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E/CN.17/1997/2/Add.20 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
22 January 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Fifth session
7-25 April 1997
Overall progress achieved since the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development
Report of the Secretary-General
Addendum
Environmentally sound management of solid wastes
and sewage-related issues *
(Chapter 21 of Agenda 21)
(* The report was prepared by the United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements (Habitat), as task manager for chapter 19 of Agenda 21 in
accordance with arrangements agreed to by the Inter-Agency Committee
on Sustainable Development (IACSD). It is the result of consultation
and information exchange between United Nations agencies,
international and national science organizations, interested
government agencies and a range of other institutions and
individuals.)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
INTRODUCTION ............................................... 1 - 2 2
I. KEY OBJECTIVES ....................................... 3 2
II. SUCCESSES ............................................ 4 - 10 3
III. PROMISING CHANGES .................................... 11 - 13 6
IV. UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS ............................. 14 - 22 7
V. EMERGING PRIORITIES .................................. 23 - 28 9
INTRODUCTION
1. This report reviews progress made in the implementation of the
objectives set out in chapter 21 of Agenda 21 (Solid wastes and
sewage), 1/ taking into account the decisions taken by the Commission on
Sustainable Development on this subject at its second session in 1994.
Domestic and industrial waste production continues to increase in both
absolute and per capita terms, worldwide. In the developed world, per
capita waste generation has increased threefold over the past 20 years
and is now approximately five to six times higher than in the
developing world. In the developing world, there is every indication
that waste production will double during the next decade. Some
predictions estimate a five-fold increase in global waste generation
by 2025.
2. The provision of waste management services currently consumes a
large proportion of the budgets of local authorities in many
developing country cities. Yet, most city authorities are unable to
keep pace with the growing demand. The impact of inadequate waste
management services is greatest on the urban poor, living in informal
settlements which often remain outside the reach of municipal
services. Inevitably, the result is a lowering of the quality of
urban life, an increased burden of health care due to waste-related
diseases, and the pollution of urban water resources.
I. KEY OBJECTIVES
3. Chapter 21 of Agenda 21 describes four major waste-related
programme areas:
(a) Minimizing wastes;
(b) Maximizing waste recycling and reuse;
(c) Promoting environmentally sound waste disposal and treatment;
(d) Extending waste service coverage.
Since the Earth Summit, in the area of solid-waste management, much
attention has been devoted to the development of informal sector reuse
of waste and to the provision of services in low-income areas through
community-based schemes. With regard to wastewater and sanitation,
the main objectives have been the promotion of effective waste
treatment and disposal, and the development of affordable sanitation.
For solid waste management, those schemes in which there is potential
for micro-enterprise development and income-generation have proved to
be more attractive and sustainable. Within the developed world, more
attention has been focused on waste minimization and the use of the
life-cycle concept in assessing environmentally sound industrial
practices.
II. SUCCESSES
A. Minimizing wastes
4. The development and implementation of waste minimization
strategies has improved since the Conference, but mainly in the
developed countries. In some cities in Europe, campaigns to encourage
communities to separate waste at the household level have been so
successful that there is insufficient capacity to recycle all the
waste collected by municipal authorities and, because of increased
supply, the market price for recycled materials has dropped
drastically. The situation with regard to industry is also
encouraging. Many developed country industries are now realizing that
waste minimization can, in many cases, result in improved operational
efficiency and reduced costs (box 1). There is, therefore, a good
incentive to increase the awareness of waste minimization practices in
the industrial sector. The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) is actively promoting minimization of wastes by the industry
through its Industry and Environment Programme.
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Box 1. Case study on waste minimization in industry in Ontario
The Upper Canada Brewing Company in Toronto, Canada, is an
independently owned firm which employs approximately 50 people and
operates out of a 30,000-square-foot building. The Company has
managed to reduce the amount of waste it generates by no less than 99
per cent. Reduction initiatives primarily targeted suppliers, to whom
requests were made to eliminate unnecessary packaging. To those
suppliers that were initially uncooperative, the Company returned
excess packaging at the suppliers' expense. The Company also arranged
for supplies to be shipped using packing material consisting of
compostable matter such as popcorn or newspaper. Recycling
initiatives focused on fine paper, beverage containers, newsprint,
corrugated cardboard, plastics and organic materials. Spent grains
generated from the brewing process were distributed for animal feed.
In 1990, although no direct revenue was generated through the sale of
recyclable materials and nearly 15,000 Canadian dollars were incurred
for start-up and capital costs, the Company managed to save a total of
Can$ 330,000 in fees associated with landfill and collection costs.
Source: MacRae, paper presented at the R'95 International Congress,
Geneva, Switzerland, 1-3 February 1995.
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5. In developing countries, attempts to promote waste minimization
have been hampered by the lack of data on waste production at source
and waste collection and disposal. To facilitate waste minimization
in human settlements, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(UNCHS) is currently assisting developing countries with data
collection on waste production and providing policy options at the
municipal level for waste minimization.
B. Maximizing environmentally sound waste recycling and reuse
6. Since the Conference, there have been very significant
developments in the area of waste recycling and reuse, both in the
developed and developing countries. In developed countries this has
been more the result of increased awareness to the environmental
benefits of waste recycling, whereas in developing countries the
principal motivation has been the opportunity to derive income from
waste recycling. The increasing production of waste in urban areas
has resulted in the development of waste collection in the informal
sector by itinerant waste collectors and in the formation of community
group and non-governmental organizations which have, in many cities,
developed micro-enterprises for the benefit of income generation (see
box 2). Current estimates indicate that in the Asian cities of
Calcutta and Manila, some 40,000 and 30,000 persons, respectively, are
directly employed in the informal waste economy. The same is true in
many Latin American cities like Bogota', where 30,000-50,000 persons
are engaged. Many of these activities have developed in peri-urban
areas where illegal settlements are established and also where the
vast majority of domestic refuse is dumped. Those engaged in the
activity of waste scavenging or "rag-picking" are often women and
children. Small-scale industries have developed to reprocess these
wastes into a wide variety of both finished goods and intermediates,
for further processing by the formal sector industries. UNCHS
(Habitat) has recently documented waste recycling practices in Asian
cities and has produced training guides for municipal managers and
prospective entrepreneurs for recycling and reuse of municipal wastes.
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Box 2. The contribution of The Global Action Plan for the Earth
The Global Action Plan for the Earth is a non-profit environmental
organization whose purpose is to empower people to live more
environmentally sustainable lifestyles. This is done through adult
and youth programmes which are part of community-based national
sustainable lifestyle campaigns. The campaigns are ongoing in over
15 countries worldwide. Participants have, on average, reduced
water usage by 25 per cent and fuel in transport by 16 per cent and
produced 42 per cent less garbage.
Source: CSD Update, vol. 3, No. 2 (September 1996).
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7. Wastewater reuse, in particular the reuse of sewage effluents, has
been practised on a piecemeal basis for many years in many countries
with water shortage. However, there has been a reluctance fully to
exploit the use of wastewater for food production. This has
principally been due to the perceived health risks regarding
inadequate treatment of the wastewater. There is also a lack of
understanding of environmentally sound technologies that are available
and their application. Some isolated examples exist, such as the East
Calcutta Fisheries, which effectively combines wastewater treatment
with urban food production (see box 3).
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Box 3. Reuse of wastewater in Calcutta, India
In Calcutta, a third of the city's sewage ending up in marshes to the
east of the city is processed in a most ingenious way. A little over
7,500 acres is taken up by sewage-fed fish ponds or bheris. Each year
these fisheries produce 7,500 tons of fish. While some of the sewage
goes straight to the bheris, some is held for use by the "garbage
farms". Every day, Calcutta gets 150 tons of vegetables from these
garbage farms. The effluent from the fishponds is also used, mostly in
paddy fields which are dotted around the outer reaches of the marshes.
Source: UNCHS, Global Report on Human Settlements 1996 (New York,
Oxford University Press, 1996), and other sources.
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C. Promoting environmentally sound waste disposal and treatment
8. The level of awareness of the health and environmental impacts of
inadequate waste disposal is still rather low. However, recent
outbreaks of cholera in Peru and a "plague scare" in India (see box 4)
have clearly demonstrated the human suffering and loss of life that
may result from poor waste management and the disastrous effect that
waste-related diseases may have on the trade and tourism vital for
national economy. In a recently completed study carried out by UNCHS
in Africa and Asia, direct epidemiological relationships between
inadequate waste management and the incidence of diarrhoea and,
respiratory and skin diseases have been established and low-cost,
remedial interventions have been recommended, advancing strong health
arguments for targeted investments in infrastructure in low-income
settlements.
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Box 4: The economic cost of inadequate infrastructure: India's 1994
"plague scare"
In September 1994, nearly 30 years after the last plague outbreak in
India, an epidemic of pneumonic plague broke out, in Surat, killing 56
people. The disease is transmitted from person to person by exhaled
sputum droplets and 100 per cent of its victims die if left untreated.
Surat is a city of 2.2 million in which 1,250 tons of waste are
produced a day, of which 250 tons are uncollected. It is believed that
a combination of poor sanitation and waste management and an earthquake
a year earlier put the plague-infested wild rat population in contact
with the domestic rat population. The situation was exacerbated by the
monsoon floods which dispersed the rubbish, providing an ideal habitat
for rodents. In financial terms, the cost was high, in excess of US$
600 million to the Indian economy. More than 45,000 people cancelled
their plans to travel to India. Hotel occupancy dropped to 20-60 per
cent, and many countries stopped all air and sea traffic to India
altogether. In total, exports from the country suffered a loss of US$
420 million. A fraction of the cost of the epidemic, invested in waste
management infrastructure, would have averted the crisis.
Adapted from World Resources, 1996-97 (New York, Oxford University
Press, 1996).
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D. Extending waste service coverage
9. To improve service coverage for waste management services, many
local authorities are encouraging the private sector to undertake some
of the traditional public waste management services. Although service
coverage has improved in high-income residential areas and in some
cases in commercial and industrial areas, low- and middle-income areas
still suffer from extremely poor service coverage.
10. The situation of human waste treatment and disposal is also
deteriorating. In 1994, 588 million people in urban areas and 2.28
billion in rural areas lacked adequate sanitation, up from 452 million
and 2.15 billion in 1991. Projections show that these numbers could
increase to 846 million urban dwellers and 2.5 billion rural dwellers
(most of whom will be in Asia) by the year 2000. In total, this will
be about half the world's population. Even fewer people have access
to a satisfactory method of wastewater disposal.
III. PROMISING CHANGES
11. Perhaps the most promising change in solid-waste management
worldwide is the increasing recognition of waste as a resource that
can not only contribute to the local and national economies but also
provide employment and income to a large section of the population.
This recognition has led to a growing range of initiatives in cities
in the developed world where the concept is being translated into
practice through governmental regulations, stakeholders' cooperation
and citizens' initiatives.
12. In cities in the developing countries, community groups,
particularly women's groups, and the informal sector are taking steps
to integrate waste management with income generation. Certain schemes
have concentrated on the collection of municipal solid wastes - both
organic, for use in compost production, and inorganic, for small-scale
recycling industries. One project in Senegal has successfully made
use of waste-derived compost and treated domestic wastewater for urban
food production. There have been some attempts to develop guidelines
for wastewater reuse, and the future appears to hold promise for
integrated reuse schemes. The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the World Bank have recently published guidelines on the
reuse of wastewater in agriculture. UNCHS (Habitat) is currently
conducting demonstration projects on community-based composting in
several cities in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America and plans to produce guidelines on the use of waste-derived
compost.
13. Another promising change can be found in the attitude of
municipalities and other levels of governments towards waste
minimization as an integral part of the strategy for waste management.
In the developed countries, municipalities are increasingly
encouraging waste minimization in households and commercial
enterprises by providing recycling credits and other economic
incentives. Governments are also encouraging waste minimization
within industries through "take-back" agreements and by charging full
cost on waste disposal, including environmental costs. Some promising
initiatives are also coming from developing countries - for example,
from India, where national legislation has recently been put in place
for mandatory environmental audit of all industries.
IV. UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS
A. Promoting environmentally sound waste disposal and treatment
14. There has been little progress in the area of environmentally
sound waste disposal in the developing countries. The main method is
still open dumping, and little attention is paid to the environmental
impact of waste-disposal sites. Experience shows that the failure
efficiently to regulate the private sector will lead to increases in
the open dumping of wastes and the use of unauthorized sites. The
proportion of hazardous waste is also increasing in household clinical
wastes, contributing significantly to the environmental risks.
15. In terms of environmental impact, with economic growth, countries
are producing increasing quantities of wastewater, often contaminated
with heavy metals and water-soluble organic compounds. For example in
the United Kingdom, the implementation of the Urban Wastewater
Treatment Directive of the European Community will double the volume
of waste sludge requiring disposal, from 1.1 million tons per annum in
1991 to 2.2 million tons per annum in 2006. Likewise, in Egypt, the
construction of new treatment works for Cairo and Alexandria will
generate 0.7-1 million tons per annum of sewage sludge. In both cases
there will be increased pressure to dispose of sludge on land. Sea
disposal of sewage sludge continues, despite the recommendation that
it be phased out by the end of 1995.
16. In many developing countries, there is still a tendency to select
inappropriate technologies for both wastes and wastewater. The
problem is exacerbated by many examples of "tied" aid whereby donors
are unwilling to provide the most appropriate hardware, but also by
the failure of donors to match donated equipment with commensurate
assistance for capacity-building and institutional development.
B. A hierarchy for waste management and strategic planning
17. The idea of a waste management hierarchy, embodied in chapter 21
of Agenda 21, is still not fully appreciated by many countries,
developed or developing. Many national and local governments have
insufficient capacity to apply strategic planning to solid waste
management. Such issues as divided institutional responsibility, lack
of regulatory frameworks etc. are characteristic of many city
administrations. Until waste management authorities overcome these
institutional shortcomings and develop a more flexible management
structure, responsive to the needs of public, private and community
sectors, isolated schemes will remain good examples of "best practice
demonstrations" and will not be incorporated into the overall waste
management system.
C. Awareness of health risks
18. Although isolated examples of waste-related diseases have
increased awareness of the risks of poor waste-management practices,
there has been little attempt to improve the education of the general
public and city officials in general. Poor sanitation and waste-
management infrastructure is still one of the principal causes of
death and disability for the urban poor.
D. Failure fully to recognize waste as a resource
19. There is still a general reluctance at the municipality level to
use waste as a resource for both income generation and in agricultural
production. Centralized composting is still in vogue in many cities
for biogas production, energy generation etc., but very few units have
proved viable and consequently they quickly fall into disrepair.
There is need to look at alternative approaches which are labour-
intensive, process the waste at source, and require minimal capital
investment. Technologies that utilize the waste for the production of
recycled products or for energy generation should be promoted.
E. Lack of attention to waste minimization
20. Most countries have yet to incorporate waste minimization into
their strategic planning for solid-waste management. Developing
countries and countries with economies in transition, whose per capita
production of waste is increasing, will find it difficult to continue
with economic development if they fail to reduce waste production
through appropriate policies. The differences in per capita waste
production are evident even within the group of industrialized
countries as a whole. Countries such as Sweden and France, for
example, produce only 40 per cent of the volume of waste produced in
the United States, and less than half that of Canada or Australia.
There are already groups of affluent residents of cities in low-income
countries whose waste production is equivalent to the highest in the
developed world. If the situation remains unchecked, there will be an
unprecedented rise in waste production which will be far beyond the
capacities of most countries to manage.
F. Poor service coverage in peri-urban areas
21. The peri-urban poor live in the most hazardous environment where
their health is at risk from exposure to toxic chemicals and pathogens
from domestic solid wastes and human faecal wastes. The peri-urban
areas are those where most wastes, both solid and liquid, are disposed
of and where industrial zones are most usually sited. If authorities
fail to acknowledge the greater environmental and health risks in
those areas, waste-related diseases will affect productivity and
economic development. Also, as the boundaries of cities expand, they
will encroach on waste-disposal sites. Peri-urban areas, therefore,
require special attention if they are to be able to support urban
development.
G. Recognition of the informal sector
22. In many municipalities, the informal sector undertakes a large
proportion of waste collection and disposal, unrecognized by the
formal waste-management authority. Many public health officials
regard informal waste collectors as unwelcome, and in some cities
there is legislation which hinders the operation of the informal
sector. This opportunity should be more fully appreciated by city
officials, and greater effort should be made to include community-
based schemes into the waste-management activities of the public
sector.
V. EMERGING PRIORITIES
A. Waste minimization and data collection
23. Waste minimization policies and strategies for decision-making
need to be developed, based on current and projected rates of waste
generation by sectors. Some information is currently available with
different authorities but not in a form that lends itself to use as a
management tool. Only when such data are collected systematically and
are available to decision makers will it be possible to set national
targets and monitor progress. As private-sector operation increases
in the cities of developing countries, private companies will require
such information in order to set prices and organize their activities.
Local authorities will, in turn, need access to such information. The
development of specific indicators for waste management which are
distinct from other elements of infrastructure is also necessary.
24. Continued and strengthened integration between waste management
and other economic sectors is also an emerging priority. The
effectiveness of waste- management policies may be enhanced when
combined with economic and environmental policies designed to improve,
for example, efficiency in production and consumption and with
policies targeted at making production processes and consumer choice
and behaviour more suitable. It is important to emphasize, in
particular, that the strategy for policy formulation and
implementation in the context of changing consumption and production
patterns also focuses on eco-efficiency. 2/ This may have positive
effects on both general waste issues and policy implementation in the
waste sector.
B. Development of the informal sector and of
formal/informal partnerships
25. The informal sector needs to be supported further so that it can
actively contribute to waste-management activities. This will require
a less restrictive operating environment. This will also need changes
in legislation and acceptance by official authorities. Currently,
much of the informal sector operates in terms of individuals. There
is a need to develop cooperatives and other similar organizations to
ensure their formal linkage with industry.
C. Integrated reuse projects
26. Efforts should be made to promote integrated waste-management
schemes that utilize both solid waste and liquid waste for
agricultural reuse projects. Such schemes can generate income for the
urban poor and provide a suitable sink for wastes. The preferred
location for such projects would be peri-urban areas where many urban
poor reside and where most wastes are disposed of.
D. Areas of special need
27. Small island developing States possess unique characteristics,
including fragile ecosystems, small land area and limited natural
resources, which make them significantly more vulnerable to
environmental degradation and human health problems resulting from
inadequate management of wastes. Their freshwater, land, marine and
coastal resources are all critical to sustainable development, yet
susceptible to degradation as a result of pollution from land-based
activities. Special methods therefore need to be developed for such
States.
E. System-wide coordination of waste management activities
28. The UNCHS (Habitat)/World Bank/UNDP Urban Management Programme has
established an ad hoc group, comprising partner agencies, including
WHO, various public and private experts, and non-governmental
organizations from developing countries, which are currently active in
various aspects of solid-waste management. The International Solid
Waste Association (ISWA) has also established a working group to
address the issues of waste-management needs in developing countries.
Both these groups, however, need more representation from experts in
developing countries. Within the organizations of the United Nations
system, there is a need for a more concerted approach to the
management of solid waste and for a strengthening of coordination of
programmes under the aegis of the Inter-agency Committee on
Sustainable Development.
Notes
1/ Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution
1, annex II.
2/ See also chap. 4 of Agenda 21 and E/CN.17/1997/2/Add.3.
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Date last posted: 10 December 1999 17:25:35
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