Study Session 11 Integrated Solid Waste Management

Introduction

In Study Sessions 7–10 you learned about the composition of solid waste and the options for treating or disposing of wastes. None of the techniques and technologies that we looked at can on their own treat every type of solid waste; they need to be used in combination. This study session introduces the idea of Integrated Solid Waste Management, where a combination of methods are used to manage solid waste in a way that is best for people, communities and the environment.

Learning Outcomes for Study Session 11

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:

11.1 Define and use correctly all of the key words printed in bold. (SAQ 11.1)

11.2 Explain what is meant by integrated solid waste management. (SAQ 11.2)

11.3 Outline the reasons for shifting from a traditional to an integrated solid waste management strategy. (SAQ 11.3)

11.4 Identify ways of encouraging and supporting an integrated waste management approach. (SAQ 11.4)

11.1 What is Integrated Solid Waste Management?

By now you are familiar with the waste hierarchy, which is shown again in Figure 11.1. In the past few study sessions, we have discussed all the options in the hierarchy from the most desirable (reduction) to the least desirable (disposal).

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Figure 11.1  The waste hierarchy.

Unfortunately, many towns and cities are not able to follow the waste hierarchy and the only option used is disposal. Much of the waste is never collected (it is dumped or burned) and even where it is collected, most of the waste is taken to a landfill that has no means of controlling pollution from the site. Case Study 11.1 about the town of Jimma illustrates this situation.

The situation in Jimma is typical of many towns in Ethiopia. This session looks at how towns like Jimma can adopt the principles of Integrated Solid Waste Management to move their waste management systems further up the hierarchy and reduce the risks of damaging people’s health and the environment.

Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) can be defined in many ways but it is probably best to think of it as a way of using a combination of waste management techniques to treat the different types of waste in ways that are environmentally, financially and socially sustainable. ISWM should be based on the waste hierarchy and focus on using the 3 Rs while finding a suitable way of dealing with the remaining waste. It also depends on collaboration among all the organisations and individuals involved in waste management.

Van de Klundert and Anschütz (2001) explain that the ISWM concept is built upon four basic principles:

• Equity: the allocation of resources, services and opportunity to all segments of the population according to their needs. In waste management this means thateveryone has a right to be served by a waste management system that protects their health and the environment. Pollution travels and doesn’t respect kebele or area boundaries, so if one area is neglected, a much larger area can suffer.
• Effectiveness:the waste management methods used must meet the overall aims of any waste plan and meet the needs of the people. At the very least, effectiveness means that all the waste is collected and disposed of in a safe way. Once this has been achieved, higher-level aims such as maximising waste recycling and composting should be addressed. Again, a scheme is only effective if it covers the whole of the kebele, city or district.
• Efficiency: in general, efficiency means increasing output for a given input, or minimising input for a given output. An efficient waste management system is one that is equal and effective while making the best use of the resources available (staff effort, use of equipment and cost).
• Sustainability: for a project, programme or other activity to be sustainable it must be effective and last a long time. To achieve sustainability social, environmental and economic factors must be considered. Sustainability of the waste management system can be achieved if it is appropriate to the local conditions and can continue in the long term by using the human, financial and material resources available in the area. It should also be environmentally sustainable in that it minimises the use of non-renewable natural resources (such as oil) and doesn’t lead to long-term environmental problems that will be left for later generations to address.

11.2 The advantages of ISWM

Introducing ISWM means adopting all of the beneficial practices that have been described in previous study sessions and ensuring that they all work together effectively. It has a number of advantages for the different sectors of society. Here are some examples:

1. Reduction and reuse at source – reducing waste at the source and reusing wastes means that less waste has to be collected. This lowers costs for residents, businesses and the local authority. Also, the pollution generated in transporting the waste and at the disposal site is reduced. Waste reduction and reuse means that there is less pollution from manufacturing and a reduced need to import goods. Finally, society benefits because people have the use of items that they may not otherwise be able to afford.
2. Waste separation at source – many ISWM schemes require householders and businesses to separate reusable and recyclable materials from the rest of the waste and sort them by type (Figure 11.2). This helps to make people more aware of what they throw away and means that the material separated for recycling is of a higher quality and has a higher selling price. In alternative schemes, where recyclable materials are extracted from mixed wastes at the transfer station, there is a greater health risk to those who do this work and also to those who work in the recycling industry.

Figure 11.2 Separating wastes such as plastic bottles and containers at source increases opportunities to reuse or recycle.

3. Recycling – like reduction and reuse, recycling has benefits outside the waste management system. Recycling reduces the need to extract raw materials from the ground or to import them. Producing metals, glass and paper from waste materials rather than raw materials consumes far less energy. Also in common with reduction and reuse, recycling means less waste is sent to landfill, giving further reductions in pollution.
4. Organic waste recovery – composting organic waste is a form of recycling (see Study Session 9) and has similar benefits to other recycling processes. The amount of waste sent to landfill is reduced and the compost can be used locally to improve soils and the crops grown on them. Organic waste can also be used in anaerobic digesters to produce biogas for cooking and lighting.

11.3  The components of ISWM

An ISWM system is more than just the 3 Rs. It has three components: the waste system elements; the stakeholders; and the influencing factors. These three components are shown in Figure 11.3. The waste system elements are the stages in the waste management chain that have been discussed in previous study sessions. In ISWM, every stage in the chain should be guided by strategies to minimise the waste that reaches the disposal site, to protect the environment and where possible to generate income from waste. The stakeholders are the people and organisations involved and the influencing factors are other aspects that need to be considered when developing an ISWM system. Stakeholders and the influencing factors are described below.

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Figure 11.3  The integrated solid waste management model. (Adapted from Van de Klundert and Anschütz, 2001)

11.3.1 Stakeholders

The term stakeholder refers to any individual or organisation that has a stake or an interest in a programme or activity or is affected by the activity. When it comes to the management of a kebele’s waste, who are the stakeholders? Everybody who lives or works in the kebele is a stakeholder. So are people who visit the kebele for any reason (perhaps relations of residents). The organisations in the kebele are also stakeholders (businesses, commerce, government etc.). If a private sector organisation is involved in providing the service, it too is a stakeholder. The organisations that provide any funding for the ISWM (local and national government, NGOs, aid agencies) are also stakeholders. This is such a wide group because every person, institution, organisation and industry in the kebele generates waste and is affected by the way it is collected, treated and disposed of.

Waste management requires a concerted effort throughout the process of its management and the degree of involvement of stakeholders varies from place to place. So it is necessary to identify stakeholders and their areas of interest and degrees of involvement in waste management (e.g. funding, training, waste collection, recycling etc.).

One of the main challenges of ISWM is coordinating the stakeholders and getting them to work together for a common goal. So those working in waste management need to be able to work with the various stakeholders and help them to agree the way forward. Participation by the community members in planning and decision making is especially important because their cooperation and a positive attitude to recycling and reuse will be essential.

11.3.2 Influencing factors

Several factors will influence the selection, operation and effectiveness of any waste management scheme and need to be considered when planning a successful ISWM programme. They include:

• Technical factors – refer to the selection of technologies that are available and will function with the quantities and composition of the waste produced. For example, the technology designed to compost one ton of waste a day will not be suitable for processing 50 tons per day. The reliability of the technology needs to be taken into account; it must operate under Ethiopian climate conditions and be repairable using locally available materials and people.
• Financial factors – are aspects that deal with budgeting and costs of the waste management system. Some of the most important issues to consider are the effect of private sector involvement and recovering the cost of the system from residents, businesses and government. The impact of the market prices of recovered materials, the amount and source of any subsidy to cover collecting wastes from those who cannot pay, and any other income-generation schemes also need to be considered.
• Environmental factors – focus on the effects of waste management on land, water and air, the need for conservation of non-renewable resources, pollution control, and public health concerns (Figure 11.4).

Figure 11.4 Open dumping causes environmental pollution and is a risk to health.

• Political and legal factors – refer to the administrative context in which the waste management system exists; the goals and priorities that have been set; the determination of roles and responsibilities; the existing or planned legal and regulatory framework and the decision-making processes.
• Socio-cultural factors – include the influence of culture on waste generation and management in the household and in businesses and institutions, the community and its involvement in waste management; the relations between people in the community of different age, sex and ethnicity; and the social conditions of waste workers.

11.4 Applicability of ISWM

Integrated solid waste management can be planned for big cities such as Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Bahir Dar, Hawassa, Mekelle and Adama or medium-sized cities such as Jimma, Nekemte, Dessie and Assela, or small towns like Wolkite, Wukro, Debre Birhan, Bedele and Maksegnit. Although the principles used are the same, some of the waste system elements are more applicable in particular sized communities as shown in Table 11.1.

11.5 Encouraging ISWM

In the previous sections, we have explained the many benefits that ISWM brings to a community. ISWM helps to safeguard public health, improve the environment and gives a better image to the city. Hence improving waste services is a priority for many stakeholders – the government, NGOs, health and environment ministries and city councils.

However, developing and implementing ISWM needs start-up capital and an on-going revenue scheme. It needs investment in equipment and in the training and development of skilled staff. ISWM also requires effort from all the stakeholders. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to encourage people to develop and implement ISWM by providing incentives. These incentives may be financial benefits or the offer of some other sort of reward for adopting an ISWM approach.

It is at the local level where encouragement and incentives need to be provided. This is a task for national or local government and can take a number of forms. For example:

• National government could allow municipalities that perform well in terms of waste collection and treatment the flexibility to spend more of their budget on waste services if it can be shown to achieve savings in other areas.
• Where good practice in waste management has been demonstrated, special funds could be allocated to allow this practice to be extended within an area or replicated in other areas.
• Local authorities could reward best performing individuals, institutions or environment clubs through various mechanisms including media coverage and awards.
• Financial support could be given to environmental groups and small-scale private sector enterprises that engage in waste collection, composting and recycling. This support could be provided through the savings achieved by the municipality in its collection, transport and disposal costs.

Even when incentives are provided, attempts to improve the waste management system are not always successful as shown in the following case study. Read the case study and then answer the questions below.

Developing and implementing an ISWM system is a significant task that requires commitment and the cooperation of many stakeholders as well as financial investment. Its success will depend on continuing support from the community. As someone involved in promoting improved sanitation, you may find yourself working with a team charged with introducing an ISWM system. The sort of tasks that you could be doing include:

• helping to educate the public on the advantages of introducing the 3 Rs and the basic principles of integrated solid waste management
• working closely with the health sector and labour and social department of the municipality to protect the health of korales and others in the informal waste management sector
• identifying potential stakeholders in the town
• assessing the situation in and around the town and deciding with other stakeholders whether it is possible to introduce ISWM.

In Ethiopian towns, there is increasing focus on solid waste management. Adopting an ISWM approach that brings together the most effective technologies and has the support of all stakeholders will ensure that sustainable improvements are made which will benefit the communities and the environment.

Summary of Study Session 11

In Study Session 11, you have learned that:

1. Integrated waste management is built upon the 3 Rs –reduce, reuse and recycle – and on the waste hierarchy.
2. ISWM involves using a combination of waste management methods to achieve the best waste management solution.
3. ISWM builds on the four principles of equity, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability.
4. ISWM has three components: the waste system elements; stakeholders; and influencing factors.
5. ISWM can be applied to towns and cities of all sizes but the details will vary depending on the population size and amount of waste produced.
6. Implementing ISWM requires resources and investment in equipment and staff training. It may be necessary to offer incentives to encourage municipalities and others to develop an ISWM system.

Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 11

Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.