"Integrated Sustainable Waste Management, a set of Five tools for decision-Makers, Experience from the Urban Waste Expertise Programme"

THIS VOLUME PRESENTS a unique municipal approach to waste management based on lessons learnt during the six-year (1995-2001) Urban Waste Expertise Programme (UWEP) research and pilot project on urban waste in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This publication is the result of the work of a multi-disciplinary team which, with input from local partners, has covered the major issues in Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM). The set of tools that are discussed provide a framework, first for understanding the problems and then for looking for solutions. They provide insights into aspects that are not commonly considered to be essential, for example environmental, social and
legal aspects; the stakeholders; and practical or technical elements of the waste management system, including waste prevention, reuse and recycling. They are written for city and town mayors, municipal managers, members of city councils and other decision
makers in local authorities. They are designed to be of assistance to those concerned with improving their municipal waste management services in a sustainable manner. They focus on situations in low- and middle-income countries in the South but would also be
suitable for countries in transition.
The set of tools are divided into the following:
• Integrated Sustainable Waste Management – the concept: ISWM is introduced as a concept and is presented first in the context of the problems of waste management faced by many municipal managers and second, is shown in practice with examples.
Then a guide is proposed, illustrating the major steps towards planning ISWM.
• Micro and Small Enterprises in ISWM: These enterprises are presented as private sector actors, both formal and informal, and therefore the concept and organization are different than in high income countries. They are recognized by the local authorities and are often viewed as contributing to solid waste management in ways which help fill in for local government’s lack of resources. The three different types of micro and small enterprises and their financial, political and social characteristics and risk profiles are described. In an analysis comparing conventional waste collection with micro and small enterprises, the latter offers a good alternative, with more likelihood of success.
• Community partnership in Integrated Sustainable Waste Management: This illustrates how communities can be mobilized into taking on a large role in service provision by adopting a participatory approach, and how the local authority can provide support to communities to become reliable and effective service providers. It presents the tools that are available for assessing initiatives and proposals by representatives from civil society or from municipal staff and shows how to use these in partnership with communities. The various stakeholders are identified and there is a discussion on raising awareness and sensitivity in the community. Decision makers can learn something about the need for contributions from partners in order to expand adequate waste management to ever more neighbourhood communities and create a healthy and environmentally sound city.
• Financial and economic issues: These tools are designed to help decision makers use financial and economic instruments to make responsible and informed decisions about ISWM. They help answer a number of common questions related to legal, economic or financial issues, such as: Will it earn money? Where does the money come from in ISWM? and What is it for? …
• Organic waste flows: This helps identify and understand the role that composting can play in ISWM systems. Key concepts and terms are defined and the basic parameters which should be taken into account when deciding on a composting project are explained. The basic operational steps are presented, and the economic and marketing aspects of composting in the context of municipal waste management are examine