Solid Waste Management Problem in Developing Countries

Waste management has been a problem for the government in developing countries. Mostly due to the combination of social, economic and political reasons. In Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) of developing countries most common problem can be identified as inadequate coverage area of waste collection, operational inefficiencies of public services limited recycling activities, inadequate landfill disposal, and inadequate management of hazardous and hospital waste (Zurbrugg, 2003).

Poor solid waste management services in developing countries led to the implementation of neoliberal policies through structural adjustment programs (Manga, Forton and Read,2008). Later alternative development theories also promoted the participation of private actors for the provision of better services (Lewis and Kanji,2009). Despite the private sector involvement in solid waste management, there are still problems with solid waste management services in developing countries (Oduro-Kwarteng and VanDijk,2013). The problems in cities have become burdensome despite efforts being made by city authorities and governments (Oduro-Kwarteng, 2011). The problems of solid waste such as inadequate service coverage, irregular waste collection, waste spill over from bins and storage containers, and lax attitude of people towards indiscriminate disposal on unauthorized places and waste littering are common in developing countries (Oduro-Kwarteng, 2011).

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Though in developing countries the amount of solid waste generated in most urbanized areas are low as compared to waste generated in industrialized countries, the municipal solid waste management system is inadequate. Primarily, inadequacy in solid waste management eventually leads to environmental pollution, impact on public health and disrupts the aesthetics of the city.

As the public sector becomes unable to collect the waste, uncollected waste is often dumped into rivers or drains and sometimes burnt and buried. People do these activities without taking into account the environmental consequences and health risks it poses to them. These problems have an immediate effect on the health of poorer population while in the long run it affects the entire urban population. The impact of uncollected waste within cities in developing countries is enormous. Cities are faced with urban environmental health issues related to solid waste management (UN-HABITAT, 1996).

The amount of waste generated by a household largely depends on the family size and monthly income (Guerrero, Maas and Hogland,2013). At the same time consciousness among household about waste segregation and waste management depend on their level of knowledge and exposure.

It is common for developing countries that collection, transfer and transport practices are affected by improper bin location, poor collection practices, route planning and lack of information about collection schedule, inadequate infrastructure, poor road network and insufficient number of vehicles for waste collection (Mogadham, Mokhtarani and Mokhtarani,2009).

In industrialized countries, solid waste generated from different sectors are treated in separate ways whereas in developing countries the separate treatment of waste is non-existent (Jin,Wang and Ran,2006). But there is a presence of informal sector in developing countries that contribute largely to waste minimization (Wilson, Velis and Cheeseman,2006). Organizing the informal sector and promoting micro-enterprises are also effective ways of extending affordable waste collection services (Sharholy, Ahmad, Mahmood and Trivedi,2008). On the other hand, lack of knowledge about treatment system among waste management authorities is stated as one factor affecting the proper treatment of waste (Chung and Lo, 2008). Whereas, for the disposal of household waste, reasons like inadequate supply of waste containers, longer distance to communal

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containers increase the chances of waste being dumped in open areas and roadsides (Tadesse, Ruijs and Hagos,2008). Major constraints encountered by municipalities of developing countries are as follows:

2.2.1Inadequate human resources

Ogawa (2008) notes that developing countries lack in technical expertise required for solid waste management especially planning and operation, both at national and local level. He also argues that many solid waste management programs initiated by external donor agencies failed to sustain due to lack of technical expertise and unavailability of funds(Ogawa,2008). According to Onibokun (1999), most municipalities are unable to attract qualified personnel required for the various aspects of waste management such as planning, operation, monitoring and evaluation. In many cases, authorities have inadequate human resources at all levels, involving the laborers in waste management sector. This was pointed out by Kironde (1999) that human resources for waste management in Dares Salaam were inadequate in terms of both managerial and technical staff and waste collectors. He argued that the main reason behind this was poor technical training along with the low wage rate and dehumanized working conditions (Kironde,1999).

Along with it, shortage of people working in waste management sector in development countries can be related to social stigma associated with the waste (Onibokun, 1999). This situation leads to disrespect for waste and sanitation work and in turn induces low morale among waste laborers (Ogawa, 2002). This makes the poorly educated and the poorest population to take up the job in waste management. It makes the implementation of waste management programs difficult for the authorities unless they are able to train and motivate these human resources properly according to the requirement.

2.2.2Institutional Constraints

Inefficient institutions are responsible for poor urban management and public service delivery in developing countries (Zurbrugg,2002). It is characteristic of developing countries to involve several agencies in solid waste management system; often without clear distinction of roles and responsibilities of the various agencies(Ogawa,2008). While in some states the issue of not having an agency to manage and guide the activities of other waste management agencies also exist (Attahi, 1999). While existence of number agencies without well-defined roles can result in

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duplication of one function (Ogawa, 2008). The lack of collaboration and co-operation between the agencies involved can lead to the failure of waste management program. Whereas, inefficiency in managerial skills of institutions can also be one of the reasons as noted by (Zurbrugg, 2002).

Municipal administrations responsible for SWM services are usually weak in their functioning and bureaucracy is filled with hurdles.

Thus, to improve the management of solid waste in developing countries, an effective and efficient management is required. In addition, co-operation and co-ordination between different levels of government and different agencies involved in the urban waste management system is needed for sustainability in waste management.

2.2.3Absence good governance and civil society

The last two decades, governance has been a major aspect of development discourse. Especially in poor developing countries where lack of good governance practices has been blamed for the inefficient delivery of public services in this case waste management services. Whereas lack of a strong and well-organized civil society to raise social issues and exert pressure on governments have always been felt in developing countries (Hashmi, 2007). The prevalence of “bad governance” for a long time has made governments in developing countries numb towards the wellbeing of the citizens and have failed to deliver services like provision of basic infrastructure, management of waste in order to maintain public health (Hashmi, 2007). The poor are the ones always hit hard by bad governance as they are in many cases, denied participation in decision making, especially about the issues that affect them. Thus, lack of participation of the poor in decision making process related to services such as water, sanitation and waste will lead to situation where there needs are unlikely to be met in future as well (Devas and Korboe, 2000).

According to Hashmi (2007), a strong civil society is necessary for the promotion of a vigorous liberal democratic order in the Third World, where governments are generally unaccountable and unresponsive to the problems of society (Hashmi,2007). This view is supported by Cohen and Arato (1992) who also regard civil society as an important actor for the promotion of democracy and rights. According to the UNDP (2005), civil society action is critical for establishing strong safeguard policies and no government can achieve sustainable development without the active involvement of a fully-fledged civil society as cited in (Feinberg, Waisman and Zamosc,2006). In

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spite of the important role that civil society can play in promoting good governance and the general interest of society, civil society pressure or action is generally weak in developing countries and even non-existent in many areas as they fail to organize themselves and take action. While in some cases even when they complain about the poor services, it often goes unheard and unnoticed due to the inability of the poor to organize themselves as group (Smith,2007).

2.2.4Budgetary/Financial Constraints

Financial constraints are normally felt in developing countries, as resources are limited and available resources are usually unevenly distributed. Municipalities struggle to achieve their urban environment management goals due to financial constraint (Serageldin, Solloso and Valenzuela,2006). There are limited opportunities for the development of sustainable SWMS, as government budgets are limited and proper waste collection is overlooked (Al-Khatib, Monou, Zahra, Shaheen and Kassinos, 2010). A study in Kenya found that municipal budget was used to pay over-staffed and underqualified workforce (Henry, Yongsheng and Jun 2006). Whereas issues such as inadequate vehicles, waste collection equipment and waste collection laborers are common, mainly due to misappropriation of the budget.

Lohse (2003) has described the problem of finance in municipalities of developing countries as

“the gap between financial resources and municipal expenditure needs” (Lohse,2003, p.4).

According to him, this fiscal gap is widening as urban populations expand, increasing the demand for infrastructure and services including waste disposal. He further goes to explain that one reason for the municipal finance gap is that “most municipalities lack the autonomy to establish their tax basis, rate structures, and enforcement procedures, and so cannot raise revenues commensurate with their expenditure requirements” (Lohse, 2003, p .4). Whereas the low fees charged by the municipality for waste collection services and insufficient funds from central municipal budgets cannot finance adequate levels of service (Zurbruegg, 2002). While some authors have pointed out that, the finance problem in governments is due to the lack of good financial management and planning (Tagoe and Anuwa-Amarh, 2005). Low priority given to solid waste management is another reason for inadequate finances in developing countries which results in inability to provide the level of service required to protect the environment and public health (Ogawa, 2008).

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Whereas, some municipalities as a solution to the financial problem, has raised revenue from other municipal infrastructure. Still issues like corruption, lack of transparency and accountability constrain in revenue raising activities in developing countries (Kolstad and Wiig,2009). On the other hand, lack of industrial growth in developing countries makes them highly reliant on donors to buy expensive equipment required for waste management (Driscoll,1995).

2.2.5Lack of advanced technology

In most developing countries, technologies adapted in municipal solid waste management are either inadequate or inefficient to the changing times (Guerrero, Hogland and Maas, 2013).

Developing countries are not able to use the conventional waste collection vehicles as used in developed countries due to its high maintenance cost and lack of engineering capacity. At the same time, there is a presence of urban poor, in developing countries which makes the cheap. This cheap labor can be utilized by providing jobs in waste management sector so that the focus is on labor intensive methods. Nonetheless, inadequacy of technology and equipment contributes to the lag in service coverage and inefficiency in waste management. While in developing countries, some waste sources large part of the households in the city might be very difficult to access due to congested and poor roads (Bleck and Wettberg,2012). This is especially problematic in unplanned settlements such as slums or low-income areas and thus, the vehicles should be selected cautiously.

A study done in India found that poor conditions of containers and inadequate maintenance and replacement of worn-out collection vehicles contributed to behaviors such as littering and illegal dumping by citizens who felt they could not properly dispose of trash because trash bins and waste services were not properly maintained (Hazra and Goel, 2009). On the other hand, techniques effective in developed countries might not always be useful and efficient in developing countries, as they do not have adequate infrastructure and know how to handle these technologies. Currently, the need of developing countries is to design and adapt appropriate waste management equipment suitable for the local condition (Marshall and Farahbakhsh, 2013).

2.2.6 Inadequate enforcement of laws and regulations

In developing countries, the lack of laws and regulations is not a problem, rather lack of enforcement is an issue for sustainable waste management. In the report prepared for African Development Bank (ADB) on study of solid waste management options for Africa, Palczynski

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noted that “no country [in the study] has a specific waste management legislation even though legislation is being drafted now in some countries” (Palczynski, p.iv). While in some countries although there are, sufficient legislations covering waste management, local authorities lack the capacity to implement them (Henry et al., 2006). It has been observed that in many developing countries laws related to waste management are not concrete but are part of legislations related to environment management. Onibokun (1999) has also noted the inability or unwillingness of municipal officials to enforce existing laws on environmental sanitation including the scanty legislation on waste disposal. Whereas, public in developing countries are reluctant to comply to waste management laws and rules due to lack of knowledge and awareness, which leads to activities such as littering and dumping of waste in rivers, drains and at roadside. Activities like this makes the process of waste management more difficult. Thus, inadequacy of appropriate legislation in some cases and lack of enforcement of existing laws in other makes solid waste management system in developing countries a difficult job.