Researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid suggest a new methodology to assess the environmental impact of the containers used for the collection of urban waste.

An inappropriate design of a container system might unnecessarily aggravate the impact on the environment when collecting and transporting urban waste. This is the major conclusion of a team of researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid after carrying out a systematic evaluation of the urban containerization system.

The procedure, which is applicable to other cities and areas, allows researchers to assess the existing differences among the administrative units in which a territory is divided, to detect anomalies and suggest corrective measures to minimize the impact on environment when collecting urban waste.