Module 5: Policies, Institutions and the Informal Sector

What policies guide and manage the solid waste management sector in your country?

Do institutions engage stakeholders and encourage cooperation and coordination with each other?

what role does the informal sector play in your city?

without clear policies and coordinated and encompassing all stakeholders, a well-functioning solid waste
management system cannot exist.

This module addressess policies and institutions, developing the solid waste management sector in a
country, and the role that the informal sector plays in soled waste management.

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Welcome to the course solid waste management. You are in the module policies, institutions and the
informal sector.

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How to use this module?

There are six tutorial topics in this module, followed by a module and an assessment. You can go
through the tutorial topics in any order. But following the given sequences will give you a better learning
experience.

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About this module

This module will focus on Solid waste management policies and laws, solid waste-related institutions,
the building blocks necessary to upgrade or develop the solid waste management sector of a country,
and role of the informal sector in the solid waste management system.

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Learning goals
Go through the learning goals of this module before proceeding. It will take you about an hour to
complete this module.

Solid waste management is one of the most important indicator of local government
Governing and SWM policies performance
Solid waste management or SWM is one of the most visible indicators of the state of urban governance.
Cities with a strong governance environment tend to have effective solid waste management policies
and institutions. While developing SWM policies, keep the local conditions and data in mind.

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Policies, institutions, stakeholders and the SWM sector

Apart from policies, what other elements are required to create a proper governance structure?
The answer is goals, principles, strategies, institutions, and stakeholders.
Study the slides to learn how all these elements fit together with policies in the SWM sector.

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Policy instruments
As mentioned in the previous screen, policy instruments are selected depending on the goal. Let's look
at the three categories of policy instruments that can be employed to achieve the goal—legal, economic,
and social.

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Knowledge check
It's time now to take a break and answer a question.
Match each example with the correct type of policy instrument.

Solid waste policies and laws

Now that you have a good understanding of how policies work in general and the types of policies that
can be used in the solid waste sector. let's look at specific waste policies. These policies and laws can be
divided by their jurisdictions starting from international agreements all the way down to local-level
policies.

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International solid waste policies and laws

At the international level, there are a number of conventions agreed to by multiple states on various
waste-related issues. Here, we'll look at a few multilateral environmental agreements that are either
directly related to waste or discuss waste as part of their overall treaty.

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Regional solid waste policies and laws

At the regional level, the European Union is notable for initiating policy on various waste types. There
are many European Union directives and protocols for waste in general. as well as specifically for
batteries, land filling. Packaging, incineration, and e- waste, among others.

Member states are provided guidelines, definitions, and targets through the directives, but have the
discretion to decide how they want to achieve the goals.

For instance, the EU battery directive of 2006 was created to protect the environment by minimi6ing the
negative impact of batteries and accumulators and by ensuring the smooth functioning of internal
markets by harmonizing requirements.

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EU landfill directive, 1999

Now, let's look in detail at a policy that has played an important role in reducing the amount of
biodegradable municipal waste reaching the landfills in the European Union.

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Role of national and local governments

Once solid waste policies are formulated, who is responsible for implementing and managing them?
Regardless of the jurisdiction, the policies and laws are implemented and managed by national and local
governments.
Let's take a look at the role of national and local governments.

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Importance of solid waste planning

Why is it important to plan solid waste management services? Let's look at the need for national
strategies and local plans in this sector.

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Knowledge check
It's time now to take a break and check your knowledge on policies. Can you identify the responsibilities
of the national and local governments and fill in the blanks to complete the sentences?

Institutional roles
Let's look at the essential institutional functions inherent in a waste management system.
Understanding how each role is linked and fulfilling roles within this structure are essential to the
success of any sustainable waste management system.

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Who are the stakeholders?

There are a number of institutional roles to manage a SWM system. Additionally, there are a multitude
of stakeholders. Who along with the institutions form a complex structure?

Stakeholders:
1. Waste generator
2. Regulator
3. Service Operator
4. Financiers
5. Government
6. Academia
7. recycling groups
8. informal sectors
9. Professional groups

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Institutions
What are some types of solid waste institutions at the national and local government level?
At the national level 68% of countries have established institutions with responsibility for policy
development and regulatory oversight in the waste sector. At the city level, departments dedicated to
solid waste management are much more common.

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Inter-municipal government cooperation

Where local conditions allow, solid waste services can be managed on an inter-municipal scale.
Inter-municipal government cooperation typically occurs through the use of shared assets for waste
transfer, disposal, and city cleaning.

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Poor institutional capacity

Let's first look at what is meant by poor institutional capacity and then learn about the challenges of
poor institutional capacity.

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Challenges in developing countries

Let's look at some of the key challenges faced by developing economies with regard to solid waste
management institutions.

Knowledge check
Answer this question before beginning the next topic. What are the benefits of inter-municipal
cooperation? Choose the correct options and select I'm Done.

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Overview of a roadmap for reform

The World Bank has developed a road map that provides detailed information on developing or
upgrading the SWM sector in a country. This road map is based on the analyses of experiences in Japan
and the European Union, as well as that of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Romania.

The roadmap for reform

The World Bank's road map for reform comprises eleven steps that provide general guidance to upgrade
or develop the waste management sector in a country. Let's learn more about the first five steps of the
road map.

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The roadmap for reform contd.

Let's learn more about the remaining six steps of the road map.

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Knowledge check
Here's a question for you before you start the next topic. Which of the following statements are true in
context of the Road map for Reform?

What is informal sector?

There are no standard definitions for the informal sector or waste pickers and definitions differ from
place to place. To understand what constitutes the informal sector of SWM better, study these slides.

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Recycling by the informal sector

If there is a strong informal sector for recycling in developing countries. then how does waste like plastic
bags end up in water bodies? It is important to understand how informal sector recycling works.

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Where are waste pickers found?

Waste pickers are found all over the world. not only in developing countries but in rich and developed
countries too. In fact. it is estimated that approximately 1% of the global urban population, or more than
15 million people worldwide, earn their living informally in the waste sector. Waste pickers comprise 5%
of urban jobs in developing economies.

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Waste recovery by the informal sector

The informal sector recovers many more tons of material than the formal sector in developing countries.
For instance, in Delhi, India. 7% of recyclables are collected by the formal sector and 27% by the
informal sector.

Knowledge check
Here's a question for you on waste pickers. Which of the following statements are true?

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Pricing of recyclables collected by waste pickers

Although waste pickers make a significant contribution to recycling in developing countries. they do not
get the right value for the recyclables because of their lack of education and representation, and their
need to earn a livelihood to support their families.

Importance of the informal sector

Read the reasons that the informal sector plays an important role in managing municipal solid waste.
Then, take a look at how the informal sector has helped reduce overall solid waste management costs
around the world.

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Why do local governments hesitate to work with the informal sector?

Rather than building on what is working and exploring truly local solutions. municipal authorities and
national politicians tend to choose donor-financed and technology- and capital-intensive management
models modeled on MSWM in the developed worlds. as a path to system improvement.

Good to know
Here are some points to note on the role of informal sector in SWM sector.

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Why should the informal sector recognized?

There are two main reasons for formally recognizing the informal sector. First, it offers the workers a
better way of life; and second, it can strengthen the economy by recognizing thousands, if not millions,
of people and the work they do.

How to integrate the informal waste sector

It is important to use policies and institutions to integrate the informal workers. It is equally important
to recognize their work formally.

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Key learning points

You have reached the end of the module. Here are the key points covered in the module.

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