Possible Causes of River Waste in Southeast Asian Cities: A Literature Review

Abstract

Ever-growing Southeast Asian cities are facing resilience and sustainability issues with regard to their rivers. While the impact of municipal solid waste disposed of in rivers (river waste) is highly discussed, the causes of river waste need more exposure. This paper aims to clarify the current understanding of the causes of river waste in Southeast Asian cities by undertaking a review of the literature on river waste and theories on waste disposal behavior. We analyze the causes of river waste in terms of its sources, as in the actors, and factors, as in reasons for behaviors. We elaborate on three types of causal factors: physical, psychological and governance. Our results show that most of the causes of river waste in Southeast Asian cities from the physical, psychological and governance perspectives intersect at issues related to informal settlements, which have inadequate MSW services, and a lack of risk perception as the most frequently reported causes, while other aspects are still rarely brought up in the literature.