RESEARCH ARTICLE Characterizing Urban Household Waste Generation and Metabolism Considering Community Stratification in a Rapid Urbanizing Area of China

The relationship between social stratification and municipal solid waste generation remains uncertain under current rapid urbanization. Based on a multi-object spatial sampling tech-nique, we selected 191 households in a rapidly urbanizing area of Xiamen, China. The selected communities were classified into three types: work-unit, transitional, and commer-cial communities in the context of housing policy reform in China. Field survey data were used to characterize household waste generation patterns considering community stratifi-cation. Our results revealed a disparity in waste generation profiles among different house-holds. The three community types differed with respect to family income, living area, religious affiliation, and homeowner occupation. Income, family structure, and lifestyle caused significant differences in waste generation among work-unit, transitional, and com-mercial communities, respectively. Urban waste generation patterns are expected to evolve due to accelerating urbanization and associated community transition. A multi-scale inte-grated analysis of societal and ecosystemmetabolism approach was applied to waste metabolism linking it to particular socioeconomic conditions that influence material flows and their evolution. Waste metabolism, both pace and density, was highest for family struc-ture driven patterns, followed by lifestyle and income driven. The results will guide commu-nity-specific management policies in rapidly urbanizing areas