Actor and Factor Dynamics in Urban Waste Management Experiments: Insights from China

Abstract

Effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management is critical due to its significant environmental and public health impacts. Cities play a key role in addressing MSW challenges, while generating the most waste and facing the greatest impacts, with their resources and ability to coordinate stakeholders, they are well-positioned to implement swift, transformative waste management solutions. However, MSW management in cities is a "wicked problem," marked by complex stakeholder interactions, multifaceted challenges, and uncertainties.The concept of sustainability transitions offers a valuable theoretical framework to examine the intricate processes by which MSW management can evolve. It highlights the interactions between actors and systemic factors across multiple levels of governance and practice. Given the uncertainties surrounding both the nature of the problem and potential solutions, small-scale experimentation has emerged as a promising approach to foster sustainable practices. While sustainability experiments are increasingly driven by diverse actors, there is limited understanding of how their roles, interactions, and strategies evolve across developmental stages of sustainability experiments formed in different settings. Moreover, the critical factors and their joint impact that influence outcomes remain poorly explored. Using China,the world's largest producer of MSW and characterized by a top-down governance system, as a case study, this research examines the development of waste management experiments within a centralized policy framework. We explore the primary question: How do actors' roles and strategies evolve in sustainability experiments, and what critical factors and synergies determine their outcomes within China's socio-political and institutional framework?Through four interrelated chapters, this research systematically examines the dynamics of actor roles, interactions, and contextual factors in forming urban waste management experiments across varied settings. The findings demonstrate that non-governmental organizations (NGOs), municipal governments, businesses, and inter-organizational alliances play critical roles in mobilizing resources, strengthening networks, aligning stakeholder interests, and building long-term linkages to address waste challenges collaboratively, albeit their roles and influence evolve over time. This research also identifies three successful causal pathways that underpin effective waste experiments:1. dedicated participants supported by strong community engagement, 2. committed actors backed by local government involvement, and 3. robust grassroots leadership enabled by responsible and responsive local governance. These pathways underscore the critical interplay of social, organizational, and behavioral factors in addressing the complexities of MSW management.By focusing on China's urban waste management, this PhD research makes several key contributions to the field of sustainability transitions. First, it advances understanding of how diverse actors and their interactions evolve across different stages of sustainability experiments, providing nuanced insights into actor dynamics and strategies. Second, it identifies and contextualizes the critical factors and their synergies that drive successful outcomes in sustainability experiments. This research also expands the geographical scope of sustainability transitions research, addressing a notable gap in understanding experimentation within China's unique institutional and socio-political environment. Finally, this work offers practical guidance for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers aiming to design and implement effective waste management initiatives in complex urban contexts. Show more