Analyzing the structure of barriers to municipal solid waste management policy planning in Maputo city, Mozambique

• Barriers to waste management policy in Maputo City, Mozambique were assessed.
• The study identified seven key policy instruments and 26 barriers within existing waste management policy instruments based on literature review and a group search consensus process, Delphi Method.
• The barriers' hierarchic and cause–effect structures were clarified based on structural modeling methodologies-Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL).
• The policy instrument, legislation and regulation hold most of the influential barriers.
• Deficient institutional framework, political interference and weak relationship between stakeholders, were the most influential barriers.

A waste management policy is crucial to establish an effective and satisfactory waste management system. However, the establishment of waste policies is hindered by several multi-faceted and interrelated barriers, particularly in developing countries, adding complexity to already complex waste management tasks. Thus, this study aims to assess the barriers to a waste management policy in Maputo City, the capital of Mozambique, and to identify the most onerous barriers to the effective implementation of the policy through the combined application of the structural modeling methods, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL). The structures of the interrelationships of the barriers were effectively clarified: ISM provided the hierarchical structure, and DEMATEL provided the cause and effect structure. The results indicated that institutional structural weakness and a lack of cooperation among stakeholders are the major contributors to poor waste policy performance in Maputo City.