PROMOTING DECENTRALIZED AND INTEGRATED RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTERS

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1 ISWA World Congress 2013, Vienna, 7-11 October 2013 PROMOTING DECENTRALIZED AND INTEGRATED RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTERS IN SECONDARY CITIES AND SMALL TOWNS OF ASIA-PACIFIC Lorenzo Santucci Economic Affairs Officer Sustainable Urban Development Section Environment and Development Division

2 UN-ESCAP and the Asia-Pacific region 53 members of UN-ESCAP 9 associated members 58% percent of world population 60% of the world s poor population 40% of the world s land area territory Rapid economic growth High population density ESCAP is the regional development arm of the United Nations and fosters: Cooperation between its 53 members and 9 associate members for social and economic development in Asia-Pacific Policy, normative and technical cooperation at the regional level 2

3 Urbanization in Asia-Pacific Asian cities are home to over half of the world s urban population, or 1.76 billion people (2010) Asia is estimated to reach 50 percent urbanization by 2026 Two main trends in the urbanization rate of Asian cities: The rapid demographic expansion: the Asian urban population is foreseen to almost double from 1.8 billion in 2010 to 3.3 billion by 2050 Asian urbanization is broad-based rather than concentrated in just a few cities 60% of the region s urban population lives in small and medium-sized cities, and will continue to do so for the next two decades Urbanization of poverty: 33% of urban citizens live in slums without proper housing, sanitation, water, electricity, waste collection and other services. Source: The State of Asian Cities 2010/2011, UN-ESCAP and UN-Habitat 3

4 Municipal Solid Waste Trends The rapid urbanization and economic growth accompanied by high consumption patterns is leading to increased solid waste generation in urban areas of Asia- Pacific. Solid waste generation (tons/day) in middle income developing countries in Asia-Pacific Source: ESCAP based on data from World Bank (2012), What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management, 4

5 Waste Composition patterns in Asia-Pacific The high percentage of organic waste (50-70%) and recyclables (20-35%) in low and middle income countries of Asia-Pacific means that the majority of waste (85-90%) can be converted into valuable resources such as: Compost through aerobic treatment Bio-gas/electricity through anaerobic digestion Recycled materials Metal 5% Glass 4.6% Other 19.5% Plastic 10.8% High Income countries Paper 24.3% Organic 35.9% Glass 4.4% Plastic 11.3 % Middle Income countries Metal 4.4% Other 15% Paper 13.3 % Organic 51.4 % Other 11.8 % Metal 5.3 % Glass 6 % Plastic 9 % Paper 5.8 % Low Income countries Organic 65 % Source: ESCAP based on data from World Bank,

6 Current Solid Waste Management Practices Current approaches to Solid Waste Management (SWM) focus on end-of-pipe solutions, such as open dumping and landfilling, which are not sustainable Vermin and other disease vectors Negative Externalities Leachate (pollution of water sources) Odor Nuisance Methane Emissions (a Greenhouse gas) More Land Required for landfilling The current paradigm is not sustainable and overlooks the enormous potential for turning waste into resources 6

7 Paradigm shift and need for system change There is a need to change towards a more systemic approach based on 3R principles, where value can be generated from waste, with potential for cobenefits along the three dimensions of sustainable development Most preferred Reduce Reuse Recycle Waste Diversion Recover Composing / digestion Least preferred Landfill / Incineration Energy recovery Controlled Dump Waste Disposal The Waste Management Hierarchy Source: World Bank

8 The IRRC Approach and Concept An Integrated Resource Recovery Center (IRRC) is a facility where a significant portion (80-90%) of waste can be processed in a cost effective way, in proximity to the source of generation, and in a decentralized manner. The IRRC concept is based on 3R principles Cost and Liability Processing Resources Compost Biogas Waste IRRC 90% Recyclables Organic Waste 10% RDF Inorganic Waste Used Cooking Oil Others Residues Biodiesel 8

9 The IRRC Approach and Concept Key characteristics of the IRRC Design to process between 2-20 tons of organic waste per day and provide handling and storage space for 2-5 tons of recyclables per day Decentralized and neighborhood based with emphasis on community participation suited for small towns and secondary cities Use of low-cost and simple technology requiring manual labour, thereby providing jobs Financially sustainable with potential for limited profits Relies on effective source separation of waste Promotes door-to-door collection of waste Pays close attention to marketing and sale of high-quality compost 9

10 The IRRC Approach and Concept What makes our approach unique? Replicable and flexible Multi-stakeholder approach Strong social pillar Pro-poor approach Diverse income streams Technology transfer and training Easy to replicate as IRRCs are low cost, easy to operate and rely on local materials and labor for construction and operation Involvement of stakeholders at all levels helps to upscale the IRRC approach city wide and supports all aspects of the waste management process, reducing the burden for local governments. Involving local community changes perceptions and attitudes towards waste and waste workers. Creation of employment opportunities - both for skilled and unskilled labor. Provides livelihoods and social protection to urban poor/waste pickers with increased income, better working conditions through use of protective gear and provide services such as health insurance. An IRRC can process more than one product from waste and charge collection fee for waste collection services, providing a diversity of income sources Through our partner Waste Concern, ESCAP supports the transfer of technology and provides training to stakeholders at the regional training center in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 10

11 Benefits and Opportunities 1 ton of processed waste by an IRRC can deliver the following benefits Social Creates 2-3 new jobs for waste pickers Directly benefits 2,000-3,000 people Reduces the spread of diseases and odors Increases the awareness of the community on 3R principles Environmental Avoids m 3 of leachate water Avoids the emission of 0.5 ton of CO 2 eq The use of compost enriches soils with nutrients Economic Produces 0.20 ton of good quality compost; Produces m 3 of biogas ( kwh) Requires m 2 of land, saving 1.1 m 3 of landfill volume 11

12 What does an IRRC operation look like? Source: UN-ESCAP and Waste Concern 12

13 Baseline studies and IRRCs in Asia-Pacific Legend Baseline study IRRC 5 Countries 12 cities Ha Tinh Hoi An Kon Tum Mardan Quy Nhon Islamabad Karachi PAKISTAN Matale Rathnapura SRI LANKA Kushtia BANGLADESH Battambang Kampot CAMBODIA VIET NAM 13

14 Kampot City, Cambodia ESCAP has supported the city of Kampot in implementing the first IRRC in Cambodia, where operations started in early 2013 Kampot Population of 40,000 people 18 tons of waste generated per day 12 tons of waste collected per day 65% of the waste generated is organic Cambodia Kampot Before project All waste collected is disposed at the dumpsite which is soon to reach capacity and is located 11 km away from the city Lack of community participation and source separation of waste Growth in tourism puts pressure for solutions to keep the city clean IRRC project A 4-ton IRRC was constructed and began operations in 2013 The IRRC is collecting all organic waste generated in the main market (2-2.5 tons) and is now expanding to restaurants, hotels and households to process 4 tons daily 14

15 IRRC Kampot Workers at IRRC IRRC, Kampot Compost box Bio digester and rain water harvesting Leachate collection tank 15

16 Partnership Arrangements for IRRC Implementation The IRRC is implemented through involvement of all stakeholders taking part in all stages of waste management process with clear roles and responsibilities. Municipality Land and basic infrastructure UN-ESCAP Grant Self Help Group (IRRC operations) Project Implementation CSARO (NGO) Waste transfer Separation of waste at Awareness campaigns Technology transfer & training source GAEA (waste collection company) Services Collection fee Community Waste Concern 16

17 Results About 70% of vendors in the market separate waste as a result of the community mobilization activities carried out A Self Help Group has been formed from the waste picker community to carry out IRRC operations with improved working conditions and stable source of income Designed and implemented a waste collection system in the market area to recover waste before it enters the mixed waste stream tons of waste diverted from the dumpsite on a daily basis and converted to valuable resources such as compost Effectively engaged the provincial departments such as Tourism department to extend source separation to restaurants/hotels and Education department to raise awareness through schools and colleges. 17

18 Lessons Learnt Consultation and involvement of all stakeholders that participate in all stages of waste management process is crucial for effective implementation and operation of the IRRC Regular communication campaigns can achieve positive results in source separation when beneficiaries have a clear understanding of its benefits Local / provincial governmental departments can contribute to different aspects of waste management due to shared common goals Waste pickers become active collaborators in formal waste management processes when their needs and interests are duly addressed Waste collection fees in developing countries are too low: there is a need to raise them in order to improve the business case for sustainable solid waste management practices. Experience shows that households are willing to pay higher fees, provided they get better collection services in return Heavy subsidies provided to chemical fertilizers are a barrier to the uptake of composting practices. Government should consider providing a level playing field to compost producers while ensuring its quality. 18

19 Conclusions and key messages Solid waste management has become an issue of increasing global concern, as urban populations continue to rise and consumption patterns change Need for paradigm shift and system change, moving from end of pipe approaches to new ways of seeing and valuing waste The IRRC approach has proved effective in managing municipal solid waste upstream in a cost effective way and in the process provides green jobs to urban poor The decentralized IRRC approach is best suited to small towns and secondary cities and saves costs for local government The IRRC model can be replicated and up scaled to treat all MSW generated in the city through multi stakeholder approach A conducive policy framework and effective enforcement is required to enable these models to thrive 19

20 Thank you for the attention!