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Impact of the Number of Hours Spent at Home on the Volume of Municipal Waste Generated: Evidence from Tokyo during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  • Kentaka Aruga

    (Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama 338-8570, Japan)

Abstract

This study explores how changes in hours spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 2020–February 2022) affected the volume of municipal waste generated by households. Applying autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to a time series model created to measure the volume of combustible waste, recyclable plastic, plastic bottles, glasses and cans, and used paper, this study finds that an increase in the number of hours spent at home elevated the amount of combustible waste, recyclable plastic bottles, and glass bottles and cans generated. The increase in the volume of waste during the pandemic tended to be related to increased demand for delivery and take-out containers, and the increase in combustible waste was likely caused by a surge in the use of unrecyclable plastic containers. Thus, the results of the study suggest the importance of enhancing the use of recyclable containers and the need for support to develop ways to spread the use of such containers.

Suggested Citation

  • Kentaka Aruga, 2022. "Impact of the Number of Hours Spent at Home on the Volume of Municipal Waste Generated: Evidence from Tokyo during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-10, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6165-:d:818934
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Kentaka Aruga, 2021. "Changes in Human Mobility under the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Tokyo Fuel Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Abel Brodeur & David Gray & Anik Islam & Suraiya Bhuiyan, 2021. "A literature review of the economics of COVID‐19," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1007-1044, September.
    4. Sonia Akter, 2020. "The impact of COVID-19 related ‘stay-at-home’ restrictions on food prices in Europe: findings from a preliminary analysis," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 719-725, August.
    5. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on waste management," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 7951-7960, May.
    6. Kentaka Aruga & Md. Monirul Islam & Arifa Jannat, 2021. "Does Staying at Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic Help Reduce CO 2 Emissions?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-13, July.
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