Abstract
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Objective
Most cities of the developing countries are overcrowded and suffer from lack of inadequate infrastructure and poor basic civic services. Urbanization directly contributes to waste generation, and unscientific waste handling leads to health hazards and environmental degradation, Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a major challenge for developing safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities.
The paper examines the challenges in SWM in the cities of the developing world comparing the scenario in Mongolia and India and the impact of collaboration between the city government and the local community to improve SWM.
Prior Work
In continuum to study made on SWM as part of ‘Clean India Mission’, further study has been carried out on the subject of Central and South Asian countries.
Approach
During the study, consultations were held with government officials, relevant literature were reviewed, and citizen survey on issues and expectations was conducted in few cities and field visits made. The paper is premised on this exercise.
Results
More than half of Ulaanbaatar City consists of unplanned settlements, called “ger districts,” which house over 50% of the city’s residents and nearly 25 % of Mongolia’s population. Waste collection in the ger areas is irregular and affected by inadequate number of old and outdated waste collection vehicles. Waste collection fee is based on the market mechanism without any subsidies, and does not take into account the difference in waste generated by households of different family size. Consequently, recovery of waste collection fee in these areas is low, and a major constraint for provision of effective service. Much of the solid waste is disposed of by the ger residents in surrounding open areas, that causes public health concern,
In some ger areas residents took initiative to manage neighborhood waste collection. However, when the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar delegated the responsibility for waste collection to the District Cleaning Service (or TUK), the residents stopped their activities and waste accumulated. When SWM is conducted in partnership with the local communities, the community took more initiative,
The situation in India is similar. In most of the Indian cities, there is no scientific and systematic waste management and the waste is normally thrown in nearby vacant land, drains, streets, and water bodies. For example, in most of the squatter settlements of Bengaluru, there is no earmarked space for disposal of household garbage and other solid wastes. Under the “Swabhimana Program” a number of NGOs in Bengaluru has build awareness regarding waste management and the importance of keeping the environment clean and provided assistance to several resident groups in setting up waste management system.
Community led initiatives in sustainable waste management have demonstrated that challenges of SWM can be addressed by making the community active partners. Studies on SWM in urban slums of Mongolia and India underline the need for the local residents and the city government working together, which would facilitate achieving the SDGs of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.
Implications
Practitioners need to discover effective ways for infrastructure development, monitoring, through participation of and in partnership with the public that can contribute to the success of making clean and healthy cities.
Value
The study findings are common for most developing countries. It acts as basis for further studies and policy-making to meet Goals 3 & 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals .
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