Solid waste recycling: balancing reality and aspiration – a case study of the Martyr's charitable recycling project
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47540/ijsei.v7i1.2205Keywords:
Martyr's Charitable Recycling Project, Recycling, Solid Waste, SustainabilityAbstract
This study highlights the significance of solid waste recycling through an examination of a charitable recycling project for solid waste recycling. The project was undertaken by the Martyr Charitable Association and ran from 2013 to 2020, competitively producing decreases in landfill space requirements as well as cleanliness in the public domain, while generating profits exceeding 30,000 dollars that were directly invested back into afforestation and supporting families in crowding their kitchens. The project was able to more than effectively reduce landfill space requirements while conserving materials, generating profits that funded an even greater return to support additional charitable and environmental projects. This study explores the potential of informal grassroots recycling initiatives in regions with limited infrastructure and low rates of formal recycling. It highlights how such community-driven approaches can contribute to the indicators of Success and Sustainability. In addition, the research established specific links to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, clearly articulated in Goals 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 13 (Climate Action). This one community model could be used as a guide for future projects to build on the support of communities to improve urban solid waste management in developing countries.
Downloads
References
Abduh, M. (2024). The Role of Islamic Philanthropy in Shaping the Circular Economy. The 3rd International Conference on Islamic Economics 2024.
Abogunrin-Olafisoye, O. B., Adeyi, O., Adeyi, A. J., & Oke, E. O. (2024). Sustainable utilization of oil palm residues and waste in Nigeria: practices, prospects, and environmental considerations. In Waste Management Bulletin, 2(1).
Abouzid, M., El-Sherif, D. M., Al Naggar, Y., Alshehri, M. M., Alothman, S., El-Seedi, H. R., Trabelsi, R., Ibrahim, O. M., Temraz, E. H., Buimsaedah, A., Aziz, I. A., Alwan, M., Al Hasan, N. H. J., Ragab, H. N., Koraiem, A. M., Ahmed, M. H., Temraz, H. H., Madeeh, A. K., Alshareif, M. O., … Amer, T. (2022). Investigating the current environmental situation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic: urban vs. rural context. BMC Public Health, 22(1).
Al-Alimi, S., Yusuf, N. K., Ghaleb, A. M., Lajis, M. A., Shamsudin, S., Zhou, W., Altharan, Y. M., Abdulwahab, H. S., Saif, Y., Didane, D. H., S T T, I., & Adam, A. (2024). Recycling aluminium for sustainable development: A review of different processing technologies in green manufacturing. Results in Engineering (23).
Alsadey, S., & Mansour, O. (2021). Environmental Impacts of Improper Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Bani Walid City, Libya. International Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 7(3).
Anon. (1990). Wastepaper dealer sees boom ahead as industry ups recycling efforts. Pulp and Paper, 64(9).
Anwar, K. (2024). Green Zakat Concept: A Strategy for Utilizing Zakat Funds for Environmental Sustainability. International Conference of Zakat 2024 Proceedings.
Aurpa, S. S., Hossain, S., & Islam, M. A. (2022). Effect of Plastic Waste on Volume Consumption of Landfill during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(23).
Badi, I., & Kridish, M. (2020). Landfill site selection using a novel FUCOM-CODAS model: A case study in Libya. Scientific African, 9.
Baya Chatti, C., Ben Hassen, T., & El Bilali, H. (2024). Closing the Loop: Exploring Food Waste Management in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability, 16(9).
Bui, T. D., Tseng, J. W., Tseng, M. L., & Lim, M. K. (2022). Opportunities and challenges for solid waste reuse and recycling in emerging economies: A hybrid analysis. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 177.
Cao, B., Chen, X., Lv, Z., Li, R., & Fan, S. (2021). Optimization of Classified Municipal Waste Collection Based on the Internet of Connected Vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 22(8).
De Sa, P., & Korinek, J. (2021). Resource efficiency, the circular economy, sustainable materials management and trade in metals and minerals. OECD Trade Policy Papers, 245.
Donnelly, G. E., Mertens, S. N., & Sintov, N. (2024). Increasing recycling with charitable incentives. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 99.
Durrani, B. A., Lecturer, S., Ivanauskien, N., Volung, J., Rahmani-Nejad, L., Firoozbakht, Z., Taghipoor, A., Arokiasamy, A. R. A., Pourdehghan, A., Tjan, S., Sukamto, R., Lumintan, D. B., Dhurup, M., Mafini, C., Dumasi, T., Kheng, L. L., Mahamad, O., Ramayah, T., Mosahab, R., … Wirawan, V. (2014). Implementation of E-Government in Welcoming the Contemporary Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era in Indonesia. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1).
Ehtasham, L. (2022). An Overview of Municipal Solid Waste Collection in Singapore, Mongolia, and Nepal. Indonesian Journal of Social and Environmental Issues (IJSEI), 3(2).
El Darai, T., Ter-Halle, A., Blanzat, M., Despras, G., Sartor, V., Bordeau, G., Lattes, A., Franceschi, S., Cassel, S., Chouini-Lalanne, N., Perez, E., Déjugnat, C., & Garrigues, J. C. (2024a). Chemical recycling of polyester textile wastes: shifting towards sustainability. In Green Chemistry, 26(12).
El Darai, T., Ter-Halle, A., Blanzat, M., Despras, G., Sartor, V., Bordeau, G., Lattes, A., Franceschi, S., Cassel, S., Chouini-Lalanne, N., Perez, E., Déjugnat, C., & Garrigues, J.-C. (2024b). Chemical recycling of polyester textile wastes: shifting towards sustainability Electronic supplementary information (ESI). Green Chemistry, 26(12).
Elmnifi, M., Alshilmany, M., & Abdraba, M. (2019). Potential of municipal solid waste in libya for energy utilization. Acta Mechanica Malaysia, 2(1).
Elsebaay, Y., Ahmed, M., Elagroudy, S., & Nassour, A. (2024). Energy recovery from landfill gas in Egypt. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-05537-x
Gnimadi, C. J. I., Aboah, M., & Gawou, K. (2022). Using Factor Analysis to Understand the Influence of Individual Perception on Plastic Waste Disposal. Indonesian Journal of Social and Environmental Issues (IJSEI), 3(3).
Hemidat, S., Achouri, O., Fels, L. El, Elagroudy, S., Hafidi, M., Chaouki, B., Ahmed, M., Hodgkinson, I., & Guo, J. (2022). Solid Waste Management in the Context of a Circular Economy in the MENA Region. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(1).
Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R., & Kosior, E. (2009). Plastics recycling: Challenges and opportunities. In Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526).
Kaza, S., Yao, L. C., Bhada-Tata, P., & Van Woerden, F. (2018). What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. In What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Urban Development: World Bank.
Khorasanizadeh, M., Bazargan, A., & McKay, G. (2018). An Introduction to Sustainable Materials Management. Handbook of Environmental Materials Management. 1-39.
Louzizi, T., Chakir, E., & Sadoune, Z. (2025). A comprehensive review on solid waste management in Morocco: assessment, challenges and potential transition to a circular economy. In Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, 10(3).
Mager, A., & Blass, V. (2022). From Illegal Waste Dumps to Beneficial Resources Using Drone Technology and Advanced Data Analysis Tools: A Feasibility Study. Remote Sensing, 14(16).
Mahjoub, O., Jemai, A., & Haddaoui, I. (2020). Waste Management in Tunisia—What Could the Past Bring to the Future? Springer Water.
Maier, J., Geyer, R., & Steigerwald, D. G. (2023). Curbside recycling increases household consumption. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 199.
Maskun, Ratnawati, Wiranti, Asriyani, & Aslan, J. (2025). Legal Framework Model for Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Indonesia: A Contemporary Environmental Fiqh Perspective. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review, 4(2).
Meerangani, K. A., Abdul Hamid, M. F., Hashim, S. N. I., Abd Wahab, N. A., Zulkefli, A. A., & Abu Bakar, M. (2022). Distribution of Zakat Funds in Malaysia From The Maqasid Al-Syariah Perspective. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(11).
Moustakas, K., Loizidou, M., Klemes, J., Varbanov, P., & Hao, J. L. (2023). New developments in sustainable waste-to-energy systems. In Energy (Vol. 284).
Nanda, S., & Berruti, F. (2021). Municipal solid waste management and landfilling technologies: a review. In Environmental Chemistry Letters (Vol. 19, Issue 2).
Nasrulloh, N., & Sulaiman, M. (2024). The Effectiveness of The Zakat Distribution System to Improve Community Welfare : Disbursement Collective Ratio Analysis. Proceeding 2nd International Conference on Law, Economy, Social and Sharia, 2.
Omran, A., & Gebril, A. O. (2018). Municipal solid waste management practices in the Central Part of Libya. The Impact of Climate Change on Our Life: The Questions of Sustainability. 149–165.
Purkayastha, D., Majumder, M., & Chakrabarti, S. (2015). Collection and recycle bin location-allocation problem in solid waste management: A review. Pollution, 1(2).
Sambyal, P., Najmi, P., Sharma, D., Khoshbakhti, E., Hosseini, H., Milani, A. S., & Arjmand, M. (2025). Plastic recycling: Challenges and opportunities. Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering (Vol. 103, Issue 6).
Shi, C., Quinn, E. C., Diment, W. T., & Chen, E. Y. X. (2024). Recyclable and (Bio)degradable Polyesters in a Circular Plastics Economy. Chemical Reviews, 124(7).
Talisuna, A. O., Okiro, E. A., Yahaya, A. A., Stephen, M., Bonkoungou, B., Musa, E. O., Minkoulou, E. M., Okeibunor, J., Impouma, B., Djingarey, H. M., Yao, N. K. M., Oka, S., Yoti, Z., & Fall, I. S. (2020). Spatial and temporal distribution of infectious disease epidemics, disasters and other potential public health emergencies in the World Health Organisation Africa region, 2016-2018. Globalization and Health, 16(1).
Tursunbayeva, A., Chalutz-Ben Gal, H., Santos Fonseca, S. S., Benito, P. A., Piña Ramírez, C., Rubeis, G., Filz, M.-A., Bosse, J. P., Herrmann, C., Cavalieri, A., Reis, J., Amorim, M., Santarsiero, F., Carlucci, D., Schiuma, G., Sukums, F., Wamala-Larsson, C. W., Kisenge, R., Ravi, S. J., … Kazancoglu, Y. (2024). A Spotlight on Environmental Sustainability in View of the European Green Deal. Sustainability (Switzerland), 16(1).
Underhill, K. (2016). When Extrinsic Incentives Displace Intrinsic Motivation: Designing Legal Carrots and Sticks to Confront the Challenge of Motivational Crowding-Out. Yale Journal on Regulation, 33(1).
UNEP. (2024). Global Waste Management Outlook 2024, UNEP - UN Environment Programme. Unep.
United Nations Environment Programme. (2024). Beyond an age of waste - Turning rubbish into a resource. Global Waste Management Outlook 2024.
Wang, F., Peng, X., Wei, R., Qin, Y., & Zhu, X. (2019). Environmental behavior research in resources conservation and management: A case study of Resources, Conservation and Recycling. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141.
Wijayanti, D. R., & Suryani, S. (2015). Waste Bank as Community-based Environmental Governance: A Lesson Learned from Surabaya. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 184.
Wikurendra, E. A., Abdeljawad, N. S., & Nagy, I. (2023). A Review of Municipal Waste Management with Zero Waste Concept: Strategies, Potential and Challenge in Indonesia. International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 14(2).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hosam Ali Aldhawi Ashokri, Mohd Hazarel Zairy Mohd Harun, Maghchiche Abdelhak, Mohd Asyadi Azam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
