Identification of Gaps in the Framework of National Plastic Waste Management Law and their Causes Using the Ishikawa Diagrams (Case Study: Iran)
Subject Areas : wasteKhatereh Feyzbakhsh Vaghef 1 * , Seied Masoud Monavari 2 , Zahra Abedi 3 , Ali Mohammadi 4 , Abdorreza Karbasi 5
1 - PhD student in environmental management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Environment and Forest, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. *(Corresponding Author)
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Natural resources and Environment, University of Science and Research Branch, Iran.
4 - Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Natural resources and Environment, University of Science and Research Branch, Iran.
5 - Associate Professor, Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Faculty of Natural resources and Environment, University of Science and Research Branch, Iran.
Keywords: Environmental management of waste, Gap, Plastic, Cause and Effect, Ishikawa diagram. ,
Abstract :
Background and Objective: The invention of plastic, a reasonably priced and robust material, transformed industries, increased accessibility to healthcare, and enhanced human well-being. However, as plastic production has increased, humans have failed to use it sustainably, resulting in an exponential increase in environmental pollution and negative effects on ecosystems and communities. At the 14th meeting of the Basel Convention, members decided to make amendments to the Convention's Annexes II, IIIX, and IX to clarify its position on plastic waste. The issue of plastic waste was also added to Annex II of this convention, which focuses on household waste and waste resulting from the incineration of household waste, because this annex covers plastic waste, including a mixture of these types of waste. If these types of waste are hazardous, they will be categorized as A3210 in Annex IIIV, and if they are not hazardous, they will be categorized as B3011 in Annex IX of this convention.
Material and Methodology: This applied study was conducted using the green productivity method and Ishikawa diagrams. An author-made questionnaire was also employed to gather data from the documents of the Basel Convention.Validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by relevant experts and its reliability by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.8. In addition, the study sample consisted of 10 environmental and waste management experts.
Findings: The review and analysis of the framework of the Iranian National of Plastic Waste Management Law revealed that there were 11 gaps in the components of this framework. Ishikawa diagrams also indicated that the root causes of most of these gaps were related to policymaking (poor policymaking, lack of comprehensiveness, inefficiency, and disregard for environmental criteria) and laws which were seen in 7 cases. The second most important reason that were seen in 5 cases of gaps were mismanagement and poor monitoring (disregard for requirements of the management system and poor monitoring of financial, accounting, and risk control issues).
Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the study results, the following solutions were recommended to improve the plastic waste management system: 1- attention to environmental issues in policymaking for plastic waste management and modification of the framework of waste management laws, 2- incorporation of waste management hierarchy, with an emphasis on consumption management and recycling, into policies, 3- expansion and improvement of global innovation on plastic waste management, 4- considering sustainable financial options in EPR plastic waste management policies, 5- development of specific educational curricula for all employees of environmental courts and implementation of capacity-building programs with a greater focus on all relevant authorities, 6- encouragement of investment in plastic waste management infrastructure, 7- offering incentives for manufacturers to design and manufacture products based on circular economy in order to reduce the release of plastic waste into the environment, 8- integration of rubbish collectors with the informal sector to promote facilities of door-to-door collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of plastic waste, preferably through associations, cooperatives, and so on, and 9- development of clear competencies for the supervision, control, implementation, and prosecution of plastic waste management processes.
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