Background: Municipal Solid waste (MSW) can endanger the environment, natural resources and public health, depending on the disposal method. Recycling is among the sustainable waste management approaches. It can eliminate environmental dangers and contribute to economic development and sustain public health. Waste has been regarded as an asset globally, however, there is a shortage of recycling interventions and even relevant literature addressing this topic in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Palestine.
Objectives: This study aimed to map the micro and small-scale recycling initiatives in the West Bank (WB), Palestine, to examine their roles in promoting economic and public health-related sustainable development goals.
Methods: a multiple-method approach was utilized. First, a mapping exercise was conducted to identify relevant initiatives. Information was collected from available literature, personal communications with stakeholders and from websites and available databases. The snowballing technique was utilized also during communicating with stakeholders. The owners of the initiatives were contacted to meet them and to fill out the questionnaire. The questionnaire included four
main sections: 1) demographics of initiatives’ owners and general information on the initiatives 2) the initiatives’ economics 3) environmental information related to initiatives 4), and the initiatives’ effects on health. The data was analyzed through the SPSS package version 20. Descriptive analysis, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis were applied.
Results: Recycling initiatives contributed to the employment in the WB, by creating an average of 7 job opportunities by each initiative, including 3 for women and 3 for the youth of age group 18-25 years. About 39% of recycling initiatives were a second source of income for their owners, and 62% of the owners earned 2500 NIS or less from the initiatives. Health-impact-wise, about 90% of the initiatives’ owners believed that the initiatives reflected positively on the community relations. The likelihood of generating higher income (above 2500 NIS) was found to be greater for the initiatives in the south of WB, as well as for the initiatives with a special establishment and those with 5 years or more of operation (P= 0.016, 0.004, 0.003 respectively).
Conclusion: MSW recycling initiatives can serve as a good employment generator, especially for the youth and women. Yet, these initiatives face several challenges, most importantly financing, raw material, and marketing. The recycling initiatives affected positively the health of their owners and the community.
Recommendations: Creating a comprehensive national unified database for the micro and smallscale MSW recycling initiatives, designing interventions that promote recycling as a livelihood source and public health promoter, and conducting further research on recycling initiatives.