Municipal solid waste and risk from 1970 to 2020

Abstract

In the field of solid waste management, key concepts such as risk, impact and hazards have been used interchangeably and have had imprecise meanings and scopes; this can lead to a partial or biased vision, for example in relation to municipal solid waste management policies. This paper presents a review of the literature on the theme of municipal solid waste and risk. Analysis of scientific publications from the years 1970 to 2020 shows that the concept of risk in the field of solid waste has been approached from various perspectives and different interpretations. Of all risk components, vulnerability has been the least addressed in the literature, because technical aspects such as hazard modeling predominate in this field. Most of the publications have studied the final disposal stage, since open dumpsites and landfills are still the most common methods for disposing of solid waste. Finally, a reference framework is proposed.