Sorting the Trash: How Smart Waste Management Systems Contribute to Sustainable Development in Smart Cities

Abstract

Waste management is a relevant challenge for cities around the world to ensure citizens’ life quality, and to significantly contribute to environmental protection. Hence, inefficiencies in waste management thwarts the sustainable development of cities. Smart waste management can help improving the waste management services of cities by pursuing strategic goals, including waste reduction, waste collection and transport optimization, and waste treatment optimization. However, current research insufficiently addresses the contribution of information systems used in the context of smart waste management to sustainable development. Based on a literature review, we show how different systems in the smart waste management context contribute to strategic goals and, thereby, to sustainable development. We call for more research on smart waste management that accounts for the information systems’ contribution to sustainable development.