Background: Earthquake-generated waste poses serious threats to public health and the environment, making disaster waste management a critical issue. Achieving integrated management requires a thorough understanding of the challenges posed by earthquake-related waste. To address this, the present systematic literature review was conducted to identify and classify the key obstacles in earthquake waste management.
Methods: This systematic review analyzed articles published between 2014 and November 2024. Searches were conducted in the Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases using keywords such as “waste management,” “solid waste,” “trash,” “debris,” “garbage,” and “earthquake,” along with their Persian equivalents. All stages of the review adhered to the PRISMA checklist guidelines, and the quality of the selected studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).
Results: An initial pool of 693 articles was identified after database searches and duplicate removal. Following systematic screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts, and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 articles were selected for data extraction and quality assessment. From the full-text analysis of these documents, the challenges of earthquake waste management were categorized into eight groups: (1) strategic management, (2) laws and budgets, (3) health and environmental threats, (4) education and human resources, (5) infrastructure and equipment, (6) technical and specialized aspects, (7) executive management, and (8) information and resources.
Conclusion: Identifying the challenges of earthquake waste management provides essential insights for managers and policymakers, enabling the adoption of a comprehensive approach that improves decision-making and strategic planning to address waste-related issues in post-earthquake scenarios.