Solid Waste Management (SWM)

Today the world faces unprecedented challenges in waste management while the state of the municipal waste management sector globally is a matter of concern. To reverse current trends related to waste generation, pollution, and resource management, active collaboration between the various waste actors including governments, civil society, and the private sector will be required along with sustained behavior change.

The first step to recover valuable waste is to sort it at the point of origin, separating recyclables from non-recyclables. However, the Municipality of Asunción does not yet provide a segregated waste collection service.

 

Municipal solid waste contributes to the generation of GHGs, mainly methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The amount of GHG emissions from waste is correlated with the quantity of waste and depends on the waste composition and the waste management system in place. Large waste volumes and inadequate waste management systems lead to higher emissions in the atmosphere. In the past many decades, the quantities of waste generated globally have been increasing at an alarming pace while the state of waste management continues to lag in capacity and effectiveness.

More growth, less garbage presents an updated picture of how waste generation can grow if the world continues along the current trajectory and how to consider changing that path toward lower waste levels. Waste generation is estimated to grow from 2.24 billion tons in 2020 to 3.88 billion tons in 2050. Historically there has been a correlation between waste generation and income per capita. This publication explores the possibility of decoupling waste generation, and thus consumption, from economic growth.

The provision of municipal solid waste services is a costly and vexing problem for local authorities everywhere. In developing country cities, service coverage is low, resources are insufficient, and uncontrolled dumping is widespread, with resulting environmental problems. Moreover, substantial inefficiencies are typically observed. One solution commonly proposed is to contract service provision with the private sector in the belief that service efficiency and coverage can be improved, and environmental protection enhanced.

Health care waste management (HCWM) is a process to help ensure proper hospital hygiene and safety of health care workers and communities. It includes planning and procurement, construction, staff training and behavior, proper use of tools, machines and pharmaceuticals, proper disposal methods inside and outside the hospital, and evaluation. Its many dimensions require a broader focus than the traditional health specialist or engineering point of view. The need for proper HCWM has been gaining recognition slowly.

For the urban poor in developing countries, informal waste recycling is a common way to earn income. There are few reliable estimates of the number of people engaged in waste picking or of its economic and environmental impact. Yet studies suggest that when organized and supported, waste picking can spur grassroots investment by poor people, create jobs, reduce poverty, save municipalities money, improve industrial competitiveness, conserve natural resources, and protect the environment.

Along with economic growth and improved living standards, waste from households, industries, and commercial or service establishments is expected to increase rapidly over the next years. Managing this waste is a hard challenge for the Government of Vietnam because of its substantial cost and lack of awareness and participation of people and businesses. Wastes can be classified according to: their form (wastewater, solid waste); their origin (industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, urban (municipal) wastes); and their hazardous nature (non-hazardous or hazardous).