University of Twente Student Theses
As of Friday, 8 August 2025, the current Student Theses repository is no longer available for thesis uploads. A new Student Theses repository will be available starting Friday, 15 August 2025.
Modelling the Dynamics of Plastic Waste in Local Coastal Areas of Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Kenya
Barcelos, MSc Carolina (2022) Modelling the Dynamics of Plastic Waste in Local Coastal Areas of Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Kenya.
|
PDF
6MB |
| Abstract: | This study proposed a model to describe the local dynamics of the plastic waste system in a coastal region of Kenya. The research was developed in three dimensions. The first was qualitative and consisted of non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews, processed through thematic analysis. The second dimension revealed the extent of the quantitative data gap. Lastly, the spatial identification of urban and rural areas provided an overall depiction of the study area. The thematic analysis generated a codebook, which was converted into a System Dynamics (SD) model that encompassed: (i) a quantifiable model of stocks and flows; (ii) a conceptual system model of actions of prevention performed by stakeholders; and (iii) a conceptual system model of the challenges faced by the system. The results suggested that the model might significantly support decision-making processes that aim to reduce marine plastic pollution in local coastal areas. Thus, the main contribution to the academic discourse was presenting the structure of a system dynamics model for local coastal areas of low- and middle-income built integrally through a qualitative and inductive approach. Keywords: marine plastic pollution; low- and middle-income countries; local coastal areas; plastic waste management; system dynamics model; thematic analysis; inductive approach. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | ITC: Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation |
| Subject: | 43 environmental science |
| Programme: | Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation MSc (75014) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/93124 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page