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. 2025 May 30;15(1):19102.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-04145-7.

The first using developed clean environment index for assessment of the environment pollution caused by littering behavior

Sheida Parsa  1 , Masoud Yousefi  2 , Mohammad Ansarizadeh  2 , Hossein Moein  3 , Maryam Delavari Heravi  4 , Elham Nejadsadeghi  5 , Afsaneh Ghasemi  6 , Ali Habibi Dowlatabad  7
Affiliations

The first using developed clean environment index for assessment of the environment pollution caused by littering behavior

Sheida Parsa et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Classification of the environmental status resulting from waste littering has significant importance in evaluating the efficiency of the cleaning system and also in identifying the most polluted areas and priority for pollution control programs. In recent decades, various indexes have been developed for this purpose, of which the Clean Environment Index is one of the most widely used in recent years. The aim of this study was to improve this index for a more accurate assessment of the environment pollution. For this purpose, 25 locations in Tehran metropolis were evaluated in terms of the density of discarded waste in different land-uses. By changes in the classification of the status and its increase from five to eleven categories, the Clean Environment Index was improved and used. The results showed that the average density of litter in the studied locations was 0.198 items/m2. Cigarette butts, paper, and plastic constituted 29.85%, 12%, and 38.43% of the litter mass, respectively. While available indexes rank environmental pollution into five categories, make it difficult to compare locations and assess efficiency of cleaning programs, the development of a new index in this study addressed this challenge. The Clean Environment Index classified 56% of the studied locations in moderate status, while the Developed Clean Environment Index provided a wider distribution. Further classification of the pollution status in the new index caused the share of the largest category not exceed 36% of the studied locations. We were able to provide a better comparison between the studied locations by a better distribution of status classification. Developed Clean Environment Index can replace Clean Environment Index to achieve more accurate results.

Keywords: Cleaning system; Solid waste; Urban management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of study steps
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Composition of littered wastes in studied locations
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Calculated indexes and categories
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Characteristics of the environment pollution indexes (adapted from
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