Pathways towards successful urban community waste management: Insight from 26 experiments in China

Understanding factors influencing the outcomes of innovative community waste management experiments is crucial for improving urban waste management. Yet, there is limited evidence on what are the critical factors and how different combination, and interaction of these factors influence outcomes. This study analyses 26 community waste management experiments in Shenzhen, China, using a mixed-method approach. Through analyzing data obtained from interviews, surveys, and focus groups, we identify 19 key factors determining the success of these experiments. Through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we identified three successful causal pathways: (1) committed participants supported by dedicated communities; (2) committed participants with local government backing; and (3) strong grassroots leadership supported by responsible local government. This indicates that an integration of social, organizational, and behavioral dimensions is crucial to tackle complex waste management challenges. The results also imply that policymakers and practitioners may chose alternative approaches to success, depending on their local situation.