An Overview of Community Participation in Solid Waste Management

By

Dr. Robert Ntakamulenga

National Environment Management Council

Introduction - 1

Community participation can comprise varying degrees of involvement of the local community.

This can range from the contribution of cash and labour to consultation, adaptation of behaviour, involvement in administration, management and decision-making.

To keep the service running, continuous participation of the community receiving the service, is required, for example, to store the garbage in a specific bag or bin, to bring it to an agreed point, to separate it in dry and wet waste, etc.

Introduction - 2 • Low participation of households comprises issues such

as low community priority for solid waste management, low willingness to participate in collection systems and in keeping public spaces clean, and low willingness to pay.

• Education, which is often considered the major solution to these problems, appears to be inadequate and inappropriate.

• More satisfying solutions are preliminary research and proper consultation of the community on the desired service, appropriate incentives for households and servants, and care taking systems for streets and other public places.

Low participation of households

Low community priority for solid waste management - 1

It is not uncommon that low-income

neighbourhoods often face considerable problems. Inadequate solid waste management is just one of

them and its improvement may not have priority for a community.

If solid waste management is not a felt need, this will have consequences for their participation in the service and their willingness to pay.

Another major problem is the failing secondary collection, which can undermine the motivation of the community undertaking primary collection.

Low community priority for solid waste management - 2

Bad coordination of primary and secondary collection, illustrated by accumulated garbage at transfer stations, is a problem that is mentioned by most community-based initiatives.

The bad performance of the municipalities in this respect is rooted in a lack of funds, inappropriate equipment, inefficient management, and unskilled personnel.

Other important managerial problems are those related to financial issues, because these determine reliability and sustainability of a service for a major part, notably inadequate fee collection and lack of sanctions for non-payment.

Low willingness to participate in collection and recycling

Households often behave contrary to schedules and rules of effective solid waste management.

Sometimes this is caused by a lack of facilities; if a transfer point or dumping site is more than 100 metres away from their house, people tend to throw their waste much more often in streets, open spaces and rivers.

More often, however, it is due to households lacking knowledge and incentives to keep to the rules of the collection system, and operators lacking sanctions and authority.

Low willingness of households to participate in collection and recycling also depends on the perceived benefits and costs of the system.

Some households do not want to participate in separation, because they say it is time consuming and dirty work.

Low willingness to keep public spaces clean - 1

In several cases it is mentioned that residents of a neighbourhood have a sense of responsibility for their home and immediate environment, but that public spaces such as streets and drains are considered the responsibility of the state.

Often municipalities lack the money and/or manpower to fulfil this task and sometimes they think the neighbourhoods are responsible for this.

This has negative consequences for the cleanliness of public spaces, and for the willingness to pay and the behaviour of households.

Low willingness to keep public spaces clean - 2

With a lack of social cohesion and control in a neighbourhood, this is not a sustainable solution.

Especially in low-income neighbourhoods cooperation may be difficult, because of the high mobility of households and the large amount of renting people.

Moreover, urban problems are known to be personal and coping strategies individualistic.

A rather frequently returning problem is the fact that people throw the garbage next to the communal container or bin, causing an unhygienic situation.

Shared caretaking systems may help to improve such a situation.

Low willingness to pay - 1 Willingness to pay is a rather central point, because it

is important for the success of a community-based solid waste management project and it is related to many other aspects such as the motivation of operators and households and the reliability of the service.

Community perception of fees and of the waste collection service is essential for its willingness to pay.

If residents think they already pay for collection through taxes, or if they do not trust the service, they refuse to pay.

The service must be reliable to sustain willingness to pay.

Low willingness to pay - 2 Payment according to achievement may be a solution,

because households receive an observable benefit.

A change in the way of payment might improve willingness to pay, but this must be communicated well and agreed upon by the community.

Such other systems may include adding collection fees on top of the cost of the community that is widely consumed by the community e.g. adding it on a price of sugar, or on the electricity or water bills, etc.

Another example can be waste collection fees that are part of a lump sum for social welfare activities, collected during social meetings.

Low willingness to pay - 3

Education about the benefits of the service and the financial obligations of the households may help to increase willingness to pay.

But education alone if the people are not able to pay might not be enough.

The Government or the local government authority must think of other means to subsidize the community or engage them in another activity that may increase their income.

As is pointed out by several projects, education campaigns as part of community-based solid waste management are both inadequate and inappropriate.

Inadequate in the sense that before and during operation of the service education campaigns are often absent.

Inappropriate, because the contents of educational material is often not suited to the interests and priorities of the community.

Low willingness to pay - 4

The experiences also prove that education is needed to maintain community participation, to establish a ‘spirit of responsibility’ towards environmental problems and the most suitable ways of dealing with them .

Moreover, it is necessary to inform households about the benefits and practice of separation at source, the benefits and schedule of collection, the tasks and responsibilities of households (time and place to deliver the garbage) and the ways of payment.

Low ability to pay - 1 Low-income communities are often assumed to have a low

ability to pay for services.

Not all service levels are affordable and high fees cannot be charged.

This problem may be solved by introducing different fees and different collection systems for different generators of waste.

Households pay a low fee and bring their garbage to communal bins, which are inexpensive to empty.

Clinics, restaurants and hotels, etc. can be charged a higher, cost covering fee for door-to-door collection.

However, this underlines the fact that it is necessary to study willingness to pay beforehand, as well as which system and rate of fees the community prefers.

Low ability to pay - 2

Next to variable fees, cross-subsidies are a way of dealing with difficulties with ability to pay.

Fees can be based on the amount of garbage and/or on the income level of the household.

Cross-subsidies can be established by defining waste collection areas that are mixed in terms of income levels and/or waste generators.

This may be a way to avoid political problems.

Overview of participation problems PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

low community priority for solid waste management

• education • provision of appropriate incentives • consultation with the community • give community a role in planning • community needs assessment study

low willingness to participate in collection and recycling

• household and city competitions • pay households for their participation • exchange garbage for free bus tickets or food

parcels • give proceeds of recyclables to servants • education

low willingness to keep public spaces clean

• periodical clean-ups • education and make site valued • integrate street sweepers in solid waste

management system • guard at transfer station • shared caretaking systems

low willingness to pay • change way of payment • education