Enhancing Household Waste Management in Developing Municipalities: A Choice Experiment Analysis in Municipalities of India

Abstract

This research investigates the challenges and solutions in efficient household waste management, particularly in developing regions where comprehensive waste collection services are lacking, leading to uncollected waste. The study concentrates on a municipality in India, employing a neural network-based approach to analyze household preferences and assess willingness-to-pay for various attributes within a household waste management system. Motivation: The motivation behind this research stems from the pressing challenges in efficient household waste management in developing regions, where comprehensive waste collection services are lacking, resulting in uncollected waste. The study is specifically motivated by the need to address these challenges in a municipality in India, emblematic of broader struggles faced by municipalities in developing countries.

Novelty: This research introduces a novel approach to addressing the challenges of household waste management in developing regions, particularly in the context of a municipality in India. The novelty lies in the application of a neural network-based methodology to analyze household preferences and assess willingness-to-pay for various attributes within a household waste management system. The utilization of contemporary methodologies, specifically the feedforward neural network model, represents an innovative step in understanding the complex dynamics of waste management.

Findings: The study focuses on key findings derived from the neural network-based analysis, shedding light on crucial aspects of household waste management. Findings include insights into the economic intricacies highlighted in waste management literature, disparities in service availability, and the implicit prices associated with attributes such as collection frequency, distance to collection centers, and subsidies to waste bins. The research generates actionable insights for the development of sustainable waste management policies tailored to the specific needs of the municipality in India. Additionally, the study extends its relevance by providing perspectives for municipal authorities striving to balance economic viability, environmental sustainability, and community expectations in waste management strategies.