Community Based Project on Sustainable Waste Management - fundsforNGOs

The problem of solid waste management is the biggest challenge facing cities in developing countries. Population increase, rapid urbanization and the rise in the standard of living in developing countries have greatly accelerated the amount of the municipal solid waste generation and the resulting pressure on public services. Aside from the high costs, solid waste management is plagued by a lack of awareness of the various factors that influence the entire system. There is an urgent need to sustainably manage the waste that we generate so as to reduce the negative impacts of waste on the earth. So, we are here with this particular sample project. Adoption of sustainable waste management practices has proven to reduce pollution, produce energy, and conserve natural resources. The proposed community based project on sustainable waste management intends to work on the different aspects to improve waste management and sensitize communities and stakeholders on aspects of SWM, build capacities of staff of waste management institutions and develop linkages with private sector for collaboration for sustainable waste management.

Summary

The economic and industrial development of Ho Chi Minh City, has led to an average immigration rate of 200,000 people per year from 2007 to 2013. Industrial development, rapid urbanization and increasing population has led to a steady increase of the Municipal Solid waste volume. The total volume of MSW is estimated about 7200–7800 tons/day (excluding waste sludge). 86% of solid waste is landfilled at two major landfill sites (PhuocHiep and Da Phuoc) and only 14% is recycled. The city lacks a proper system of waste management and there exists several gaps in the regulation and institutional framework for implementing a proper waste management system. A recent study suggests that the major gap in MSW management in the city is due to involvement of multiple agencies and lack of well defined roles and responsibilities of these institutions.

There is an urgent need to sustainably manage the waste that we generate so as to reduce the negative impacts of waste on the earth. Adoption of sustainable waste management practices has proven to reduce pollution, produce energy, and conserve natural resources. The proposed project intends to work on the following aspects to improve waste management in Ho Chi Minh City.

- Sensitize communities and stakeholders on aspects of SWM
- Build capacities of staff of waste management institutions
- Develop linkages with private sector for collaboration for SWM

Introduction

Solid waste management is a universal issue and it affects every person in the world. With the rates at which urbanization is occurring, the World Bank estimates that waste generation will increase from 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016 to 3.40 billion tonnes in 2050. Of this 33% of waste is mismanaged through open dumping and burning. The situation is far worse in low income countries, where over 90% waste is either dumped openly or is burned. The infographic below represents regional waste generation.

Studies suggest that each household in the world produces about one ton of rubbish on an annual basis, which equates to approximately 27 million tons every year. With changing lifestyles, increasing income and desire for convenience, the amount of waste will be increasing in the years to come. To better understand the gravity of the problem let us look at some facts related to it.

- 90 % of marine waste is made up of plastic. In 2016 alone, the world generated 242 million tonnes of plastic waste.
- 34% of the waste is generated by high income countries which account for 16% of the world’s population.
- Waste generation in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia is expected to triple by 2050.
- 5% of global waste is recycled and 5.5% is composted.

The waste we create affects the quality of air we breathe, the water we drink and the land that we live on. In addition it poses severe threat to the environment like polluting rivers and oceans, contaminating groundwater, harming animals and disturbing the ecological cycles etc. There is an urgent need to sustainably manage the waste that we generate so as to reduce the negative impacts of waste on the earth. Adoption of sustainable waste management practices has proven to reduce pollution, produce energy, and conserve natural resources.

Sustainable Waste Management (SWM) involves collecting, sorting, treating, recycling, and when properly facilitated providing a source of energy and resources. The goal of SWM is to reduce the amounts of natural resources consumed, reuse the materials taken from nature and create minimal waste. Along with reducing pollution SWM practices significantly improve the economy, ecology and society.

Project Area

Vietnam’s population will reach 100 million by 2024, making Vietnam the 14th most densely inhabited country in the world (The General Statistics Ofﬁce (GSO)). Vietnam produces more than 27.8 mil tons/year waste from various sources. The main sources of waste generation are municipal, agricultural and industrial waste. Approximately 46% (12.8 mil tons/year) are from municipal sources, including households, restaurants, markets, and businesses. 70 % of the waste is generated in the ﬁve biggest cities in Vietnam, namely Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Haiphong, Da Nang and Can Tho. The average MSW of big urban areas increased from .9 to 1.3 kg/day in 2015.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) commonly known as Saigon , is the largest and most populous city in Vietnam, situated in Southern Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City is a municipality at the same level as Vietnam’s provinces, which is subdivided into 22 district-level sub-divisions (as of 2020) (Wikipedia)

Ho Chi Minh City (Prey Nokor Saigon city) is the economic center of Vietnam and accounts for a large proportion of the economy of Vietnam. Although the city takes up

just 0.6% of the country’s land area, it contains 8.34% of the population of Vietnam, 20.2% of its GDP, 27.9% of industrial output and 34.9% of the FDI projects in the country in 2005. According to the 2019 census, Ho Chi Minh City has a population of over 8.9 million within the city proper and over 21 million within its metropolitan area. Ho Chi Minh City is an economic and financial centre and plays an important role in the country’s cultural and scientific developments. It is the largest urban area, and is heading towards a population of 12 million in 2025. The city is home to 8.2 million with an average density of 3400 persons/km.

The economic and industrial development of the city has led to an average immigration rate of 200,000 people per year from 2007 to 2013. Industrial development, rapid urbanization and increasing population has led to a steady increase of the Municipal Solid waste volume.

The total volume of MSW is estimated about 7200–7800 tons/day (excluding waste sludge).

Another study suggests that every year, about 98,338 tons of MSW has been increasing, with a major portion of food waste from the households, schools, and hotels and restaurants. 86% of solid waste is landfilled at two major landfill sites (PhuocHiep and Da Phuoc) and the rest is recycled. The city lacks a proper system of waste management and there exists several gaps in the regulation and institutional framework. A recent study suggests that the major gap in MSW management in the city is due to involvement of multi agencies and lack of well defined roles and responsibilities of these institutions. The table below shows the SWOT analysis for MSW management in HCMC.

Taking into consideration the SWOT analysis, our organization intends to work on the following aspects to improve waste management in the Ho Chi Minh City.

- Sensitize communities and stakeholders on aspects of SWM
- Build capacities of staff of waste management institutions
- Develop linkages with private sector for collaboration for SWM

Project Description

- Goal: The overall goal of the project is to promote community based sustainable waste management practices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
- Project Duration: The project will be implemented during a course of 24 months.
- Objectives:
  - To sensitize and equip the targeted community about the need for adopting Sustainable Waste Management Practices.
  - To facilitate training to different stakeholder groups in sustainable waste management practices.
  - To facilitate institutional linkages with the private sector for implementing sustainable waste management practices in the city.
- Activities:
  - Conducting baseline survey: Baseline survey provides an information base which shall be used to monitor and assess the progress and effectiveness of the project during implementation. For conducting baseline survey following steps shall be taken:

- - - Prepare a baseline plan.
    - Conduct the baseline study according to the plan.
    - Analyze the collected data and review the generated results.
    - Formulate the Baseline Report and share the results with the project team.

The baseline study will be conducted using PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal). Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Interview and questionnaire survey and direct observations shall also be used to gather information for baseline study in the target area. Along with collecting data through primary sources, we shall also be relying on secondary research and will be using the following data/information sources:

Existing and reliable data from past research

Existing and reliable information from Government Departments

Newspaper reports

Once the baseline survey is completed, data will be carefully analyzed and a report will be compiled covering all aspects of Solid Waste Management in the city.

Stakeholder identification and mapping: Before we start the project, it is important that all the stakeholders are identified and mapped, so that all of them can be made aware about their role in efficient waste management. The following organizations and individuals will be mapped during this step.
- Schools and Educational Institutions, Markets, Residential Colonies and Housing societies , Industries and Factories, Hotels and Restaurants, Hospitals and Health workers, Waste Pickers, Junk shop owners, Recyclers, NGOs, Private waste collectors etc.
Community Profiling: We shall also be creating a community profile featuring physical demographic and other data relevant information suitable for the project. Some important information collected during the profiling will include:
- - - Profile of household wastes
    - Profile of junk shop operators
    - Economics of local junk shop operators
    - Waste generation in hospitals
    - Waste management in nearby factories/industrial areas
    - Waste composition
    - Landfill capacity
Social Mobilization: For the campaign to be a success it is important that we have a team of volunteers and experts who shall help us in designing the awareness campaign strategy. During the mobilization we will recruit volunteers and trainers. We will involve the community members to take part in the identification of problems and needs, and then also help in implementing, monitoring and evaluating community activities to solve the identified problem. The basic idea behind conducting community meetings is to build consensus amongst the community on waste management and also identifying suitable roles for each one of them. Some of the tools that will be used for mobilization include:
- - - Posters
    - Participatory discussion
    - Letter writing
    - Illustrated leaflets
    - Social media advertisements
Awareness Generation: Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities will be carried out to generate support from target participants and create awareness amongst them. Engaging IEC material will be developed to raise awareness on solid waste management. The purpose of the campaign will be to inform the residents about Sustainable Waste Management Practices. Awareness generation will cover the principles of Sustainable waste management and waste hierarchy.
- Prevention of waste- This can happen at the product designing and manufacturing phase to reduce the generation of waste. Also the consumers will be encouraged to reduce consumption and generate less waste.
- Preparing for Reuse- Practice of reusing the material again and again. This is most applicable for industries and factories. They can adopt different processes of checking, cleaning and repairing parts to be reused again.
- Recycling- This is a well-known waste management process which involves turning waste into a new substance or product. Composting is an example of recycling.
- Recovery -It includes processes that use waste and convert it into energy or some other useful material. Anaerobic digestion, incineration, pyrolysis are examples of recovery.
- Disposal-This is the portion of waste that finally gets disposed off. Organizations are working towards zero disposal.

IEC activities carried out during the awareness campaign will include:

Capacity building of staff on various aspects of sustainable waste management: We shall be providing training to the staff of various institutions that work for waste management in the city. Training will be conducted on the following six aspects of Sustainable Waste Management:
- - - Financial-economic aspects: This will include sessions on budgeting and cost accounting within the waste management system.
    - Environmental aspects: This will focus on the effects of waste management on land, water and air and how SWM can help in conservation of nonrenewable resources; pollution control and public health concerns.
    - Political/legal aspects: Staff will be trained in setting goals and priorities; determination of roles and jurisdiction; the existing or planned legal and regulatory framework; and the basic decision making processes for SWM.
    - Institutional aspects: This will cover aspects related to the distribution of functions and responsibilities; the organisational structures, procedures and methods implicated; the available institutional capacities; and the actors such as the private sector who could become involved.
    - Socio-cultural aspects: Include the influence of culture on waste generation and management in the household and in businesses and institutions; the community and its involvement in waste management.
Developing linkages: For the success of SWM, it is important to involve various institutions and stakeholders. Public Private Partnership in SWM can help in filling the gaps that exist in the current system of waste management in the city. We shall facilitate the formulation of stakeholders’ networking and develop linkages with different stakeholders to work together for SWM in the city. We will formalize agreements between different stakeholders (government and private) to ensure responsibility, duties and collaboration, for the success of the sustainable waste management system in the city. These linkages will help in stimulating improved cooperation between public, private and citizen stakeholders.

Project Team Composition

- Project Coordinator (1) : The Project Coordinator shall be responsible for the day-to-day management and monitoring of project activities and coordinating with Donor Agency and different stakeholders. He/she shall be preparing the Annual Work plans to deliver on project objectives and shall ensure that the project is able to deliver outputs within the specified constraints of time and cost.
- Project Assistant (1): S/he shall be responsible for the implementation of the project. S/he shall be responsible training & strengthening the staff on Community Management and updating them on the subject matter. Research for baseline survey and documentation will also be the responsibility of the project assistant.
- Field Coordinators (2) : The Field Coordinators shall be responsible for mobilizing and conducting training programs at the training centers. Community training and field facilitation shall be their responsibility and they shall prepare the schedule with thorough discussion with the project team.
- Expert Sustainable Waste Management (1) : Expert will be responsible for designing the sustainable waste management plan for the city. S/he will be responsible for preparing training material for the capacity building and will be conducting the training sessions.