Investigating the formal and informal cycle of waste management in Kerman using the CLD model

Waste management has always been one of the most significant challenges in the municipalities of Iran. Besides the municipalities, there are other stakeholders who have an informal yet determinative role in the urban waste management cycle. Most of the separation of valuable waste from cities and its transfer to informal recycling-processing workshops is carried out by these informal groups. The economy resulting from formal and informal cycles is circulating continuously and consistently, though it has also created problems for cities. This study employs the concepts of Systems Thinking and the Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) model to better understand the current state of waste management practices in Kerman City. The proposed scenarios are based on creating an activity licensing system for informal collectors and encouraging them to cooperate more closely with the Kerman municipality. In the continuation of the CLD cycle for both scenarios, the relationship between each of the players and variables of the model is analyzed and investigated. The results of the project provide a new complete understanding of the determinative variables in cooperation and competition between official and unofficial stakeholders in the waste management cycle of Kerman City.