Analysis of Management Costs of Waste Organization and Identification of Factors Affecting Them with a Factor Analysis Model in One of the Northern Cities of Iran

One of the major concerns of developing countries, regarding public health, the economy, and the environment, is municipal solid waste (MSW) management; waste management is one of the costliest services provided by the municipality in developing countries. Because waste management imposes huge costs in developing countries, one of the most important strategies in these countries is to minimize waste production and thus to simplify the process of waste collection and transportation for disposal. The main problems of waste management in Iranian cities include low technical quality, low investment, and low attention to cost in the stages of collection, transportation, and disposal. In this study, the factors affecting costs and their impact percentages were identified by univariate analysis. The correlation between factors was determined by Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and their prediction and determination were performed by factor analysis with an exploratory method. According to the results, transportation (43%) had the greatest impact on the management costs of regional waste organization, followed by: wiping and cleaning of sidewalks, sweeping, and dredging of rivers (26%); other costs (12%); burial of waste (10%); washing of urban elements (4%); wiping and mechanized cleaning of passages and refuges (3%); and collection and transportation of construction debris (2%). Determining the share of each factor is a useful and practical way of comparing different factors and planning to improve organizations activities. Moreover, the results of exploratory analysis show that two factors had the most effect on the costs of waste organization.