Community Participation in Solid Waste Management

A. Subash
SWM specialist, TNUDP-III

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Community participation is the sociological process by which residents organise

themselves and become involved at the level of a living area or a neighbourhood, to improve
the conditions of daily life (water, sanitation, health, education, etc.). It comprises various
degrees of individual or collective involvement (financial and/or physical contributions,
social and/or political commitment) at different stages of a project. Since it implies that
residents set up management committees in charge of equipment.

Community participation can be seen as a process in which community members are

involved at different stages and degrees of intensity in the project cycle with the objective to
build the capacity of the community to maintain services created during the project after the
facilitating organisations have left. Community participation throughout the whole project,
thus from project design and implementation to evaluation, ensures the reflection of
community priorities and needs in the activities of the project and motivates communities
into maintaining and operating project activities after the project is completed. Furthermore,
community participation can increase capabilities at the level of the community and it
encourages cost sharing of project activities.

Apart from various ways to participate, there are several degrees in participation of
different community members. Not all members of the community, like the poorest or most
marginalised groups, have equal access to information or are sufficiently represented by
community leaders or organisations and this may obstruct the participation of those groups.

1.1 Benefits of Community Participation

Many local authorities in developing countries suffer from a lack of financial,

technical and human resources and are therefore not capable or willing to deliver and
maintain urban basic services. Possible benefits of community participation for projects are:
 • Improvement of project design and effectiveness. If the community is involved in the
design of the project, it is possible to integrate its needs and constraints in the
objectives of the project and in this way come to a more effective implementation.
• Enhancement of the impact and sustainability of projects. Involving the community in
the project may increase local ownership of projects and enhance a sense of
responsibility for maintaining services provided by projects. These aspects are both
essential for the durability and continuity of projects.
• Improvement of project efficiency. Community participation may be used to enhance
the understanding and agreement of cost sharing (both financial and physical
contribution). Furthermore, community participation can be used to prevent conflicts
and to stimulate cooperation and agreement between different actors. In this way
delays in project execution can be reduced and overall costs minimized.

Possible benefits of participation for communities include:

• Building local capacities and capabilities. Community participation may for instance
increase awareness of knowledge and capacities, may improve the ability to negotiate
as equals with authorities and other stakeholders1 to promote common objectives, and
increase responsiveness to conflicts within the community.
• Involvement in decision-making. Participation can ensure that the different needs and
problems of the community are integrated in the project’s objectives.
• Empowerment. Community participation may give people the opportunity to devise
and initiate strategies to improve their situation

2.0 COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN WASTE MANAGEMENT

For instance, to keep any solid waste management systems running, at a minimum
participation of the community is required in putting the garbage at the street in a proper way
at the right time. At the individual level, residents are responsible as users. This involves
actions like storing waste in a proper way in a bag or bin, separate recyclable or organic
materials from other waste, offering waste at the right place at the proper time for collection,
and cleaning the area around the house.
 Apart from individual responsibility, people can be collectively responsible in more or
less organised activities, like meetings, clean-up campaigns, and awareness-raising activities.
Furthermore, community participation may involve making material, financial or physical
contributions to activities of solid waste management, for instance working as cart operator or
sweeper, and paying fees for waste collection.

A step further is actively participating in formulating the project, meaning

participation in meetings and expressing opinions and ideas about the objectives and
activities of the project, and closely following the project and its progress. The highest level
of community participation is community management and this may entail becoming a
member of committees, being involved in controlling the project, being accountable to other
community members about decisions taken. Often community management is carried out by
a smaller group within the community, through for example a newly established committee or
an existing community-based organization

3.0 SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

The success of community participation in solid waste management depends on other

actors involved, such as the municipality, community-based organisations (CBOs),
microenterprises, and local leaders. For instance, if the municipality does not collect the
waste separately, it has no use for the community to separate their waste. The following
factors are considered to favour the sustainability of community participation and hence of
services, like waste collection and separation:

• Communication strategies are essential to generate a broad-based understanding of

solid waste issues among community members on the one hand and responsiveness of
the stakeholders to the demands of the community on the other.
• Representative local leaders and CBOs can stimulate community participation and
ensure that community needs are taken into account.
• Women play a determining role in waste management and they form important
channels of communication.
• Community initiatives and CBOs are less durable if they are not, at some point,
recognised and supported by the local authority.
 • Cooperation between the CBO and the local authority to maintain and operate the
service system according to formal agreements with stakeholders.
• Financial and operational viability to make community services less dependent on
external support.
• Follow-up support after project implementation to reinforce awareness and new
practices and assist when required with operation and management of new
organisations.

Special attention should be paid to the role of women. In many situations women are
the first to be affected by a deterioration of the environment and are most willing to
participate in projects that improve their living conditions. However, religious barriers,
traditions, social hierarchy, low rate of literacy, or the burden of domestic tasks may impede
their participation.

Local leaders play another important role in community participation. The

responsibilities of community leaders is to encourage people to subscribe for waste collection,
to make sure that people pay the fees, to stimulate the separation of waste, and to monitor the
performance of the service level. Furthermore, they should act as a negotiator for local
authorities, supervise the performance of local authorities and private enterprises, and act as a
pressure group to obtain services from the local authorities.

4.0 COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION- INITIATIVE OF EXNORA

EXNORA, which is an acronym for` Excellent Novel Radical `, has been driving the
environmentalist movement for sustainable urban development in Chennai since 1989. It is a
local non-governmental organization (NGO) based on a ‘zero waste management scheme’ set
up, run and financed by the residents themselves. EXNORA believes that area based project
led by the local community is an ideal way to spread environmental, social &civic messages
resulting in a more equal and responsible society.

EXNORA identified SWM as a medium to promote a new model of society based on

participative democracy. It places SWM at the core of society: its moral values, its social
structure, its lifestyle, its economics and politics. The model itself raises the fundamental
issue of governance. It is an idealistic model because if it were to work as originally
envisaged it suggests that citizens would no longer need local government for the provision
of basic needs such as a clean environment. It stresses the need for local bodies to be more
aware of people’s concerns and for citizens to be more involved in civic affairs. Results of
this initiative indicate limited success of the schemes both in saving a significant fraction of
the generated waste from dumping, and in rehabilitating the local poor. However, they show
that motivated individuals can successfully set up and manage waste collection systems that
lead to overall environmental improvements. The system advocated by EXNORA seems to
require significant local resources, and political and technical support which are hard to find
and sustain without strong local leaders. This is based on triangular contracts between the
municipality, the residents and microenterprises and may provide a good solution in dealing
with the technical and commercial aspects which communities find difficult.

5.0 A PILOT PROJECT ON COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN BANGALORE

Nagapura, ward fourteen of Bangalore, has a population of 40,000 to 50,000

inhabitants and is comprised of a middle and upper class area with about 8000 households
and a low-income area with approximately 800 households. The ward is mostly residential
with some major commercial centres, which are the major waste generators. About 15 to 20
tons of waste per day is generated. Schemes for door to door collection have been present for
the last few years. One of the schemes is run by the Centre for Environmental Education
(CEE), which provides waste collection to 430 houses and employs six waste retrievers that
operate three tricycles. The waste collectors earn additional money from the sale of
recyclable materials such as glass, paper, and plastic. The organic waste is composted in pits
in a nearby park on land that has been provided by the municipality. CEE runs also another
project that involves collection and composting of waste from 130 households. Another waste
collection scheme for 200 houses is run by the organisation of the local councillor, but this
does not involve separation or composting. Furthermore there is a scheme for door to door
collection run by the municipality, which covers 200 households. Participating residents pay
a monthly fee, which is set by the waste management committees. From these fees the
salaries of the collectors are paid and surplus money is used for maintenance of equipment.
 In spite of the fact that two rounds of door to door motivation and one awareness
programme through street theatre have been completed, the participation in financial
contributions or separation of waste in the first section where the project has been
implemented is only 28 to 36 percent. The reason of this low level of participation is
attributed to the fact that street rubbish bins are nearby, where waste can be left and therefore
there is a hesitation to pay for door to door service. Women have been playing a very active
role. They are involved in waste management committees, participate actively at workshops
and meetings and play a large role in motivating other members of the community.

Over the last few years the municipality is becoming increasingly aware of the role of
communities and their organisations in solid waste management. For instance, the local
authorities provides public land for composting activities and provides waste collection
equipment free of charge in some cases. However, there is no legislation recognising the role
of communities and micro-enterprises and there are no formal procedures by which they can
apply for financing solid waste management activities. The municipality and the
implementing agency have discussed the timings and routings for collection to synchronise
primary waste collection with the arrival of the municipal transport vehicle.

6.0 CONCLUSION

For waste management projects to have a continuing impact, community participation

is a precondition and this entails involving the community at different stages and degrees of
intensity in the project cycle. For example, community members can participate in different
ways, such as paying collection fees, offering waste at the appropriate time and separating
recyclable materials. Furthermore, community members can be involved in awareness-raising
activities, participate in meetings to influence the process of the project or be part of
committees that manage waste services. Communication strategies, such as awareness raising
campaigns, are essential to generate a broad-based understanding of solid waste issues among
community members. Important stimulators for community participation are local leaders and
CBOs. They can ensure that community needs are taken into account. However, to be able to
stimulate the community, leaders and CBOs must be representative. Cooperation between
CBOs and the local authority, by for example entering into a contract or partnership, is very
important to maintain and operate the waste service. In this way, the responsibilities can be
clearly divided and efficiency of the waste collection improved. Appropriate time frame,
achievable objectives and adaptive planning can effect community participation in a positive
way.
 Participation of the community in a neighbourhood activity should be considered as a
voluntary act of civic responsibility, a commitment by the residents to one or several stages
of a collective project, (control, awareness-raising, providing information, promoting,
decision-making), although the actual tasks may not always be visible. Waste collection or
clean-up actions are most effective when residents gain genuine control over their content
and their social or sanitary scope; that is when they take an active part in informing people,
monitoring the service and/or raising their awareness at the neighbourhood level.

REFERENCES

Colon, M. and Fawcett, B., “Community-based Household Waste Management: Lessons

Learnt from EXNORA’s ‘Zero Waste Management’ Scheme in Two South Indian Cities”,
Habitat International,(Elsevier Publication)

Laura Moningka (2000) Community Participation in Solid Waste Management Factors

Favouring the Sustainability of Community Participation, A Literature Review, UWEP
Occasional Paper, website: http://www.waste.nl

Sylvaine Bulle (1999) Issues and Results of Community Participation in Urban Environment
Comparative analysis of nine projects on waste management, UWEP Working Document 11,
website: http://www.waste.nl