Municipal solid waste management: a roadmap for reform for policy makers
This roadmap is based on analyses of the experiences with waste management in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Japan, Romania, and the European Union (EU) generally. The experiences of other countries concerning waste management - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Russia - have also informed the document. By comparing implementation conditions across the case studies, the roadmap draws lessons and emphasizes that enhancing the waste management sector is a gradual process, changes should be introduced incrementally, and the sector is to improve steadily achieving organic growth. Special attention is paid to the building blocks of a well-functioning waste management system, including reliable data, legislation, institutional framework, financing, public communication and participation, management capacity, and operations. The intention of this roadmap is to provide a simple list of key issues and their sequencing that may be used by national and regional/local authorities in the conceptualization and implementation of municipal solid waste management reforms. The issues identified are not exhaustive and are intended as a guideline for policy makers who are not sector specialists. 