Enabling technologies for waste management 4.0 in developing countries a systematic review and contextual framework for Senegal

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) poses a major challenge for developing countries, particularly in Senegal, where limited infrastructure and rapid population growth are overwhelming conventional systems, generating economic, health and environmental problems, and hinder sustainable development. While emerging technologies offer opportunities for transformation and effective management, the current literature remains fragmented, often focusing on isolated solutions rather than the waste life cycle as a whole. This study pursues two complementary objectives: (i) a systematic literature review, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, of innovative waste management solutions based on emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and next-generation communication networks across the entire waste management lifecycle; and (ii) a confrontation of these findings with empirical evidence collected through a field survey conducted in the Dakar metropolitan area, Senegal. The literature search covered five academic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, and SpringerLink) for the 2016–2026 period, yielding 850 initial records, of which 72 studies met the eligibility criteria and were retained for qualitative synthesis. Beyond a simple technical overview, this work offers a rigorous taxonomy of existing solutions, a comparative analysis of algorithmic performance, and a critical assessment of the interoperability, cost, and energy-consumption barriers. The complementary field survey, conducted among 435 valid household responses across ten neighbourhoods of Dakar, provides a socio-technical baseline (waste generation rates, source-separation practices, and citizens' stated willingness to adopt digital tools) that informs, but does not constitute a field validation of the seven-layer conceptual framework proposed for Senegalese realities (e.g., the Mbeubeuss landfill). The main limitation of this study is that the proposed framework has not yet undergone pilot-scale field validation; its practical implication is to provide decision-makers with a cost-aware, contextually adapted roadmap for the phased deployment of smart waste management technologies in resource-constrained urban environments.