Identifying Challenges and Barriers to Participating in the Source Separation of Waste Program in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran: A Qualitative Study from the Citizens' Perspective

There are many problems with the waste management systems (WMSs) in developing countries. In order to provide applicable strategies for improving the WMSs in these countries, there is a need to identify the barriers and challenges at the community level. Our aim in the present study was to explain the challenges and barriers in front of the citizen's participation in the Source Separation of Waste (SSW) program in Tabriz, Iran. In this qualitative research, 13 citizens were invited to participate and were then interviewed. Data were analyzed with the content analysis approach. MAXQDA(10) was applied to facilitate the organization of data. Four core categories of the barriers to sourcing the separation of household waste were identified: (a) problems in the collecting system of waste; (b) a lack of responsibility among citizens; (c) insufficient awareness among citizens, and (d) the expectation of receiving incentives. The findings of the study indicated the potential infrastructure barriers that may hinder in-process household solid waste separation attempts. Recycling investors, environmental health policymakers, and stakeholders should take into account these barriers while designing, implementing, and/or reorienting the Source Separation of Waste (SSW) programs.