COVID-19, Lifestyle Change, and Municipal Solid Waste: Evidence from 252 Communities’ Littering Records in China

32 Pages Posted: 24 Jan 2022

See all articles by Dongmin Kong

Dongmin Kong

School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Chenhao Liu

Peking University - Guanghua School of Management

Date Written: January 14, 2022

Abstract

This study investigates the impacts of lifestyle on municipal solid waste (MSW). Although solid waste is increasingly recognized as a serious worldwide environmental concern, whether and how the lifestyle causally affects MSW are unclear. Based on a unique data of daily littering records of 252 communities in Beijing, China, we introduce the shock of COVID-19 lockdown to identify the lifestyle shift and further evaluate its effects on MSW. Our difference-in-differences estimation shows that the total daily MSW decreases by 134.16 kg in a community, and the average weight of MSW per package decreases by 56.8% after the COVID-19 lockdown. We consider a series of alternative explanations, such as MSW hoarding, shifts in littering time, and fear of going out, but none can fully explain our empirical results. We then discuss the effect of lockdown on the reduction of MSW generation because of the strict restriction of consumption. We also conduct various heterogeneity analyses. Our results present clear implications for municipal waste management by highlighting how lifestyle changes affect the generation of MSW.

Keywords: COVID-19, Lockdown, Municipal solid waste, China.

Suggested Citation

Kong, Dongmin and Liu, Chenhao, COVID-19, Lifestyle Change, and Municipal Solid Waste: Evidence from 252 Communities’ Littering Records in China (January 14, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4008776 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4008776

Dongmin Kong (Contact Author)

School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology ( email )

Bldg. of Econ. School, Louyu Rd. 1037#
HUST, Hongshan Dist.
Wuhan, Hubei 430074
China

Chenhao Liu

Peking University - Guanghua School of Management ( email )

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