Abstract
Waste management is a multidimensional process with several aspects such as legislative, economic, institutional, and technical. This makes it extremely difficult for developing nations to ensure sustainable waste management leading to an efficient service for the population. In most cases, waste management in developing nations (WMDN) is characterized by a mixed and non-separated waste stream; by low collection rates, sometimes as low as 50%; and by a very low recycling rate. Indeed, poor waste management in these countries involves incomplete waste collection, uncontrolled dumping and burning, and landfilling without gas recovery and leachate treatment. These developing nations therefore need effective policy support and adequate governance to achieve waste management and recovery in an integrated and sustainable manner.
The establishment of regulations is a simple process; both industrialized and developing nations have difficulty enforcing them. Indeed, in developing nations, the enforcement of waste-related laws faces several obstacles due to lack of adequate technical infrastructure and absence of effective regional waste management programs. In many developing nations, the legislative and regulatory framework for waste management is inadequate, scattered, and incomplete. A country’s waste law should incorporate several basic principles into the country’s environmental protection regulation, which are the life-cycle method, the prevention measures, the polluter pays concept and producer obligation, and also enforcement of regulations that require local authorities to recycle their waste and separate it at source.
Additionally, as informal waste pickers play a significant part in waste management, this policy must ensure their proper inclusion into the system. The government can support the implementation of laws requiring separation at source regulations to encourage waste reuse, recycling, and recovery in order to promote effective waste management.
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Bonnet, F., Lahboubi, N., Habchi, S., El Bari, H. (2023). Waste Management Institutional and Legislation Aspects in Developing Countries. In: El Bari, H., Trois, C. (eds) Waste Management in Developing Countries. Waste as a Resource. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28001-6_6
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