<![CDATA[Municipal solid waste management faces increasing sustainability challenges driven by rapid urbanization, rising waste generation, changing consumption patterns, and limited institutional and operational capacity, particularly in developing countries. Although previous studies have examined waste management from technical, environmental, behavior, and policy perspectives, the literature remains fragmented in explaining the interactions among circular economy practices, governance, smart technologies, public health, energy recovery, and household behavior. This study systematically maps publication trends, thematic clusters, research gaps, and future research directions in municipal solid waste management by integrating a systematic literature review with K-Chart-based knowledge mapping. Journal articles published between 2015 and 2025 were retrieved from the Scopus database and selected following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Of the 118 records initially identified, 30 articles met the inclusion and quality criteria and were included in the final synthesis. The selected studies were analyzed using thematic synthesis and K-Chart mapping to classify research themes, methodological approaches, conceptual relationships, key findings, and research recommendations. Five major thematic clusters were identified: sustainability and circular economy, waste governance, smart waste technology, public health impacts, and refuse-derived fuel and energy recovery. The findings indicate that the literature remains dominated by technical, environmental, operational, and policy-oriented approaches, while the integration of household behavior and food practices remains limited. Additional gaps concern governance resilience, institutional readiness for technology adoption, smart waste analytics, stakeholder coordination, and longitudinal evaluation. This study proposes an integrative conceptual framework linking household waste practices, food-related behavior, governance capacity, technological enablers, circular resource recovery, and sustainability outcomes. The framework provides theoretical and practical guidance for developing adaptive, inclusive, and municipal solid waste management systems.]]>
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