Waste management: a state-of-the-art literature review

The purpose of the paper is to systematise scientific research on waste management in order to identify key thematic clusters. A systematic literature review was applied based on bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in Web of Science from 1990 to 2022. Using appropriate filtering criteria, a total of 6,415 publications containing the phrase “waste management” in the title were selected for analysis. The analysis identified trends in publications, the most important publications, journals, countries, authors, collaboration networks in the thematic area and the main thematic research clusters. Through co-word analysis, five thematic research clusters in the field of waste management were identified. These include: (1) waste management methods across various industries, (2) circular economy approaches to closed-loop waste systems, (3) life cycle assessment as a prominent tool for evaluating municipal solid waste management, (4) optimization strategies for solid waste systems, and (5) hazardous and medical waste management, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we concluded a framework of existing literature revealed that research interest in waste management has increased over the years; the researchers tended to use more comprehensive methodologies or combined methods to conduct their works, they often used the Life Cycle Assessment; waste management is a key element of the circular economy, aiming to maximize the use of resources by extending the life of a product and the emergence of new sustainable business models driven by recycling. The contribution of this work is to extend current literature and serves as areference to scholars and practitioners for future research and operation in the waste management field. The obtained data can support policymakers and researchers in planning future research activities and implementing sustainable development strategies in Europe.