Data Analysis in Solid Waste Management and Recycling—A Review

Waste management and recycling are essential parts of the modern world of consumers. To reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, some industries and companies are trying to recycle as much as possible and have started to consider the whole manufacturing process and reducing the amount of waste created while improving their brand. At the same time, citizens’ recycling habits have not progressed either, and many people still are sorting waste improperly or not at all due to a lack of information or motivation. This paper aims to discover how data analysis can help citizens’ solid waste management and recycling via a systematic literature review. Data analysis techniques can be utilised to automate or ease the burden on the whole waste collection process and provide different incentives to motivate citizens. The review shows that data analysis can be used (1) to predict waste production to reduce the number of wasted resources, (2) to create better waste collection processes through smart bins and routing, (3) to provide better sorting functionalities at the recycling plants as well as help for citizens, and (4) to provide incentives that would motivate citizens through rewards or penalties.