Public participation of illegal dumping management: mining of web based data

Public participation of illegal dumping could significantly influence the implementation of local waste management by collaborating with officials for early detection. However, the level of public participation varies from one region to another. To develop practical strategies for solid waste management, it is necessary to identify the space-time variability in public participation and explore the underlying reasons. Taking China as an example, this study explores public participation in illegal dumping in a large region by mining network data. Results show that there is a strong seasonality in the level of public participation where areas of high participation are clustered around Beijing. Interestingly, the study found that current policies do not have a significant effect on promoting public participation, which is more like spontaneous behaviour of the residents. In addition, the study revealed that there were significant differences in illegal dumping topics focused by the public and the government. The public is more concerned with prevention, while the government is more focused on solving immediate problems. These phenomena all point to the need for different approaches of public participation in different regions, which indicates the complexity of developing a set of programs to manage illegal dumping. This study has both theoretical contribution to exploration of illegal dumping management policies, and insights into public participation research in solid waste management worldwide.