SACH Impact Incubator seeks applications from Indian WASH & waste management social ventures

Subhash Chandra Foundation, the philanthropic initiative of Rajya Sabha MP and Essel Group Chairman, Subhash Chandra has launched ‘SACH Impact’ Incubator, in partnership with LetsEndorse, to support early-stage social ventures aspiring to solve the problems of millions of Indians.

Two annual cohorts of resolute social entrepreneurs shall be constituted every year, with each one working on one of the 8 focal areas (Education, Healthcare, Clean Energy, Agriculture, Inclusion, Waste Management, Livelihood, WASH), aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The programme aims to equip them with market access for pilots, financial support to do so, necessary mentorship, knowledge networks & more, to take their solutions to the next level and prepare them to scale and serve the large Indian population.

Ventures with already developed testable versions of their innovative product/technology/software or those which have just begun conducting pilot tests on-the-ground and have the potential to make transformational impact on the society can apply online through this link: http://bit.ly/SachImpact before 25th June, 2018

USAID webinar – Women in Waste Management: An Opportunity

Webinar: Women in Waste Management: An Opportunity

USAID’s E3/Urban Team invites you to join us for an online panel discussion on January 17 to discuss women’s role in waste management. 

Women in Asia play a central role in environmental management, yet their work in the sector is often unpaid or underpaid.

This Urban-Links webinar will discuss:

• Key constraints for women’s empowerment and job creation in the solid waste management sector;
• What models work and how do we know they work. What metrics are NGO’s and donors using to measure the empowerment of women in the solid waste management sector;
• How can grant-making under the USAID-funded Municipal Waste Recycling Program empower women in the sector.

Moderators

• Clare Romanik, Senior Urban Specialist with USAID’s Office of Land and Urban
• Marianne Carliez Gillet, Director of Global Program Management for the Development Innovations Group

Panelists

• Ly Nguyen, Founder and Director of the Center for Environment and Community Research in Vietnam
• Dr. Vella Atizenza, Assistant Professor at the College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines at Los Banos

Webinar Information

• When: Wednesday, January 17, 2018, 9:00-10:00 a.m. EST
• Register
• Learn more about the moderators and panelists here

 

Evolution of Solid Waste Management Policy Landscape in Kenya: Analysis of evolvement of policy priorities and strategies

Evolution of Solid Waste Management Policy Landscape in Kenya: Analysis of
evolvement of policy priorities and strategies, 2016.

• Full text

Tilahun Nigatu Haregu, Blessing Mberu, Abdhalah K. Ziraba. African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya

Introduction: Since independence, there have been various policy frameworks developed to guide the management of solid wastes in Kenya. Analysis of the progressive development of the policy landscape would be useful to inform the implementation of existing policies and the formulation of future policies relevant to solid waste management in the country.
Objectives: To explore the evolution of solid waste management policies in Kenya from the
perspective of policy priorities and strategies for solid waste management that address health outcomes.

Methods: This study was an integrative synthesis of the policy priorities and strategies
stipulated by the major solid waste management policies in Kenya since independence and
how they address SWM associated health outcomes. The synthesis addressed the
evolvement, devolvement and segmentation of solid waste management policies as well as
the institutional mechanisms for policy processes and external policies shaping the policy
landscape.

Results: Analysis of the progressive development of policy architecture indicated that solid waste management policies in Kenya has evolved to specificity in terms of focus, functions and scope. There is a magnificent shift from focusing criminalizing offences to promoting good practices; from generic Acts to specific ones; and from centralized mandates to more decentralized responsibilities. The roles of local level implementation mechanisms is also increasing. However, the environment perspective is more emphasized than the health and economic perspectives of solid waste management principles.

Conclusion: Despite the progressive and chronological development of solid waste
management policy priorities and strategies, their focus on environment dominates over
health outcomes.

EAWAG – Course in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries

Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, Feb 22 – Apr 4, 2016

• Registration

Have you come across large piles of garbage in neighborhoods and streets, or smelly waste disposal sites polluting the environment of low and middle income countries? Are you also convinced that improvements are necessary and do you want to know what kind of sustainable solutions are appropriate to better manage waste and enhance recycling and recovery?  

This course provides an overview of the municipal solid waste management situation in developing countries covering key elements of the waste management system, with its technical, environmental, social, financial and institutional aspects. Besides understanding the challenges you will learn about appropriate and already applied solutions through selected case studies.

The course also covers strategic planning and policy issues discussing future visions for waste management and the aspect of a circular and green economy. Considering the importance of the organic waste fraction, the course covers several organic waste treatment technology options such as composting, anaerobic digestion, and some other innovative approaches.

EAWAG course – Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries

Sign up and find further information about the course here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/mswm

The course is offered for free and starts on 22 February 2016. You can watch videos in English with French and Spanish subtitles, test your knowledge with quizzes, participate in the forum, and earn a Statement of Accomplishment.

MOOC SERIES “SANITATION, WATER AND SOLID WASTE FOR DEVELOPMENT”
This course is one of four in the series “Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development”. Please visit our webpage for more information: http://www.eawag.ch/mooc

Treat your sanitation workers well

There are two contrasting stories this week on the treatment of sanitation workers: in China a local restaurant treats 180 of them to a free lunch, while in Gaza they go on strike after having received no pay for over six months.

More than 180 sanitation workers in Chengdu, Sichuan province enjoyed a free lunch courtesy of a local hotpot restaurant. Photo: weibo.com

Sanitation workers in China get low pay, have poor working conditions and work long hours. Mr. Li, a restaurant owner in Chengdu, decided it was time to show some appreciation for their hard work, especially now as temperatures were dropping. He offered over 180 local sanitation workers a free lunch; they were “encouraged to order whatever they wanted, including alcohol”, writes Dina Li in the Shanghaiist.

The free lunch was also a compensation for the mess created when Mr Li opened his new restaurant and employees distributed more than 100,000 leaflets, most of which ended up on the streets for sanitation workers to clean up.

Waste piles up in Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza Strip, as a result of strike by sanitation workers. Photo: Mohammad Asad, MEMO

How differently sanitation workers are treated in the Gaza Strip. Since the formation of the Palestinian unity government in June 2014, they have not received any pay. This has spurred a strike with severe consequences for the health care system. The accumulation of large piles of waste and garbage has forced the Al-Shifa Hospital to stop all work in their operation and emergency rooms.

Deputy Minister of Health, Yusuf Abu Al-Reesh warned of dangerous health conditions inside the hospitals and medical centres in Gaza since staff from the private sanitation companies went on strike.

Source:

• Dina Li, Chengdu hotpot restaurant treats over 180 sanitation workers to free lunch, Shanghaiist, 5 Dec 2014
• Gaza sanitation workers’ strike stalls hospital operations, Middle East Monitor, 4 Dec 2014

Solid Waste Management in the Pacific

Tibar dumpsite, Timor-Leste. Photo: M. Iyer/ADB

The Asian Development Bank has published a series of snapshots of the solid waste management situation in each of ADB’s 14 Pacific developing member countries. The series assesses solutions and challenges associated with the management of solid waste in the region, with a focus on financing, institutional arrangements and solid waste management technologies.

The series is one of the outputs of a US$ 450,000 ADB techical assistance project 45051-001, which aimed to improve the delivery of solid waste management in the Pacific region.

Overview reports

Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Appropriate Technologies	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Financial Arrangements	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Institutional Arrangements	June 2014

Country snapshots

Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Cook Islands Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Fiji Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Kiribati Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: The Marshall Islands Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: The Federated States of Micronesia Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Nauru Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Palau Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Papua New Guinea Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Samoa Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Solomon Islands Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Timor-Leste Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Tonga Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Tuvalu Country Snapshot	June 2014
Solid Waste Management in the Pacific: Vanuatu Country Snapshot	June 2014

Latrine lighting in emergencies: innovation challenge

The Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) has US$ 20,000 on offer for a proposal for an economical, sustainable lighting system for latrines in refugee or displaced persons camps.

Communal latrine facilities in camps are often underutilised at night when it is dark for fear of harassment and attacks especially for women and children. Existing lighting systems tend to be costly as most camps do not have a central electrical system as a power source. Also, battery systems tend to get stolen for valuable parts. This Challenge is to design a lighting system for communal latrine facilities that will promote safety and utilization. The system must be robust, economical and not easily vandalized or stolen.

This is a Theoretical Challenge that requires only a written proposal to be submitted. Award winners does not need to transfer their exclusive IP rights to the HIF, but instead grant HIF non-exclusive license to practice their solutions.

Deadline: 16 March 2014

For more information and to register for the Challenge, go to:
www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9933339

The Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) is managed by ELRHA (Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance) and administered by Save the Children.

The HIF’s  £3.3 million (US$ 5.5 million) WASH Innovation Fund is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and will  initially focus on two challenges:

• Lighting Latrines (see above)
• Managing Solid Waste, due to launch later in January 2014, which will award designs for a new incinerator, compactor or recycling method that is rapidly deployable, cost-effective and easy to use.

As well as these two open challenges, the WASH Innovation Fund will also support Accelerated Innovation events for more complex challenges. These will bring together aid agencies, businesses and academics already working in the sector to collaborate and create partnerships that can develop and test new ideas.

For full details go to:
http://www.humanitarianinnovation.org/funding/WASH-Stream

Source: DFID, Could you help save lives in a disaster zone?, GOV.UK, 18 Jan 2014

India, New Delhi: garbage trucks to be fitted with GPS and radio devices

Big brother will soon be watching over garbage truck drivers in East Delhi once the local municipal corporation installs an electronic tracking system. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) plans to install global positioning system (GPS) and radio frequency identification devices (RFID) in its garbage trucks.

This will enable the EDMC to track the garbage trucks movements and monitor their work performance.

The electronic devices are linked to an  ‘e-municipal solid waste disposal system’, which takes pictures of the vehicles at the garbage station and landfill site, when they pick up and dispose of the waste.

At the end of each day, the GPS will be used to submit a daily route mapping report on the areas cleaned.

East Delhi generates nearly 2,000 metric tonnes of garbage every day and has nearly 150 dump yards.

M/s AKS Software Ltd won the tender to install the electronic tracking system, which costs 19.2 million Rupees (US$ 353,000).

Related news: India, New Delhi: using Facebook and SMS to keep the city clean, Sanitation Updates, 15 Apr 2011

Source: Hindustan Times, 28 Mar 2013 ; PTI/Business Standard, 28 Mar 2013

 

Wasteportal.net

This website collects information on urban waste management with an emphasis on low and middle income Countries. There are links to relevant sites, tools, events, news and organisations. Information can be accessed by different waste management processes and topics, waste types, and countries/regions. There is a section on trends in urban waste management and a blog. To access all information, you need to register.

The portal is an activity of the Promoting Integrated Sustainable Waste Management through Public Private Partnerships (PPP-ISWM) programme, in short. The Programme is jointly implemented by the UNDP Public Private Partnerships Programme (UNDP PPPSD) and WASTE, a Netherlands-based NGO.

Web site: wasteportal.net