Waste Management Research: Projects
Improving Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Manado
Client/Agency
United States Agency for International Development
Description
Background. With approximately 420,000 residents, Manado is a small city by Indonesian standards. Like many of Indonesia’s municipalities, the population is growing faster than its urban infrastructure. Manado is famous for its outlying islands, especially the Bunaken National Marine Park, which draws substantial numbers of international and domestic tourists for its rich marine life, and who place additional strains on municipal services. Due to natural currents within Manado Bay, solid waste (particularly plastic containers and bags) eventually make their way to the marine park, thereby tainting its natural pristine condition.
The rapid growth has resulted in a dangerously overburdened waste system. Manado’s residential communities and city markets generate 1,355 cubic meters of municipal solid waste (MSW) daily. The city’s government collects only about two thirds, and illegal dumping is common in waterways, on vacant land, and along roads. Household organic wastes, such as food scraps and grass clippings, add to the problem. The situation threatens public health, strains municipal finances, and taints the pristine environment that is at the heart of the tourist industry.
As of 2001, the city’s solid waste collection service has been in a state of transition. The Mayor of Manado decentralized a portion of the City’s municipal program by placing primary responsibility for solid waste collection and transport from temporary storage locations (TPS) and other collection points on the nine kecamatan that make up the city governmental district structure.
Purpose. To improve and expand solid waste collection within the City of Manado.
Activities and Results. During the course of this project, RTI
- Helped improve the effectiveness of Manado’s solid waste management (SWM) system by strengthening the capacity of city and sub-district officials, NGOs, and community groups to plan for, implement, and manage solid waste collection and disposal.
- Undertook intensive data collection on SWM issues in the city which helped establish a SWM Strategic Plan.
- Conducted 5 pilot projects to establish best practices for reducing MSW volume which helped the city protect public health and the environment, reduce MSW transfer costs, and more efficiently use its resources.
- Worked primarily with local stakeholders, including the officials who are now responsible for much of the city’s MSW collection and transport to disposal sites. Community-based organizations—such as neighborhood committees and youth groups—also participated.
- Suggested expanding a program to encourage citizen involvement in litter pickup, from street cleaning to drain cleaning, and helped clear ditches in an area especially prone to flooding. The RTI team also helped to redirect a pipe and to educate citizens on ways to minimize waste disposal.
- Helped a Manado resort develop a composting process to remove about 2.5 tons of leaves. With RTI support the resort set up composting processes using a microbial inoculant culture that decreases composting time, and now uses the leaf compost as fertilizer for decorative landscaping.
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