Benchmark Indicators for Integrated & Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM)

This paper reports progress with development of an integrated and sustainable (solid) waste management (ISWM) indicator set to allow benchmarking of a city’s performance; comparing cities, both North and South; and monitoring changes over time. The work builds on pioneering work for UN-Habitat’s Solid Waste Management in The World’s Cities in 2010. The analytical framework divides a city’s solid waste management system into two overlapping ‘triangles’. For the three physical components, a quantitative indicator, i.e. % collection coverage, % controlled disposal and % recycling, is supplemented by a composite indicator showing e.g. the ‘quality’ of the collection system. For the three governance aspects, composite, qualitative indicators are defined, covering user and provider inclusivity; financial sustainability; and the national policy framework and local institutions. The first generation of the ISWM benchmark indicators was tested in some 25 cities; results from testing the prototype revised indicator set in a further five cities are presented here. Work is continuing to finalise what we believe is a powerful tool: the choice and definition of criteria within each of the composite indicators is being refined and the indicators tested in a wide range of situations and applications. The final indicator set will be available on the web, and it is hoped that it will be widely applied as a standard methodology, helping to address the historical lack of comparative data on solid waste management in the World’s cities.