Mobilizing resources to collect municipal solid waste: illustrative East Asian case studies

Experience in several East Asian countries of collecting and disposing of m unicipal solid waste (MSW) through the mobilization of locally available re sources is discussed. These resources are represented by various stakeholde rs in MSW management, namely, the public sector, the formal private sector, the informal private sector and community and nongovernmental organization s. Attention is given to the nature of MSW, the nature and role of each maj or MSW stakeholder, the constraints to the development of partnerships amon g MSW stakeholders, illustrative case studies of MSW resource mobilization in East Asia and lessons learned from these experiences. Among the lessons learned are the critical importance of: (1) a service-oriented collaboratio n between public MSW authorities and other MSW community resource stakehold ers; (2) the involvement of all MSW stakeholders in MSW decisionmaking; (3) the selection of affordable and sustainable MSW management technologies; a nd (4) the identification and recovery of MSW investment, collection and di sposal costs.