Purpose – The purpose of this article is to create a comprehensive review of existing research in the area of knowledge management of waste management. This study is part of a larger research project, which is aimed on knowledge management of reverse logistics. Waste management can be considered as a related field to reverse logistics, therefore the ways how the knowledge is managed in waste management can be important for reverse logistics as well. As the research regarding knowledge management of reverse logistics is undeveloped, it can be more developed in the field of waste management. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on qualitative content analysis which is appropriate for concept generation. The concepts were generated from knowledge management studies in the field of waste management. The sample of studies was created as follows. First, citation index databases (Web of Science, SCOPUS) were searched on keywords (knowledge management and waste management). Second, results of this query were refined according to content of abstracts. After that, refined set of articles was analysed by full text qualitative content analysis method. The analysis revealed categories which were compared with research topics of knowledge management and waste management. Originality/value – This study is the first literature review of knowledge management of waste management. It enables further research of the topic by introducing a basic framework of concepts (codes) of knowledge management of waste management. The framework can serve as a starting point for future knowledge management research in waste management field. Practitioners can use the results of this study as a general body of knowledge of concepts of knowledge management of waste management. Practical implications – The outcomes of this study have several implications. First, knowledge management research of waste management is significantly undeveloped. This should imply increase in studying of several topics, such as organizational learning, knowledge sharing and creation, knowledge management of re-use of waste and minimisation of was. Second, this study revealed misinterpretation of some crucial terms regarding knowledge management. Some analysed studies used terms data, information and knowledge interchangeably or did not defined the terms. This fact can lead to misinterpretation of the whole study and creates confusion in the research field.
Keywords – Knowledge management, Qualitative content analysis, Waste management, Review, Categories