14 ISA BAUD
is an early attempt to connect environmental issues, with socio-economic and tech-
nical delivery issues, on the basis of existing literature and the experiences of the
network coordinated by WASTE within the UWEP Programme^12. It incorporates
social, economic, financial, political and environmental aspects. The model is useful
in incorporating the many different aspects necessary to analyse to what extent SWM
systems are sustainable, but has not yet been applied in empirical studies.
In the model developed in this book, we have linked solid waste management to the
discussion on sustainable development, by making operational the three broad goals
of sustainable development, viz. ecological sustainability, socio-economic equality,
and improving environmental health. Solid waste management typically forms part of
the brown agenda and its impacts are largely local. This is reflected in the ‘localized
nature’ of the criteria we used to analyze the contributions to sustainable development
of various activities and partnerships in SWM, both at the level of actors as well as the
urban system.
With respect to the area of ecological sustainability, SWM systems need to work
towards the following goals:
- To minimize the amount of waste generated;
- To maximize reuse and recycling; and
- To dispose of remaining waste in a controlled fashion in order to not exceed the
capacities of local sinks.
The goal of minimizing the production of waste is primarily a national government
(and private sector) responsibility, and can be pursued through production and
consumption practices that reduce the input of materials, make more efficient use of
these inputs, and increase closed-loop recycling. Whether or not consumers, indus-
tries, and institutions contribute to this goal depends on their assessment of the costs
and benefits involved, as well as their levels of awareness. The maximizing of waste
reuse and recycling can be carried out at primary level – within households, firms and
institutions – or at secondary level, i.e. after materials have entered the municipal
waste stream. A very important aspect is the extent to which source separation occurs
and is officially endorsed and promoted (Lardinois and Furedy, 1999). The contribu-
tion to sustainable development lies in the reduction of volumes of waste to be
disposed of, and the reduction in use of virgin materials. Controlled disposal is
included because the amount of municipal waste that actually reaches the official
dumpsites – and, consequently, how much is disposed of illegally and pollutes the
urban environment – is an important indicator of the quality of an SWM system.
Finally, the method of final disposal – in developing countries, largely through crude
dumping or sanitary landfills – determines to what extent ecological sustainability and
- WASTE is an advisory company for research and practice pertaining to SWM. They run the Urban
Waste Expertise Program, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation.