Partnership and Technology: Solving Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Economies

By Sahan J. Fernando and Ambika Zutshi

Can waste management be improved in developing economies to establish sustainability and a cleaner environment? This article discusses seven key strategies involving all stakeholders and their respective responsibilities. 

A common comparison on walking the streets of developed versus developing economies is witnessing garbage in the streets. This is observed in the South Asian and African regions due to weak and inadequate municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practices (Munyai & Nunu, 2020). The global MSW generation is expected to reach 3.4 billion tons per year by 2050 (a 50% increase from the current levels) and 53% of this growth is likely to come from developing economies (Tiseo, 2022). 

The collectivist national culture of most developing economies holds the key to establishing sustainable MSWM. Looking after one another, being collective, thoughtful, and striving for win-win solutions for all involved should be incorporated as part of the strategies for all stages of MSWM from collection to processing. Examples of these strategies which can be adopted by government and private businesses involved in MSWM include:  

Participatory Management

Having a participatory approach in all stages of MSWM is essential as it will encourage key stakeholders like national and local governments, waste service providers, waste or sanitation workers, waste pickers, households, businesses, and waste-oriented social movements to get together in planning and implementing MSWM policies and practices. Such involvement will synchronise disparate expectations of key stakeholders and eventually deliver sustainable outcomes in MSWM. For example, lawmakers in most developing economies produce ad-hoc regulations that ban the production of sachets below a particular weight to stimulate waste reduction. Most businesses tend to bypass the restriction by manufacturing sachets at a weight that is 1 or 2 grams higher than the stipulated amount which jeopardises the purpose of the regulation. If all stakeholders got together and deliberated about the regulation and a feasible plan to execute it, then such downfalls could have been avoided to deliver sustainable outcomes in MSWM.

Collaborate with the Informal Sector

In most developing economies, the informal sector – waste pickers – performs a pivotal role in the collection, separation, transportation, and recycling of MSW. Since collection and transfer of MSW is considered the costliest MSWM practice, collaborating with waste pickers will be a huge financial relief for waste service providers in developing economies which are mostly funded by taxpayers’ money. Further, the collaboration is likely to expand the existing coverage and frequency of MSW collection and recycling.

Source Separation

Using audio-visual media, citizens in developing economies should be educated on how to reduce their daily waste, along with the benefits of putting litter in dedicated waste collection bins, and properly segregating their waste prior to disposal. Diversion from traditional MSWM practices such as open burning, open dumping, and landfilling, to separation of MSW from the source remains key for MSW reduction in the first place. Both households and businesses – the two main waste producers – should be encouraged to engage in source separation. However, clear guidelines for the separation of MSW and dedicated storage bins for different waste types may need to be provided for the effective implementation of source separation. Further, the adoption of modern waste charge systems that consider a frequency-based, weight-based, or volume-based fee may encourage households and businesses to engage in source separation (Chu et al., 2019; Welivita et al., 2015).

Responsible Waste Reduction and Re-Consumption

Following principles of circular economy ‘R’s’, citizens should be encouraged to purchase and/or consume upcycled products thereby making their respective contributions to sustainable waste management. Responsible citizens as such will articulate responsible households and businesses to reduce the generation and management of MSW sustainably. Further, responsible re-consumption for upcycled products and by-products made out of MSW will create a market demand which in turn can become a revenue stream for waste service providers and waste-preneurs.

Supply Chain Partnership

Businesses involved in MSWM processes should be encouraged to modify their supply chain for circularity, for instance by avoiding the use of single-use plastics and polythene in their production. Governments could also provide incentives and/or subsidies for businesses to modernise their equipment to enhance efficiencies during stages of MSWM. Incentives and/or subsidies send a clear message to businesses that the government as the key stakeholder in the supply chain is serious about waste reduction. Regulations remain an indispensable armour for governments, nonetheless, collaboration and working with businesses to strive for solutions to waste stages would lead to long-term maintenance of any implemented strategies as opposed to a mandatory requirement solely to tick a box or find loopholes in the latter. 

Responsible Production

The type of raw materials used to manufacture products remains the key to reducing waste downstream. This will require businesses to switch from the short-term profit-making strategy of ‘‘make-to-break’’ to ‘‘make-to-keep’’. This change cannot happen overnight for businesses nor without incentivisation and regulations (which are enforced) by the industry sector peak bodies and governments. This change will also require educating the end consumer and switching their mindset for instance, from buying the latest model of a product when the older model is operating as normal. 

Adoption Of Smart Technology

In this digital era, with artificial intelligence (and its synonyms technologies) infiltrating all aspects of business decision-making, investing and using modern technologies like Wi-Fi, Li-Fi, cellular network, and drone-based collection bin systems for MSW collection and transfer will enable the waste service providers to overcome the prevailing inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. The adoption of smart technology will facilitate the timely collection of MSW and thus reduce unnecessary fuel and time consumption which in turn will harness more sustainable outcomes in MSWM. Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) may be required in most developing economies with limited financial capacities to pursue the adoption of smart technology in MSWM so that the financial burden and any according risk of adopting technologies can be shared between partners.  

Waste-related services in developing economies are mostly funded by taxpayers’ money. The onus accordingly is on all stakeholders: from a country’s citizens, government, to businesses, to work with one another to tackle the problems of waste management and efforts to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) – 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) – in the coming years and beyond. Each country has its unique set of waste types as a priority to be resolved. Hence, the above-mentioned strategies can act as a starting point for conversation and partnership between stakeholders. Developed economies also have the responsibility to share their strategies, lessons learnt, and technologies with their developing economies counterparts to address the global ‘‘waste’’ problem.

About the Authors

Sahan J. Fernando is a PhD candidate at Deakin Business School, Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration. His research interests include stakeholder collaboration, waste management, institutional complexity, and entrepreneurship. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Professor Ambika Zutshi holds a Bachelor of Environmental Sciences, Master of Environmental Management and Doctor of Philosophy. Her current research is focused on corporate social responsibility, business ethics, higher education, supply chain management, and stakeholder relationships. She has over 100 publications in journals and book chapters. Ambika is currently an Australasian Associate Editor of The European Business Review, Emerald; an editorial board member of the International Journal of Consumer Studies; and the Editorial Advisory Board of Management of Environmental Quality.

References

• Chu, Z., Wang, W., Zhou, A., & Huang, W. C. (2019). Charging for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal in Beijing. Waste Management, 94, 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.05.051 
• Munyai, O., & Nunu, W. N. (2020). Health Effects Associated with Proximity to Waste Collection Points in Beitbridge Municipality, Zimbabwe. Waste Management, 105, 501–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.02.041
• Tiseo, I. (2022). Global Waste Generation – Statistics & Facts. Statista. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/topics/4983/waste-generation-worldwide/
• Welivita, I., Wattage, P., & Gunawardena, P. (2015). Review of Household Solid Waste Charges for Developing Countries – A Focus on Quantity-based Charge Methods. Waste Management, 46, 637–645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.08.018