Technology

This study summarizes the findings of a non-lending analytical activity carried out by the World Bank in 2004 and 2005. The work was driven by concern over the quality of the urban environment, and undertaken in a context of uncertainty on the suitability and effectiveness of Bank investment in this area, particularly in regard to components that generate little or no direct revenue, like waste disposal and sewage treatment.

This study provides support to the Bank's ability to conduct client dialogue on solid waste management technology selection, and will contribute to client decision-making. The goal of the study was to fully explore the use of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Research Triangle Institute (EPA/RTI) holistic decision model to study alternative solid waste systems in a wide array of waste management conditions, using data collected from cities selected in each region of the world.

Human activities create waste, and the ways that waste is handled, stored, collected, and disposed of can pose risks to the environment and to public health. Solid waste management (SWM) includes all activities that seek to minimize health, environmental, and aesthetic impacts of solid waste. In urban areas, especially in the rapidly urbanizing cities of the developing world, problems and issues of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) are of immediate importance. This book addresses the problem by focusing on India.

The activity developed a review of the solid waste sector in Croatia involving seven topical studies across two dimensions; Three studies covered cross-cutting bottlenecks in the areas of a) governance, b) financial aspects, and c) business opportunities, and four technical reports addressed implementation constraints for the most challenging investments as well as technical issues hindering national Waste Management Plan (WMP) implementation: a) Waste Management Centers (WMC) and sorting, b) packaging waste, c) separation at source, and d) brownfields.

Nepal is experiencing a shift from a unitary to a three-tier government structure. The transition has led to increased financial independence and decision-making responsibilities for urban local level (ULL) governments. Solid waste management is primarily the responsibility of the ULLGs. Legally, the ULLGs can also formulate their own regulations in order to manage the waste efficiently.

By 2050, it is estimated that nearly half the world’s population will reside in cities. Bulging population in cities coupled with their rising income levels has led to an increase in the amount of waste generated by these urban centers. Cities and towns across the globe today face acute challenges in managing their waste in terms of its efficient collection, transportation and scientific disposal. Moreover, they need to comply with the prevalent environment standards and negate any adverse impact on general public health and environment.

This study was undertaken to identify and assess the technologies available worldwide for treatment and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW), and to make a general assessment of the applicability of these technologies to various waste management 'settings' within the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Region. Each technology was evaluated for a number of key attributes, including demonstrated commercial viability, economics, institutional factors, sustainability metrics, and environmental attributes, including emissions of dioxins and furans.

There are many challenges to the ecology and environment of Pakistan, one of them being the growing volume of solid waste due to increasing population, urbanization, and industrialization. The mountainous regions of Pakistan offer some of the most spectacular and fascinating landscapes and ecology in the world, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists; they, thereby, offer these regions an opportunity to develop their local economies.