May 18, 2026
Research Trends in Organic Waste Management in Municipal Marketplaces: A Bibliometric Analysis
- Nicolas Norena1
- 1Universidad Libre Seccional Pereira
Protocol Citation: Nicolas Norena 2026. Research Trends in Organic Waste Management in Municipal Marketplaces: A Bibliometric Analysis. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.e6nvwwwq9vmk/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: May 15, 2026
Last Modified: May 18, 2026
Protocol Integer ID: 317162
Keywords: bibliometric indicator, bibliometric analysis, organic waste management in municipal market, research trends in organic waste management, structured bibliometric approach, organic waste management, urban waste management, related urban waste system, organic waste, author productivity, municipal marketplace, publication, scopus database, centrality, municipal market, including annual scientific production, keyword normalization, annual scientific production
Abstract
A structured bibliometric approach was applied to analyze research trends in organic waste management in municipal marketplaces and related urban waste systems. Publications were retrieved from the Scopus database using a predefined search equation combining terms related to organic waste, municipal markets, valorization strategies, and urban waste management. The search covered the period 2000–2023 and included articles, reviews, book chapters, and conference proceedings written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. A PRISMA-based screening process was used to remove duplicates, incomplete records, and studies not directly related to organic waste management in municipal market contexts, resulting in a final dataset of 206 publications. Bibliometric indicators, including annual scientific production, author productivity, journal distribution, and country contributions, were analyzed using the Bibliometrix R package. Network visualization was performed with VOSviewer to examine keyword co-occurrence, country collaboration, and author co-authorship patterns. Keyword normalization was conducted to merge synonymous terms and standardize non-English keywords. A strategic diagram was also developed to classify research themes according to centrality and density, allowing the identification of motor, basic, niche, and emerging or declining themes within the field.
Selection of the database
For the bibliometric analysis, Scopus was selected as the main database due to its broad multidisciplinary coverage, encompassing areas such as physical sciences, health sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Scopus is particularly suitable for bibliometric studies because of its extensive repository of indexed publications and standardized metadata structure, which facilitates citation analysis, co-authorship mapping, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and other bibliometric indicators essential for comprehensive scientific evaluation. In addition, Scopus offers strong compatibility with bibliometric tools such as Bibliometrix and VOSviewer, supporting reproducible quantitative and network-based analyses. Although other scientific databases, including Web of Science and Google Scholar, also contain relevant literature on waste management research, Scopus was selected to ensure consistency in citation indexing and reduce duplication during network analysis. Nevertheless, the exclusive use of Scopus may have limited the inclusion of some regional or non-indexed publications, particularly from developing countries.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
To ensure the relevance and quality of the articles included in this bibliometric analysis, specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were established. Original research articles, systematic reviews, book chapters and conference proceedings published between 2000 and 2023, written in English, Spanish or Portuguese, were included. Papers had to explicitly address organic waste management in the context of municipal markets or similar urban areas. Editorials, letters to the editor, brief notes, and articles that did not undergo peer review were excluded. In addition, studies that focused exclusively on industrial or agricultural waste were discarded, as well as those that dealt with waste management in general without a specific focus on organic waste from markets. Results were exported in.CSV format for further analysis, and included key data such as titles, authors, affiliations, keywords, abstracts, number of citations, countries of publication and journals.
A PRISMA-based screening framework was applied to improve transparency and reproducibility in the study selection process. The identification stage included records retrieved from the Scopus database using the predefined search equation. Duplicate records and studies not directly related to organic waste management in municipal marketplaces were removed during the screening stage through title and abstract evaluation. Full-text assessment was subsequently performed to verify eligibility according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final dataset consisted of 206 publications included for bibliometric analysis.
Creation of the search equation
The design of the search algorithm followed the best practices in the construction of equations for bibliometric analysis. This algorithm was developed to capture relevant literature on organic waste management in urban and municipal settings, including key terms related to organic waste, urban markets, and management strategies. The search included international terms and covered both traditional and innovative technological solutions such as composting, bioconversion and circular economy. The search equation implemented in Scopus was as follows: (“organic waste” OR “food waste” OR “biodegradable waste” OR “organic residues” OR “municipal solid organic waste” OR “green waste” OR “compostable waste”) AND (“marketplaces” OR “markets” OR “farmer’s market” OR “bazaar” OR “public market” OR “local market” OR “street market”) AND (“valorization” OR “waste management” OR “composting” OR “recycling” OR “waste utilization” OR “resource recovery” OR “bioconversion” OR “circular economy” OR “sustainability” OR “environmental impact” OR “waste-to-energy” OR “upcycling” OR “material recovery”) AND (“municipal” OR “city” OR “urban” OR “local government” OR “civic” OR “metropolitan” OR “town” OR “municipality”) AND NOT (“wastewater” OR “agricultural waste” OR “industrial waste”).
Bibliometric analysis and visualization
For the processing and analysis of bibliometric data, two main tools were used: Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. Bibliometrix, an open-source package for R, was employed to perform quantitative analyses of scientific production, including annual publication trends, author productivity, journal distribution, and country contributions.In addition, keyword normalization procedures were applied to standardize synonymous terms and translate non-English keywords into English, reducing fragmentation during co-occurrence analysis. Bibliometric networks were constructed using co-occurrence and co-authorship matrices generated within Bibliometrix.
VOSviewer was used for network visualization and mapping of bibliometric relationships, including co authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and international collaboration patterns.Association strength normalization and clustering algorithms implemented in VOSviewer were used to identify thematic structures and research clusters.
Network visualizations were generated using distance-based mapping techniques to improve the interpretation of relationships between authors, countries, and research themes. The combined use of Bibliometrix and VOSviewer provided both quantitative and visual insights into trends and patterns in organic waste management research in municipal marketplaces.
Productivity analysis
Productivity by year: The number of publications per year was analyzed to identify temporal trends in research on organic waste management in municipal markets. This analysis allowed us to observe peaks in research activity and influences of global events or policies.
Productivity by author: The most prolific authors in the field were identified and ranked, evaluating their contribution in terms of number of publications. This metric allows us to measure the influence of key researchers in the development of waste management solutions.
Productivity by journal: The productivity of the main scientific journals that have published on organic waste management was analyzed, highlighting the most influential publications by number of articles and their impact on the scientific community.
Network analysis
Geographical distribution: This analysis evaluated the global distribution of scientific production, allowing the identification of the most active countries in research on organic waste management in municipal markets. The visualization of these data showed the main research centers and their growth over time.
Keywords: Keyword co-occurrence analysis was used to identify the most researched thematic areas and emerging trends in the field. The clusters identified reflect the main lines of research, such as composting, circular economy and environmental impact of waste.
Strategic diagram: The strategic diagram was used to classify research themes according to their degree of development (density) and their relevance within the research field (centrality). Themes with high centrality and high density were considered motor themes, representing well-developed and influential research areas.
Themes with high centrality but low density were categorized as basic themes, reflecting important but less developed topics. Conversely, themes with low centrality and high density were identified as niche themes, characterized by specialized but isolated development. Finally, themes with low centrality and low density were considered emerging or declining themes, representing either newly developing topics or areas with decreasing research interest. This analysis provided a conceptual overview of the thematic structure and evolution of research on organic waste management in municipal marketplaces.
Analysis of co-authorship patterns
Cross-country collaboration: International collaboration was evaluated, identifying the most active networks of interaction between countries. This analysis revealed the global research dynamics and how countries have collaborated to solve common problems related to organic waste.
Collaboration between authors: Co-authorship networks were analyzed to identify connections between
key researchers. This analysis showed collaboration clusters, highlighting networks of researchers who have led significant advances in the field.