Solid waste management guidelines: thesis proposal

A huge and continuous problem for local authorities in the rural and urban regions across the globe is public solid waste management (SWM). This problem is more pronounced in the developing countries. From the available data, it is clear that despite the low per-capita income in the developing countries in relation to that of the developed nations, they generate a very high proportion of the public solid waste recorded globally despite their relatively small ownership of the world's wealth. However, taking this problem in its stride, this situation in the developing countries needs to be taken more seriously as it could cause even bigger problems later on with the economic development and rapid urban development several of them are experiencing (Wang, He, Kim, & Kamata, 2001).

The mechanism in use in these developing nations which involves the gathering, processing and dumping of public solid waste hasn't really proved to be very effective. Its major setbacks include; poor and limited collection services, indecent and exposed collection and incineration of waste without proper mitigation on water and air pollution, the control of scavengers and unauthorized waste pickers and the associated development of flies and other dirty creatures (Bartone, 1995).

A major identified reason why the SWM mechanisms in developing nations haven't proved effective is the problem of finances. Due to the low importance placed on SWM by the governments, with the exception of large cities and country capitals, inadequate funds are released to the SWM authorities. This is a very common occurrence in the smaller towns and the rural regions, as the local taxation processes in these areas are very inefficient and thus the motivation of governments to fund public services such as SWM in these areas is quite low (Wang, He, Kim, & Kamata, 2001).

b) Theoretical concerns

Extended producer responsibility -- The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a mechanism whose aim is to endorse the addition of all necessary costs of a product all through its useful life as well as its disposal costs to the selling price of the concerned product (Girly, 2015).

Polluter pays principle - the Polluter Pays Principle is a law which states that the polluter/polluting group is financially responsible for whatever damage they cause on the environment. Bringing it down to the sector of waste management, what this means is that any party which generates waste must be financially prepared to ensure their wastes are properly disposed (Johannes, 2006).

The Talloires Declaration refers to a declaration in support of sustainability which is worried about the widespread nature and speed of destruction and pollution of the environment as well as the consumption of natural resources (Girly, 2015).

c) Methodology

For this study, a systemic and interdisciplinary mechanism for managing systems was developed for the design, execution and maintenance of the sustainable waste processes. This mechanism was created based on a critical examination of literary sources with the aim of identifying the features of a management system which will be highly effective in enhancing the management of systems for compound waste processes. A systemic method was applied in ensuring that the created mechanism solved all the common problems associated with a waste management process from the technical problems like treatment technologies to the non-technical ones like social effects, regulations and policy measures. The available normal systems management system processes such as the ISO 14001 Standard of Environmental Management were equally reviewed in order to establish the necessary and unnecessary parts for waste management processes. Furthermore, the present waste management processes analysis methods were equally checked in order to identify their advantages and disadvantages. Tackling these disadvantages was an important objective for the framework developers (Thyberg & Tonjes, 2015).

d) Potential obstacles

An identified problem of waste management processes is the dearth of resources and time for managers to establish more complex and effective management methods. A report on the problems faced by four waste companies which were installing an ISO 14001 EMS showed that huge amounts of money and time were needed to establish and keep the systems in good condition (APWA, 2008). For Kent County in MI, the reported money spent was around $25,000 in establishing an ISO 14001 EMS at their landfill site with a considerable amount of time needed by the county workers, with a range of 10 -- 20 hours needed from a committed high ranking environmental compliance worker. In the case of King County in WA, this establishment of a waste facility EMS set them back by over $44,000 - $72,000 every year within a period of three years. Around 1000 -- 1200 hours were needed from workers annually within this same period while maintenance needed 200 -- 250 hours annually also within the stipulated period (APWA, 2008). Several waste processes don't see the implementation of a time-tasking and costly EMS as the way to go, mostly due to inadequate funds. Also, a normal EMS doesn't provide answers to the problems peculiar to waste management. Also, it doesn't integrate social or economic factors which are crucial in the development of the mechanism (Thyberg & Tonjes, 2015).

e) Tentative chapter outline

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Theoretical Framework

• Literature Review

• Methodology

• Data Presentation

• Discussion

• Recommendations

• Conclusion

Bibliography

American Public Works Association (APWA) Report. (2008). Available online: http://www.apwa.net/ Resources/Reporter/Articles/2008/3/ISO-14001-Environmental-Management-Systems-a-snapshot-of-the-experience-of-solid-waste-organizations

Bartone, C.R. (1995). The role of the private sector in developing countries: Keys to success. Paper presented at ISWA Conference on Waste Management - Role of the Private Sector, Singapore, 24-25 September 1995.

Girly, A. (2015). SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: A PROPOSED BLUEPRINT TOWARDS GOVERNMENT ACTION. European Scientific Journal.

Johannes, P. (2006). Solid Waste Management Program (SWMP). Project.

Thyberg, K., & Tonjes, D. (2015). A Management Framework for Municipal Solid Waste Systems and Its Application to Food Waste Prevention. Systems, 133-151.

Wang, H., He, J., Kim, Y., & Kamata, T. (2001). Municipal Solid Waste Management in Small Towns. The World Bank.