DOCSLIB.ORG

Solid Waste Management Technical & Institutional Assistance Initiative for Central America

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Solid Waste Management Technical & Institutional Assistance Initiative for Central America SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Technical & Institutional Assistance Initiative for Central America UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME Water, Sanitation & Infrastructure Branch Human Settlements Financing Division P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.unhabitat.org/ SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Technical & Institutional Assistance Initiative for Central America ii Solid Waste Management Technical & Institutional Assistance Initiative for Central America First published in Nairobi in November 2011 by UN-HABITAT. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme 2011 All rights reserved United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) Water, Sanitation & Infrastructure Branch Human Settlements Financing Division P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.unhabitat.org/ DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers of boundaries. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the United Nations, or its Member States. Excerpts may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Author: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Editor: Roman Rollnick Design & Layout: Irene Juma Photos: © XXXXXXXXXXXX iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Project Background 1 Municipal Service Development Challenges in Central America 2 The regional Context 2 Solid Waste Management 2 BUILDING CAPACITY IN SWM IN MANAGUA, NICARAGUA 7 Component One: Support to Integrated Acahualinca Programme 8 Component Two: Support to Municipal Government of Managua 10 Component Three: Support to Waste Recovery and Recycling sector 14 Component Four: Support to Regional Solid Waste Management 15 CENTRAL AMERICAN SWM TECHNICAL & INSTITUTIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME 17 Regional Solid Waste Management issues 17 Legal and Institutional Framework 18 Strategic Planning and Policy Development 19 Municipal Financing 19 Green Economy: Resource Recovery and Efficiency 20 Job Creation through Public–Private Partnerships 21 Capacity Building and Awareness Raising 21 Suggested Areas of Support to Solid Waste Management in Central America 22 iv Lines of Intervention for Regional for the Regional Solid Waste Management Technical and Institutional Assistance Initiative 24 Component I: Institutional Strengthening or Regional and National Solid Waste Management Institutions and Coordination Mechanisms 24 Component II: Development, Application and Institutionalisation of Regional Solid Waste Management Guidance Documents 26 Component III: Development and Implementation of Solid Waste Management Investment Projects 28 Component IV: Project Coordination and Information Dissemination 29 Initial Funding Estimates for Regional initiative 30 1 INTRODUCTION PROJECT BACKGROUND UN-HABITAT launched the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund in October 2002 to help governments meet their commitments to the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The Trust Fund´s vision is to achieve “expanded access to environmentally sound basic urban infrastructure services with a special focus on the unserved and underserved populations”. The Trust Fund´s mission is to create a hospitable environment for pro-poor investment in water and sanitation in urban areas of all sizes in the developing world and thus provide the means to improve significantly the volume and effectiveness of Official Development Aid and local financial flows to water and sanitation. In 2008, the Spanish Government made a contribution of EUR 4 million to the Trust Fund, with part of these funds being soft earmarked for expenditure in Central America and, in particular the city of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. The Spanish cooperation agency (AECID) is currently implementing in Managua the Integrated Acahualinca Neighbourhood Development Project with actions to improve environmental, housing and socio-economic conditions of people living on and around the city’s main municipal dumpsite of La Chureca. This document presents and discusses the objectives, activities and of the resulting UN-HABITAT project Building Capacity in Solid Waste Management in Managua, Nicaragua, including the main 2 tools and knowledge products developed in the framework of this initiative. It also presents an analysis of the main challenges facing Central America in solid waste management and identifies new opportunities for the international donor and development banks to work together in the framework of a Regional Solid Waste Management Technical and Institutional Assistance Initiative to support the development of this sector in the region. MUNICIPAL SERVICE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN CENTRAL AMERICA The sub-continent of Central America is made up of seven countries; Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The region is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, on the west by the North Pacific Ocean while South America lies to the south. THE REGIONAL CONTEXT As shown in Table 1, the ECLAC population projections for six of the seven countries of Central America in 2010 were 43,436,257. A projected 25,450,208 persons or 59% of this population live in urban areas. Population data provided by the Statistics Institute of Belize, the remaining country in the region, shows that in 2009 the population was estimated at 333,200 with 172,800 (52%) living in urban areas1. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT In all of the countries of the region, poor solid waste management is one of the most important environmental issues facing urban areas, especially in view of its serious adverse effects on quality of 1 2009 Mid-Year Population Estimates from Statistical Institute of Belize, http://www.statisticsbelize.org.bz 3 TABLE 1: Population Projections for Central America for 2010 Country Urban Population Total Population Percentage of Urban Population (%) Belize¹ n/a n/a n/a Costa Rica² 3,098,392 4,694,623 66 El Salvador² 4,493,295 7,453,303 60 Guatemala² 8,217,581 14,361,666 57 Honduras² 3,844,799 7,614,345 50 Nicaragua² 3,392,733 5,815,524 58 Panama² 2,403,408 3,496,796 69 TOTAL 25,450,208 43,436,257 59 Source: (1) Statistical Institute of Belize, Mid Year Population Estimates for 2009 (http:// www.statisticsbelize.org.bz) _ (2) Latin America: total, urban and rural population and urban population percentage by country, (Period 1970-2050), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (www.eclac.org). life, human health, natural resources and economic development activities such as tourism. In addition, it is the poorest inhabitants of the urban centres that suffer these effects most acutely, living in areas vulnerable to contamination or where municipal solid waste management (SWM) services have yet to be provided. The vast majority of municipal SWM systems are traditional ones, consisting of waste collection and direct transportation to waste disposal sites most commonly operated as open dumpsite. Only El Salvador, through the application of a combination of legal instruments and strict enforcement measures, has managed to develop a national network of sanitary landfill sites. Nevertheless, this achievement has come at a high cost and lead to huge increases in SWM spending, which has left many municipalities severely in debt. 4 Table 2 shows that Central American countries generate on average between 3000-4000 tons of domestic solid waste per day, of which between 41 and 71% is easily biodegradable organic matter and 20% to 40% is dry organic and inorganic recyclables. Hence, up to 88% of the domestic waste generated in the region TABLE 2: Waste Quantities and Characteristics in Central America Country Daily Domestic Fast Degrading Recyclable Others Waste Organics Waste2 Generation (% by wt) (% by wt) tonnes/day (% by wt) Belize n/a n/a n/a n/a Costa Rica 3784 55 31 14 El Salvador 3187 71 23 6 Guatemala n/a 41 41 18 Nicaragua 3286 70 20 10 Panamá n/a n/a n/a n/a AVERAGE 3,419 59 29 12 Source: Guatemala – Serie 2001-2006 de la Cuenta Integrada de Residuos y Emisiones, CIRE (IARNA/URL-BANGUAT, 2008) & Primer Informe de Desechos Sólidos Domiciliaries, Proyecto Cuente con Ambiente, MARN IARNA/URL, 2007 _ Nicaragua- Extrapolation from UN-HABITAT Sector Evaluation 2011 _ El Salvador – RTI International. “Segundo Censo Nacional de Desechos Sólidos Municipales”. MARN-Programa de Descontami- nación de Áreas Críticas. Diciembre 2006. _ Costa Rica- Programa CyMA, 2007. is appropriate for material and energy recovery through recycling, composting and other waste treatment technologies. Despite this suitability for recovery, across the region municipal governments are spending millions of dollars annually on solid waste management while providing only a very basic waste collection and disposal service. 2 Paper and Cardboard, Plastics, Metals and Glass 5 Levels of waste recovery and recycling are increasing but remain relatively low and are built upon the work of a vast and informal waste sector. Despite efforts of this sector to begin to organize and formalize their activities, the majority of people working in waste recovery do so in unhygienic
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Report on Health Related Issues of Informal Sector Involvement in Solid Waste Management Imprint
    Report on health related issues of informal sector involvement in solid waste management Imprint The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH was formed on 1 January 2011. It brings together the long-standing expertise of DED, GTZ and InWEnt. For further information, go to www.giz.de. This publication presents former GTZ activities; due to the change of the company‘s name, these will be referred to in the following as GIZ activities. Published by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Postfach 5180 65726 Eschborn / Germany T +49 61 96 79-0 F +49 61 96 79-11 15 E [email protected] I www.giz.de/recycling-partnerships Sector Project Recycling Partnerships (Förderung armutsorientierter und umweltverträglicher Kreislaufwirtschaft-Konzepte) Responsible: Sandra Spies, GIZ Author: Susy Lobo Ugalde/Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, la Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA), with contributions from Sofía García Cortés (GIZ) Contact person at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development: Franz Marré Eschborn, January 2011 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... 3 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 5 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 6 Part 1. Introduction
    [Show full text]
  • Waste Management Service in the City of Managua, Nicaragua
    Switching Managua on! Connecting forgotten wastescapes to the city Authors: María José Zapata Campos & Patrik Zapata Affiliations: Gothenburg Research Institute Sweden & School of Public Administration, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Contact: [email protected], [email protected], GRI, Box 603 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden Presented to: Abstract submitted to NESS 2011, Stockholm. Workshop: Making the city: planning and managing the urban landscape Abstract Wastescapes such as clandestine dumps, garbage slums and other kind of spontaneous settlements constitute part of the normality in the cities of the global south. Although quotidian, wastescapes are often forgotten or abandoned by the formal city, disconnected from most public services as roads, pavements, water, sewage, standard housing, municipal waste collection or street cleaning. Invisible people such as child workers, poor people, gangs, unemployed, exploited, persecuted, or maltreated women, inhabit the wastescapes (a variety of black holes, to speak with Manuel Castells, 1998). The question we address in this paper is: how are cities in the global south organizing and connecting hidden and forgotten sites, as wastescapes, to the formal city? Or, differently put, how does the informal city assemblage with the formal city and vice versa? To answer the research question we focus on the household solid waste management service in the city of Managua, Nicaragua. During December 2009 to February 2010 and January to February 2011 we have conducted a case study in Managua. Our material consists of around 70 interviews, documents, media material and observations gathered and performed during this time. During the last decades the waste management municipal service has been confined to the collection of waste in the formal city.
    [Show full text]
  • Inclusive Waste Management Managua Nicaragua
    MANAGEMENT OF INCLUSIVE WASTE MANAGUA, NICARAGUA April 23, Kisumu INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT • Managua produces an average of 40,000 tons of garbage per month. • Lack of legal framework that articulates efforts: generation of waste, reuse, management, recycling, elimination and final disposal of waste. • 2007-2012: Closure and privatization of the municipal landfill: La Chureca, located on the shores of Xolotlán Lake, Managua. • 2010: REDNICA, national network of waste pickers. • 2014: The special law seeks to visualize and dignify the work carried out by waste pickers, traditionally called "churequeros“ (pending task). CREATION OF WASTE PICKER ORGANIZATIONS • 13, 500 waste pickers • Motivation of Waste picker organizations: • Unemployment • Municipality and International Cooperation Agencies Projects • Environmental protection • 2008: efforts to create tHese initiatives as self-managed groups • Waste pickers Have always existed individually, dedicating tHemselves to tHe collection, cleaning and classification of waste from tHe landfill. DESCRIPTION OF THE INITIATIVES • Cooperatives: 27 members on average, mostly aged between 16 and 49 years, with low levels of education and with high rates of illiteracy for the most adults. • On average, they receive an income less than one dollar a day. • 39% - 67% of the total of members are women • Women are the ones who lead the directives in their majority. • Services: collection, cleaning, transport and classification of waste without added value, which are then sold to the middlemen. CHALLENGES • Lack of local government collaboration: restriction of collecting garbage in the municipal landfill. • Lack of a legal framework that recognizes their work and needs to formalize this sector to access social security and education • Difficulties in organizing and administrating the Cooperative • Difficulties in working as a collective.
    [Show full text]
  • Waste Picker Livelihoods and Inclusive Neoliberal Municipal Solid Waste Management Policies: the Case of the La Chureca Garbage Dump Site in Managua, Nicaragua
    Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Waste Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman Waste picker livelihoods and inclusive neoliberal municipal solid waste management policies: The case of the La Chureca garbage dump site in Managua, Nicaragua Chris Hartmann Department of Geography, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA1 Department of Public Health, SUNY Old Westbury, P.O. Box 210, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA2 article info abstract Article history: The modernization (i.e. mechanization, formalization, and capital intensification) and enclosure of Received 7 February 2017 municipal solid waste management (MSWM) systems threaten waste picker livelihoods. From 2009 to Revised 23 September 2017 2013, a major development project, embodying traditional neoliberal policies with inclusive social poli- Accepted 7 October 2017 cies, transformed the Managua, Nicaragua, municipal solid waste site from an open-air dump where as Available online xxxx many as 2,000 informal waste pickers toiled to a sanitary landfill. To investigate waste pickers’ social and economic condition, including labor characteristics, household income, and poverty incidence, after Keywords: the project’s completion, 146 semi-structured survey questionnaires were administered to four commu- Waste pickers nities adjacent to the landfill and 45 semi-structured interviews were completed with key stakeholders. Municipal solid waste management Modernity Findings indicate that hundreds of waste pickers were displaced by the project, employment benefits Sustainable development from the project were unevenly distributed by neighborhood, and informal waste picking endures due Justice to persistent impoverishment, thereby contributing to continued social and economic marginalization Managua and environmental degradation. The findings highlight the limitations of inclusive neoliberal develop- Nicaragua ment efforts to transform MSWM in a low-income country.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Labour and Health Hazards: Chemical Exposure and Occupational Injuries in Nicaraguan Children Working in a Waste Disposal Site
    Child Labour and Health Hazards: Chemical Exposure and Occupational Injuries in Nicaraguan Children Working in a Waste Disposal Site Steven Cuadra Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine Lund University, Sweden Licentiate thesis Lund 2005 © Steven Cuadra Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine Lund University, Sweden University Hospital SE-221 85 Lund Sweden ISBN 91-631-7678-5 Cover photo by Danilo Hernández Printed in Sweden, by Media-Tryck, Lund University Lund 2005 2 A mi madre Gladys, la mayor prueba del amor de Dios en mi vida A Nestor, Mi hermano, mi compañero, mi mejor amigo 3 Y Sandino no era inteligente ni era culto pero salió inteligente de la montaña. “En la montaña todo enseña” decía Sandino (Soñando con las Segovias llenas de escuelas) (Ernesto Cardenal) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2) “Y si tengo el don de la palabra y estoy enterado de todos los misterios, y de todo el conocimiento, y si tengo la fe como para trasladar montañas, pero no tengo amor, nada soy” (1 Corintios 13:2) 4 Contents Contents.........................................................................................................5 Abbreviations..................................................................................................7
    [Show full text]
  • 1 INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE ASSOCIATION Promoting
    ISWA REPORT 2015 INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE ASSOCIATION Promoting sustainable waste management worldwide 1 ISWA at a Glance Table of Contents ISWA – the International Solid Waste Association – is a global, independent and nonprofit making association, working in the public interest to promote and develop sustainable and professional waste management. ISWA is open to individuals and organisations from the scientific community, public institutions and companies working in the field of and/or interested in President´s Message 4 waste management. As the world’s leading waste management association with members in more than 100 countries, ISWA allows you to network with professionals, companies and institutional representatives on a global scale. Managing Director´s Message 5 1. World Waste Status 6 The International Solid Waste Association in figures over a six year period: 2. ISWA´s Vision 12 Change Development 3. Promotion of Sustainable Waste Management 14 Criteria/Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2010 to 2015 in % 2010 to 2015 3.1. Events 15 Number of 864 1,143 1,440 1,385 1,269 1,188 +38% 3.1.1. World Congress 16 ISWA Members Number of 3.1.2. Beacon Conferences 18 35 35 37 39 39 41 +17% ISWA National Members 3.1.3. Cooperation Conferences 19 Number of Countries 75 78 88 102 96 101 +35% 3.1.4. Supported Events 20 with ISWA Members Visitors to ISWA website 3.1.5. Study Tours 21 3,500 10,000 16,000 24,000 31,000 25,000 +614% www.iswa.org per Month 3.2. Cooperation with other International Organisations 22 Number of Followers on 0 400 900 2,000 2,900 7,400 +1,750% 3.3.
    [Show full text]
  • RAFFAELLO COSSU Detritusjournal.Com
    15 VOLUME 15 / June 2021 VOLUME 15 / June 2021 VOLUME CONTENTS Editorial DEMONSTRATING EEE RECOVERY FOR REUSE IN A DIS- TINCT URBAN MINE: A CASE STUDY KEY FACTORS IN WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND O.S. Shittu, I.D. Williams, P.J. Shaw, N. Monteiro and THEIR VISIBILITY R. Creffield ........................................................................ 78 E.M. Mukhtar, I.D. Williams and P.J. Shaw ...................... 1 Plastic recycling Biowaste management DETECTING CONTAMINANTS IN POST-CONSUMER PLAS- EFFECTS OF SOLIDS CONCENTRATION AND SUBSTRATE TO TIC PACKAGING WASTE BY A NIR HYPERSPECTRAL IM- INOCULUM RATIO ON METHANE PRODUCTION FROM FER- AGING-BASED CASCADE DETECTION APPROACH MENTED ORGANIC MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE G. Bonifazi, R. Gasbarrone and S. Serranti ...................... 94 M.F. Castellón-Zelaya and S. González-Martínez ........... 3 METHANE PRODUCTION AND BROMATOLOGICAL CHARAC- Pyrolysis TERISTICS OF THE DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF ORGANIC MU- NICIPAL SOLID WASTE PYROLYSIS OF SOLID WASTE AND ITS COMPONENTS IN A and Residues Resources - MultidisciplinaryDETRITUS Journal for Waste L. Figueroa-Escamilla, S. González-Martínez, LAB SCALE INDUCTION-HEATING REACTOR R. Campuzano and I. Valdez-Vazquez ............................ 13 O.S. Sabogal, S. Valin, S. Thiery and S. Salvador ............... 107 3-ROUTES PLATFORM FOR RECOVERY OF HIGH VALUE PROD- Landfilling UCTS, ENERGY AND BIO-FERTILIZER FROM URBAN BIOWASTE: THE REVENUE PROJECT LANDFILLS VOLUME INCREASE WITH REINFORCED SOIL A. Gallipoli, A. Gianico, S. Crognale, S. Rossetti, EMBANKMENTS: BASIC THEORY AND CASE STUDIES L. Mazzeo, V. Piemonte, M. Masi and C.M. Braguglia .... 24 D. Cazzuffi and P. Recalcati .............................................. 113 A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON VALORIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL TO- BIOGEOCHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZA- MATO BY-PRODUCTS USING THE BIOREFINERY CASCADE AP- TION OF THE LANDFILL FRACTION GENERATED BY ME- PROACH CHANICAL WASTE SORTING M.
    [Show full text]
  • Timothy Bouldry
    The History of Pollution and Social-Political Injustices Caused by La Chureca Dumpsite and its Slow Road to Recovery TIMOTHY BOULDRY Founder of Right Path Projects 501c3: Any action considered to bring positive change towards environmental and humanitarian injustices starting with photography ABSTRACT The following data collected here is based on reliable facts that have been recorded from scholarly, peer-reviewed resources and many interviews conducted by myself, Timothy Bouldry, over the course of 10 years. It is in observation of a dumpsite named La Chureca located in Managua, Nicaragua. The purpose of this report is to bring together various sources to prove the complexity and the environmental destruction this dumpsite has caused, to discuss the major health risks associated to it and the political disobedience that is slowing down the progress for cleanup of the region. It will mention how this open dumpsite pollutes Managua Lake, is making the local people sick with diseases, asthma, bacteria, mercury in their bloodstream, and the discovery of polybrominated diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in people living amongst the dump. The history of natural disasters and war as it relates to the dumpsite will be explained. There will be acknowledgment of relief efforts from European governments to remove the community from the dumpsite and relocate them to a subsidized community, the construction of a sorting plant to create jobs, as well as the projects that are helping to clean the dumpsite and Managua Lake. Lastly, solutions will be recommended for continuing on the right path with cleanup campaigns and relief efforts. A brief overview of other dumpsites within Nicaragua will be addressed to state that La Chureca is not the only dumpsite in Nicaragua with this problem.
    [Show full text]
  • Working Papers Series
    Unexpected translations in urban policy mobility. The case of the Acahualinca Development Programme in Managua, Nicaragua Series apers Patrik Zapata P María José Zapata Campos Working School Administration of Public 2014:26 Contributions published in SPA Working Paper Series are scientific reports produced by researchers at the School of Public Administration, University of Gothenburg. Working papers as well as finished reports are included in the series. Paper could be published in Swedish or in English. A member of the Editorial board must approve the publication of each paper. Editorial board: Gregg Bucken-Knapp Henry Bäck Vicki Johansson David Karlsson Gustaf Kastberg Lena Lindgren Stig Montin Östen Ohlsson Björn Rombach Osvaldo Salas Iwona Sobis Rolf Solli Patrik Zapata Editor: David Karlsson E-mail: [email protected] School of Public Administration, University of Gothenburg P.O. Box 712 SE 405 30 Gothenburg Sweden Papers from the SPA Working Paper Series can be downloaded from the Internet: www.spa.gu.se (publications) School of Public Administration Working Paper Series 2014:26 Unexpected translations in urban policy mobility. The case of the Acahualinca Development Programme in Managua, Nicaragua © Patrik Zapata & María José Zapata Campos (2014) ISSN 1651-5242 School of Public Administration Working Paper Series: Published Papers 2014:26 Patrik Zapata & María José Zapata Campos: Unexpected translations in urban policy mobility. The case of the Acahualinca Development Programme in Managua, Nicaragua 2014:25 Eva Álvarez de Andrés, Patrik Zapata & María José Zapata Campos: Stop the evictions! The diffusion of networked social movements and the emergence of a new hybrid space: The case of the Spanish Mortgage Victims Group 2014:24 Patrik Zapata & María José Zapata Campos: The travel of global ideas of waste management.
    [Show full text]
  • Experiencing the Everyday of Waste Pickers: a Sustainable Livelihoods and Health Assessment in Dhaka City, Bangladesh
    Journal of International Development J. Int. Dev. (2020) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jid.3479 EXPERIENCING THE EVERYDAY OF WASTE PICKERS: A SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND HEALTH ASSESSMENT IN DHAKA CITY, BANGLADESH SAYED MOHAMMAD NAZIM UDDIN1,2* , JUTTA GUTBERLET2, ANAHITA RAMEZANI2 and SAYED MOHAMMAD NASIRUDDIN3 1Environmental Sciences Program, Asian University for Women, Chattogram, Bangladesh 2Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada 3School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Resource-oriented Treatment of Industrial Pollutants, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China Abstract: Waste pickers make a livelihood by collecting recyclable waste contributing to urban development and poverty reduction. Most often, they are socially excluded and exposed to different vulnerabilities (e.g. occupational health risks and accidents). This study adopts the sustainable livelihoods framework to assess multifaceted aspects of everyday life and work experiences of waste pickers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The framework takes an integrated and transdisciplinary approach to livelihood assets and vulnerabilities. Our findings reveal a situation of extreme poverty and neglect of waste pickers, while they are making the city more sustainable. Specific policies, strategies and actions are required to reduce risks and improve the working conditions of waste pickers. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Keywords: waste pickers; health risk; occupational hazards; livelihood; Bangladesh 1 INTRODUCTION Waste pickers, also called reclaimers, diverters or recyclers, lead their lives by collecting recyclable materials from various places such as households, streets, market places, municipal disposal sites or informal dumpsites primarily in low-income and middle-income countries but to a smaller extend also in high-income countries *Correspondence to: Sayed Mohammad Nazim Uddin, Environmental Sciences Program, Asian University for Women, 20/A M.
    [Show full text]
  • Resistivity Imaging for Mapping of Groundwater Contamination at the Municipal Landfill La Chureca, Managua, Nicaragua
    Resistivity Imaging for Mapping of Groundwater Contamination at the Municipal Landfill La Chureca, Managua, Nicaragua Forsberg, Kristin; Nilsson, Annika; Flyhammar, Peter; Dahlin, Torleif Published in: Near Surface 2006 - 12th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics 2006 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Forsberg, K., Nilsson, A., Flyhammar, P., & Dahlin, T. (2006). Resistivity Imaging for Mapping of Groundwater Contamination at the Municipal Landfill La Chureca, Managua, Nicaragua. In Near Surface 2006 - 12th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics (pp. P017) Total number of authors: 4 General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Read more about Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 P017 Resistivity Imaging for Mapping of Groundwater Contamination at the Municipal Landfill La Chureca, Managua, Nicaragua K.
    [Show full text]
  • Solid Waste Management and Social Inclusion of Waste Pickers: Opportunities and Challenges
    September 2014 Paper 7 Solid Waste Management and Social Inclusion of Waste Pickers: Opportunities and Challenges Marta Marello and Ann Helwege Somewhere between 500,000 and 4 million people scavenge through trash for a living in Latin America. Most are poor, socially marginalized and politically disenfranchised. Recently, however, waste pickers have organized collectively and pressed municipalities to respect their rights and to meet their basic needs. Where sorting through trash was once condemned and even illegal, it is now more commonly seen as useful in a green trend toward building sustainable cities. In fact, many cities have employed waste pickers to extend household collection and to promote recycling. Cooperation between waste pickers and municipalities offers the hope of achieving better waste management as well as the ‘social inclusion’ of these marginalized citizens. In this paper we explore the opportunities and challenges inherent in the model of cooperation between municipal solid waste systems (MWSs) and waste picker cooperatives (WPCs). There is growing enthusiasm about waste picker inclusion, often as part of ‘integrated solid waste management.’ The World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank, for example, have both funded projects to support waste picker integration into formal sector recycling. Advocacy organizations such as WIEGO have called for an intensification of such efforts through access to credit and technology, as well as through partnerships to collect recyclables in underserved communities. These measures have given many waste pickers higher standards of living, economic security and a sense of inclusion in society. Yet closer inspection reveals problems that emerge as cities move up an envisioned process of inclusion from supporting independent, informal wastepicking to subcontracting municipal services to competitive waste picker cooperatives.
    [Show full text]