Theme Institutional Strengthening • Laws & Policies • Solid Waste Management

Solid waste is any discarded or abandoned material.  It can be solid or semi-solid, non-soluble material such as agricultural refuse, demolition waste, industrial waste, mining residues, municipal garbage and sewage sludge.  Waste management involves the collection, transport, disposal, processing and recycling of—and sometimes recovery of resources from—waste materials. 

These materials are produced at every level of human society—in households, factories, shops, farms and mines.  Depending on the nature of the waste and who produces it, responsibility for its management and disposal can involve the efforts of local and national authorities, private businesses and individuals.

Solid waste disposal activities may produce short and long-term effects on health and the environment.  For instance, a common method of solid waste disposal is landfill.  If not well-designed, landfills can attract vermin, produce greenhouse gases and generate liquid leachate. 

Our Program supports CAFTA-DR countries in reducing undesirable environmental effects of solid waste disposal.  In some respects, Solid Waste Management relates to other Program sub-themes.  Wastewater Management, for instance:  Leachate—water that has collected contaminants as it trickles through wastes and may contain hazardous substances—can enter surface or ground water. Similarly, Chemicals & Hazardous Substances Management is closely related to the overall subject of Solid Waste Management.  Reduction of adverse environmental effects in all these areas contributes to meeting CAFTA-DR obligations. 

We are working to assist CAFTA-DR countries to lay the foundation for improved Solid Waste Management through better governmental regulation and through market-based mechanisms.

• Regulatory Framework. We work with government officials to create regulations for integrated solid waste management, and to prioritize regulations for selected sectors.  Key goals are the finalization, adoption and implementation of the Regional Solid Waste Policy Framework.

• Market Mechanisms.  A major Program initiative in Solid Waste Management is promotion of a market mechanism to reduce the amount of industrial waste that ends up in municipal landfills:  The Industrial Waste Commodity Exchange for Central America and the Caribbean, generally referred to by its Spanish acronym, BORSICCA (Bolsa de Residuos Industriales de Centroamérica y El Caribe). For more, see www.borsicca.com