Sustainable waste management plays a pivotal role in creating better cities and advancing key sustainability goals. Our journey aligns with the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as ensuring universal access to basic services (SDG 11.1) and fostering inclusive and sustainable urbanization (SDG 11.3). It's imperative to address the per capita environmental impact of cities, with a particular focus on air quality and municipal waste management (SDG 11.6).
Long-term sustainability in waste management requires operational excellence and sustainable financing. Cost recovery is essential to maintaining continuous waste management services. Funding sources encompass municipal budgets, national government subsidies, private sector contributions (via Extended Producer Responsibility systems aligned with SDG 10), and contributions from households, businesses, importers and tourists. For detailed financing advice, valuable resources include: What A Waste 2.0 (Kaza et al., 2018), A Primer for Cities for Accessing Financing for Municipal Solid Waste Projects (International Solid Waste Association [ISWA] and the Climate Change and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), 2017.
Here are practical strategies for sustainable waste management:
- Waste reduction initiatives: Encourage practices like home composting and embracing zero-waste refill services to reduce the amount of waste needing collection.
- Knowledge-sharing and data utilization: Engage in initiatives that share knowledge and improve waste data collection, contributing to shaping national waste strategies and circular economy roadmaps in line with SDGs.
- Stepwise improvement and investor attraction: Gradually enhance waste management systems, leveraging progress to attract investors. Explore various financing mechanisms, including co-financing and support from businesses and importers, all aligning with SDGs.
In Grenada, successful waste management is backed by regulatory mechanisms:
- Households: Residents pay fees based on electricity consumption, with additional charges for higher usage and extra fees on vehicles and appliances.
- Importers: Companies importing materials like plastic bottles face extra charges, with refunds for environmentally responsible disposal.
- Tourists: Visitors pay a small entry fee if they arrive by cruise ship or stay overnight.
These levies have positioned Grenada's waste management system as the only profitable one in the region. Sustained efforts are vital to utilizing these levies as tools to shift consumer consumption patterns, especially in limited-space settings like islands. Creating markets for locally sourced recycled materials further aligns with SDGs and mitigates the impact on marine ecosystems (GIZ, 2015).
In summary, sustainable waste management is both an environmental imperative and an economic opportunity, contributing significantly to urban sustainability and the achievement of SDGs.
For more information on the work of UNEP on sustainable waste in cities, read the report: Towards Zero Waste -A Catalyst for delivering the Sustainable Development Goals.
