Journal profile · Environmental Science-Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Cleaner Waste Systems
ISSN 2772-9125 · Elsevier · United Kingdom
Cleaner Waste Systems: CAS Zone 3 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2026 Xinrui edition); impact factor 5.2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,840; review about 105 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 265 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cleaner Waste Systems is published by Elsevier and is classed under Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Municipal Solid Waste Management, Recycling and Waste Management Techniques and Recycled Aggregate Concrete Performance, together about 38.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Cleaner Waste Systems focuses on strategies that can foster waste prevention, optimize management, promote recirculation of matter and energy, and facilitate transition from linear approach to circular economy. Cleaner Waste Systems publishes current research on waste management solutions and policies, education, and economic and environmental assessments and aims to offer an interdisciplinary overview of recent research encouraging discussion and debate on how to achieve Cleaner Waste Systems from government, business, academia and society. The journal provides a key platform for publishing high-quality interdisciplinary papers on research and practice in the field, also including theoretical theses and innovative strategies as well as case-studies from practitioners. It looks outstandingly at the patterns of waste treatment to help identify more-sustainable solutions for waste systems and influence the so-called "end of life" of many products and flows. Though open to all scientific backgrounds, Cleaner Waste Systems will privilege contributions aimed at tackling the problem of waste generation and treatment under a systemic and relational viewpoint rather than devoted to a single molecule, process, product type, technology, in isolation from the context.The scope includes (but is not limited to) the following topics, where the cleaner and sustainability dimensions are explicitly treated:Generation and characterizationMinimizationRelevance to carbon peak and carbon neutralityCircular economyRecycling, reuse and remanufacturingStorage, collection, transport, and transferTreatment solutions (mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal, other)Final disposalEnvironmental, and Life Cycle AssessmentsAccounting systems and flow analysisEconomic analysisPolicy and regulationsGovernanceEducation, social and engagement initiativesSustainable planning and systems approachWe encourage those interested in organizing a special issue or a virtual special issue within the scope of the journal to fill out this form and contact the editors-in-chief for more information.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Science-Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Editor-in-chief Jian ZuoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 29%); most named Mainland China 6, Italy 5, Australia 3, United Kingdom 2, France 1 (21 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Municipal Solid Waste ManagementEnvironmental Science18.3%
- Recycling and Waste Management TechniquesEnvironmental Science11.8%
- Recycled Aggregate Concrete PerformanceEngineering7.9%
- Food Waste Reduction and SustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.7%
- Concrete and Cement Materials ResearchEngineering6.5%
- Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting6.5%
- Healthcare and Environmental Waste ManagementMedicine6.4%
- Recycling and utilization of industrial and municipal waste in materials productionEngineering3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.37LetPub ·
- h-index
- 31OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 162OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.68OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 258LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 579 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 117 | 117 | 73 |
| 2025 | 265 | 265 | 1,504 |
| 2024 | 72 | 72 | 1,000 |
| 2023 | 52 | 52 | 805 |
| 2022 | 73 | 73 | 1,667 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
105 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 16 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 16 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 105 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 16 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 1,840 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,430 / EUR 1,340 / GBP 1,140 / JPY 177,360 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,200 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,300 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- case studiesCase studies: An in-depth, detailed investigation of a specific "case" within its real-life context such as groundbreaking technologies of recovering materials …Length not stated
- case studyThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
- hypothesisThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
- letterThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
- letters to the editorThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
- literature reviewThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
- original articleThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- reviewThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
- review articleThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…main text ≤ 12,000 words
- short communicationThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…main text ≤ 2,000 words
- standard research paperThe following types of contribution are published in Cleaner Waste Systems:Original article: Standard research papers of 6000-8000 words in length, with tables,…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed, does not count as prior publication Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2772-9125
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cleaner Waste Systems
What CAS zone is Cleaner Waste Systems in?
In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cleaner Waste Systems?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 5.2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.1, h-index 31.
How long does peer review take at Cleaner Waste Systems?
The publisher reports about 105 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 16 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Cleaner Waste Systems based?
Of the 21 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 29%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (6), Italy (5) and Australia (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Cleaner Waste Systems?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cleaner Waste Systems is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Cleaner Waste Systems open access, and what is the APC?
Cleaner Waste Systems is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,840.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .