Fact Sheet

MWRP Sri Lanka: Strengthening Plastic Waste Management in Fast-Growing Urban Areas

Recent scientific research shows that Sri Lanka contributes as much as 640,000 metric tons of plastic waste to our oceans annually, making it the world’s fifth largest polluter1 by total mass of mismanaged plastic debris. The challenge is particularly acute in urban and peri-urban areas like Dehiwala, a poor but fast-growing area with a quarter of a million people located next to the capital city of Colombo. Read More

MWRP: Sharing Zero Waste Model Across Southeast Asia – From Philippines to Vietnam and Indonesia

According to the Government of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, a significant percentage of solid waste in Indonesia is unmanaged. Only 25% of solid waste is collected by centralized service providers, but this waste is not segregated and therefore is transported as mixed waste to landfills. In Vietnam, a rapid rise in tourism in Cam Thanh commune in Hoi An and the Cham Islands has led to mounting solid waste management challenges that also require more effective handling of large and growing quantities of waste. Read More

MWRP Philippines: Waste to Wages: Changing the Narrative

Solid waste management is a challenge in the Philippines, a rapidly growing developing country in Southeast Asia comprised of over 7,000 islands. With increasing amounts of waste and not enough sanitary landfills, as much as 750,000 metric tons of discarded plastic finds its way into the ocean annually.1 This environmental crisis also represents a missed opportunity for poor neighborhoods in coastal cities where the value of that waste could be captured, generating much-needed income. Read More

MWRP Philippines: Community and Market-Based Solid Waste Management Solutions

Although the Philippines has passed legislation and created incentives at the national level for comprehensive solid waste management (SWM), supervision and rules enforcement are still weak at the subnational level, leading to mismanaged plastics entering the ocean. Currently less than a quarter of Metro Manila’s barangays1 effectively implement a SWM system. Read More

Urban Assessments

Using Assessments to Understand Urbanization in the Journey to Self-Reliance UNDERSTANDING URBANIZATION Massive, rapid urbanization is visibly reshaping the developing world, enabling transformation and creating challenges for every sector in which USAID works. By 2050, two out of every three people will live in urban areas. USAID is well-positioned to… Read More