During humanitarian emergencies, states continue to be responsible for the safety and security of the affected population and those forcibly displaced on their territory. National laws, regulations, standards and codes provide the architecture for the emergency response, including the protection of public health and the prevention of environmental damage and pollution. In humanitarian settings, the overall responsibility for SWM remains with the local or national government authority. The detail in government SWM directives varies. Regulations may define which materials are considered as solid waste and categorise them according to their properties, origin or severity of the risk to public health or the environment. Regulations may also specify how SWM services are to be provided and by whom, the ownership of infrastructure and services and how operational models will be designed and implemented. In the absence of detailed SWM legislation, states may simply outline national objectives or action lines for the handling of solid waste. Such directives are, nonetheless, based on existing legal frameworks and can be re-formulated as a national SWM strategy. Humanitarian actors must adhere to national regulatory frameworks or, in their absence, align with national objectives.

Formal Stakeholders

As sovereign states, government departments lead and implement emergency response and humanitarian assistance. Local government may play an important role and is usually responsible for all local public services, land issues and the sites of facilities. National policies and decisions and the leadership of government departments and local governments have a major influence on the relief approach.

Countries experiencing conflict, natural disasters or other public emergencies often face significant capacity and resource constraints and may be unable to fully assume their responsibility for the coordination and implementation of an effective response. In such cases, the government may reach out to the international community for support and assistance. Contributions can come from bilateral partners, multilateral organisations (such as the United Nations and its specialised agencies), local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), auxiliaries to the government such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, or private-sector companies. At the community level, individuals and community-based or grassroots organisations often provide humanitarian assistance. All these actors (government, bilateral, multilateral, auxiliary, non-governmental and private sector) may be engaged in SWM at different levels. In emergencies in low and middle-income countries, the SWM expertise and capacity of government, utilities and national NGOs may be limited due to a lack of, or non-functional SWM in the country. Awareness raising and capacity strengthening might therefore be required, especially for government decision-makers and technical departments X.10.

For SWM humanitarian assistance, close collaboration with government entities and utilities is essential, providing opportunities for technical departments and utilities to strengthen their technical skills and expertise. In addition, it increases the sustainability of interventions and their longer-term impact. Furthermore, collaboration can facilitate the necessary clearances and permits from authorities, the use of existing utilities’ resources and create opportunities for exit strategies. For instance, the site selection and design of SWM infrastructure (such as landfills U.9, transfer stations C.5 or communal waste storages) may need approval from the national authorities. The collaboration can ensure that expected standards and designs are considered from the outset. It can increase the pace of the implementation and both sides can learn from each other. Humanitarian actors may also benefit from utilities’ often large workforces and vehicle fleets. Exit strategies can be pursued through a step-by-step handover of responsibilities, equipment and tasks to the local utilities. A welcome side effect of strengthening local capacity is that host or unaffected communities also benefit from enhanced services and expertise.

Coordination of Response Delivery

Humanitarian agencies must not frustrate or operate in isolation or in parallel to government efforts. Existing national capacities and local structures should always be the starting point when planning emergency response services and, if required, be assisted by targeted capacity-strengthening measures. The Cluster Approach was adopted in 2005 to enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian responses and ensure coordination between the government and different humanitarian actors. It consists of eleven thematic clusters each led by a designated international organisation. At a country level, clusters support national coordination platforms, are commonly co-chaired by governmental representatives and ensure that the humanitarian response of different agencies is coordinated and aligned with national response structures. At the global level, clusters can strengthen system-wide preparedness and provide leadership, accountability and technical capacity. Domestic SWM is assigned to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster but is thematically linked to other clusters(X.7. Inter-sectoral coordination is required as waste is generated by almost all sectors and should, ideally, be prevented in the first place P.1. Specific materials recovered from waste, such as food waste, recyclables or non-recyclable composite plastics, can be used for livelihood opportunities and income generation. In addition to domestic solid waste, some cluster activities, such as in Health and Shelter, produce specific waste types such as medical waste or construction debris which require separate treatment and disposal. Some clusters directly manage their sector’s specific waste types. Clusters with large workforces or expertise in fleet management may implement cleaning campaigns or waste collection and hauling X.7. 

Legal and Regulatory Framework 

When planning SWM interventions, the national regulatory framework must be understood. When SWM is legally defined, the law generally provides the overall framework and the regulations provide the details. A range of laws concern SWM, including environmental legislation, public health and planning laws. Within those, standards might have been developed; for instance, values defined to limit the contamination of accepted waste at landfills, waste material reuse and recycling, or energy recovery. Codes of conduct may state which systems are acceptable and how they should be designed and built. These frameworks can be limited to specific waste materials or cover a variety of waste categories. 

In some countries, a detailed legal and regulatory framework might not be in place. Conversely, in the acute phase (depending on the humanitarian assistance required) it might not be possible to design SWM systems in line with national standards and regulations. In these cases, solutions should be discussed with the responsible authorities. A pilot status for a new intervention, or moratoria that temporarily suspend the legislation are ways to implement infrastructure outside existing codes of practice and standards; they may also lay the foundations for future reforms. Planning with a hand-over and exit strategy in mind typically increases the overall acceptability and potential sustainability of new systems. If national guidelines do not exist or are not specific, the Sphere minimum standards should be used for further guidance.

Relevant frameworks for SWM should not be limited to national legislation or Sphere. The Basel Convention controls and regulates the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal. Various special waste types, or parts of them, are considered hazardous and fall under the Convention. They include Medical and Healthcare Waste W.1, e-waste W.7 and other hazardous wastes such as waste oil and vehicles W.2.

Informal Sector

The informal sector is also usually involved in SWM. Actions of the informal sector include material collection at a household level, waste picking from communal or public storages or dumpsites, and the informal processing of waste. Activities of the informal sector are fuelled by the possibility of income generation through the recovery and sale of useable and valuable materials and components X.5. This includes recycled materials within a country or region for which there is a price as secondary raw material. They include metals, glass, plastic, paper and cardboard. Precious metals, such as gold or copper, might be extracted through the uncontrolled melting and burning of specific waste materials such as e-waste W.7). 

Informal waste handling practices typically adversely affect the informal workforce itself, public health and the environment; they often use child labour. Waste picking from public storages or dumpsites exposes the informal workforce to disease vectors, injuries caused by sharp objects and unhealthy unhygienic conditions. Low air quality and exposure to toxic fumes can be caused by uncontrolled waste burning or the informal burning or melting of e-waste to extract precious metals. Environmental pollution can be caused by open dumping U.10 or burning of waste U.11.

The informal sector can play a significant role within SWM; however, this role is usually limited to the recovery of materials that are easily removed from waste, recyclables which are not soiled by other waste, or high-value materials. Low-value, bulky or soiled materials, even if they have a trade value, are rarely recovered from waste by informal workers. Instead, they are dumped. Informal waste handling therefore does not contribute to solutions for public health or environmental issues caused by waste.

Humanitarian SWM interventions must avoid competing with the informal sector as it can undermine a last-resort livelihood opportunity. Instead, when possible, include the informal workforce in projects and formalise the sector, for instance through employment or the creation of associations. Associations can empower waste handlers and scrap dealers through an extended range of recoverable materials, defined prices, trading of larger amounts at higher prices and access to bulk traders. At the same time, adequate working conditions, the use of personal protective equipment and the prevention of child labour can be facilitated.

Certification of Private-Sector Partners

Humanitarian SWM service providers may procure specialised private-sector services, for instance for the disposal of special wastes which must be separately disposed of from other domestic solid waste. These service procurements must be conducted in accordance with national legislation or, in its absence, according to pre-defined quality standards. To simplify this due diligence, it is advisable to collaborate with certified companies; this can help to prevent illegal and unsafe waste dumping or violations of occupational safety standards X.4. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides a general framework for environmentally sound processes and procedures, such as ISO 14001 on environmental management systems. In addition, specific certification for the handling of e-waste W.7 exists, such as Responsible Recycling (R2), Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) and e-Stewards.