Journal profile · Engineering, Environmental
Waste Management
ISSN 0956-053X · eISSN 1879-2456 · Elsevier Ltd · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1989
Waste Management: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 7.25; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,450; median 112 days to acceptance (122 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 66%; 631 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Waste Management is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Recycling and Waste Management Techniques, Municipal Solid Waste Management and Recycling and utilization of industrial and municipal waste in materials production, together about 33.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Waste Management and Disposal and Building and Construction. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Waste Management is devoted to the presentation and discussion of information on all aspects of solid waste and by-product management, under the framework of a circular economy and waste as a resource in order to close the loop. These aspects include generation, composition, collection, resource recovery and valorization (treatment), and final disposal. Also, the journal accepts manuscripts that address waste management policy, education, economic and environmental assessments (LCAs), artificial intelligence applications on solid waste management. Moreover, the journal accepts submissions on new solid waste management technologies, successful full-scale applications and Best Available Techniques examples. The journal addresses various types of solid wastes, namely: municipal (e.g., household, institutional, and commercial), agricultural, hazardous household, hazardous and non-hazardous industrial, construction and demolition, and healthcare waste, as well as dewatered sludges, spent batteries and accumulators, used vehicle tires, end of life vehicles, waste electrical and electronic equipment, textile waste, and other special solid waste streams. Note that Waste Management does not accept manuscripts focusing primarily on social or behavioral science aspects (e.g. surveys) or purely bibliometric studies. Manuscripts that focus solely on the characterization and use of a waste material in a new product are often more suitable for a journal that focuses on the material properties of the product (e.g. construction and building materials, materials science, polymer science journals). Finally, mining, metallurgical and radioactive wastes are not in the scope of the journal.The journal welcomes both fundamental and applied research that can be related to problems of interest to solid waste researchers, practitioners and/or policy makers. Well documented case studies will be considered but they must describe results that can be applied beyond the specific location of the case study. In considering whether a manuscript is suitable for publication in Waste Management, consider whether the information is of potential use to solid waste researchers, practitioners and/or policymakers.The following are some of the major areas in which papers are solicited within the solid waste management field:Minimization, generation, composition (including material flow analyses)Novel technologies in storage, collection, transport, and transferResource and energy recovery (mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal treatment, biorefining, etc.)Novel aspects in final disposal and landfilling Artificial intelligence applications (identification, sorting, process optimization, etc.)Environmental assessments (including LCA, S-LCA)Economic assessments (including LCC)Policy, legislation and planningBest practices and full-scale applications
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Environmental
Editor-in-chief Umberto ArenaPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 19 in mainland China (about 22%); most named Mainland China 19, Italy 14, United States 13, Sweden 5, Japan 4 (87 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Recycling and Waste Management TechniquesEnvironmental Science13.9%
- Municipal Solid Waste ManagementEnvironmental Science13.9%
- Recycling and utilization of industrial and municipal waste in materials productionEngineering6%
- Extraction and Separation ProcessesEngineering5.8%
- Landfill Environmental Impact StudiesEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Thermochemical Biomass Conversion ProcessesEngineering5%
- Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas ProductionEngineering4.7%
- Recycled Aggregate Concrete PerformanceEngineering4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 7.25LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 14LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 14Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.59LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 127LetPub ·
- h-index
- 287OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 8,607OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.9OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.54%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 586LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 12,297 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 477 | 203 | 394 |
| 2025 | 631 | 251 | 4,326 |
| 2024 | 533 | 213 | 8,237 |
| 2023 | 532 | 196 | 13,171 |
| 2022 | 503 | 153 | 16,754 |
| 2021 | 581 | 170 | 25,824 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
112 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 77 days – 169 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 6 days (122 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 119 days
- Sample
- 122 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,262 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3.5 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 66%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 51 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 123 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,450 / EUR 4,160 / GBP 3,560 / JPY 551,930 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,030 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Open calls for papers6, by deadline
- Advances in LCT methodologies and tools for sustainability assessment of municipal and challenging waste managementDeadline
- Bioplastics in Waste ManagementDeadline
- Biowaste Management for Greenhouse Gas MitigationDeadline
- Health Care Waste managementDeadline
- Techno-scientific reports of demonstration- and commercial-scale WM technologiesDeadline
- Industrial Hazardous Solid Waste ManagementDeadline
Article types accepted12, with length limits
- discussionsDiscussions (maximum of 3,500 words) - An editorial or a comment on a published manuscript.Length not stated
- editorialWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…Length not stated
- full length articlesFull Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscript that describes original research or a well-documented case study.Length not stated
- letterWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…Length not stated
- original researchWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…Length not stated
- perspectiveWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…Length not stated
- reviewWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…Length not stated
- review articleWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…main text ≤ 12,000 words
- review articlesReview Articles (maximum of 12000 words) - A synthesis and critical analysis of a research area.Length not stated
- short communicationWaste Management considers the following types of manuscripts for publication:Full Length Articles (maximum of 6500 words) - a traditional full-length manuscrip…main text ≤ 3,500 words
- short communicationsShort Communications (maximum of 3,500 words) - A presentation of original research or a case study that is significant but more limited in scope than a full-le…Length not stated
- timely advances in waste managementTimely Advances in Waste Management (maximum of 4000 words) - These articles should describe an important issue in solid waste management and may include curren…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 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. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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 Ltd
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1989
- ISSN
- 0956-053X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-2456
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Waste Management
What CAS zone is Waste Management in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Waste Management is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Engineering, Environmental / Environmental Sciences; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Waste Management?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 7.25; CiteScore 14, h-index 287.
How long does peer review take at Waste Management?
Based on the dates recorded on 122 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 112 days (interquartile range 77–169 days); authors report an average review time of about 3.5 months; the community-reported acceptance is “66%”. 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 Waste Management based?
Of the 87 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 19 (about 22%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (19), Italy (14) and United States (13). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Waste Management?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Waste Management is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Waste Management open access, and what is the APC?
Waste Management is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,450.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .