Identifying and explaining key drivers affecting citizens' participation in urban waste management The Case Study of Tabriz metropolis

The excessive increase in the urban population in recent years has caused an increase in consumption and, as a result, the production of all kinds of waste in urban areas. Currently, one of the most important environmental issues in the city of Tabriz is urban waste management. Knowing the opinions and participation of citizens in waste management is essential. Therefore, the current research aims to identify and explain the key drivers affecting citizens' participation in urban waste management. The current research method is an explanatory description with practical-developmental goals. The required data has been collected in two documentary and field methods. The statistical population is all citizens of the Tabriz metropolis. The results showed that the score obtained on the Likert scale is equal to 3.08. The highest averages for regions 1, 2, 9, and 5 are 3.15, 3.13, 3.12, and 3.11, respectively, and the lowest for region 4 is 3.03. Despite the obtained results, there is a possibility of instability due to the low averages obtained. The relationships between them were explained by extracting 44 factors, applying the opinions of 50 experts to determine the importance of factors, and using the interaction/structural effects analysis method in Mic Micmac Fuzzy software. The results showed that the most effective direct factors include social capacity building, active participation of stakeholders, social trust, social capital, civil society institutions and organizations (CSO), establishing interaction between the participant and the participant, and training the rights and duties of citizenship and NGOs. The obtained factors show the role of social factors, cultural infrastructure, and bottom-up planning, which have been associated with positive feedback and successful experiences worldwide in recent years.