Towards a sustainable future: Nexus between the sustainable development goals and waste management in the built environment

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced to the world in 2015 to provide a roadmap for development in domains, such as poverty reduction, health, education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and climate action. Among the domains that must be worked on to reach the SDGs, waste management in the present day Built Environment (BE) is a domain that has been found to be significantly involved in achieving the SDGs and ensuring a sustainable future. Addressing the significance of this observation, the review aims to provide an overview of the current environmental and social factors related to waste management in the BE, identifies how waste management is important in achieving each SDG, and discusses key challenges and opportunities regarding the waste sector along with innovative approaches to waste management. Furthermore, the review presents cooperative game theory as a tool for providing models for the better identification of gaps in the compliance of waste laws and potential predictions of the future behaviour of the generators and handlers of waste to make better policies regarding waste management in the BE by considering SDGs as a guiding tool.

Automated summary

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced in 2015 to provide a roadmap for various domains of development. Waste management in the Built Environment (BE) has been identified as significantly involved in achieving the SDGs and ensuring a sustainable future. This review discusses the current environmental and social factors related to waste management in the BE, highlights the importance of waste management in each SDG, and presents challenges, opportunities, and innovative approaches in the waste sector. Additionally, cooperative game theory is presented as a tool for better identifying gaps in waste laws compliance and predicting future behavior to form better waste management policies based on the SDGs.