Name of the project : Post-Covid waste (WASTE)
Type of project : Research projects
Summary:
The period of confinement linked to the health crisis of spring 2020 obliged waste management services refocus their mission around the sole activity of waste disposal in many areas, and thus neglecting other waste recovery and prevention activities in light of the urgent need to reorganize services. Publications moreover highlight changes in consumption habits during the post-confinement period: an increase in the use of local products, a decrease in bulk purchasing, etc. Likewise (though yet to be quantified), the consumption of plastic packaging and sanitary textiles (including protective masks) also increased sharply. These consumption practices are likely to alter the pool of waste produced in a territory and these changes are not without consequences for waste management actors.
To what extent are public waste management services evolving and reassessing their priorities in this period of crisis? What were the consequences of these developments on urban clean up?
The WASTE project proposes:
- to measure developments in the waste pool in relation to changes in consumption patterns and products consumed (including new waste such as masks);
- to analyze how actors responsible for waste management and clean up (competent communities, treatment facility managers, decentralized systems coordinators, etc.) are adapting their strategies and activities to these changes;
- to understand how the restructuring of the national and international sectors has had an impact on the very organization of urban waste management services.