Resolving Governance Issues to Achieve Priority Sustainable Development Goals Related to Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries

TLDR

Solid waste management, a basic utility lacking for over 2 billion people, is linked to 12 of the 17 UN SDGs and requires municipal responsibility, diverse service providers, sustainable funding, and stakeholder communication to achieve effective systems. The study investigates governance challenges in basic solid waste collection and controlled disposal, addressing the ‘How’ and ‘Who’ of SWM systems. The authors used a transdisciplinary approach, iteratively refining literature findings on SWM governance through stakeholder commentary from six continents as part of UNEP’s 2015 Global Waste Management Outlook. The study identifies complementary instruments needed to extend collection coverage and control disposal, and highlights the importance of capacity development.

Abstract

As a key utility service that more than 2 billion people are currently lacking, solid waste management (SWM) is a crosscutting issue that can be directly linked to 12 out of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Distinguishing between physical components and governance aspects of SWM, this research focuses on governance issues concerning basic solid waste collection services and controlled disposal, thus addressing the ‘How’ and the ‘Who’ dimensions of a SWM system. As a form of transdisciplinary research, the findings from the literature on governance issues in SWM were iteratively subjected to several rounds of commentary by a large group of stakeholders from six continents, within the authors’ work for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s 2015 Global Waste Management Outlook. The study identifies a combination of complementary instruments required for extending collection to all and bringing disposal under control. While municipalities have a legal responsibility for providing services to their citizens, various service providers can contribute to an effective SWM system. Appropriate forms of funding are essential to secure financial sustainability of the services under the local conditions of affordability and willingness to pay. As new services require behavioural change on the part of citizens and municipal waste departments alike, communication and exchange with other stakeholders function as enabling and supporting factors. The significance of capacity development is highlighted.