Background

Location: Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia

Dates: 1997-2001

Partners: Earth Tech Canada Inc., CIDA

Key Issues: Solid Waste Management, Multi-stakeholder engagement, Capacity Building, Income Generation

Funders: Earth Tech Canada Inc., CIDA

Description

Six partner cities (Hat Yai and Udon Thani in Thailand; Iloilo and Bacolod in the Philippines; and Rantepao and Makale in the Tana Toraja Region, Sulawesi, Indonesia), were selected for this project. In each city, a tri–sectoral stakeholder committee of local government, private sector and NGO representatives was convened to identify priorities and determine action plans to improve municipal waste management. ICSC supported the stakeholder groups with technical and project management expertise, and provided funding for demonstration projects related to municipal solid waste management.

Several successful demonstration projects went forward, including:

• A facility for composting water buffalo manure in Tana Toraja.
• Formalizing the waste management activities of waste-pickers in Rantepao.
• Helping the World Bank find a site for a new landfill in Tana Toraja.
• Setting up a cooperative for junkers (recycling depot operators) in Bacolod.
• Setting up a school, a feeding program, a skills training program and a health program for waste-pickers in Bacolod.
• Providing support and training for the newly opened landfill site in Udon Thani.
• Setting up a community "waste bank" for recyclables in Udon Thani.
• Providing training for a hazardous waste incinerator in Hat Yai.
• Community and school recycling education project in four municipalities Many of the project initiatives have been self-sustaining (e.g. the manure composting facility is in fact turning a profit and other composting facilities have since copied the model) or continue to be supported by the local government (e.g. school recycling programs).

The key results of the project are:

• Strong municipal support in four municipalities for new SWM planning initiatives and initial progress made in the two others.
• Increased managerial and technical capabilities in SWM of the local government and private sector.
• Construction of financially and environmentally sustainable urban infrastructure that will facilitate future urban economic development.
• Measurable improvements to the municipal Solid Waste Management (SWM) systems in 5 municipalities in Southeast Asia.
• Increased managerial and technical capabilities of the local governments.
• Reduction of solid waste deposit on landfills through recycling, composting and waste reduction projects.
• Improvement of health and safety for SWM workers and wastepickers.
• Improved living conditions and livelihoods for wastepickers and their families.
• Increased public awareness of and participation in waste minimization and recycling activities.
• Construction of financially and environmentally sustainable SW infrastructure that will facilitate future urban economic development.
• Increased private sector involvement in resolving SWM problems.
• New awareness of and increased ability to implement multi-stakeholder planning initiatives in all six municipalities.
• New landfill commissioned in Rantepao/Makale, Indonesia, and Udon Thani, Thailand and upgraded operations in all six project cities.
• Improved living conditions for residents, especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged (e.g. women wastepickers).
• Improvements to systems for waste for recycling and/or composting in five of six project cities.
• Sharing of project lessons learned on a regional basis through an Internet website, printed materials, and a lessons-learned workshop.
• Bacolod and Udon Thani were recognized by their national governments by the winning of the Clean and Green City Award and Lovely and Beautiful City Award respectively.

Final Reports/Publications

Visit the legacy SEALSWIP website for full story and photo essay (link in right sidebar).

View video on the story of the waste-pickers (link in right sidebar).