By Judith Ugwumadu | 2 July 2014
Innovative waste management schemes being set up in the Pacific region are helping to improve public health but present some funding challenges, the Asian Development Bank said today.
Volumes of solid waste in the Pacific have been growing in line with rising living standards, but available public financing has not kept pace with needs, observed an ADB brochure series.
It stated that most local councils in the Pacific struggled to finance solid waste collection services, and some countries have piloted user pay systems.
The brochure singled out Kiribati, a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, which has developed a biodegradable ‘Green Bag’ scheme, supported by the government of New Zealand. The scheme encourages householders to separate waste and send non-compostable and non-recyclable wastes to landfill, which is paid for per waste bag. ADB stated that this was an example of how solid waste management service delivery could eventually become self-financing.
Allison Woodruff, an ADB urban development specialist, said: ‘In the face of urbanisation and rising consumption levels, the Pacific is struggling to manage growing volumes of solid waste.
‘No one country has perfected their own solid waste system, but there are some success stories we share in the publication series.’
The bank also highlighted Japan, which had developed well-functioning semi-aerobic sanitary landfill facilities.
The brochure went on to mention the number of ways in which solid waste management activities are funded. These include intergovernmental transfers or subsidies, local taxes, such as property taxes, and user charges.
It stated that solid waste management funding was heavily reliant on central government for support.
‘However, these [funding systems] are less suitable for Pacific island countries because of weak institutional capacity, lack of transparency in accounting systems, and limited revenue streams,’ stated the brochure.
The bank suggests that, whenever possible, user pay schemes should apply so that those who generate solid waste are charged directly for the services that they use, such as the ‘pay by bag’ scheme in operation on Kiribati.
The bank went on to note that, where affordability was an issue, subsidies for basic service delivery may be justified on both environmental and public health grounds.
‘It may not be possible to introduce full cost recovery charges where willingness to pay is low and enforcement is weak,’ it said.
‘Residents may instead opt to illegally dump or burn their rubbish rather than pay fees.’
