5^th May 2019, Kabul. A group of international and national experts met in Kabul to discuss sustainable solutions for Solid Waste Management (SWM). Discussions focused on the status of solid waste management in the city and its numerous challenges and culminated with the suggestion of a new Municipal Solid Waste Management Strategic Plan.

During the workshop, an assessment of the status of solid waste management in the city revealed that despite significant measures taken by the Department of Sanitation over the last two years, a series of strategic actions were urgently needed to improve the current situation. These included actions on policy reforms, an inventory, and improvement of collection efficiency, community awareness and potential technological interventions for recycling and recovery.

The Mayor of Kabul and his Director of Sanitation explained the increase in waste collection efficiency to 57% as a result of recent infrastructure up-gradation through the creation of a transfer station, the provision of new vehicles and installations of waste bins in 3000 locations. However, “solid waste is still one of the biggest challenges for Kabul Municipality”, the Mayor said. Accumulation of solid waste in the streets; pollution of air, soil, water and land; the end of UN-Habitat’s Clean and Green City programme which had 5,300 labor force trained and committed to clean the city; the sector’s informality using street kids and an AFS 600 million gaps between municipal revenues and needs were yet some of the negative environmental, health and socio-economic impacts of the current solid waste management system.

Furthermore, a survey conducted by UN-HABITAT Clean and Green City (CGC) programme in both formal and informal areas of Kabul revealed that 83% of the residents are willing to pay a new cleaning fee to fill the huge revenue-needs gap of the city in terms of solid waste management.

Overall, these were the themes that accompanied the discussions and served to feed the draft Strategic Action Plan as part of the study on Solid Waste Management Planning initiated by UN-Habitat’s Clean and Green Cities programme, a USAID funded programme.

Participants of the meeting included the Mayor of the City, Mr. Zaki Sarferaz; the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Mr. Sheikh Ahmad Matin; Kabul Governor, Mr. Mohammad Yaqob Haidari; the Deputy Director General of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), the Director of the Department of Sanitation of Kabul Municipality, Mr. Ahmad Behzad; Mr. Fernando da Cruz, acting UN-Habitat Afghanistan Country Representative; Mr. Rahul Datar, UN-Habitat Strategic Waste Management Expert; Mr. Mito Toshikazu, Solid Waste Management expert from Japan; academia professors; industrial professionals; Afghan businesswomen in waste management; representatives from the Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) and the Deputy Ministry of Municipalities (DMM) among others.

For more information, contact Mr. Koussay Boulaich UN-Habitat Head of communication in Afghanistan

koussay.boulaich@un.org