Municipal Solid Waste Management and Poverty Reduction (SDG 1)

Goal 1 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development seeks to end poverty in all forms everywhere, whereby even the poor and vulnerable people also enjoy equal rights to economic resources, healthy living conditions as well as access to basic infrastructure and technology. Environment[1] matters greatly to people in living in poverty. The perceptions of the poor of well-being are strongly related to the environment in terms of their livelihood, health, vulnerability, and empowerment to control their lives. The poor tend to heavily dependent upon the environment and direct use of natural resources, and therefore are severely affected when the environment is degraded or their access to natural resources is limited or denied for their livelihood. The linkages between environmental conditions and dimensions of poverty are dynamic, interconnected and context-specific-reflecting both geographic location and scale and the economic social, and cultural characteristics of individuals, households, and social groups.

All urban dwellers must have access to sustainable livelihoods[2]. The management of a city highly influences the livelihoods of the urban poor, especially in developing countries. Solid waste management is solely the responsibility of the local governments, irrespective of the city’s size or demographic variations. Therefore, the physical environment of urban space relating to infrastructure and municipal service delivery could influence the residents’ opportunities to achieve and maintain a healthy social self[3].Where poverty reduction is most needed, governance structures are often in effective, and still great solid waste challenges still exists. Waste management is one major area in urban environment which has a major impact on urban livelihoods. The livelihood and the income derived from waste management is partly determined by the type of wastes that individual actors are engaged in as the type of waste collected by the individual actors has an attached economic and social value, therefore determining the profitability of the end product. Solid waste management practices in cities have the potential to transform the lives of the urban poor, translated through the informal waste workers industry. Millions of the poor in the world, and especially in developing cities make a living from informal waste handling.[4] The labor-intensive nature of waste collection and recycling processes serve as potential avenues for employment for the urban poor.[5]

Long term improvements in inclusive and integrated municipal solid waste management practices will generally result in immediate poverty reduction and encouragement of economic growth which benefits the poor through sustainable development which targets policies that create sustainable livelihoods for the poor by promoting human development and conserving the environment[6]. This relationship is highly bidirectional. Good governance, plus investments in awareness, skills, infrastructure as well collaborative partnerships among all sections of the society so that even the people living in poverty are linked to the world through their participation in social, political, and economical spheres along with their active participation in municipal solid waste activities is crucial to reducing poverty as well reducing the burden on local governments to efficiently and effectively manage solid waste.

[1] Environment refers to the living (biodiversity) and non-living components of the natural world, and to the interactions between them, that together support life on earth. The environment provides goods (natural resources) and services (ecosystem functions) used for food production, the harvesting of wild products, energy, and raw materials. The environment is also a recipient and partial recycler of waste products from the economy and an important source of recreation, beauty, spiritual values, and other amenities

[2] The sustainable livelihoods approach is designed to potentially understand the livelihoods of people living a life below or near poverty line. It is used as a guidance concerning structures and integration of intricate social patterns

[3] Devas in Rakodi, 2002

[4] Ahmed, S. A. and Ali, M. (2004). Partnerships for solid waste management in developing countries: linking theories to realities. Habitat International, 28, 467–479. Doi: 10.1016/S0197-3975(03)00044-4

[5] Barr, J. and Mafuta, C. (2007). Sustaining a Common Future. Global Environment Outlook 4. United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved from: http://www.unep.org/geo/GEO4/report/GEO-4_Report_Full_en.pdf

[6] Solesbury, W. (2003). Sustainable Livelihoods.A Case Study of the Evolution of The DFID Policy. Working paper 217. London, Overseas Development institute