Prioritizing action plans to save resources and better achieve municipal solid waste management KPIs: An urban case study

ABSTRACT

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in cities is one of the most complex tasks facing local administrations. For this reason, waste management performance measurement structures are increasingly implemented at local and national levels. These performance structures usually contain strategic objectives and associated action plans, as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) for organizations investing their resources in action plans. This study presents the results of applying a methodology to find a quantitative-based prioritization of MSW action plans for the City Council of Castelló de la Plana in Spain. In doing so, cause-effect relationships between the KPIs have been identified by applying the principal component analysis technique, and from these relationships it was possible to identify those action plans which should be addressed first to manage public services more efficiently. This study can be useful as a tool for local administrations when addressing the actions included in their local waste plans as it can lead to financial savings.

Implications: This paper introduces and implements a methodology that uses principal component analysis to analyze real data from waste management KPIs and provide municipal solid waste managers with a decision-making tool for prioritizing action plans. The methodology saves financial resources and time, as well as reinforcing the probability of reaching the meta values of the main performance system KPIs.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the Castelló de la Plana City Council for providing data for the analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that supports the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [H.M.S.] on request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Héctor Moreno Solaz

Héctor Moreno Solaz is a PhD student at the Project Management, Innovation and Sustainability Research Center (PRINS) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Spain.

Miguel-Ángel Artacho-Ramírez

Miguel-Ángel Artacho-Ramírez, PhD, is a lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Spain, and Director of the Project Management, Innovation and Sustainability Research Center (PRINS).

Víctor-Andrés Cloquell-Ballester

Víctor-Andrés Cloquell-Ballester, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Spain, and head of sustainability in the Project Management, Innovation and Sustainability Research Center (PRINS).

Cristóbal Badenes Catalán

Cristóbal Badenes Catalán is a senior engineer, Director of Infrastructures, Public Services and Environment at the City Council of Castelló de la Plana, Spain.