MARKETS,PARTNERSHIPS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 15
environmental health are impaired through contamination of surface and groundwater
or soils by leakage, air pollution by waste burning, and spread of diseases by different
vectors
The socio-economic dimensions used to analyze SWM systems encompass both
consequences for specific actors and impacts on the entire system (city level). Four
criteria are used:
- Financial viability and affordability for the local authorities, consumers, and/or
entrepreneurs involved (these may conflict among groups); - Employment providing a living wage and a certain level of job security to SWM
workers; - Legitimacy from the perspective of the authorities (legal) and the public (social);
and - Effective monitoring and enforcement of standards.^13
The continuity of an activity ultimately depends on its financial viability, i.e. the assur-
ance that the revenues will continue to balance the costs incurred. Considering the
‘public good’ nature of SWM, authorities often have to accept a considerable degree
of subsidization. However, the financial sustainability of the system depends on the
authorities’ solvability (their own revenues or grants) and the political willingness to
pay the price of adequate servicing. Contributions from residents can help increase the
financial viability of waste collection – the concept of allocative efficiency (Batley,
1996: 743) indicates the extent to which charges cover the cost of the service – but if
the charges are beyond what they can afford, it will incite them to opt out of the service
or to engage in free-rider practices. Within this criterion, we also deal with the issue
of productive efficiency, which refers to the operational performance of the service
provider measured by such things as labor productivity and costs per ton (ibid.: 743).
The contribution SWM makes to gainful employment is a key aspect of our assess-
ment. It tries to ascertain whether jobs within the sector provide a living wage and a
certain degree of job security. In addition, it seeks to compare the working conditions
of various social groups. Legitimacy as criterion distinguishes between the legal situ-
ation and public attitudes. Legal recognition of a partnership may provide both advan-
tages (access to credit and facilities; absence of harassment) and disadvantages (costs
of formalization), and the same applies to non-recognition. Social legitimacy refers to
- In an earlier version (Baud et al., 2001) we spoke of better coordination within the SWM sector, which
was discussed in terms of a clear demarcation of tasks and responsibilities (avoiding overlap). To
assess this aspect we looked at the existence of policies and bylaws, and capacities for monitoring and
law enforcement. Good coordination was supposed to bring about superior system efficiency. In prac-
tice, this aspect turned out to be very difficult to test. Therefore, we decided to narrow it down to
effective monitoring and enforcement of standards, while discussing the legal framework under the
legitimacy criterion, and efficiency under the heading of financial viability.