey respondents stated they do not want to waste food, higher-income individuals were not financially motivated to do so. These results convey the importance of targeting higher and lower-income individuals differently in the context of food waste solutions.

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Business school teaching case study: risks of the AI arms race

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David De Cremer

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s search chief, was preparing for the Paris launch of its much-anticipated artificial intelligence chatbot in February last year when he received some unpleasant news.

Two days earlier, his chief executive, Sundar Pichai, had boasted that the chatbot, Bard, “draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses”. But, within hours of Google posting a short gif video on Twitter demonstrating Bard in action, observers spotted that the bot had given a wrong answer.

Bard’s response to “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can I tell my 9-year-old about?” was that the telescope had taken the very first pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system. In fact, those images were generated by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope nearly two decades before. It was an error that harmed Bard’s credibility and wiped $100bn off the market value of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

The incident highlighted the dangers in the high-pressure arms race around AI. It has the potential to improve accuracy, efficiency and decision-making. However, while developers are expected to have clear boundaries for what they will do and to act responsibly when bringing technology to the market, the temptation is to prioritise profit over reliability.

The genesis of the AI arms race can be traced back to 2019, when Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella realised that the AI-powered auto-complete function Google’s in Gmail was becoming so effective that his own company was at risk of being left behind in AI development.

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About the author: David De Cremer is the Dunton Family Dean and a professor of management and technology at D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University in Boston. He is author of ‘The AI-Savvy Leader: 9 ways to take back control and make AI work’ (Harvard Business Review Press, 2024).

Technology start-up OpenAI, which needed external capital to secure additional computing resources, provided an opportunity. Nadella quietly made an initial $1bn investment. He believed that a collaboration between the two companies would allow Microsoft to commercialise OpenAI’s future discoveries, making Google “dance” and eating into its dominant market share. He was soon proved right.

Microsoft’s swift integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Bing marked a strategic coup, projecting an image of technological ascendancy over Google. In an effort not to be left behind, Google rushed to release its own chatbot — even though the company knew that Bard was not ready to compete with ChatGPT. Its haste-driven error cost Alphabet $100bn in market capitalisation.

Nowadays, it seems the prevailing modus operandi in the tech industry is a myopic fixation on pioneering ever-more-sophisticated AI software. Fear of missing out compels companies to rush unfinished products to market, disregarding inherent risks and costs. Meta , for exampl e , recently confirmed its intention to double down in the AI arms race, despite rising costs and a nearly 12 per cent drop in its share price.

There appears to be a conspicuous absence of purpose-driven initiatives, with a focus on profit eclipsing societal welfare considerations. Tesla rushed to launch its AI-based “Fully Self Driving” (FSD) features, for example, with technology nowhere near the maturity needed for safe deployment on roads. FSD, with driver inattention, has been linked  to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths.

As a result, Tesla has had to recall more than 2mn vehicles because of FSD/autopilot issues. Despite identifying concerns about drivers’ ability to reverse necessary software updates, regulators argue that Tesla did not make those suggested changes part of the recall.

Compounding the issue is the proliferation of sub-par “ so-so technologies ”. For example, two new GenAI-based portable gadgets, Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin, triggered a backlash, accused of being unusable, overpriced, and not solving any meaningful problem. 

Unfortunately, this trend will not slow: driven by a desire to capitalise as quickly as possible on incremental improvements of ChatGPT, some start-ups are rushing to launch “so-so” GenAI-based hardware devices. They appear to show little interest in whether a market exists; the goal seems to be winning any possible AI race available, regardless of whether it adds value for end users. In response, OpenAI has warned start-ups to stop engaging in an opportunistic and short-term strategy of pursuing purposeless innovations and noted that more powerful versions of ChatGPT are coming that can easily replicate any GPT-based apps that the start-ups are launching.

In response, governments are preparing regulations to govern AI development and deployment. Some tech companies are responding with greater responsibility. A recent open letter  signed by industry leaders endorsed the idea that: “It is our collective responsibility to make choices that maximise AI’s benefits and mitigate the risks, for today and for the future generations”.

As the tech industry grapples with the ethical and societal implications of AI proliferation, some consultants, customers and external groups are making the case for purpose-driven innovation. While regulators offer a semblance of oversight, progress will require industry stakeholders to take responsibility for fostering an ecosystem that gives greater priority to societal welfare .

Questions for discussion

Do tech companies bear responsibility for how businesses deploy artificial intelligence in possibly wrong and unethical ways?

What strategies can tech companies follow to keep purpose centre stage and see profit as an outcome of purpose?

Should bringing AI to market be more regulated? And if so, how?

How do you predict that the tendency to race to the bottom will play out in the next five to 10 years in businesses working with AI? Which factors are most important?

What risks for companies are associated with not joining the race to the bottom in AI development? How can these risks be managed by adopting a more purpose-driven strategy? What factors are important in that scenario?

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Phosphorus mass flows and economic benefits of food waste management: the case study of selected retail and wholesale fresh markets in Thailand

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• Published: 21 May 2024

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• Sunatthiya Mokjatturas 1 , 3 ,
• Sopa Chinwetkitvanich 1 , 3 ,
• Withida Patthanaissaranukool 2 , 3 ,
• Chongchin Polprasert 1 , 3 &
• Supawadee Polprasert 2 , 3  

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This study aims to investigate the mass flow and the phosphorus flow of food waste in order to propose a viable technique for its recovery from food waste in retail and wholesale fresh markets. These markets are significant food waste sources, including valuable elements such as organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. This research provides critical data that can inform and guide the development of sustainable and cost-effective waste management strategies. The results indicate that retail markets generate 13.47 tons/d of food waste, while wholesale markets produce a staggering 192.62 tons/d. For phosphorus flow analysis, the data show that retail markets produce 12.80 kg P/d, while wholesale markets produce 40.79 kg P/d. Uncooked food waste is a major cause of phosphorus loss in retail and wholesale markets. An estimated 3.65 kg P/d is lost from retail and 20.72 kg P/d from wholesale. Separating food waste from general waste and recovering the phosphorus content is essential to reduce P loss. According to this study, separating food waste and selling it as animal feed (Scenario 1) or using it to create organic fertilizer (Scenario 2) are more profitable than the current waste management practice. These options can generate around 180,000 and 960,000 USD/year, respectively. Currently, it is not cost-effective to produce concentrated P fertilizer (scenario 3) due to the high energy and technology required. The study’s results can guide policymakers toward comprehensive food waste management in fresh markets and sustainable phosphorus recovery for food and agricultural production.

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

About one-third of food produced for human consumption goes to waste, which amounts to around 1.3 billion tons per year (Gustavsson et al. 2011 ). Food waste (FW), a high proportion of total solid municipal waste in Thailand, represents 40–70% of municipal solid waste (MSW) by geographic location, regional food, lifestyle, and consumption patterns. The problem of food waste is becoming increasingly severe, especially in urban areas and tourist cities. (Jitto and Nakbanpole 2023 ). Fresh markets are incredibly important for smallholder urban food retailers in developing countries like Thailand. Despite the rise in the “supermarketisation" of food systems in urban developing settings, fresh markets retain a considerable market share of fresh produce (Schipmann and Qaim 2011 ) and also the first important source of raw materials being passed on to consumers and is the first to cause losses after harvesting and transportation. In Thailand, a significant contributor to the generation of food waste, particularly uncooked food waste, is the fresh market. Food losses and waste can occur at distribution and consumer levels in market systems. PCD ( 2022 ) in Thailand found that the portion of food waste from fresh markets was 69.84%. All food wastes generated from fresh markets are ultimately disposed of or recycled. Unsafe and improper disposal of such wastes can be led to incredible ecological troubles. However, food waste contains high organic carbon and other elements, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which cannot be wasted (Slopiecka et al. 2022 ). They can easily be recovered and is a substitution possibility of nutrients to chemicals. Previous studies have reported the composition of food waste. When food waste is separated by type, the nitrogen content ranges from 0.05% to 6.15%, while the phosphorus content ranges from 0 to 3.66%. The potassium content ranges from 0 to 10.45%, and the C/N ratio ranges from 2.08 to 48.50 (Slopiecka et al. 2022 ). Mixed food waste typically contains approximately 0.52% (dry basis) phosphorus, 0.90% (dry basis) potassium, and 3.16% (dry basis) nitrogen, according to a study by Zhang et al. 2007 . Similarly, Wongsoonthornchai and Thitanuwat ( 2021 ) found that food waste in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, contained 3.86% nitrogen, 3.01% potassium, and 0.45% phosphorus.

Phosphorus (P) is a famous fertilizer for food production. P fertilizer is made from more than 90% of phosphate rock (PR) by mining. A few areas (northern Africa, the Middle East, China, and the USA) have the most PR deposits. (USGS 2023 ). P fertilizer use in 2020 was 48 million tons, or 49% higher than in 2000 (FAO 2022 ). P fertilizer demand has steadily increased every year because the global population is growing and could grow to around 9.7 billion by 2050 (UN DESA 2022 ). Previous studies reported that global phosphorus reserves have been predicted to deplete within the next 50–100 years (Cordell et al. 2009 ) which has an effect on global food security, including in Thailand. Thailand annually imports approximately 200,000 tons of P fertilizer for food production cultivation, as the country does not have the capacity to produce P fertilizer locally (DOA 2021 ). If phosphate rock depletes, it will effect on the agricultural sector in Thailand. Because Thailand is an agriculture country and is the world exporter, the government set up policy in “Kitchen of the world” (OPS 2016 ). Therefore, scientists have recommended recovering P from organic urban waste products, especially, cooked food waste to P fertilizer for food production (Cordell et al. 2009 ). Thitanuwat et al. ( 2016 ) reported that 81% of P from urban wastes, including domestic wastewater, septage sludge, food waste, and green garbage, was discarded to landfills. Especially, municipal solid waste (MSW) contained the largest fraction of food waste at approximately 44.3%, meaning that phosphorus retained in food waste was discharged without recycling and recovery at about 5337.3 t P/year. Nevertheless, the information on phosphorus recovery in food waste, particularly in fresh market which is the main food distributor in Thailand, is still scarce due to previous studies focusing on other sectors, such as the fisheries sector (Prathumchai et al. 2016 ), consumption system (Thitanuwat et al. 2016 ), livestock sector (Prathumchai et al. 2018 ), vegetable value chains (Ortiz-Gonzalo et al. 2021 ), cooked food waste from household (Wongsoonthornchai and Thitanuwat 2021 ), and maize cultivation (Yongsri et al. 2022 ). According to Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, there is a target to reduce global food loss and waste by 50% by 2030. It is necessary to quantify the potential mass flow of food waste by the most popular method that is material flow analysis (MFA) (Huang et al. 2012 ), because if one does not understand or see trends in that data, it will result in management failure (Van der wiel et al. 2023 ) in regard to phosphorus in food waste for phosphorus recovery and recycling. A thorough evaluation of food waste is crucial to confidently recover crucial elements like phosphorus. By understanding the mass flow and implementing appropriate management practices, valuable resources can be effectively recovered. Therefore, the objectives of this study are (1) to study material flow analysis (MFA) of food waste in retail and wholesale fresh markets; (2) to determine phosphorus flow and loss from conventional food waste management; and (3) to identify the appropriate source for phosphorus recovery and also investigate the economic impacts of waste management systems.

Materials and methods

Study area and sampling of market.

The retail and wholesale fresh markets were selected for their huge size, covering an area of over 50,000 square meters and comprising more than 1000 stalls. These markets are located in densely populated areas in Bangkok and nearby provinces with a high population density. The solid waste and food waste data were collected for at least 1 year to obtain accurate and realistic average information. The system boundary of this study is illustrated in Fig.  1 .

System boundary area of this study

• Retail fresh market

The retail fresh market, located in the Bangkok area, covers a vast area of 51,200 square meters. It has 1500 stalls that are divided into 21 different zones. The market is a popular place, receiving around 20,000 visitors every day. Additionally, the market has 700 parking spaces that are open 24 h. The market management is well-organized and efficient in handling solid waste and wastewater, which helps keep the environment clean. All solid waste generated in the market is divided into four categories: general waste, food waste, hazardous waste, and recyclable waste. All waste materials are collected and disposed of using proper methods. Additionally, the wastewater produced from the market and surrounding communities is treated through a bio-oxidative system before being discharged into the public canal. The treated water is also recycled for cleaning the market floor.

• Wholesale fresh market

The wholesale fresh market is located in the Pathum Thani province, the vicinities of Bangkok Metropolitan. This wholesale fresh market is the largest agricultural distribution center in Thailand, covering over 400 rai (equivalent to 640,000 square meters). It consists of 2500 stalls divided into 15 market zones, and the car parking area accommodates around 4000 cars. The market is open 24 h and serves at least 30,000 customers daily. The market prioritizes environmental management, including properly handling solid waste and wastewater. Solid waste is collected using two types of bins: harvester bins and general bins for sorting waste. General waste was collected and transported to private disposal sites by private agencies. Food waste was sold to farmers for processing into animal feed. Recyclable waste is separately sold by the workers in the market for their income. Wastewater generated in and around the market is treated with an aeration system, allowing it to be recycled for cleaning roads and floors.

Data collection

Food waste samples were collected three times per week on workdays and once on weekends, with approximately 5 kg of waste per type collected each time for physical and chemical analysis. The samples were analyzed for quantity of total phosphorus content (TP) by ascorbic acid method, total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), fixed solids (FS), moisture content (MC), and total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) according to standard methods for the examination of water and waste water 22nd edition (APHA 2012). Bulk density (BD) was analyzed according to the standard test method for the determination of the composition of unprocessed municipal solid waste (ASTM 2016 ). The quantity and composition of waste are determined by interviewing the staff of the market, as there are monthly records of each type of solid waste.

Data analysis

The mass flow of food waste including percentage and amount of waste component, phosphorus (P) in each waste component, P total, P recycling, and P loss is explained in following Eqs. ( 1 – 5 ). These equations were used to create P flow and P loss information for each market, helping to pinpoint the most appropriate P recycle sources.

When \({R}_{{\text{x}}}\) = Percentage of each waste component x (%).

\({W}_{{\text{x}}}\) = Weight of each waste component x (kg/d).

\({W}_{{\text{T}}}\) = Total weight of solid waste in market (kg/d).

This equation is used to find the percentage of various types of waste components in both markets. It is calculated from that type of waste per day divided by the total waste generated per day.

When \({P}_{{\text{x}}}\) = The quantity of P in each waste component x (kg P/d).

\({WP}_{{\text{x}}}\) = Generation rate of each waste component containing phosphorus x (kg/d).

\({C}_{{\text{x}}}\) = P-containing in each waste component (mg P/g).

The process of determining the amount of phosphorus present in waste was solely concentrated on food waste, which is known to contain a certain amount of phosphorus. To calculate the quantity of phosphorus present in each component of waste, the daily amount of food waste generated was multiplied by the concentration of phosphorus in each type of waste.

When \({P}_{{\text{total}}}\) = The total amount of P flow from food waste (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{vfw}}}\) = The quantity of P in vegetable and fruit wastes (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{mfw}}}\) = The quantity of P in meat and fish and seafood wastes (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{cfw}}}\) = The quantity of P in cooked food waste (kg P/d).

P total is the total amount of phosphorus in all food waste generated in the market. The phosphorus content of food waste includes phosphorus from fruit and vegetable peels, meat, fish, seafood wastes, and cooked food waste

When \({P}_{{\text{recycle}}}\) = The total amount of recycled P in recycle process (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{af}}}\) = P in food waste for animal feed (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{cp}}}\) = P in food waste undergoes to composting plant (kg P/d).

P recycle refers to the amount of phosphorus in food waste that is recycled into animal feed or compost.

When \({P}_{{\text{loss}}}\) = P loss to the landfill site (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{total}}}\) = The total amount of P flow from food waste (kg P/d).

\({P}_{{\text{recycle}}}\) = The total amount of recycled P in recycle process (kg P/d).

P loss refers to the amount of phosphorus that is wasted or not utilized, calculated by subtracting P recycle from P total.

Results and discussion

Food waste generation.

This study found that the majority of waste produced in markets is general waste (60%), followed by food waste (30%), and only a small percentage is recycled waste (2–9%). Food waste in retail and wholesale fresh markets can be classified as cooked (98%) and uncooked (2%). The non-utilizable food waste is disposed of in landfills while recyclable waste is further recycled. However, waste management practices vary based on waste compositions in each market.

The quantities of generated solid wastes, the composition of solid wastes, and solid waste management in the retail fresh market are shown in Fig.  2 a, b, respectively. The solid waste generated by retail fresh markets can be grouped into four categories: general waste, hazardous waste, recyclable waste, and food waste. Most of the solid and uncooked food waste is generated by market stalls, while all leftover cooked food comes from the food court. The solid waste generated in the retail fresh market is about 17,120 kg daily. There is 10,387 kg (60.68%) of general waste, with the largest proportion followed by 5222 kg of food waste (30.50%) and 1509 kg of recycled waste (8.81%). The general waste, hazardous waste, pig skull waste, and oil and grease waste generated each day were collected by the Bang Khen District Office to be disposed of at the Solid Waste Disposal Center by landfill method. Within the market, vendors and workers can purchase recyclable waste at affordable prices. Once the segregated waste is fully collected, it is loaded onto a pickup truck and later sold to a junk shop. The vegetable and fruit peels (4002 kg) are collected and transported to the composting site. While fish, seafood waste, and cooked food waste are purchase by middlemen for animal feed. According to the data, 60.68% of the solid waste generated daily, which is 10,387 kg, is non-reusable and needs to be disposed of in a landfill. The highest component of this waste is vegetable and fruit peels, which account for approximately 70% of the total waste.

Quantity, composition, and solid waste management in retail ( a ) and wholesale fresh markets ( b )

The wholesale fresh market produces 210,000 kg of waste daily, of which 65.08% is general waste. Nearly 91% of the general waste is comprised of improperly separated vegetable peels. The amount of food waste generated daily is 68,770 kg (32.75%), while the remaining waste (2.17%) is categorized into six categories of recyclables: glass, paper, plastic, metal and iron, electrical machines, and waste cooking oil as illustrated in Fig.  2 b. Market stalls produced the majority of waste, while the food court only generated 1081 kg/d of cooked food waste. Different types of food waste can be sold and distributed in two methods. The first method is for customers to collect the waste from the market and use it as cattle feed (26%). The waste items that can be used for this purpose include corn husks, jackfruit peels, pineapple waste, and vegetable peels. Only 2% of cooked food waste can also be utilized as feed for fish. The second method involves factories collecting fish and seafood waste (about 2%) and converting it into animal feed. However, during the waste management process, it was found that 141,880 kg or 67.56% of the waste was disposed of in landfills without being utilized, with 91% of the waste being vegetable peels.

Food waste characteristics

The proportion of vegetable and fruit peels in both markets varies depending on seasonal agricultural products. During the period covered by this study, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and kale were found to be the most commonly sold vegetables in the retail market. On the other hand, the wholesale fresh market produced a larger amount of waste from cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and corn husk. In comparison with the Athens, Greece open market, where broccoli is the main vegetable waste with 80% and the fruit waste generated consists of plums, apples, and pears (Liakou et al. 2018 ). It is important to note that the composition of uncooked food waste is heavily influenced by local eating habits and the availability of agricultural products in the area. These factors play a crucial role in determining the types of uncooked food waste that are commonly produced in the region. As presented in Table  1 , in the retail fresh market, uncooked food waste is categorized into three main types: vegetable and fruit peels, fish and seafood wastes, and pig skull waste. The wholesale fresh market has implemented a categorization system for uncooked food waste, which divides it into seven different groups. The seven groups include vegetable peels, corn husks, jackfruit peels, pineapple crowns, pineapple waste, watermelon waste, and fish and seafood waste. This approach ensures that each type of waste is separated and sold effectively, streamlining the sales process and reducing waste. This system is beneficial for both the market and the environment.

Based on the analysis of chemical characteristics, the food waste generated from retail fresh markets contained the highest concentration of phosphorus in fish and seafood wastes, with a level of 7.69 mg P/g of waste and cooked food waste had a lowest phosphorus content of 0.31 mg P/g. The bulk density of fish and seafood waste as well as cooked food waste averages at about 834.07 kg/m 3 and 828.86, respectively. However, vegetable and fruit peels have a much lower bulk density of 282.82 kg/m 3 . The waste is ranked by moisture content, vegetable and fruit peels having the highest at 93.06%, followed by cooked food waste at 72.36%, and fish and seafood waste at 65.58%. The highest nitrogen content was found in fish and seafood wastes, followed by cooked food waste, and vegetable and fruit peels, respectively.

When comparing of wholesale fresh market, it was observed that fish and seafood waste exhibited the highest concentration of phosphorus as well, measuring at 6.22 mg P/g, followed by cooked food waste with an average of 0.79 mg P/g, and pineapple waste presented with an average of 0.28 mg P/g. Bulk density values revealed that fish and seafood, cooked food, and watermelon waste had the highest values, averaging at 774.65 kg/m 3 , 635.49 kg/m 3 , and 627.07 kg/m 3 , respectively. Watermelon waste has the highest moisture at 93.44%. On average, corn husk contains the highest percentage of volatile solids at 96.61%. When examining nitrogen levels, fish and seafood wastes contain the highest amount at 15.95 mg/g, followed by cooked food waste at 6.04 mg/g and vegetable peel at 2.60 mg/g. Both markets produced fish and seafood wastes with high phosphorus content. Additionally, vegetable and fruit peels in the retail fresh market have a higher phosphorus content compared to vegetable peels in the wholesale fresh market, with a difference of 0.2 mg P/g or 2.25 times. The retail markets offer a wider variety of vegetable and fruit peels, while wholesale markets only provide lettuce and Chinese cabbage peels. Thailand's main vegetable crops are lettuce and Chinese cabbage (DOA 2023 ), which are primarily distributed through wholesale markets. However, this distribution system results in a significant amount of waste from vegetable peels (Ortiz-Gonzalo et al. 2021 ). The cooked food waste obtained from the wholesale fresh market has a higher phosphorus content in comparison with the retail fresh market about 2.55 times. This is because the wholesale fresh market generates more cooked food waste with high protein content, especially from meat residue and with a greater number of shops and a greater variety of food types as well.

Following above studies, the largest proportion of food waste produced in fresh markets comprises of peels from fruits and vegetables which have high moisture (77–93%) and volatile solids contents (82–97%). The concentration of phosphorus (0.12–0.36 mg/g) and nitrogen (0.77–2.63 mg/g) in these peels varies by type.

Phosphorus flow of existing food waste management

The phosphorus flow of existing food waste management, including phosphorus recycle and loss within the retail and wholesale fresh markets, is presented in Figs. 3 and 4 , respectively. P recovery in this study means the properly utilized waste containing phosphorus, while P loss refers to the loss of valuable phosphorus due to unrecoverable food waste that undergoes disposal. In the retail market, 12.80 kg of phosphorus per day (P/d) are available, with 99% (12.78 kg P/d) generated from market stalls and the rest obtained from food courts. Unfortunately, 3.65 kg of phosphorus is lost daily due to landfill disposal, primarily from vegetable and fruit peels (2.63 kg P/d) mixed with general and pig skull waste (1.02 kg P/d). Waste containing P was able to recycle up to 71.48% (9.15 kg P/d) of waste in various ways. This includes 1.44 kg P/d of vegetable and fruit peels, which were composted to produce organic fertilizer in a composting plant. The fish and seafood waste of 7.69 kg P, along with 0.02 kg P of cooked food waste, are being repurposed as animal feed. Additionally, this practice has led to the recovery of 3339.75 kg of phosphorus annually. However, it is important to note that 1332.25 kg of phosphorus are lost each year.

P flows (kg P and %) and amount of food waste (kg) in retail fresh market

P flows (kg P and %) and amount of food waste (kg) in wholesale fresh market

In the wholesale fresh market, 40.79 kg/d of P is generated from food waste. The most of P in food waste comes from market stalls with 39.94 kg P/d (97.92%). The recycled P was used as animal feed of 20.07 kg P/d (49.20%). This included 5.65 kg P/d of vegetable peel, 3.12 kg P/d of corn husk, 1.10 kg P/d of pineapple crown, 0.08 kg P/d of pineapple waste, 1.17 kg P/d of jackfruit peel, 8.10 kg P/d of fish and seafood waste, and 0.85 kg P/d of cooked food waste. Over 50% of P is lost due to landfill disposal, including 20.12 kg P/d of vegetable peel, 0.46 kg P/d of corn and pineapple waste, and 0.14 kg P/d of watermelon waste. The main source of phosphorus loss in both retail and wholesale fresh markets is the combination of food waste with general waste, which cannot be reused or recycled for phosphorus. Sorted food waste can be used to recover phosphorus for fertilizer and animal feed to support the Bio-Circular-Green Economy in the community.

Economic evaluation of existing solid waste management in the market

Currently, waste that can be recycled is being reused for other productions such as animal feed, organic composting, and recycling processes. This waste management strategy generates revenue, reduces landfill area and disposal costs, and prevents environmental pollution. Table 2 displays the recyclable waste management of two markets and an economic evaluation of the revenue generated by selling those wastes. The evaluation is based on the amount of waste generated and the estimated daily income of both markets. The retail fresh market has implemented a method to manage recyclable waste by promoting and campaigning for separating waste at the source (stalls). Recyclable waste can be sorted into 13 types based on their selling price, accounting for 1509 kg/d and total benefit 198 USD/d as shown in Table  2 . Two types of food waste can be utilized for animal feed with market prize of 0.28 USD/kg, including fish and seafood waste weighing 1000 kg/d and cooked food waste weighing 60 kg/d. By utilizing these, it can earn an estimated daily income of approximately 292 USD/d and also can reduce amount of food waste to dispose in landfill about 1060 kg/d.

The wholesale fresh market can sort recyclable waste into six categories and encourage collaboration with sorting by vendors. The food waste is separated into seven different categories, totaling 63,557 kg/d with benefit 768 USD/d, while the recycling waste is 4564 kg/d and total benefit amounts to 359 USD/d. Currently, both markets are unable to recover all recyclable waste for use. If the market can improve waste separation in the future, daily revenue could increase by as much as 468–698 USD.

Evaluation of the feasibility of P recovery from P loss in food waste

The purpose of this study is to explore effective ways of managing food waste in order to reduce phosphorus loss. The feasibility of recovering phosphorus from food waste is evaluated through three different scenarios, which are compared against the cost of collecting and disposing solid waste, as illustrated in Tables 3 and 4 . Scenario 1 involves a process of segregating food waste from general waste and then selling it to farmers for use as animal feed. The estimated value of this process is calculated by multiplying the annual amount of each type of waste generated with the selling price of each type of waste in both markets. In Scenario 2, it is crucial to separate food waste and convert it into organic fertilizer by composting it along with green garbage and cattle dung. This mixed material is the way to adjust the C/N ratio of 25 and make it suitable for composting. It is essential to follow this process to ensure the successful conversion of food waste into organic fertilizer. The composting process yields fertilizer weighing 11% of the total food waste, with P concentration calculated following Keng et al. ( 2020 ). The income of these organic fertilizers was estimated from the market price of 82.5 USD/ton (Talang and Sirivithayapakorn 2022 ). Scenario 3 involves anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and other organic waste, such as wheat straw, rice straw, cow manure, or fresh cattle manure to produce concentrated P fertilizers. According to Pimpeach et al. ( 2023 ), the ratio of food waste to other organic waste can be controlled by maintaining a P concentration of 75–25 mg P/L and a C/N ratio ranging from 20 to 30, with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 15 days for calculating the amount of food waste required per 15 days or 1 cycle. After the treatment, the effluent is sedimented to produce concentrated P fertilizer about 8.64–12.13%, and the amount of phosphorus fertilizer generated per cycle is 0.153 kg/m 3 . To calculate the income generated from the sale of phosphorus fertilizer, multiply the average price of one year by 10.385% of P, which costs 0.72 USD/kg. (OAE 2023 ). The cost of landfilling food waste in Bangkok is estimated based on solid waste disposal costs for sanitary landfills at about 6.88 USD/m 3 (DOE 2021 ), and the cubic meter volume of food waste is calculated as the weight of food waste divided by the bulk density value. The value of benefit per year was calculated from the value of benefit per day multiplied by 365 days. All possible scenarios are demonstrated in Table  3 .

Based on Table  4 , it has been determined that scenario 1 provides the highest cost benefits for retail fresh market returns, amounting to 468 USD/d. On the other hand, scenario 2 is estimated to produce an annual return of approximately 2629 USD/d for the wholesale fresh market. In addition, it can save the cost of solid waste collection and disposal of around 190 and 6828 USD/d with 8408 and 129,059 kg/d of food waste for retail and wholesale markets. The third scenario is the least cost-effective in both markets and requires advanced technology and expert administration. When compared to organic fertilizers with the highest percentage of phosphorus, the concentration of phosphorus fertilizer is approximately eight times higher. Phosphorus fertilizer can be used to replace chemical fertilizers in similar quantities, unlike organic fertilizers that need to be used in large quantities. Also, phosphorus fertilizer is easy to store and transport and can save transportation costs. Scenario 3 can be considered as an alternative method to recover phosphorus to agriculture and minimize phosphorus losses in the future. However, the current data suggest that scenarios 1 and 2 are more practical for recovering phosphorus from food waste. These scenarios can assist decision-makers in upcycling waste for optimal benefits.

According to this study, food waste accounts for approximately 31–32% of the total waste generated in the market. Interestingly, almost all of it (99%) consist of uncooked food waste. To deal with this issue, the food waste was recovered through composting (11%) and animal feed method (49–60%), while the rest was sent to landfill. Similarly, Thongplew et al. ( 2022 ) found that 50.70% of waste in Donklang market in Ubon Ratchathani province was organic waste, which vendors repurposed for animal feed or composting. Non-recyclable waste was comprised 37.90% of the waste and was managed through landfill, while 11.30% of recyclable waste was partially recycled. The remaining waste was also sent to the landfill. So, Donklang market paid $190/month for waste disposal. Whereas, Aulinas Masó and Bonmatí Blasi ( 2008 ) studied municipal solid waste produced by local markets and found that food waste made up the largest proportion, accounting for about 90.90%.

The characteristics of food waste, such as bulk density, moisture, volatile solids, and nutrient concentration, are important for waste management and recovery methods (Dhalsamant et al. 2023 ). Organic food waste that has high carbon and volatile content can be composted to produce a high-carbon fertilizer with good stability. Additionally, anaerobic digestion can be employed to convert waste into biogas and release nutrients that are suitable for high-moisture waste such as food waste (Mayer et al. 2021 ). Recycling food waste is an absolute possibility through various methods, including the use of animal feed or organic fertilizer. This is due to the high humidity, VS value, and appropriate C/N ratio of food waste, which making it suitable for composting or anaerobic decomposition. However, before recycling food waste, it should be sorted to separate unsuitable food waste in composting and anaerobic digestion to ensure an efficient and effective recycling process.

In retail fresh markets, the cause of phosphorus loss is the insufficient separation of vegetable and fruit waste from general waste due to the lack of bucket waste. As a result, fruit and vegetable scraps accumulate for 1–2 days, making it difficult to segregate them. Moreover, the limited market space makes it challenging to manage waste effectively, and the collection process often relies on government agencies. Phosphorus (P) loss in wholesale fresh markets occurs primarily due to the traders' inability to segregate their waste effectively. This is because they fail to separate vegetable waste from general waste, resulting in significant losses. Despite the market management’s effort to provide bins and waste buckets throughout the market, traders have not cooperated adequately. It is crucial to implement other strategies to address this issue and prevent further losses. To address the issue of food waste management, markets should take preliminary action by allocating enough garbage containers or using machines to compress or cut food waste into small sizes so that it can be placed in adequate containers. Furthermore, it is crucial to provide knowledge, training, or public relations to make market traders aware of the importance of separating food waste. Cooperation in separating food waste must be demanded, and rules must be enforced to ensure that this happens. Finally, the food waste must be utilized within the market itself by making compost, biological fermentation products, and so on. It is a well-established fact that increasing the rate of food waste separation in both retail and wholesale markets leads to a significant increase in income. In fact, the income generated through this practice amounts to a whopping 170,820 USD/year and 254,770 USD/year in the retail and wholesale markets, respectively.

The study clearly concludes that the three methods yield the highest returns. One of the methods involves recovering food waste and phosphorus content by separating waste, which can be sold as animal feed. This simple method does not require modern equipment and only provides knowledge on how to separate waste. Composting, second method, is a highly effective method for recovering phosphorus, reducing waste, and it requires only a moderate amount of space, time, labor, and knowledge. The final method, despite its lower returns, is a highly advanced approach that enables the extraction and return of phosphorus in the form of fertilizer, which are readily usable and capable of replacing chemical fertilizers due to high phosphorus content. This technique may become an alternative for phosphorus recovery in the future.

Conclusions

The total amount of phosphorus in food waste including cooked and uncooked waste was 13,470 kg/d and 191,615 kg/d in the retail and wholesale markets, respectively. The current recycling rate of phosphorus from food waste is about 3.65 kg P/d and 20.07 kg P/d in retail and wholesale markets, respectively. Therefore, there is a loss of phosphorus of 9.15 kg P/d in the retail market and 20.72 kg P/d in the wholesale market. The highest amount of P loss occurred in fruit and vegetable peels, with 2.63 and 20.12 kg P/d in retail and wholesale fresh markets, respectively. Therefore, the three feasibility methods of phosphorus reuse and recovery from food waste loss were introduced: selling as animal feed, producing organic fertilizer, and creating concentrated P fertilizer. The method of selling as animal feed not only can be easily implemented with little investment but also immediately returns phosphorus to agricultural processes. The recommended organic fertilizer production yields 11% biodegradable food waste and 0.22% P content, meeting the organic fertilizer standards of the Department of Agriculture, Thailand. Concentrated P fertilizer contains a high percentage of readily available phosphorus of 8.64—12.13% that can replace chemical fertilizers as single superphosphate (8.8% P). The following scenarios could help in reducing the imported P fertilizer in the agricultural sector. Hence, it is crucial to recover and reuse the lost phosphorus flow from food waste streams in markets while improving business models and recycling technology. Decision-makers must consider critical information to effectively optimize waste upcycling benefits.

Data Availability

Enquiries about data availability should be directed to the authors.

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Acknowledgements

This research project is supported by Mahidol University, Grant no. NDFR 48/2564 and National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT): NRCT5-RGJ63012-138. Moreover, this research work is supported in part by a grant from the Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology (EHT), OPS, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation. No relevant competing financial interests or personal relationships could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Finally, the authors would also like to thank Mr. Hassan Mohamad Beydoun from the Mahidol University, Office of International and Public Relations for his help editing this article.

Open access funding provided by Mahidol University. National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT),NRCT5-RGJ63012-138,Mahidol University,NDFR 48/2564

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Mokjatturas, S., Chinwetkitvanich, S., Patthanaissaranukool, W. et al. Phosphorus mass flows and economic benefits of food waste management: the case study of selected retail and wholesale fresh markets in Thailand. Clean Techn Environ Policy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-024-02847-6

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What are adverse childhood experiences?

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples include: 1

• Experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect.
• Witnessing violence in the home or community.
• Having a family member attempt or die by suicide.

Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding. Examples can include growing up in a household with: 1

• Substance use problems.
• Mental health problems.
• Instability due to parental separation.
• Instability due to household members being in jail or prison.

The examples above are not a complete list of adverse experiences. Many other traumatic experiences could impact health and well-being. This can include not having enough food to eat, experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, or experiencing discrimination. 2 3 4 5 6

Quick facts and stats

ACEs are common. About 64% of adults in the United States reported they had experienced at least one type of ACE before age 18. Nearly one in six (17.3%) adults reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs. 7

Preventing ACEs could potentially reduce many health conditions. Estimates show up to 1.9 million heart disease cases and 21 million depression cases potentially could have been avoided by preventing ACEs. 1

Some people are at greater risk of experiencing one or more ACEs than others. While all children are at risk of ACEs, numerous studies show inequities in such experiences. These inequalities are linked to the historical, social, and economic environments in which some families live. 5 6 ACEs were highest among females, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults, and adults who are unemployed or unable to work. 7

ACEs are costly. ACEs-related health consequences cost an estimated economic burden of $748 billion annually in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States. 8

ACEs can have lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood and life opportunities well into adulthood. 9 Life opportunities include things like education and job potential. These experiences can increase the risks of injury, sexually transmitted infections, and involvement in sex trafficking. They can also increase risks for maternal and child health problems including teen pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and fetal death. Also included are a range of chronic diseases and leading causes of death, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and suicide. 1 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

ACEs and associated social determinants of health, such as living in under-resourced or racially segregated neighborhoods, can cause toxic stress. Toxic stress, or extended or prolonged stress, from ACEs can negatively affect children’s brain development, immune systems, and stress-response systems. These changes can affect children’s attention, decision-making, and learning. 18

Children growing up with toxic stress may have difficulty forming healthy and stable relationships. They may also have unstable work histories as adults and struggle with finances, jobs, and depression throughout life. 18 These effects can also be passed on to their own children. 19 20 21 Some children may face further exposure to toxic stress from historical and ongoing traumas. These historical and ongoing traumas refer to experiences of racial discrimination or the impacts of poverty resulting from limited educational and economic opportunities. 1 6

Adverse childhood experiences can be prevented. Certain factors may increase or decrease the risk of experiencing adverse childhood experiences.

Preventing adverse childhood experiences requires understanding and addressing the factors that put people at risk for or protect them from violence.

Creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children can prevent ACEs and help all children reach their full potential. We all have a role to play.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

ACEs can have a tremendous impact on lifelong health and opportunity. CDC works to understand ACEs and prevent them.