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This study aims to find the generation characteristics of household waste (HW) in a peri-urban area and establish an optimal HW management system to improve inhabitants living environment and for energy saving and pollution abatement. Jimei District, Xiamen, was chosen as a case study and 10 representative communities were selected as study areas. Questionnaires and a field survey were applied to investigate the characteristics of peri-urban area HW generation. After combining the results for communities of different urbanisation levels, representative communities were classified into three groups. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the current HW management system and a proposed integrated management system were compared. The results show that the integrated HW management system would achieve greater energy savings and GHG mitigation. Emissions from HW management in the lowest urbanised communities remained highest. However, the relationship between emissions and community urbanisation level was not completely linear. Finally, three kinds of integrated management strategy for HW generated from different community groups are proposed and suggestions given to establish an optimal integrated HW management system for peri-urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of communities is a common feature in peri-urban areas, which are transitional zones between urban and rural areas. Lifestyles, as well as environmental awareness, may be closely related to the community morphology. Currently, there are few studies on the differences in environmental awareness in peri-urban areas. In this paper, a typical peri-urban area in Xiamen (Jimei District) was selected to investigate the residential characteristics and compare and analyse residents' environmental awareness in communities at various levels of urbanisation. Based on external building and socio-economic characteristics, 10 communities in Jimei District could be classified and ranked by degree of urbanisation. The closer the communities were to the urban centre or industrial zone, the higher the urbanisation level. Significant differences in resident's environmental awareness existed among the 10 communities in Jimei District. Along the urbanisation gradient, the discrepancies in awareness among communities were not linear, but showed a U or inverted U trend, very similar to the environmental Kuznets curve. The data obtained should be helpful in enriching urbanisation theory, and provide a scientific basis for environment planning and management in peri-urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]