Social Innovation to Enhance Waste Management: Case from Zhejiang and Hubei Province, China

Poor waste management contributes to hordes of social problems and disasters like; climate change and air pollution which has direct implications for the sustainability of the ecosystem. The presence of such crises pushes our globalised community to contribute to nurturing innovative solutions for social recoveries reducing the risk of impending man-made or natural disasters. Such community-driven social enterprises promote environmental sustainability. This paper aims to understand how social innovation can improve waste management practices and help the government manage the waste issue. In order to realize its aim, this paper offers a qualitative case study approach to understanding social innovation adopted to improve waste management in two provinces in China: namely Zhejiang and Hubei Province. Management of waste in China is a serious issue, for instance, in 2020, the Zhejiang Province ranked 3rd in China in terms of annual provincial waste disposal, with about 20 million tons. This paper also assesses the value of two successful social innovations, the Huge Recovery and the Medical Waste Pass, which were implemented in the Zhejiang and Hubei Provinces, respectively. According to the findings of the case studies, both Hubei and Zheijang have different social innovations to address the waste problem. Furthermore, both social innovations completed the five core elements of social innovation. This research also suggests social entrepreneurship approach to support social innovation implementation.