Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2021) 28:62421–62430

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15167-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Determinants of municipal solid waste: a global analysis by countries’

income level
Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate 1 & Maria Alejandra Ruano 2 & Vanessa Ormeño-Candelario 3

Received: 16 November 2020 / Accepted: 23 June 2021 / Published online: 1 July 2021
# The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
The generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is an environmental problem worldwide. A high rate of MSW produces
pollution and diseases and affects the economic development of countries. This study analyzes the effect that GDP, population
density, urbanization, and tourists’ flow have on the generation of MSW in 173 countries worldwide. We grouped countries
according to their income levels to control for heterogeneity between regions. The results show that, during 2016, solid waste
generation increased along with GDP increments, mainly in high-income countries. We show that the increase in MSW is also
due to the rise in population and urbanization. Tourism also has a positive and significant impact on the generation of waste. Our
results allow us to recommend some public policy actions.

Keywords Municipal solid waste (MSW) . Income level . Population . Urban density . Tourists’ flow

Introduction generation. The latter has been of great interest to academics

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is defined as the waste gener-
ated by domestic, commercial, and construction activities col-
lected, transported, treated, and disposed of by municipalities
(Karak et al. 2012; Das et al. 2019; Xiao et al. 2020). MSW
generation has received significant attention in recent years
due to its large production volume (Cheng et al. 2020).
Statistics show that more than 4 billion tons of solid waste,
almost half of which is MSW, is produced worldwide each
year (Gutberlet 2015).
For this reason, the majority of countries have shown in-
terest in reducing solid waste production. For this, the first
step would be to understand the factors that affect their
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
* Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate
manuelzambranom@uees.edu.ec
1
Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador
2
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Escuela Superior
Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5
Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador
3
Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL,
Guayaquil, Ecuador
and governments (Cheng et al. 2020).
Previous studies have identified economic, demographic,
and tourists’ flow variables, among other factors, as determin-
ing factors in MSW generation. For example, authors like
Cheng et al. (2020), Shapiro-Bengtsen et al. (2020), Xiao
et al. (2020), and Malav et al. (2020) have attributed the in-
crease in MSW to rapid population growth and urbanization,
as well as accelerated economic growth. On this, Soukiazis
and Proença (2020) explain how the MSW generation follows
the same trend of population density, degree of urbanization,
and economic growth. As the standard of living and income
improves, more resources are used, and therefore, waste
production tends to increase. On the other hand, Chen et al.
(2005) show that tourism also affects the generation of MSW.
According to Gidarakos et al. (2006), Teh and Cabanban
(2007), and Estay-Ossandon and Mena-Nieto (2018), tourism
is one of the leading social activities that increases MSW.
Table 1 shows a summary of previous studies on the subject.
However, these previous studies have been carried out on
particular countries, which have prevented having a global
perspective on the effect of economic, demographic, and tour-
ists’ flow variables on MSW generation.
Therefore, this research analyzes the variables that affect
the generation of MSW in 173 countries. First, we propose a
global model, including all the countries in the sample.
Subsequently, we group the countries according to their
62422 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430

Table 1 Previous studies concerning MSW

Authors Country Time period Variables Methods Main Results

Cheng et al. (2020) China 2003–2016 MSW, GDP, population,
urbanization rate, the gas
penetration rate, share of
tertiary industry, and
education
Gutberlet (2015) Brazil 2007–2013 MSW, average number of
cooperative members,
materials sold in kg, price
variations for selected
materials
Karak et al. (2012) Worldwide - Annual MSW, MSW generation Descriptive analysis
(in kpc), population, physical
composition of MSW
Das et al. (2019) Worldwide 2011–2015, MSW, GDP, urban population,
2016–20- major waste management
19 technologies
Xiao et al. (2020) China 2010–2035 MSW, GDP, per capita disposal System dynamics model A higher GDP growth rate will
income of residents, per capita
consumption expenditure of
residents, growth rate of
migration resident, growth rate
of permanent resident,
percentage of recyclable
waste, percentage of
household food waste, among
others
Zambrano-Monserrate Ecuador 2017 MSW, gender, age, civil status, Multivariate probit model The level of education and access
et al. (2020) education, income, poverty,
Difference-in-difference, The total amount of MSW will
STIRPAT model not decrease in a short term.
Increased population and
urbanization promote the
generation of MSW. Increased
gas penetration rate has
reduced MSW, especially in
Central and Western China.
The share of tertiary industry
has a positive relationship with
MSW, especially in the eastern
region, but has a negative
relationship with it in the
northeastern region
Descriptive analysis Recycling cooperatives are key
to the sustainability of cities,
since they reduce the city’s
solid waste load. Their impact
depends on resource
availability, fair pay, and
access to recycled material
within the MSW
The developed countries generate
from 521.95 to 759.2 kg per
person per year (kpc), while
developing countries generate
from 109.5 to 525.6 kpc on
average. The global MSW
generation surpasses 2 billion
tons per year, which threatens
the environment
Descriptive analysis The location of the country and
its economic situation are
essential to determine the
characteristics of its waste.
Modern techniques should be
applied in developed
countries. Low-cost labor in-
tensive techniques can be use-
ful in poor and developing
countries, since it maintains
the flow of “waste-to-wealth
cycle” and generates employ-
ment
boost the amount of MSW
generation per capita and the
total amount of MSW
generation. Nevertheless, a
strict demographic policy will
boost MSW generation per
capita but insignificantly
influence the MSW
generation’s total amount. A
sorting policy will result in
great demand for food waste
treatment facilities
to the Internet are determinants
of household behavior when
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430 62423

Table 1 (continued)

Authors Country Time period Variables Methods Main Results

region, environment, separating waste. This effect is

volunteering, Internet
Alam and Ahmade Worldwide - Sources and components of solid Descriptive analysis
(2013) waste, type and the quantity of
solid waste disposed, and
methods of solid waste
disposal
Magazzino et al. Switzerland 1990–2017 MSW, purchasing power parity,
(2020) municipal waste recovery
generation, greenhouse gas
emissions from the waste
sector
Clarke et al. (2019) UK 2010–2030 Mass of Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) present in the light
iron waste stream, masses of
WEEE collected through indi-
rect collections, in-warranty
returns, retail take-back, and
asset management schemes,
mass of non-obligated WEEE,
among others
Alola et al. (2019a) France, 1990–2016 Final renewable energy
Germany, consumption measure in
and the million tons of energy,
UK migration index, consumer
price index, GDP, carbon
dioxide emissions, greenhouse
gas
Alola et al. (2019b) Spain, 1999–2014 GDP, number of housing
France, construction per year, real
Slovenia, income tourism, carbon
Greece, emissions, renewable energy
Turkey, consumption
Lebanon,
and Israel
Shapiro-Bengtsen China 2003–2017 MSW, sorted food waste, urban
et al. (2020) population, and real
disposable household income
Malav et al. (2020) India - MSW, disposal methods,
characteristics of MSW
greater in the rural population
than in the urban one
The amount of waste generated
daily by each household has
increased due to global
population growth and the
rising demand for food and
other essentials. Waste that is
not managed correctly is a
severe health hazard and leads
to infectious disease
Time series procedures There is a bidirectional causal
(stationarity and relationship between
causality tests) and a municipal solid waste
machine learning generation and GDP,
approach indicating that Switzerland’s
Environmental Kuznets Curve
hypothesis holds. Waste
recovery (recycling and
composting) is a crucial driver
in mitigating greenhouse gas
emissions
Material flow analysis, The authors identified reuse as
prospective scenario the preferred management
analysis option, next to recycling.
Current WEEE management
practices are found to result in
net GHG saving
Fully modified Ordinary Renewable energy consumption
Least Square is observed to cause a 0.13%
(FMOLS) and and 0.14% decline in the
Dynamic Ordinary emissions of carbon dioxide
Least Square (DOLS) with FMOLS and DOLS.
Migration causes a 0.04% and
0.05% increase in carbon
dioxide emissions in the panel
countries with FMOLS and
DOLS, respectively
Pooled mean group, A 1% increase in housing
mean group, and construction policy, real
dynamic fixed effects income tourism, and carbon
emissions leads to 0.955,
8.622, 0.007, and 6.805
increase in renewable energy
growth
Time series Mixed MSW ranges from 159
million metric tons (MMT) to
340 MMT and sorted food
waste from MSW from zero to
109 MMT in 2050. Sorting
food waste will create stable
levels of mixed MSW in many
provinces
Descriptive analysis MSW can be used as a renewable
(review) source of energy through
62424 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430

Table 1 (continued)

Authors Country Time period Variables Methods Main Results

various waste-to-energy (WtE)

Chen et al. (2005) Taiwan
Soukiazis and Proença Portugal
(2020)
Gidarakos et al. (2006) Greece
Teh and Cabanban Malasia
2007
Estay-Ossandon and Spain
Mena-Nieto (2018)
2003–2016 Waste generation, population,
personnel costs, operation
costs, and maintenance costs
for waste collection and
disposal
2009–2018 Municipal waste generation,
gross value-added per head,
recycling level, population
age, population density, pro-
duction structure of the local
economies, and a dummy var-
iable for crisis that highlights
the years of fiscal consolida-
tion in Portugal
2003–2004 MSW, waste composition
- Waste management, marine
biodiversity, weather and
oceanographic conditions, and
water resources and
distribution
2000–2014 MSW, resident population, GDP System dynamics model The authors’ model predicts that
per capita, tourist population,
education level, number of
companies, number of houses
technologies. As of
March 2019, India has
installed 138.3 MW of WtE
capacity
Cost analysis The municipality can hardly
avoid transporting waste to the
mainland. It is optimal to
invest in an incineration plant;
doing so will allow them to
buy additional time to
investigate other solid waste
management strategies
Three-stage least squares There is an inverted U-shaped
relationship between waste
and overall production per
capita and between recycling
and waste in Portugal. The el-
derly population recycles more
relatively to younger
generations, and recycling in-
creased during the fiscal con-
solidation period
Physicochemical analysis Materials such as aluminum cans,
of MSW glass bottles, paper, and
plastics packaging materials
are representative
characteristics of intense
tourist activities and
greenhouses operation in the
area
Descriptive analysis The biggest constraint in Pulau
(priori assessment) Banggi (the study’s site) is the
lack of adequate water and
sanitation infrastructure.
Although occurring less than
once per hour, blast fishing can
potentially destroy the main
attraction for tourists
and scenario analysis by 2030, the generation of
MSW will have increased by
15% compared to 2014,
mainly due to the tourist
population’s effect, which is
37.5% higher than the resident
population. Also, the amount
of MSW sent to landfills
would decrease by 40%, and
selective collection would
increase by 30%, compared to
2014

income level, and finally, we estimate the elasticity of waste coefficients vary from one group to another. At the end of the
production according to the independent variables considered. document, we make some policy recommendations based on
Our results show that the magnitudes and significance of the the findings.
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430
The rest of the document is structured as follows: the
“Methodology” section 2 describes the methodology used.
The results are analyzed in the “Results” section. The
“Discussion and policy implications” section presents the dis-
cussion and policy implications.
Methodology
Data and variables
This study analyzes the generation of municipal solid waste
for 173 countries during 20161. The generation of MSW is
used as a dependent variable. The independent variables used
are: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (GDP per capita with a
purchasing power parity adjustment to 2011 to allow for com-
parison across countries), urban population (UP) (measured as
percent of population living in an urban area), international
tourism (IT) (number of incoming international tourists to a
country), and finally, the population (population of each
country).
MSW data was obtained from the study “What a Waste
2.0” prepared by Kaza et al. (2018). The independent vari-
ables were obtained from the World Bank database (WDI
2020).
Our model is specified as follows:
logðMSW Þ ¼ β0 þ β 1 logðGDPÞ
þ β2 logðPOPULATION Þ þ β3 logðUPÞ
þ β4 logðIT Þ þ ε ð1Þ
where ε is the stochastic disturbance term, which is nor-
mally and independently distributed with zero mean and con-
stant variance. The rest of the variables were previously de-
fined. On the other hand, all the variables were expressed in
terms of logarithms. This decreases the variance of the model
error.
Results
Figure 1 shows the generation of MSW per capita worldwide.
It is observed that the countries with the highest garbage pro-
duction are the USA, Germany, France, Australia, and New
Zealand, among others. In contrast, the countries with the
lowest rate of waste production are mainly in the African
continent and South Asia.
1 to population growth.
Initially, MSW information from 192 countries was accessed during 2016.
However, due to missing data in some variables, the sample was reduced to
173 countries.
62425
Additionally, Fig. 2 analyzes the generation of MSW (per
capita) by groups of countries. A growing trend can be ob-
served in the production of waste as the income of the coun-
tries increases. Low-income countries such as Ethiopia,
Uganda, Haiti, and Zimbabwe, among others, produced an
average of 0.1771 tons of solid waste per capita in 2016.
This value is relatively low compared to the garbage produc-
tion of high-income countries such as Australia, France,
Germany, the USA, and others. The latter generated approx-
imately 0.5624 tons of solid waste per person in 2016.
Table 2 shows the results of the estimation of the Eq. (1) by
robust OLS. The estimation by robust OLS allows correcting
the problem of heteroscedasticity. In total, we estimated five
models: a global model with all countries (173) and another
four models grouping the countries according to their income
levels. The countries’ classification by their income level was
made according to the criteria used by the World Bank (World
Bank 2021). Previous studies such as those of Alola and
Joshua (2020) have followed this strategy. Since the variables
are in logarithms, the estimated coefficients represent the elas-
ticities. In general, a good fit is observed in the models, and
the signs of the variables are as expected. However, some
results vary from model to model.
The positive sign of GDP indicates that economic growth
positively affects solid waste generation. However, the effect
is not significant in low-income countries nor lower-middle-
income countries. In high-income countries, a 1% increase in
GDP causes a 0.2978% increase in solid waste production.
This last finding agrees with the results from Namlis and
Komilis (2019), which showed that in countries such as
Greece and Portugal, MSW generation is strongly affected
by the increase in GDP. Likewise, in their study in China,
Xiao et al. (2020) showed that GDP has a positive effect on
increasing solid waste.
The increase in the country’s population causes an increase
in the production of its municipal solid waste. This effect can
be seen in all groups of countries. However, the magnitude of
the coefficients is different between the groups. For example,
in low-income countries, a 1% increase in their population
causes only a 0.5921% increase in waste generation. In con-
trast, in high-income countries, a 1% increase in their popula-
tion generates a 1.16% increase in waste generation. In other
words, MSW production in these countries is susceptible to
changes in their population. These results are consistent with
those of Cheng et al. (2020) in China. The authors showed that
the population size is the main factor responsible for the in-
crease in MSW generation, especially since China is the coun-
try with the world’s largest population. Furthermore, the study
by Ley et al. (2002) in the USA found that the demand for
solid waste collection and treatment services is directly related
The percentage of a country’s urban population also affects
the amount of solid waste it generates. This issue occurs in
62426 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430

Fig. 1 Municipal solid waste

generation (per capita)
worldwide. Elaboration: the
authors

upper and upper-middle-income countries. In general, for ev-
ery 1% that the urban population increases, MSW generation
will increase by approximately 0.2928%. The results reinforce
the hypothesis put forward by Cheng et al. (2020). The au-
thors showed that in China, for every 1% increase in the urban
population percentage, the amount of MSW increases by
0.313%. This country has experienced rapid urbanization,
which suggests that more people are migrating from rural to
urban areas, and thus, the amount of solid waste has increased.
Furthermore, Vij (2012) showed that in lower-middle-income
countries like India, cities with a high urbanization rate tend to
generate more waste. This result confirms the direct link be-
tween urbanization and waste production.
On the other hand, we find that international tourism in-
creases the production of solid waste. This outcome occurs in
all groups of countries, although in different magnitudes. For
example, in high-income countries, the elasticity (MSW/IT) is
much higher than in low-income countries.
Previous studies have also shown that tourism increases
waste generation (Greco et al. 2018; Arbulú et al. 2015;
Mateu-Sbert et al. 2013). Arbulú et al. (2015), in their study
for 32 European countries, explain that the influx of tourists
exerts significant upward pressure on the generation of MSW.
However, this happens up to a certain level of tourists. The
authors mention that technology plays an essential role in
reversing this relationship (MSW vs. tourists’ flow).
On the other hand, the results of the goodness of fit and
model specification tests are shown at the end of Table 1. The
R2 of the global model is 0.9625; this implies that approxi-
mately 96.25% of the MSW generation variations are ex-
plained by the joint variations of GDP, POPULATION, UP,
and IT. The p value of the F test indicates that not all the slope
coefficients are simultaneously zero; in other words, the null
hypothesis, that the independent variables jointly do not affect
the dependent variable (MSW), is rejected.
On the other hand, in small samples, the dependent variable
must follow a normal distribution. Compliance with the above
allows the statistical t and F tests to be used for inference. We
find that the dependent variable follows a normal distribution
in all the models since the skewness and kurtosis parameters

Fig. 2 Municipal solid waste 0.6

generation (per capita) by groups 0.55
of countries. Elaboration: the 0.5
authors
0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
Low Income Lower middle Upper middle High
(LIC) income (LMC) income(UMC) Income(HIC)
MSW generation per
0.1471 0.2245 0.306 0.5624
capita in tons
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430 62427

Table 2 Estimated models

Variables Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
Global L o w Lower middle Upper middle H i g h
income income (LMC) income (UMC) income
(LIC) (HIC)

log(GDP) 0.2537* 0.0786 0.1367 0.2178* 0.2978*

log(POPULATION) 0.6680* 0.5921* 0.6295* 0.7815* 1.1647*
log(UP) 0.2928* 0.1020 0.1823 0.2534** 0.3561*
log(IT) 0.0662*** 0.0532*** 0.0781** 0.0824* 0.1132*
_cons − 4.3982* − 5.9312* − 10.3241* − 4.7328* − 6.4391*
N 173 23 40 48 62
R2 0.9625 0.8662 0.9174 0.9816 0.9833
F 1460.58 27.63 127.34 635.64 846.33
Prob > F 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Normality Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal
(dependent
variable)
Ramsey RESET test 1.02 0.63 0.34 2.01 1.02
Prob > F 0.3910 0.6104 0.7961 0.1286 0.3910
Variance Inflation 5.34 5.42 5.67 5.25 5.39
Factor (VIF)

Significant at *1%, **5%, and ***10%

are consistent with this type of distribution2. In Fig. 3, we
present an estimate of the Kernel density to graphically show
the distribution of the global model’s dependent variable. If
we compare this graph with that of the normal distribution, it
shows that they follow the same pattern.
We also performed the Ramsey RESET test to test the
specification of the models. We find probabilities greater than
10% in all cases, which is why we conclude that the models
are well specified and do not have omitted variables. Also, the
VIF test was performed to detect multicollinearity. The mean
values are less than 10, so we can affirm that there is no
multicollinearity between the exogenous variables.
Finally, Fig. 4 shows the conditional averages of MSW as a
function of the independent variables (global model). The
closeness of the point cloud to the estimated line indicates a
good fit of the model. The positive slope matches the expected
signs of the coefficients.
Discussion and policy implications
In recent years, special attention has been paid to studies re-
lated to the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW).
MSW management continues to be a severe environmental
problem worldwide (Malav et al. 2020). In general, countries
(specially developed ones) produce waste at an accelerated
2
The probability of the skewness and kurtosis parameters is respectively 26%
and 73%. The Chi-squared parameter for the joint test of both parameters has a
probability of 45%.
rate. The rapid increases in urbanization, economic develop-
ment, population, and tourists flow are the main reasons that
accelerate waste production, causing different socio-economic
and environmental problems (Malinauskaite et al. 2017).
In fact, mismanagement of MSW has negative environ-
mental effects and causes public health risks. Therefore, it is
essential to urgently improve waste collection management,
segregation, and safe disposal (Malav et al. 2020).
Given this, most countries have tried to implement envi-
ronmentally sustainable solutions to improve waste manage-
ment and reduce their generation. Understanding and analyz-
ing the factors that affect its production could facilitate this
task (Cheng et al. 2020).
This research aimed to determine the impact of GDP, pop-
ulation, urbanization, and the tourists’ flow on municipal solid
waste production in 173 countries. Given the heterogeneity of
the regions, we grouped the countries according to their in-
come levels. In total, five models were estimated.
We found that GDP increases MSW production. However,
this only occurs in high- and upper-middle-income countries.
A possible explanation for this could be that consumption in
these countries is also high. It is known that consumption is a
function of income (GDP); therefore, a high GDP would pro-
duce a high consumption and therefore a greater generation of
waste.
A perhaps trivial finding, but not less important, is that the
number of inhabitants increases solid waste generation.
However, in high-income countries, the impact is much more
significant than in low-income countries. The explanation for
62428 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430

Fig. 3 Kernel density estimate. Kernel density estimate

Elaboration: the authors

.25
.2
.15
Density

.1
.05
0
5 10 15 20
logMSW

Kernel density estimate

Normal density
kernel = epanechnikov, bandwidth = 0.5985

this can be seen in Fig. 2, where it shows that the per capita
production of solid waste in high-income countries is much
higher than in low-income countries.
On the other hand, the percentage of urban population af-
fects MSW production. However, this effect is only signifi-
cant in high-income and upper-middle-income countries. In
low-income countries, an increase in their urban population
does not necessarily translate into a significant increase in
solid waste generation.
Likewise, we find that the flow of tourists in a country
increases its generation of waste. This outcome can be seen
in all groups of countries. However, in high-income countries,
it can be seen that tourism has a more significant impact on
waste generation. This result may be due to the tourist flow

Fig. 4 MSW conditional averages as a function of the independent variables. Elaboration: the authors
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2021) 28:62421–62430
that these countries have, which is much higher than that of
low-income countries.
Our findings allow us to recommend some public policies.
For example, it is of utmost importance that countries main-
tain and enhance their strategies to mitigate MSW’s environ-
mental impact. This recommendation is primarily aimed at
higher-income countries, as they are the ones that generate
the most garbage. Mitigation strategies must act mainly on
the urban population. Likewise, countries should prioritize
economic growth based on clean technologies, which gener-
ates less impact on the environment. Recycling strategies
should also be established, and the population should be en-
couraged to use less polluting materials such as cloth bags.
This change would decrease the generation of waste. The
policy should be promoted mainly in low-income countries,
whose pro-environmental culture is lower than in high-income
countries (Zambrano-Monserrate and Ruano 2020).
Also, there should be established protocols to control the
flow of garbage that is generated by tourism. All groups of
countries must consider the latter. Some strategies could pro-
mote technology innovation in companies engaged in tourism
activities and encourage the implementation of waste reduc-
tion systems (Arbulú et al. 2015). Furthermore, creating codes
of conduct in tourist places is an excellent first step in creating
environmental awareness (Mihalič 2000). Another more
straightforward alternative to implement would be to impose
taxes based on the “polluter pays” principle in the main tourist
places (Arbulú et al. 2016).
Our research certainly has some limitations. For example,
we only had data for 2016, so our results may be subject to
change over time. In addition, it limits us in the recommenda-
tions of public policies. Therefore, future studies could use
time series to analyze, for example, causalities between vari-
ables. This could be done by considering a particular country
as a case study. The causality analysis allows directing public
policies in a better way (Zambrano-Monserrate et al. 2018).
For instance, if MSW causes GDP, certain policies could be
detrimental to development compared to when GDP causes
MSW. Alternative or complementary methodological ap-
proaches to the one presented in this research could also be
used.
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the editor and the three
anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments that substantially im-
proved this manuscript.
Author contribution Manuel A. Zambrano-Monserrate: conceptualiza-
tion, methodology, software, formal analysis, writing—original draft,
writing—review and editing, supervision. Maria Alejandra Ruano: con-
ceptualization, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review
and editing. Vanessa Ormeño-Candelario: investigation, resources, data
curation.
62429
Data availability The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current
study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Declarations
Ethics approval Not applicable.
Consent to participate Not applicable.
Consent for publication Not applicable.
Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.
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