Solid Waste Management and the Millennium Development Goals

How important is solid waste management?

Clearly it important to keep our streets clean and to get rid of unpleasant waste. There are also clear environmental benefits from recycling. But among all the competing demands for scarce resources in low- and middle-income countries, where should we rank the need to get rid of our garbage? Is this a luxury for those who wish to pay for it, or is it a priority for all?

In order to provide focus and clarity in the formulation of their development programmes, 189 heads of state at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 ratified the Millennium Development Goals. There are eight broad goals, with 18 specific targets and 48 indicators, and together they give direction to the collective commitment to progress in improving lives and living conditions. The goals are concerned with poverty, hunger, health, education, equal opportunities, the environment and international partnerships.

This booklet, which is based on deliberations at an international CWG-WASH workshop held in Kolkata, India in 2006, explains why the Millennium Development Goals demand urgent action to improve the standards and coverage of solid waste management services.