Sustainable Environmental Waste Disposal Behaviour in Pre and Post Covid-19: A Case Study of Portugal

Resumen

This study focuses on the behavioral disposition of households to responsible consumption and disposal of waste products, before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Portugal. Among the challenges facing the world before the pandemic, there were the issues of air pollution and environmental degradation emanating from improper waste disposal and recyclable products. This became a threat to sustainable smart cities and urbanization hence it was included among the concerns of the United Nations (UN) for Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), the goals Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG-11), and Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG-12). Consequently, there is an urgency in increasing the recycling of materials and reducing the differentiated waste in landfills. In Portugal, there have been campaigns for reasonable recycling of wastes by families long before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. As traumatic events typically enable behavioral adjustments, this paper makes comparative studies of municipalities’ contributions to domestic wastes disposal management in pre-; during, and post-COVID-19 lockdown, and their direct consequences on the environment; with possible ways to motivate positive enthusiasm for proper waste disposal in order to enhance sustainable smart cities.