Presenter: Lios McGilchrist Co-authors: David Lerpiniere, Costas Velis and David Wilson

Waste to Wealth: Can improving solid waste management in emerging countries reduce poverty,

create employment opportunities and address development goals?

Overview

• The effects of poor Solid Waste Management

• The Waste to Wealth Programme • Aims • Approach • Examples of activities • Outcomes and impacts

• Conclusions

The wide ranging effects of uncontrolled Solid Waste Management (SWM)

Flooding - Property

damage - Injury - Loss of life

Ground contamination

- Clean-up costs

- Loss of land value

Air pollution from open burning

- Acute and chronic health impacts causing direct healthcare costs and loss of economic productivity

- Rejection of waste sites by the public

Surface and groundwater quality impacts

- Health impacts (direct healthcare costs and loss of economic productivity)

- Water treatment costs or cost of loss of water resources

Pressure on land

- Increased land costs

Greenhouse gas emissions

- Costs borne by the global community

Lost resources

- Opportunity cost of recycled materials

Increased incidence of disease associated with open

dumping of waste - Morbidity and mortality - Increased healthcare

costs from disease - Loss of economic

productivity

The Waste to Wealth programme

• Aim: To improve the living conditions of urban slum dwellers through two interrelated objectives: • Improving sanitation conditions by enhancing waste collection and

disposal in urban slum areas • Creating income generating opportunities for micro and small

enterprises (MSE) and social enterprises in the waste and recycling sector.

• Programme location: • Kampala, Uganda • Port Harcourt, Nigeria • Douala, Cameroon • Makeni, Sierra Leone

Approach Supporting the improvement of waste management services in slum areas

• Enterprise development: Building the capacity of poor entrepreneurs and

social enterprises in the waste management and recycling sector.

• Awareness raising: on the importance of waste management services and the right of slum dwellers to a clean environment.

• Local government training: on their roles, responsibilities and partnering with the formal and informal sector.

• Public private partnerships: promoting partnerships between local authorities and micro enterprises.

• South-South exchange: on technologies and approaches.

Enterprise development

“The OCN training has been really useful in helping me to plan my business in such a way that I can help it grow with the resources that I have, and it has helped me to link up with other people working in the plastic sector, which has helped me grow both the amount of raw materials I receive, and the market for my finished products.” Mr Jean Kenmoe, Manager of Pla-Cam

Innovation through exchange

Public private partnerships

Wisdom and Insight Investment in Kampala signed a contract with Nansana District Council in 2013. This has enabled them to increase their turnover by 300%.

Public private partnerships "We hope that by the end of 2015, it's all briquettes. There is no longer charcoal, people will go out to get briquettes." The Briquette-Making Enterprise of Makeni City, Sierra Leone, has recently secured its first large-scale order for 30 tons of briquettes.

Public private partnerships

In December 2014, FJDD, a youth-based organisation, launched a partnership with Douala 2 council to collect plastic waste in the district.

FJDD employs 50 youths through this partnership.

Outcomes and Impacts

• 840 new jobs created in the waste recycling sector • 60,000 slum dwellers with improved waste collection services • Economic growth in the recycling sector, with average 15-30% profit

increases per enterprise • 7000 people making an income from waste recycling streams

• 19 public private partnerships signed with local government

Conclusions • The Waste to Wealth programme has generated positive outcomes, helping to address

poor waste management conditions and provide economic opportunities for sum dwellers.

• Initiatives focused on improving solid waste management have real potential to address development challenges by: • Generating enterprise, employment and income generation • Improving sanitation conditions • Acting as a proxy for good governance

• A multi-faceted approach is needed to maximize impact. It is important to address both

the demand and supply side of SWM and to engage with all stakeholders: local government, entrepreneurs/small business, major contractors and the public.

• Activities focused on SWM will have a key role to play in helping to meet Sustainable Development Goals.

Contact Lios McGilchrist Living Earth Foundation E: lios@livingearth.org.uk T: +44 207 440 9750 Or David Lerpiniere University of Leeds E: cndjl@leeds.ac.uk T: +44 07759 676480 Weblinks: Twitter: @W2WAfrica www.youtube.com/livingearthuk http://wastetowealth.livingearth.org.uk